Get to know Toronto’s fly-fishing scene | Canada Voices

About 10 years ago, Rob Cesta had a choice. He could stay in Toronto and help build up the dwindling local fly fishing scene, or he could go west to B.C. and live out his long-time dream of guiding in the fly-fishing hotspot.

Then it happened: Wilson’s, the last remaining fly shop in downtown Toronto, shut down. Cesta suddenly had the chance to open his business, Drift Outfitters on Queen Street East, in a “non-competitive environment,” with a mission to promote the lesser-known richness of the Greater Toronto Area’s fishery.

“If you put a compass down, and drew a circle within eight kilometres of the CN Tower, you have some spectacular opportunities to fly fish,” said the 41-year-old, who started fishing when he was 14.

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Toronto has a surprisingly long history of fly fishing, which uses artificial flies made of materials such as feathers and animal fur to target fish such as trout, bass and pike. “There were times when there were three fly shops. It goes back decades,” Cesta said, adding that the sport was popular among the dark suits who worked on Bay Street.

Eventually, Bay Street stopped seeing fly fishing as a valid investment. Stores closed down. Along with that came a reluctance to talk about the fishing opportunities in the city, Cesta said. “We have millions of people locally, and if everyone went fishing and they kept at least one fish, there would be no fish left.”

But he wanted to promote fly fishing carefully and highlight the catch-and-release aspect. At Drift, he held educational – and entertaining – community days such as International Fly Fishing Film Festival (IF4) screenings, fly tying nights and talks by experts about finding fish in and around the city.

Largely thanks to Drift, fly fishing in Toronto blew up around 2018, said Mitch Duesling, who hosts the So Fly Podcast. “I think Drift created a very welcoming place for people to go and feel comfortable asking questions.”

Even, adds 39-year-old So Fly co-host Aldo Pescatore-Tardioli with a laugh, if that question is: “Where can I fish in the GTA?”

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• Gear to get started: You can spend as much or as little as you want when starting out with fly fishing. The best advice is always to buy the best gear you can afford. For beginners who aren’t totally sure if they’re going to like fly fishing, Echo makes great entry-level gear. The Lift Rod retails for around $160, and you get can kits that come with a rod, reel and line for about $250. If you’ve got a bigger budget, something like the Redington EDC costs around $500 and is a solid all-purpose offering. Depending on the time of year, you may or may not need waders, but if you’re getting started during the summer you can skip them for now. A local fly shop can help you find the best flies for the fish you’re targeting.
• Where to fish: The idea that you have to go outside the city to find fish isn’t true. “There’s something kinda neat about swinging up a steelhead with the CN Tower in the background,” Pescatore-Tardioli said. The obvious spot in Toronto is the waterfront. There is no shortage of places where you can cast a line to target many of the species Lake Ontario has to offer, such as carp, pike, bass and sunfish. There are also major rivers such as the Humber, the Don and the Rouge.
• Join a club: The Izaak Walton Fly Fishing Club opened in 1971. Their mission, according to club program manager Mauro Aiello, is conservation-oriented and focuses on sharing knowledge with people who want to get into fly fishing and fly tying. “It’s laid back,” Aiello said. “It’s not as elitist as people may be thinking. We’re always helping newcomers.” They meet two or three times a year on the water around Toronto, such as the Credit River, to fish together as a club. These meetups, Aiello said, are a great chance for new anglers to fish with someone who has more experience.
• Listen in: Duesling, 34, started the So Fly Podcast with a couple of friends back in 2016. He was joined by Pescatore-Tardioli the following year. “It was mostly a conduit to go fishing more in cool places and meet cool people that I always admired,” Duesling said. They talk a lot about fly fishing both in and around the GTA and across Southern Ontario. Among the people they’ve interviewed are local guides such as Jordan Pockett of A Perfect Drift and Matt Martin of Smooth River, who shared their experiences in and around the city. They’ve also talked to local conservation groups about what’s being done to help protect the rivers and streams that provide many of the great fishing opportunities in Toronto.
• Go to events: The So Fly crew has hosted regular events around Toronto, such as fly tying nights, where often people come to simply hang out and chat generally about fishing. “If you’re curious at all about fly fishing,” said Pescatore-Tardioli, “the off season is a great time to come to these events and meet people.” Their most recent event was SOTOS, the Southern Ontario Trout Opener Social. It’s an annual gathering of fly anglers who want to not only celebrate the start of the season but support the rivers and lakes of Ontario by raising money for the local conservation group Ontario Rivers Alliance.