Archive for April, 2010

Before heading off to Lake Simcoe today we all thought it was going to be a picture-perfect day, 11C, nice and sunny, but we never figured on 30-40 mph winds from the north-west.  Wow, Simcoe was rough…everywhere.  We arrived at Sibald Point Provincial Park around 10am.  With me were Gabor Horvat, a good friend and the person that installed all of the accessories on our new G3 185FS boat powered by a Yamaha 150 hp 4-stroke outboard, my Dad and my good friend Syd Kessler.  I decided to launch the boat and have Gabor take my Dad and Syd out fishing while I dropped in to Rocky Madsen’s home with my truck and boat trailer to have Rocky produce a custom-welded trailer hitch and to help me adjust the trailer balance.  The job took about 3 1/2 hrs, and by the time I got back to the launch the boys had a nice mess of jumbo perch.  Conditions were so windy that I did not think they would hatch anything, but they did OK.  They caught most of their fish in Virgina Bay fishing a 2 1/2″ minnow-grub on a 1/16 oz. jighead and 6 lb. test Rapala Titanium Ice Braid.  Most of the fish were caught in 6-9′ of water while they drifted pretty fast in the stong winds.  By the way, if you love to fish for panfish, Rocky runs one of the best tournament fishing series in the country.  He will be holding another perch tournament on Lake Simcoe this weekend.  For more info., check-out his tournament-site, Georgina Fishing Series.  This weekend is suppose to be much calmer and we are looking forward to filming the Kiwanis Walleye World 2010 down in Trenton, ON.  Maybe we will see you down there for the walleye-opener.

On this weeks TSN program, join Italo as he shows you how to catch trophy migtratory rainbow trout using Luhr Jensen KwikFish lures.  You will get excellent tips on choosing the right rods, reels and lines for big-water migratory rainbows, and how to choose the right color and size of KwikFish.

On Sunday, Ryan Edenborough ( who is employed by Red Pine Wilderness Lodge ) joined my son and I for the day. Ryan, informed us that he had never fished The Orillia Perch Festival and was eagerly looking forward to the experience. Ryan, managed to land a ton of perch using a drop shot rig throughout the day. My son caught the majority of his fish on different weights of jigs tipped with emerald shiners. I myself used a modified perch rig during the day. The number of boats on the water Sunday was down significantly, I think people who had been watching the weather reports call for rain on the Sunday may have stayed away for this reason. As luck would have it we fished the whole day without any rain!

Take a friend, and preferably some kid’s with you when you head to the Orillia Perch festival you will be glad you did!

This is fishing for fun at it’s very best.

April 24th, 2010 My son and I had the opportunity of fishing with some close family friends ( Ben and Amanda Patterson ). We had plenty of action catching small perch “in the narrows” on the Lake Couchiching side, using modified perch rigs ( with small Gamakatsu hooks ) tipped with live or dead minnows. We then moved around to several other spots both on the Lake Couchiching side as well as the Lake Simcoe side looking for some Jumbo Perch. We did manage late in the afternoon to locate an area on Lake Couchiching in approximately 11.4 feet of water that was holding some larger fish! The overall fishing on Saturday from what we were able to observed seemed to be sporadic at best. It appeared that a decent number of people made the effort  to get out fishing on the Saturday.

If you are looking to book a trip I can recommend staying at The Comfort Inn located in Orillia. The facility is located near The Perch Headquarters. During the Perch festival they have special rates for anglers and plenty of parking. Complimentary continental breakfast and a “fish cleaning station” at the back of the building, and a BBQ to cook up your catch!

Comfort Inn,
75 Progress Drive,
Orillia, ON
L3V 6V7

 Phone: (705) 327-7744 Fax: (705) 327-1568

website: WWW.COMFORTINNORILLIA.COM

Wayne Sheridan reports: This Spring’s opening of trout season was a challenge. Most of the steelhead have headed up the rivers to spawn and have already returned to the Great Lakes. Many of the salmon have already moved to May/June locations and depths. River levels are low and clear, and the fish are very spooky. This week, look to fish deep pools. Every year we hear about fishermen who lose their lives while fishing. Please be careful when fishing and respect the elements. When in a boat or canoe, always wear a floatation device, it may save your life. Think Safety Smart.

 River Flow Rates: moderate/low and clearing

 Saugeen River (Durham) dropping at 1.32M, Saugeen River (Walkerton) dropping at 9.5M, Saugeen River (Port Elgin) dropping N/A, Sauble River (Sauble Falls) dropping at .9M, Sydenham River (Owen Sound) dropping at 4.88M, Maitland River (above Wingham) down at 9.8M, French River at Woseley Bay at 186.1M, Credit River at Streetsville down at 4.2M, Credit River at Orangeville down at 11.0M, Grand River (Doon), down at 3.8M (below Shand dam) down at 1.4M

 Prime Fishing Times: Saturday May 1, 2010:  9:09pm to 11:21pm (moon overhead), 8:34am to 11:06am (moon underneath). 

 Flyfishing: BWO, Hendrix, Various Caddis, Grey Fox, and maybe a few duns

Noel Gyger reports.  Weather has been good all week. The bigger rivers are rising, the smaller ones are up and down.  Fishing for Steelhead, Cutthroat Trout, Bull Trout and Dolly Varden Char is fair using both fly, spin and conventional gear. The Skeena River rose mid week but is now dropping  and fishing for Steelhead and Trout is fair.  I have reports of Chinook (King) Salmon landed at China Bar and Split Rock. The lower end of the Zymoetz (Copper) River is fishing good for Steelhead and Trout.

More pics and details below.  The Kalum River has been rising and is fishing good for Steelhead.  The odd Chinook is being landed also.  The Kitimat River was low mid week but is now on the rise bringing in some fresh Steelhead and scattering the Trout.  Chinook fishing in the Kitimat Harbour is poor right now and is weather dependent. The Chinook start showing up around mid May. Crab (Dungeness and King) fishing is excellent.  Ocean Chinook and Halibut fishing in Prince Rupert is good. Trapping Crabs and Prawns is very good also.  The Smithers anglers are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Bulkley River summer-run Steelhead.  Jason Munday in Terrace reports good Steelhead fishing. Trout and Dolly fishing is excellent also.

If you would like to book a guided fishing trip with Noel, you can contact him at, www.noelgyger.ca .

Jason & Tyler Horwick report.  We took a trip to Lake Ontario to fish the Hamilton harbor/bay area for some steel city cats. Water levels were extremely low exposing a lot of downed timber and debris. We had to move further down the shoreline near the Desjardin Canal to locate some deeper water. We could tell by the amount of shoreline garbage that the area had been heavily fished by other anglers (what a shame!) Between 3 anglers we caught 19 cats, mostly Channel Cats with a few big Bullheads in the mix. Most Channels were between 4-7 lbs with the biggest fish being a 12 lber caught after dark.

I took advantage of the nice weather today and asked my Dad to join me for a smelt-fish down on the Niagara River at Queenston, ON.  I waited until 12noon to head down there hoping for clear skies which would make it easier for me to spot the smelt in 4-5′ of water.  We thought we would go down today instead of the weekend so that we would not be dealing with crowds and we were right.  We were the only ones there fishing for smelt.  As soon as we got to the boat launch we looked down and could see thousands of smelt cruising right up against the shore.  We assembled our nets, threw them out so that they would sink in about 4-5′ of water and than waited for the smelts to swim through.  We probably waited an average of about 5-7 min. in between lifts and averaged about 20-50 smelt per lift.  If you love to eat smelt, you can take advantage of the good weather and bonus-out before they finish spawning and head back to the Great Lakes.

Orillia Tourism
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Orillia Perch Festival

Welcome to the 29th Annual Orillia Perch Festival!

April 17 – May 08, 2010

Lakes Simcoe & Couchiching, Orillia, Ontario, Canada

View the 2010 “Perch Book” here

One of Canada’s Largest Registered Fishing Derbies! Over 60 Tagged Perch worth $500 Each! Plus … Thousands of Dollars in Daily, Weekly and Grand Prize Draws!

JUST FISH TO WIN !!!

Opening Ceremonies
Friday April 16, 2010 – 7:00 pm
ODAS Park, Fairgrounds Road

Special OPP Kids Day
Saturday May 01, 2010 – 11:00 am to 2:00 pm

Tudhope Park, Atherley Road

Closing Ceremonies
Saturday May 08, 2010 – 7:00 pm
Best Western Mariposa Inn, Memorial Avenue

Perch Festival Live Release Program is operated by the Orillia Fish & Game Conservation Club. For Club information, call 826-4263 or John at 325-2864.

TO REGISTER: Send name, address, phone number & date of birth for each person registering, with a cheque, to Orillia District Chamber of Commerce, 150 Front St. South, Orillia, Ontario, L3V 4S7.

Adults: $15.00 / Children Under 16: $5.00 – GST included.

Your registration form will be on file at Perch Festival Headquarters, Tudhope Park. Please pick up registration before you start fishing.
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Blue Beacon Marina

Invading Species Awareness Program

Lures & Tours Sportfishing Directories

Ministry of Natural Resources

Trombly’s Tackle Box

http://www.orillia.com/index.php?id=22

Minn Kota Endura Transom Mount Electric Trolling Motor

55 lbs thrust / 36″ shaft

$200 plus shipping and taxes

Contact:  bill@csproductions.tv