Cameron River

The Cameron River is a small Canadian Shield river that runs west out of Reid Lake to Cameron Falls, beside the Ingraham Trail east of Yellowknife. It is granite, jack pine and clear water: short rapids between pools and small lakes, with the trail close by. Cameron Falls, a short hike from the trail, is the best-known spot, and the river between Reid Lake and the falls is easy to reach where the trail crosses it.

Arctic grayling are the fish. They take dry flies and small nymphs in the rapids and at the heads of the pools from June, once the ice is gone and the spring water drops, into September. Northern pike wait in the slow water and the lakes. The river is small: read the gauge below Reid Lake, where it fishes best from about 3 to 7 m³/s, and over about 10 in spring it is high and fast. Light rods, small flies and a careful approach work best in the clear water.

The general NWT limits apply: 3 grayling a day, 5 in possession, and 3 pike. Only barbless hooks are allowed in the NWT, and no one may fish within 23 m downstream of a falls. The country is Yellowknives Dene land: respect cabins and camps along the water.