The Day I Played With Baby Atlantic Salmon

Last week I had the great opportunity to help stock Atlantic salmon fry into a local river, as part of the Lake Ontario Atlantic Salmon Restoration Program.

I saw the opportunity to be part of the fish stocking program thanks to a Facebook post. I sent off an email, added my name to the list of volunteers, and was told when to show up – but I honestly had no idea what to expect. I was hoping to be able to help, even though I knew nothing of the process.

Ahhh, what a wonderful sight. This was part of the stretch of river chosen for stocking.

One of the great things about helping out at an event like this is that everyone you meet is friendly and eager to share information. I find I learn more than I could have hoped for, and I get to spend time talking fish and fishing with like-minded people.

After the initial meet-and-greet, the plan for the morning was outlined to me. We would have around 33,000 Atlantic salmon fry to stock within a designated stretch of the river. Stocking stations would be selected in parts of the river with suitable habitat – usually an area with a good riffle – and they would be marked with a flag. We would start downstream and work our way up to the next station to avoid walking over the area we just stocked. Each station would be stocked with roughly 1,400 fish.

The obvious next question is how do they separate 1,400 fish from 33,000? Now, I was the only person there that hadn’t participated in a fish stocking before, but I really didn’t want to have to ask the question. No problem, our fantastic leader, Aaron, explained the method to me. For a very basic explanation, picture a regular old white bucket, something like what you would use for ice fishing. Inside this bucket are marks to indicate the amount of water. You put in a certain amount of water, then knowing approximately how much 1,400 fish weigh, you can work out what volume you need in the bucket. So, water to the line + fish to the line = correct amount of fish.

Once the fish were measured out, they were put into a clear plastic bag. The bag was filled with oxygen and taped off, ready for transport to water.

At the water it was time to open the bag and release the fish. This isn’t a case of just dumping the bag out – rather you need to gradually empty the bag across the span of the river, getting the fish out into the widest area possible. One major downside I noticed with the bag is that you usually end up with a straggler that doesn’t seem to be ready for big water life and refuses to exit the bag. It requires a little more effort to get rid of those ones.

It was wonderful to see these tiny Atlantic salmon hitting the water and dispersing. Give them a few seconds and you would never know you had just released fish in the area, they were gone.

We moved on from station to station, and I got to release more than a few bags which was such a thrill. I cannot thank everyone there enough for letting me help out. I wasn’t just a bystander, I actually got to participate. The morning ended far too quickly.

While the season on inland Atlantic salmon is always closed, I have had more than a few incidental catches of these wickedly crazy fish. They jump and fight and are just bundles of energy that keep me entertained all day long. I have yet to hook into on Atlantic out on Lake Ontario, but from what I’ve heard, they put on a show and give you a good fight. I hope I hook into one soon!

It’s incredible to think that these once abundant fish were wiped out in Ontario. For a fish that is part of our natural heritage, it was a travesty that they disappeared. However, thanks to the efforts of the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH), and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR), as well as many other partners, the fish are being re-introduced in an effort to restore a self-sustaining Atlantic Salmon population  in Lake Ontario and its tributaries.

There are so many ways to help out and be involved in this program. From the classroom hatchery to adopting an Atlantic to fish stocking and habitat restoration events, there’s an activity for everyone. This program is about restoring Atlantic salmon, but it does so much more. It is responsible for a massive stream rehabilitation effort, which benefits everyone, not just anglers on Lake Ontario, and not just those that are looking to help Atlantic salmon. Improved habitat benefits all fish and the ecosystem. It also gets people involved in conservation, it gets them outdoors, and it educates.

As for me? Fish stocking was one of the coolest things I’ve been able to participate it. Those of you who get to do this on a regular basis have one heck of an awesome job. I’m happy to know that I was able to participate, in some small way, and maybe one day, even though I won’t know, I’ll be able to catch one of those little fish I released when it makes its way to the lake. That would be pretty amazing.

A Fish And A Sunburn

The beautiful, warm weather around these parts meant the ice disappeared in no time and this past weekend, there was open water everywhere. It was a very welcome sight!

As the sun shone bright on Sunday morning, I found myself eager to hit the water – but no so eager to wake up early and get out of bed on a non-workday. The frequent reminders from the dogs and cats that they were hungry and needing breakfast finally got us out of bed and in short order, Darrell and I were climbing into the truck for the trip to Bronte.

The fact that we were going to be fishing Lake Ontario for the first time this year was enough to have me grinning from ear-to-ear. The fact that this was our first time out in the boat this year made it even better. On the drive I thought to myself that the only thing that could make the day batter, was finding the lake absolutely, completely calm. And boy did we luck out. The water was glass – just the way I like it.

After setting up and getting the boat in the water, we tied on some lures and took the boat for a short run. What a rush. Even in our little 12-foot aluminum boat, with that 9.9HP motor on the back, we managed to move along fast enough to get a rush.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day, no matter where you chose to spend it. I just think being on the water was the best way to spend the day!

Talk about some crystal clear water. I felt like I was looking into a creek, not 10 feet-of-water on Lake Ontario.

The goal for the day was to hook into some brown trout.  We began by tying on some tried-and-true Rapalas and pulling planer boards down along the break wall. It was my first experience with using planer boards and I was surprised at how easy they were set up and use. They allowed us to cover a wide swath of water and to get lures in tight to the wall, without the boat spooking the fish.

If I'd known I was going to spot an owl, I would have brought my other camera for a better shot. What a treat it was to see this bird. I think it wondered what us crazy people in the bright orange suits were doing.

Despite the warm temperatures, the water surface temps were 41-43F so I found myself dressed as if going ice fishing – wearing my -100 Baffin Titan boots and my floater suit. The warm clothes certainly did the trick as we spent the better part of the day on the water and I stayed comfortable all day (except for my rear going numb after sitting for so long).

We were getting no bites, although that detail was not bothering me. The fish may not have wanted to play but I was loving the day in the boat, on the water. I say it all the time, but there is no better way to relax than to spend the day on the water, wetting lines and playing with lures.

I never tire of this sight.

We continued to troll along in 8 to 14 feet of water and had just finished turning a corner when I did a double-take – the line had popped out of the clip – fish on! I jumped up, grabbed the rod and started reeling. I had a fair bit of weight on the line and knew I had a decent fish, then all of a sudden the pull on the line slacked. I kept reeling, telling Darrell I might have lost the fish. He laughed and told me to reel faster as we watched the line go from left to right and it became obvious the fish was swimming at the boat.

It had been months since I’d caught anything bigger than a crappie, and I was thrilled to feel more weight on the line. In the excitement I started yelling at Darrell to get the net – no such need, he was already trying to extend the handle. I don’t care how many fish I may catch in my life, it’s always such a thrill to have one on. I was having a blast. I finally got the fish to the boat and Darrell netted the wonderful rainbow trout. I love rainbow trout – they’re always so willing to come out and play.

A fish!!! She made the day perfect.

It took some time for the two of us to come down from the high of catching a fish, and while we covered a fair bit of water that day, we ended up with just the one fish. I honestly didn’t mind. I lost all track of time out there and when I did check my phone for the time, I told Darrell we really had to pull lines since it was going to be dark by the time we got home.

Another wonderful view

Such a beautiful end to a wonderful day.

Spending the day on Lake Ontario was awesome. It was the perfect end to a fantastic weekend, and catching a fish was the icing on the cake. There was, however, one problem – I forgot to pack the sunscreen. As a result, I ended up with one heck of a red face. I can’t believe that it’s March and I wasn’t covered up enough to avoid a sunburn!

All-in-all, I’ll take the red face for the chance of catching a fish.

Help The Ringwood Fish Hatchery

The Lake Ontario fishery needs your help. The Metro East Anglers is looking for funding to continue running the Ringwood Fish Culture Station. The proposal calls for Ringwood to raise the entire coho salmon stocking program for Lake Ontario, as well as raising brown trout and rainbow trout.

How can you help? Go to the Aviva Community Fund website and vote for the Ringwood proposal. Round one of voting ends next Wednesday, October 19th, and Ringwood needs enough votes to move onto the next round. You can cast one vote per day for this idea so please go back each day to show your support.

If you enjoy the Lake Ontario fishery as much as I do, please show your support!

A Bow And A Queasy Stomach

Since my first experience fishing on Lake Ontario a few weeks ago I’ve been dying to go back and get a shot at even bigger fish.

This weekend there was finally enough time for Darrell and I to escape to the lake in hopes of giant salmon.

I couldn’t possibly have asked for a more beautiful day. The sun was out, the temperature was perfect and the marine forecast looked promising. The only hiccup in our plans was that the wind was shifting to an east wind, meaning the waves had a chance to build up over the whole lake before reaching us. I was told it would be fine and, trusting soul that I am, I climbed into the truck and off we went.

We ran into a slight problem on the way because we had yet to decide which launch to use. We ruled out Bronte right away – it costs far too much to launch and chances are pretty good someone will have a little fun with your truck and trailer while you’re out. The decision was made to head to Port Credit since it’s cheaper and a nice launch. However, when we reached the launch we found it was host to a 5km run/walk and there were more people there than we wanted to deal with.

Finally we ended up at the Promenade in Mississauga, a beautiful place to launch…and it’s free (unless the Salmon Derby is on).

Eager to get out on the water and get a bite, I helped Darrell, as much as I could, to set up the boat and get it in. Only once we were in the water did I look out and see the boats battling some waves. For the first time I started to feel doubtful about the trip.

For people used to the big water I am sure it’s not the least bit intimidating to head out in the swells we faced today. For me, someone that had almost no experience in a boat before last year, it’s a little intimidating to see all that water, big swells and some whitecaps, and feel your little 15ft aluminum boat rolling with each wave. I immediately longed for a bigger boat.

I got over the intimidation factor soon enough as I saw even smaller boats out there braving the conditions and turned my focus to guiding the boat through the waves as Darrell got the lines out.

I managed quite well for a while before I noticed an unfamiliar feeling, my stomach was starting to get queasy. I looked for a fixed object to focus on and eventually found a cloud above the horizon that seemed to help keep the queasiness at bay. I began to realize that I wouldn’t be standing up to reel in any fish today…I didn’t trust that I would stay in the boat!

We trolled along, marking very little on the fish finder, keeping pace with another Sylvan boat as we both rose and fell at the whim of the waves. By this point I was really working hard to keep my nausea in check. And then it happened…fish on!

I jumped up to grab the rod, knocked my chair-back down and ended up sitting on the folded up chair, bracing myself as best I could and started reeling. I wasn’t feeling sick at that point. It was apparent pretty quickly that we had hooked onto a rainbow trout but this one had much more fight in it than the ones I caught a few weeks ago. He made a few short runs before being scooped into the net and was an absolute handful as I tried to hold on for a picture.

Can you see on my face how hard I am trying to stay upright? This bow was in much better shape than the ones I caught only a few weeks ago.

After releasing the fish I went back to steering the boat and Darrell got the lines back out. It wasn’t much longer before I was having troubles battling back the nausea again and I made Darrell get behind the wheel so I could sit back and close my eyes. I lasted a little while longer but we had no more hits and I knew I was going to start chumming the water if the boat continued rolling through waves like it was. Even now I can feel it….going up, falling down, going up, falling down…my head and my stomach did not handle it well.

I finally had to call it quits, much earlier than I would have liked to, and get Darrell to take us back in. It wasn’t our most productive day on the water.

Back at the launch we came across this situation:

That's right, two boats at the launch, not going anywhere but preventing anyone from getting in or out.

I know I already ranted about boat launch etiquette but seriously, if you have a boat, please abide by the rules. If there are two ramps and multiple boats, then one ramp is for those going in and the other is for those going out. Do not block the ramp. Set up your boat ahead of time and only head to the ramp when you are fully ready to launch. Get in and get out. When you take your boat out, do not stop at the top on the ramp and block other trailers from getting in or out. I wasn’t thrilled about these winners at the ramp today but I did have the pleasure of seeing the one boat go out and encounter waves they didn’t know how to get through. They weren’t out for long. Of course, they blocked the ramp again when they came back. Some people…

I wish my sea legs were a little better because I would have loved to have stayed out there for a lot longer. Getting a fish was nice but I wanted something much bigger! There’s always next time.

 

Good Friends, Big Water, Great Boat and Kings

I am not a morning person. It takes one heck of a good reason for me to get up early, and an invitation to spend the day on Lake Ontario fishing for kings seemed a great reason to wake up at 3 o’clock yesterday morning and hit the road.

A drive through intense fog and almost all green lights (what a treat!) led me to where I was meeting Gavin, our host for the day.  By this point the fog had cleared and my attention was immediately drawn to the incredible machine that is much mentioned on Twitter.

Yay!!!! I finally got to meet the Ranger! (note - this is a picture Gavin had taken the day before and posted on Twitter - it was a heck of a lot darker than this when I first saw the boat!)

Gavin is the guy you mention to other anglers and they always respond ‘yeah, I know him.’ It seems that almost everyone into fishing in these parts has heard of him. His incredible generosity meant both myself and David, another fishing fanatic, would get to the chance to experience something neither of us had done before – fish for those magnificent kings on Lake Ontario.

It was 5:30 when we hit the water and the glimmer of sun burning it’s way through the fog over the lake made for a breathtaking view of the Toronto skyline. There was something almost mystical about seeing the CN Tower just peaking through the fog.  It was a beautiful morning and I couldn’t wait to get some lines out and get a bite!

That's me behind the wheel of the Ranger! Hahaha. All I did was steer while we were trolling but it was awesome! Watching the two screens was rather engrossing, I forgot to look outside the boat sometimes!

While I had never done this sort of fishing before, living with the fishing encyclopedia (a.k.a. Darrell) meant I was fairly familiar with the terms and the concepts involved. It was great to see everything in action when I had heard so much about down-rigging and using dipsy rods.

Gavin was great about explaining what we were looking for (green water, warmer water temps, bait) and answered every question both David and I could throw at him. I learned a lot even before we caught the first fish.

Of course, the day was about catching fish and it wasn’t too long before David was reeling in a rainbow trout. It wasn’t what we were looking to catch but it was still awesome to get one in. I hadn’t realized how suicidal the rainbows can be – once they were in the boat they flopped everywhere, got the line caught all over them, banged themselves up, and made it difficult to get the hooks out. Two of them ended up being kept because they had damaged themselves so much.

Not much later I got a chance to reel in my first ever rainbow! It didn’t put up much of a fight but I was beyond thrilled to actually get something in, especially since any fish I caught out there was likely to be bigger than anything I had caught before.

Me with a bow.

After searching out more suitable water we hooked into some kings in quick succession. It was amazing how things could go from being quiet to almost chaotic so quickly. We even had a double-header! The second one I reeled in was not in the mood to come to the boat. He didn’t make any long runs but it took a while for me to make any ground on him. I’d reel, he’d peel line, I’d reel, he’d peel line. It was awesome! My arm tired out quite quickly but it was a great feeling.

AWESOME!!!!!

My other king. Woo-hoo!!! (I need to work on my fish-holding for pics skills)

After our run of three kings the bite shut down. We searched around a little but eventually called it a day. The trip back to the dock was awesome – it’s amazing how much fun 300 ponies behind a kick-ass boat can be! If there’s one thing I love almost as much as going fishing it’s going fast in a boat – that boat was awesome (and Darrell was right, after riding in that boat I desperately want one, too bad I can’t afford it!).

We finished our day with David treating us to lunch from the hot dog stand and ate at the launch while watching some not-so-experienced people unload their boats. Great entertainment.

I had an incredible day. Huge thanks to Gavin for making it happen! Gavin and David were awesome fishing buddies to spend the day with, the fish cooperated enough to make me quite happy, and the boat…well…it’s too cool! I now understand the appeal of hitting the big water in search of the big bite – there’s nothing quite like it. I’ll have to get out again soon because the addiction is growing and I want to land one of the big kings!

Goals For This Fishing Season

The last few days have had me anticipating some fishing. I have spent a lot of time visiting the river and prospecting for good holes for the upcoming trout season. I also spent time visiting tackle shops to pick up new line, and inevitably pick up some new lures. Then today we spent some time cleaning up the boat and started to get it ready to hit the water.

All of these activities have had me thinking even more about the upcoming season and I realized that I have quite a few goals for this year:

1. Learn to fly fish – I received a fly rod for Christmas and although I’ve practiced casting I really haven’t had the chance to use it. I know very little about fly fishing but it’s something I’m eager to learn. Discovering the Outdoor Blogger Network has opened the door to a wealth of blogs with information about fly fishing and I’ve spent the winter reading as much as I could. I can’t wait to take my fly rod down to the river and cast for brook trout in two weeks. I think I’ll invest in a lesson at some point too, it’s always good to lay down a solid foundation.

Upcoming Fishing Events In Southern Ontario For April 2011

April is a great month for fishing in Southern Ontario. The ice is finally going out and that means fishing is just around the corner. Many anglers are already heading out on Lake Ontario and it won’t be long before other water bodies are open. Until that time there are many fishing events to attend.

Lake Ontario Trout and Salmon Symposium
When: April 9, 2011
Where: Waterside Inn, 15 Stavebank Rd., Mississauga (Port Credit Harbour)
A day-long forum concerning Lake Ontario. A look at the agenda reveals a great line-up of presentations on topics such as the status of the trout and salmon fishery, managing the fishery and the Asian carp threat. Advanced registration is required (and free) so visit the website to register.