Thames River Watershed Report Cards

The new 2012 Upper Thames River Watershed Report Cards are now available! Every five years the UTRCA produces 28 report cards to assess local environmental conditions in the 28 watersheds within the upper Thames River watershed.

Each report card grades that watershed’s surface water quality and forest conditions, summarizes watershed features, provides recommended actions for improvement, and highlights progress made over five years. New information has been included on groundwater, connections to the Great Lakes and extreme weather.

Link to the Report

Thames River gets Cs and Ds

Thames River gets Cs and Ds
By Randy Richmond, The London Free Press

Most of the 28 watersheds in the Thames River system are holding their own, but not excelling, according to the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority report cards issued Thursday.

Based on water quality testing and analysis of forest conditions from 2006 to 2011, the 28 watersheds in the river system can be given C and D grades.

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Fishing Report September 6th, 2012

With the impending rain, I decided to get out last night for a short fishing trip down to the Forks of the Thames. I got there about 8:30 and left at 10:00.  We used hot dogs.  I caught a white bass around a pound in the first couple of minutes and thought, great they generally travel in large schools and we would be hitting white base every cast. No suck luck as he was clearly the only one in the area. My next catch was my first Spiny Soft Shelled Turtle. The one was big, at least half a meter in length. She was released without incident. (That brings my Thames River Turtle species count to 4: Snapping, Spiny Soft Shelled, Painted and Red Ear Slider) That was it for my night of catching.  My daughter who was almost asleep at 5 to 10 jumps out of her chair and her reel starts screaming.  This fish pulled off well over 100 feet of line before she turned it. After her initial panic, she settled into the lift and reel down rhythm.  After a good 5 minutes she pulled in and released a nice sized carp ( 8-9 lbs) It was then off the home. I know she's telling every kid at school this morning about her monster fish.

Fishing Report September 2nd, 2012

I went back to the Forks of the Thames with the rest of my hot dogs.  We arrived at 8 but didn't get out first bite until 9:30. What a difference a night makes.  The first fish was the smallest catfish I have ever caught. It was a 7 inch channel cat, very cute trying to eat such a big bait. The next bite happened soon after.  This fish fought for a good 10 minutes and made several impressive runs.  When we landed it the channel cat was almost 2 feet long and easily 10 lbs, which makes it the largest catfish I have ever caught.  We decided to call it a night shortly after that.

In addition I met another angler Matt tonight who had some great stories and advice on catching fish and he watches the Ghetto Fishing Show.

Fishing Report September 1st, 2012

Well it was the last night of the full moon, so I thought I should get out and get fishing.  We went down to the Forks of the Thames at about 8:00 PM.  My son likes to come and watch but not fish.  I fished away from shore for a bit and didn't get anything, then we noticed a lot of carp only 5 or 6 feet away from the shore.  So we decided to bring in the tackle.  I was using hot dog pieces on hooks.  Shortly after we pulled in a 5 lbs catfish. Over the next 45 minutes I got a number of bites and hook up, but nothing ever got the shore.  About 9:45 I got a monstrous bite and the fish pulled out almost 200 feet of line before I could turn him.  We fought for about 6 or 7 minutes with a number of close calls, including him wrapping my line around a branch. Luckily we got him in and it was a nice 10 lbs carp.  After releasing the fish we were out of hot dogs and my tackle was really tore up, so it was time to come home.  I hope to get out at least once more this long weekend.

Fishing Report August 29th, 2012

Headed down to the Forks of the Thames for some lazy evening action.  I took my daughter and we were fishing with worms. We got there at about 7 and there were some girls who caught a couple of rock bass.  I caught a 2 lbs sucker quickly and followed it up with a 6 inch perch. My daughter was playing with her line in and around some rocks.  She kept say she saw fish there, I told her it was her imagination. Then in rapid secession she pulled up, but not all the way in a couple of rock bass and some perch.  Her hook was too big and they dangled on the worm until they hit about 4 feet out of the water.  I'm going to have to trust her eye sight (but not her judgement on what constitutes a reasonable fish) in the future. After that excitement I pulled in a 1 lbs sucker. After dark I got a couple of big bites, but the fish was gone and they didn't reoccur so we called it a night.

As a side note it has been nice to see a lot of fishermen using the Forks of the Thames this summer. Past years it seemed like it was just me most of the time.

Fishing Report August 12th, 2012

I decided to hit the Forks of the Thames on Sunday afternoon. It was the middle of a sunny day so I didn't expect to hit too much, but my Fantasy Football draft was in the evening, so daytime it was.

I was using worms on a perch rig. Instead of catching a lot of fish I talked to a lot of people and took a brief nap on the dock.  The water was up and flowing well from the rain on Saturday. I fished from 3:30 until 6.  My first bite and fish came at 5:55.  I caught a nice little (14") Redhorse sucker.  Not much of a fight, but I was grateful for not getting skunked.

I'm hoping to get down to Hamilton on the weekend to fish.

Where Have All the Good Bass Gone - Part 3

I had written to the Thames River Anglers Association (TRAA) about the perceived lack of bass in the Thames River in the London area.

I received a response back that indicates that bass catches have been decent this year and in the recent past.  The exception being in the South Branch by the Pottersburg Creek pollution plant.  Apparently there was a change in their outflow which destroyed the bass fishery in the area.

They assured me that bass fishing was still good.

The TRAA say "The weather patterns of late remind me of 1986 when we had all time low water levels which combined with the high heat created algae blooms which lead to the sudden decline of the bass fishery. That is why our group was formed in 1986." This information makes sense given the weather.


Randy Bailey of the TRAA continues, 

"One of the other reasons I see is the exploitation of the bass fishery and blatant disregard for the regulations. Case in point, I reported 2 gentlemen to the local CO and tips line who were fishing on Rebbecca Road. The two of them had 14 smallmouth on a stringer and they were all in the size range you are talking about. The best part is the local CO busted both of them a week after the tip and confiscated their gear as well as a hefty fine." It is good that the offenders were caught and charged

I heard that overfishing was the primary problem with bass populations before.

I have received information from a few sources that say the bass fishery is still in good shape in the Thames River. I hope this is the case.  Now all I have to do is get out there and find them.


I'll continue to monitor the situation and post any additional information I uncover.