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Dear Italo,I hope you and your loved ones are all well in these volatile times.Thank you as always for your dedication for fishing community.My question:Please give your suggestions for a trip to Lake Erie in spring time- when to visit the best ,where to launch a boat and other things to consider based on your expertise – for walleye fishing?Thank you kindly.

Posted on February 18th, 2021

Hi Sergey, we are well. Hope you and your family are well also. In Spring the majority of Lake Erie Walleye are in the western basin west of Port Dover, ON as many spawn in the Detroit River. The excellent fishing starts there in late March and continues throughout June. You can launch at the LaSalle, ON or Windsor, ON public boat launch. By end of June as the Walleye move out of the river they head east & that is when the fishing is excellent out of Port Dover & Erieau, ON. Both have boat launches. You can fish further east in the spring out of Port Maitland, ON and also at the mouth if the Niagara River and off Crystal Beach, ON but the majority of the walleye then are in the western basin. Fish with a Passion, God bless you, Italo.

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goodmorning how are you?i find myself looking forward to spring more than ever had lots of time to shop online like many i think! just a quick question in general with so many bait,lures plastics,hardbait on the market and types of fishing and styles like ned,wacky,swimbaits which do you use and when or what do you start your year with and use during the season ,tiny plastics and use bigger threw the season ?or can i count more on hardbaits in spring and plastics in summer?,i fish from shore mainly around montreal qc(mostly river fishing)bass,drum,walleye, and shad in spring,,, so basically any northern species i enjoy alot, like always thks for your time stay safe

Posted on February 15th, 2021

Hi Adrian, Many anglers are “fished” in buying as many lures as they see.

I fish pretty simple and go by 4-rules:

-early in the season when water is colder and fish are less active I use slower moving lures both in hard-body baits and soft-plastics.

-as water temps warm up I fish faster lures like spoons, body-baits, spinnerbaits, etc.

-if I think fish are feeding I use natural colored lures that look and swim like their food.

-if I thin fish are not feeding then I try and make them strike using erratic swimming lures, bright unnatural colors and lures with rattles.

Fish with a Passion

God bless you,

Italo

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Hi Italo,thanks for getting back to me on the Grand River ice fishing. I do normally park for five dollars at Fishmasters, but due to Covid and health and safety reasons his marina is now for members only ,since I live in Oakville,and can only get there twice a winter,the cost of the membership for ice fishing is a little pricey for me. Although I do think it’s a great deal for ice anglers that live in and around the Dunnvile area who can take advantage of the great fishing there.Again thanks and God Bless.

Posted on February 11th, 2021

Hi Russ, Thanks for explaining. If you check Google Maps and the Grand below Dunnville, ON.  If you look at the screen grab above, I would encourage you to drive down and ask for permission at either of the homeowners that are marked near the pin-drop. If they know you are a nice guy they may let you part nearby. I have done well fishing about 50-100 yds south of the creek that you can see on the east side of the river. There is a 12’ hole there that should hold walleye. God bless you, Italo

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Hi Italo hope all is well. Do you think a lunker city freaky fish in 4.5” size would be effective vertically jigged for springtime walleye or do you think the fin s minnow would be a better choice. Thanks. Rad Rodsom

Posted on February 10th, 2021

Hi Rad,

I have done well with both. In fast water I prefer the thinness of the Fin-S Fish. If there is little current or no current I have done well with both.  Fish with a Passion God bless you, Italo

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I see on your FB page that you guys have some episodes on Prime…. I’ve searched and can’t find them. Any insight on where i can catch a few episodes, I’m in calgary alberta.Thanks,Eric

Posted on February 7th, 2021

Hi Eric, both 7-series of Canadian Sportfishing & the 1st season of Here’s the Catch! are on Amazon Prime US/UK. You can still enjoy viewing them by downloading the free, https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/hola-free-vpn-proxy-unblo/gkojfkhlekighikafcpjkiklfbnlmeio?hl=en . Just change the VPN on your computer of other device to a US address, login to your normal Prime account and you will be able to view both TV series…God bless you.

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Hi Italo, love both your shows ,the area on the lower Grand in Dunnvile, bellow the dam has gone gone private, I was wandering if you know anywhere in that area that has public access to the river for ice fishing.Thanks for your help and God Bless.

Posted on February 1st, 2021

Hi Rus, glad you are enjoying both the Canadian Sportfishing & Here’s the Catch! TV series. For Walleye fishing below the Dunville, ON dam in the Grand River is your best bet. You could try to find a location where you can cut across to the river further south, but I have a feeling it would be a long walk through wild land.  I would encourage you to pay the parking fee at Fishmasters and head out from there. There are some very good flats to fish within 1/2 km of the marine…God bless you.

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Italo,I love your shows and the obvious enthusiasm you have for fishing and the outdoors. I am taking my 14 year old son on a fly-in trip to NW Ontario this summer (COVID permitting). I fished a small lake near Sioux Narrows, ON from childhood through college with my dad, but it has been twenty years since my last Canadian fishing trip. I would love to hear your thoughts on what tackle a couple relatively amateur anglers should take on their first Ontario fly-in trip. We will be targeting Walleye and Pike.Thank you for your time and consideration.

Posted on February 1st, 2021

Hi Christopher, thank you for your kind words and glad you are planning on taking your 14-yr old son on a wilderness fishing adventure. You don’t need to take a lot of different tackle. Here are my suggestions:

Walleye

-good assortment of 1/8 and 3/8 oz jigs and assorted soft-plastics in the 3-4″ length (twister-tails, paddle-tail and streight minnows like the Italo’s Minnow from Fishing Complete)

-some Vibrax spinners in sized #2-#5 that will cover both small walleye and larger pike

-a few casting spoons in the 4″ length for Pike

-a few crankbaits that dive to 10′ (Rapala Dives To Flat #7, Rapala Tail Dancer #9, Original & Joined #11 Rapala for casting & trolling

-a few 3/8 oz white spinnerbaits for pike.

 

That ought to do it. Make sure to take some wire leaders and spool up with 30 lb. braid. Hope you have a great trip…God bless you.

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hi, hope you going well and safe. im planning to buy an underwater cam and want to install it on the canon ball. did you ever tryed on of those and wich one can be the best for lake Ontario trout salmon fishing thx regards

Posted on January 30th, 2021

Hi Pierre, I have used the Spydro and GoFish Cam to shoot underwater footage. Booth of those don’t show you what is happening until you get the cameras out of the water and sync them to your cell phone app. If you want to see what’s happening as it’s happening you would need to get an underwater camera with an “ambilocal” connection to your viewer. There are several available like Marcum, Aquaview, Eyoyo, etc….God bless you.

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Hi Italo, I enjoy bass fishing ,and was wondering if they are in the area of the large breakwall rocks along the shore line at the mouth of the port credit river,I would be fishing from a boat.I know it’s a trout and salmon area, but looking to change it up. Thanks and God Bless.

Posted on January 22nd, 2021

Hi Russ, Smallmouth Bass move into all the Lake Ontario tributary mouths in the spring and go right up the tributaries and hold in the deeper pools by July. You should be able to catch Smallmouth Bass around any of the rocky structure and if you can get inside the boat-basin where there are weeds you should also be able to catch Northern Pike & Largemouth Bass….God bless you.

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Hi Italo. I live on Sturgeon Lake near Emily Creek. Every my buddies and I put out our ice huts in search of perch. We have had our 4 huts out for almost 2 weeks now and can’t find a single perch? We are in about 10-12 feet and some of us are right in the weedbed and others are a bit deeper near the edge of the weedbed. It’s good coontail weed mixed with rocks. Same places we find them every year. We’re using live minnows and also jigging to attract them but haven’t even seen any down the hole? Any suggestions on where to try? Thanks in advance.

Posted on January 15th, 2021

Hi Randy, perch can be as tricky as Walleye to locate since they can migrate from different areas from year to year and even month to month. If you are not catching them where you have in the past I would suggest you try fishing deeper off the weeds or trying some humps that are in open water not too far from shore. You may also want to check-out open-water weed beds that are off structure like off of Muskrat Island especially at the north-east end off the rock point that goes out and also off the weedline. The other area is the south-end of the island on the shoal off the 10-20′ break.

If you have not used a “thumper” before I would also encourage you to have a rod rigged with heavier braid and a 1 oz. weight with a swivel and large willow-leaf blade. Use it to “pound” the bottom a few times before starting to fish. Perch from a distance will be curious from the puff of sediments and noise and will be drawn in.

I would also encourage you to try jigging with either a Jigging Rapala in the W3 or W4 size oversizing the bottom treble and adding a chartreuse plastic trout egg to one of the hooks on the treble. Jig it on the bottom and lift & jig slowly. That can also work to bring perch in.

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