St. Marys River

The St. Marys carries all of Lake Superior's outflow down to Lake Huron, and at Sault Ste. Marie it pours through the St. Marys Rapids, about a kilometre of riffles, runs and holding pools under the International Bridge. Ernest Hemingway called it the best rainbow trout fishing in the world, and it still fishes all year within sight of downtown. Wild steelhead are the spring fish, from March into May. Atlantic salmon arrive in mid-June and stay through the summer. Chinook come in late August, then pink salmon in their run years, and coho and more steelhead from September into November. Resident rainbows and lake whitefish are there all year.

Most of the river's water goes through the power plants and the locks. The rapids get only the share that the International Lake Superior Board of Control sets each month at the Compensating Works, a row of 16 gates at the head of the rapids. The gauge here reads the whole river, so check the board's monthly news release for the gate setting. In winter the gates sit at about the equal of half of one gate open, and the rapids carry only a small part of the river. More open gates make the rapids bigger and harder to wade. The rocks are slick, the bottom drops away without warning, and the current is strong, so wade with care. Two-handed rods help cover the big water, and egg patterns, nymphs and streamers drifted along the seams take most fish. Guides also fish the big water from boats for Atlantics, drifting streamers and soft plastics.

The river from the Compensating Works down is in Zone 14, where brook trout are closed all year. Whitefish Channel, between St. Mary's Island and Whitefish Island, is a sanctuary closed all year, and other spots near the canal are posted. Whitefish Island belongs to Batchewana First Nation, which keeps its trails open to visitors. The international boundary runs down the river, so stay on the Canadian side unless you also hold a Michigan licence. You can walk in from the Sault Ste. Marie Canal National Historic Site, a few minutes from downtown hotels.