Tailwater fisheries

The tailwaters are the sections of the Grand River below Shand Dam and the Conestogo River below Conestogo Dam.

The cool water released from the reservoirs makes the tailwater reaches a good habitat for brown trout. Each spring, the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry stocks about 40,000 trout in the rivers. (Brown trout are a European species that have had limited success reproducing on their own in the rivers.)

As a result, these two areas have become highly regarded fly-fishing areas. The Grand River reach has been acclaimed as one of the best fly-fishing spots in North America.

The potential of these areas was identified as one of the "best bets" in the Grand River Fisheries Management Plan.

Grand River Tailwater Management Plan

The section of the Grand was also subject to additional study that resulted in the Grand River Tailwater Management Plan (8MB PDF) being developed in 2004. The plan outlines the steps needed to manage the unique issues facing this part of the river. 

The GRCA, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and the Friends of the Grand River led the development of the plan. It describes the characteristics of the area, land use and previous management activities that have shaped the fishery. It helps those involved in managing the resource to coordinate their efforts to maintain and improve the fishery.

The plan includes a list of "best bet" actions to protect and improve this stretch of the river:

• fish habitat enhancement
• water quality improvement
• stocking program
• regulations and enforcement
• community access
• public education
• funding and implementation activities
• habitat research
• fish population data collection
• water quality and temperature monitoring

Since the report, many of the best bets have been implemented.

History of the fisheries

The Shand Dam (Belwood Lake) was built in the early 1940s to address flood control and low flow problems. Conestogo Dam followed in 1958.

An additional benefit is that the dams discharge cold water. That creates the tailwater sections that can support trout and other coldwater fish.

In 1989 the ministry, GRCA and Trout Unlimited Canada took advantage of the conditions to stock brown trout in the Grand. The stocking program in the Conestogo River began in 2003. The ministry puts about 40,000 fish into the rivers each spring.