Ontario's Saugeen River Steelhead Fishing

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Roughly 30 minutes from the regional hub of Owen Sound, the Saugeen is no secret. Managed to provide Ontario anglers with a strong return of steelhead, it sees a tremendous amount of pressure daily from fall through spring and is able to maintain a wild and hatchery steelhead run even with the two-fish limit available to anglers looking to grill a few fish. Team Pautzke was in town to film Pautzke Outdoors here.
Forums, message boards and Facebook are littered with daily photos of prized fish from here. It’s one of Canada’s most accessible and premier steelhead fisheries and no one is shy about talking it up. Pressure doesn’t rise and fall with the number of photos posted. It’s always here. The Saugeen is the equivalent of the Salmon River in Upstate NY and the Manistee in Michigan. The systems drive the local economy and attract anglers from hundreds of miles.
It was early December and Southampton, Ontario, Canada, had just dodged a big snowstorm that had crippled travel in the GTA. I was too busy filming Josh Choronzey and Big Jeremiah Johnson, and promoting this wonderful resource to the province via Facebook that I was only able to make a few casts throughout the day. (I hooked one fish and lost it.) On the other hand, it only took seconds to realize how popular this river is to Ontario.
The Lower Saugeen, while only a few kilometers long (or miles in The States) is Southern Ontario’s most heavily fished steelhead fishery. A mere three hours from Toronto, and even closer to the Hamilton area, the system benefits from a locally charged hatchery program that’s funded by local donations and volunteer work. The joint program between the Ontario Steelheaders and the Lake Huron Fishing Club is a successful model that should be commended for their efforts.
Even on a midweek day there can be hundreds of anglers lining the bank. It’s busier on weekends. A several mile section of water is dotted with shore anglers, standing side by side for a chance at catching steelhead.
Even in the dead of winter, the Saugeen is a tourism machine, drawing anglers geared in full body waders, armed with $500 reels and $300 rods, and walking in vests packed with spawn bags filled with cured Chinook and steelhead eggs, hooks, line, weights and much more. These people eat locally, fill their cars with gas, stay in local hotels, drive through Timmy’s a few times and day and dream of when they can return with new friends for a chance at a steelhead bolting upriver from Huron.
All our fish came on BorX O Fire cured steelhead eggs tied in small bags. And, watching anglers cast and drift floats on the bank, it’s was obvious they were using the same setup and hooking fish, too.
If you want to fit in, grab a centerpin and head to the Lower Saugeen where steelhead will be around through April, or even June, as was the case last year. It’s unclear what winter is ahead of us, but the steelhead are biting now.
For more information on joining the effort to preserve Saugeen steelhead please visit the Ontario Steelheaders www.steelheader.... When in town I recommend arriving early for breakfast at Just Like Mom’s in Southampton. It’s feet from the bank and serves up delicious breakfast!
To Learn More About Pautzke Bait: www.pautzke.com
Like us on Facebook: / pautzkebait

[@fishwithchris03]

It looks very challenging in deed but definitely lots of fun. Fish on.

[@denohuchi268]

Beautiful Happy 😊 day for Fishing 🎣

[@Chronzilla062794]

Thanks again, Chris. Hope to get lucky here soon. Dan Naum

[@TeamPautzke]

You can do it!

[@aperfectdriftguidecompany]

Good Video Guys. I guide that river when the salmon and steelhead are in. It can be a lot of fun.

[@garysampson5258]

I live near Southampton and fished the Saugeen since the early '70s. Where are/were you located? Never heard of you, sorry.

[@richardelliottjr2755]

Great Job Guys

[@BGSTV]

great vid boys!

[@TylerCOutdoorAdventures]

When are you coming back to West Virginia? Your salmon eggs work great on streams and I find them useful when fishing them under a float on a lake. Also your fire bait hatch pellet brown works best for freshly stocked trout.

[@RumlipS1990]

that fish looked like it had line wrapped around its nose at some point..

[@bbben12345]

Great Vid. real classy!

[@thenerdfisherman5425]

Oh hell yah right on the way to my cottage

[@tristanbresolin4654]

Those fish need to be put back in the water much quicker in my opinion, especially since you guys are C&R. no need to keep it out for that long while talking to the camera

[@davidwiese9107]

Talk less, put the fish back faster.

[@chromerhunters8785]

Scott Preston sounds like someone can’t control themselves,

[@jspreston2769]

@@chromerhunters8785 listen rainbows are ok but they are only there for a few weeks every year and other than that they are no where to be found in the river and creeks. That whole area used to have monster brown trout lots of them almost totally gone and its been since those stupid little rainbows were stocked.

[@georgegeorge6193]

@@jspreston2769browns aren’t native fish either. Still lots of browns in the saugeen and it’s tribs, just gotta known where to find them

[@fjin1]

Can you tell me what is the brand of bright green colour main line on that sliver islander steelheader reel . Thx

[@loftymcdowellmcdowell3372]

good fellas

[@haywardd]

for everyone crying about keeping them out of the water it's the winter man these fish are so tough when it's cold out

[@thomasmckenzie4584]

Just put the damn fish back in the water!!!

[@noahtroyer9412]

what kind of rod and reel is that

[@sportinganossafe]

What line are you using in your Silver Islander? Thanks>>>>Great video

[@Slayingsteelhead]

When was this video taped?

[@TheKingvirg]

hey TeamPautzke what date did u guys head out ??? was this march of 2015? just wondering if i should go i live pretty far so i want to make sure its fishable before i head out!!

[@TeamPautzke]

Matt The Trout Whisperer Virgioni This was in December 2015.

[@NomadFishingAdventures]

+TeamPautzke can I borrow your time machine? Great vid guys!

[@gamingwithjaxbosssstoptheb1476]

Yo I go there lots it's fun and if u want come down to my dads ternamentment

[@gamingwithjaxbosssstoptheb1476]

Use cw floats

[@StevennH1]

Where abouts in the saugeen is this

[@420maxim]

😆

[@jakeday4105]

U wrecked it all

[@gamingwithjaxbosssstoptheb1476]

Hi pautzke or u going to sponser king of the drift or drift kings or kotd

[@sebastiankruszka3948]

Hey do u think u could fish the bronte creek under hw5 it have really good salmon and trout fishing all year but u have to wade on most of it If u wanna know message me on Instagram. Subman9090

[@TheKingvirg]

bronte is closed until april 25th

[@sebastiankruszka3948]

matthew virgioni​ when does it close??

[@bbben12345]

Sebastian Kruszka Town of Oakville from Hwy. 2 to Lake Ontario, its open all year for rainbow brown and pacific salmon. Atlantic salmon is closed all year, and Rainbows have a strict limit.

[@sebastiankruszka3948]

That's off of Lake Ontario

[@camziesfishingadventures4450]

lake huron

[@sebastiankruszka3948]

Ah nice ok