Northern Pike
Pike are the soft-water fish on a river that mostly moves. Where the Grand slows — the deeper pools, the slack margins, the millpond backing up behind Penman's Dam — a river pike sets up on the current break and waits. The deep water above Wilkes Dam is the dependable address, cool-season best, and every fish here goes back under the reach's release-only rule.
← Back to Grand River at Paris conditionsHow it fishes
Look for slack, not speed. In the wadeable Paris-to-Brantford water, pike hold in the slower runs and deeper pools and along the soft edges where current dies, ambushing baitfish that drift down the seam.
The deep water above Wilkes Dam in Brantford gives them the depth and structure they want in a shallow river; the slack millpond above Penman's Dam in Paris offers the same soft holding water upstream. Cold water suits them, so spring and fall are the windows — the reach's cold-water inflows keep temperatures workable.
Artificial lures and barbless hooks only, and pike are catch-and-release here.
Structure
The reach's holding water, where a river pike ambushes from current breaks and slack margins with enough depth to hold.
Soft-current water where the river pools behind the dam — pike-friendly holding water upstream in the reach.
Regulations
This is a summary, not the legal regulation — confirm current rules with the official source before fishing. The Paris-to-Brantford reach is a catch-and-release zone: artificial lures only, single barbless hook. Two seasonal sanctuary closures apply.