Maitland River

The Maitland winds through Huron County farm country and reaches Lake Huron at Goderich. Steelhead and some chinook and brown trout run up from the lake into the lower river, which carries its trout and salmon run as far as Wingham. Benmiller and the Falls Reserve Conservation Area, a short drive above Goderich, sit in the middle of the steelhead water.

The Maitland is a mid-sized river of runs and riffles, with a series of low falls at Benmiller, and much of the bank is private, so access is at bridges and the conservation areas. From the Highway 21 bridge in Goderich up to the County Road 4 bridge, trout and salmon are open from the fourth Saturday in April to December 31. That puts the steelhead fishing in October to December and from late April into May, and that reach is closed from January to the April opener. Drift a float and roe bag or swing a fly through the runs. Read the Benmiller gauge. A big rain turns the Maitland brown. Fish it as it drops and clears.

The 550 m below the Falls Reserve waterfall is closed to night fishing from September 15 to October 31. The tributaries in the extended-season reach close on October 1 as well as through the winter. Falls Reserve has campsites, and Goderich has motels and full services.