Archive for August, 2010

Noel Gyger reports.  Temperatures near normal and a little rain. The rain is just what we needed. Fishing for Sockeye, Chum, Steelhead, Cutthroat Trout, Bull Trout and Dolly Varden Char using fly, spin and conventional gear has been fair. The Skeena Riverwas up then down this week but is still clean enough to fish. Sockeye fishing is good if you know the how and where to fish for them. Limit was lowered to 1 per day, 2 inpossession on August 23rd. Steelhead and Coho fishing is excellent. It is not uncommon to catch both Steelhead and Coho on the same day and throw in the odd Chum and Pink. The Kalum River is in good shape. Steelhead and Coho are coming in now. Kitimat River is fishing very well for Coho, especially after the bump of water we had. The Douglas Channel is producing excellent numbers of Halibut and Coho. The Harbour fishing is good. See New! Coho video clip below: Crab (Dungeness and King) fishing is fair. August is usually slow but the Crab you do trap are full of meat.

The Zymoetz (Copper) River has a little stain but clean enough to fish. Summer-run Steelhead are moving in now. Prince Rupert reports an excellent Coho fishery. Lots of Halibut following the Salmon.Meziadin Lake is fishing slow for Rainbow and Dollies. Bell Irving should start producing some excellent Steelhead fishing. Bulkley River. The rain has not affected the river too much. It is still nice and clear and fishing well. Lots of Pinks and Coho and Steelheading has done pretty good as well. Kispiox River finally got some rain. River has come up and has dirtied a little but is still fishable. Fishing has done well for some. Coho, Sockeye and Steelhead. The Morice River is still a designated area on evacuation alert and people are not allowed up there for recreational means. As far as I understand, no fishing access on the river at this time.

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

Wayne Sheridan reports: This weekends warm temperatures will probably be the last heat wave for the summer, so enjoy the warm weather for the next few days. River levels continue to drop from their higher than normal levels for this time of year. Fishing has been good, but patience and time of day are the keys. Best bet for bass is top water lures in the early morning and late evening where deep pools intersect shallow marshes. Also focus on the Prime Fishing times.

The USHRA/Saugeen Cedars Family Campground Fishing Tournament will be held September 11, 12, 13th, 2010. Planning has now started, please contact Pat Hawksworth at Saugeen Cedars.

River Flow Rates: moderate and dropping. Visibility 6ft

Saugeen River (Durham)  dropping at 1.19M, Saugeen River (Walkerton) dropping at 9.2M, Sauble River (Sauble Falls) dropping at .818M, Sydenham River (Owen Sound) up at 4.936M, Maitland River (above Wingham) up at 9.959M, French River at Woseley Bay at 186.196M, Bronte Creek near Zimmerman dropping at 5.72M, Credit River at Streetsville steady at 4.432M, Credit River at Orangeville down at 10.5M, Grand River (Doon), up at 4.082M (below Shand dam) at 1.68M, Rideau River at Ottawa up at 2.895M, Ottawa River at Britannia steady at 57.653M

Prime Fishing Times: Saturday August 28th, 2010: 2:08am to 4:58am (moon overhead), 2:33pm to 5:23pm (moon underneath).

Flyfishing: Hex, iso, caddis, Trios, yellow stonefly, white duns, bloodworms

Down rigging for Salmon: Surface lake temperatures are the highest recorded since 1991. Look for areas behind points and islands for cooler pockets of water. Great Lakes: Lake Superior110 ft down, Lake Michigan 120 ft down, Lake Huron 110 ft down, Lake Ontario 75 to 110 ft down. Best bet Lyman Lures, white, blue and pink and Reef Runner shad baits

Always Fish Safely

The Chester family had a chance to visit with their friends in South River, ON recently.  Their visit included a fishing outing on Eagle Lake.  Benjamin (our grandson), went out with his dad, Dan Chester and their friend Randy Wagler.  They fished worms near the bottom with little success, but Benjamin fishing with his kids spin-casting outfit, bobber and worm hooked a nice smallmouth that was around 15″ long.  Benjamin reeled the fish in all by himself (while his Dad helped by holding the rod).  When asked what he wanted to do with his catch, Benjamin answers, “I would like to eat it for supper.”

Well done Benjamin, we are so proud of you!!

On the Trail of the Wendigo Walleye

In early August, Neale and I who were visiting Canada for the first time and Mike, an expatriate Canadian, set out for a week’s fishing on the Larder Lake system in Temiskaming, Ontario. Armed with some great advice from Italo and some gear from Canadian Sport Fishing we had high hopes.

 On the drive up North from Toronto, we discussed tactics and techniques. I recounted bass stories from my native South Africa, while Neale gave us his tips for landing monster British pike. Mike, being the only Canadian in the party was at an advantage. He was the only one who had fished Ontario lakes before and he was the only one who had caught a walleye. We all agreed that if just one of us could net this famous Canadian fish, the trip would be considered a success.

 Having only seen photos of Wendigo Lake, we weren’t really sure what to expect as we arrived in Engelhart, Northern Ontario and wound our way along a dirt road, to the shores of the lake. The water was the lowest it had been in years and Stephen, our host, forewarned us that our chances of catching any walleye would be slim, as they were seeking the coolness of the deepest parts of the lake. But as we surveyed the sheer epic beauty of the place, nothing could dampen our enthusiasm and no sooner had we disembarked from the pontoon boat at Weekes Island, which was to be our base for the week, than we were setting up our rods.

At the tackle shop in Englehart we’d picked up some worms and minnows to supplement our Rapala lures, jigs and spoons. The first evening from the end of the dock, the small mouth bass were biting our worms, a good sign for the week to come.  The next day, the same was true of most of our spoons, either off the dock or off the moored pontoon boat on the leeward side of our small, rocky outcrop of land. It was when I changed to a black and silver Rapala Shad Rap that things got interesting. The bass I caught were edging towards the two pound mark and then, my first ever northern pike. Slow and lazy at first, it started to make powerful, deep runs when it caught sight of shore. You could understand why it’s been called the ‘sentry of the river’. As I released this imposing fish, even at just five pounds, I was careful not to tangle with its pin-sharp teeth while it thrashed in my net.

 The following day, we piled into canoes and set off up the Larder River, a chain of elongated and interconnect lakes which form Larder Lake Provincial Park. We portaged around some swift water and into Skead Lake, a smaller, narrower stretch of water. We fished the about twenty meters from the shore where there was some good structure, rocks and weeds.  Neale landed a decent sized small mouth bass that jagged and tail danced right up until he got it to the boat. This was the first but not the last fish he would hook with a Rapala Husky Jerk, a lure that would prove to be a favorite of his. I persisted with the Rapala Shad Rap and caught a slightly bigger pike than my first along with some smaller bass while Mike, on a spinner bait, brought in the biggest pike of the trip, around six pounds.

 Late in the afternoon we portaged back into the lower Larder River and fished a small bay at the mouth the Skeletonpup River where some of the locals had pointed us. As the sun dipped behind the tree covered hills, the wind died and the water became glassily calm. Mike tied on a big old Red Devil spoon and we had our last few casts before heading back for some well-earned beers. The tip of Mike’s rod bent low as he reeled in. At first we thought it was a snag, the Red Devil was heavy and it had probably hooked a log on the lake bed. But then there was some movement. Not much, but he definitely had a fish on. After a brief fight, Neale and I got sight of our first walleye. I netted it and lifted it into the boat and Mike administered the last rites. We paddled into the salmon pink sunset, back to Weekes Island where some pan fried pickerel awaited us, happy in the knowledge that if we didn’t catch another fish all week, it would still be mission accomplished.

Thanks to Italo and the team at Canadian Sport Fishing and for all your help and advice!

  

On this weeks TSN program join Italo & his wife Barbara as they take you twitching for trophy Smallmouth Bass at Eagle Lake Island Lodge, ON.   You will see non-stop topwater action and you will get lot’s of tips on the right tackle to use and how to properly fish the Rapala X-Rap for trophy Smallmouth Bass.

Last evening, I had the chance to get out on the Grand River upstream of the dam in Caledonia with my wife Amanda.  We were using Rapala crank baits being the Minnow Rap and the Jointed Shad Rap in perch colour.  I landed the two walleye using the Jointed Shad Rap using my Rapala Avantis bait casting outfit. 

 The Jointed Shad Rap is a great lure with true life – like action.  To give it even more swimming action, I use the Rapala knot tied directly to the lure.  Using my Humminbird 141c fish finder, we could see clumps of baitfish on the graph.  Fishing at the mouth of a small creek, where the baitfish would be hovering around, produced these two nice looking 20 “ walleye, weighing approximately 2 lbs.

 Best regards;

Ben Patterson

After the heavy rains that hit Southern Ontario 3-days ago Chinook Salmon have started their migration in most of our Southern Ontario tributaries that flow into Lake Ontario.  From the Ganaraska to Bronte Creek, Chinooks have entered the lower sections of the tributaries in good numbers. 

I was checking out Oshawa Creek, ON today and spotted Chinooks up to the high 20-lb. range in every run of the short stretch which I checked above and below the Mill St. bridge in Storie Park, Oshawa.  It felt odd since I was in shorts and a tee-shirt and joggers were going up and down the walking path.  I really expected to spot smallmouth bass in the creek, but to my surprise the fish were all fresh-run Chinook!  The water was normal depth and clear, so the salmon could be easily seen shooting up clear-water rapids and holding in 3-4′ runs.  This is a good time to capitalize on fresh-run Chinooks.  As we get more rain, expect more Salmon to run up and than right behind them the migratory Browns.

Gabor Horvat reports.  My wife and I travelled again for a few days to the French River, ON. The weather was very nice, except when a thunderstorm came through.  The rest of the days were really good fishing days.  We caught lots of Pike, some Largemouth and Smallmouth bass and we lost two nice Muskie.  The water level is still very low, so additional caution needs to be taken if you are planning on boating/fishing there.  Many rocks that would normally be deep enough to drive right over are just below the surface.

I was spinnerbaiting, buzzbaiting, crankbaiting and popping the weedbeds and weedlines.

I found casting along the weeds is the best bet up on the French River.  Sometimes the wind made it difficult to fish the edge and in those cases I just cast over the weeds and start to retrieve my lure right over them with my rod tip lifted high to keep my lures from catching the weeds. When the lure passes over the shallower weeds, I lower the tip of the rod so that the lure can dive deeper.  It was working very well for me.  One day I met Zoran at the camp site and took him for a fishing trip. He was very happy because he landed his first pike. Congratulations Zoran. Can’t wait to go back again!

This past Sunday I had the pleasure of fishing with my Dad on the Grand River out of Caledonia.  We tried using some plastic minnows as well as various crank baits in the perch / fire tiger colour schemes.

I was able to land this nice, 2 1/2 lbs. walleye casting a shallow diving crankbait in the firetiger colour  in approximately 4.5 feet / 23 degrees Celsius of water.  The day before I had installed my new Humminbird 141c colour fish finder, and being the first fish finder I have ever had, I found I was able to use it with ease.  The detail and operation was impressive!

 The weather yesterday was over cast with on again / off again rain showers.  All in all, we enjoyed getting out on the river.

Ben

LAKE ONTARIO FISHING REPORT

Eastern Basin

By:  Matt Mitchell

The time of year has come again when the prized Lake Ontario Chinook Salmon make their annual migration towards tributary rivers and streams mouths where they will ultimately run these watersheds to fulfill their life’s goal… to spawn and expire.  But that doesn’t mean the open lake fishery has to be put on hold till the next season.   

Each year I see the lake in my area go from a completely vacant productive fishing zone, to an extremely busy few months and then full circle back to angler-free fish-filled water again.  I love fishing in April and May on the big lake because of the simple fact that there is absolutely no fishing pressure except for areas such as Port Dalhousie which hoards the desirable temperatures for kings and bait that time of year.  The summer weather brings out the derby fisherman and weekend die-hards right at the beginning of June and they relentlessly pound the lake in large groups till the end of August.  It’s then that the lake turns back to it’s lonely self, the high fishing-pressure fades away and the serenity returns.

Last week, most of the 2010 spawning year-class of Chinook moved into staging areas and some even breached the river/stream mouths and penetrated upstream to spawning grounds.  Now it seems as though most of the fisherman have virtually disappeared from the mid to open lake fishing grounds.  Some of the determined and stubborn Lake Ontario anglers are still probing the depths for other species such as Coho salmon, Steelhead, Brown and Lake trout and leftover kings in the shallow staging areas waiting for a later push up the tributaries.  There is one more group of fish that get totally over-looked… the next generations of Chinook to come.

In past years, I have just followed the herd and started fishing rivers and streams for the spawning Chinook, or just targeted other species in other inland water-bodies such as bass or walleye.  I have now learned that it doesn’t have to be that way and that there are plenty of hungry Chinook to pursue and catch after the big kings migrate. 

This year, I have been targeting these young Chinook, and for a few weeks now, the fishing just keeps getting better and better.  A fine example of this is last Thursday evening when I took Paul Lord (Canadian Sportfishing Productions Inc., Marketing Director) and Joe Viecili (Foxx Advertising & Design) out to taste some of the late-summer action.  We set-up our trolling spread in 150 FOW(feet of water), and it was literally minutes before one of the dipsey-rods fired and we were hooked into our first juvenile Chinook.  From there, the action just kept getting hotter and we continued to hook and boat some nice Chinook between the 2-10lb range, including a beautiful 2-3 year old chrome king that weighed in excess of 20lbs.  We ended up landing seven Chinook over the course of four hours that night and there was not a boat to be seen as far as the eye could see.  Check out Paul’s blog on our outing at http://www.canadian-sportfishing.com/Custom/blog/?p=5458

Our gear for that afternoon consisted of the following:  2 Cannon Mag10 downriggers, 2 diver-rods loaded with 50lb braid and a flat-lined rod spooled with a 350’ shot of 45lb copper.  We sent our starboard rigger down 100’(which was the productive depth the night before during pre-fishing) with a purple-thunder colored spoon, and the port rigger down 85’ with a 42^nd colored spoon.  On our starboard-side diver rod we let-out 275’ of 50lb braid with a Nuclear Green Luhr Jensen Dipsey Diver on the No.2 setting achieving approximately the 60’ depth mark with a chrome frog colored flasher and green/chartreuse fly trailing the dipsey.  The port-side diver was sent back 210’ on a No.2 setting with a dark-metallic green diver/flasher/fly combo fishing just above the 50’depth range.  Lastly, the copper-loaded rod was sent down the chute with all 350’ of copper out with a green/glow spoon to target the 70’ zone.  Effective trolling speeds that evening were, between 2.6 and 3.0 mph on the surface, which are the norm for mid-late summer Chinook.

If you find yourself annoyed this week with grease’n your shoulders and bumping elbows just to get in on your favourite hole down at the your local tributary, dunk that boat back in the lake and go find some untouched and ready to fire Chinook of years to come.  You won’t be disappointed!

Matt Mitchell,
Mitchell’s Sportfishing

Ph: (905) 434-6584

steelheadm@hotmail.com