Dead Salmon In Bronte

While reading the Spoonpullers forum I came across a thread regarding an article in the Oakville Beaver about the province investigating the large number of dead salmon along Bronte Creek.

According to the article:

Last week, the creek, just north of Rebecca bridge, was lined with dead salmon. Salmon naturally die after spawning up the river, but a number of local fishermen say it is too early for this number of dead salmon.

Kowalski said the ministry is currently investigating whether the fish have been killed and slit open to extract their eggs, which is a natural resource violation. She said this practice of catching salmon to extract the roe for the purpose of using it as bait is very common.

Last year was the first time I had made the trek to Petro Park along Bronte Creek. I was excited about the possibility of catching a big fish, taking a picture, and watching it swim away. It wasn’t long before I discovered I was in the minority. There were ten guys lining the bank of one tiny pool, all hurling giant spoons directly at the lone salmon in there. There was nothing sporting about it.

After expressing my disgust we moved along the creek, hoping to find a quiet spot to fish. As we walked I realized the air had turned foul and started looking around – that was when I noticed several dead fish just off the trail. I asked Darrell if that was normal and he explained that while the salmon would die after spawning, what we were coming across were fish that had been cut open so the roe could be taken. The fish was then left there on the bank.

I was horrified and disappointed in people.

It’s against the law to let a fish go to waste. If you catch it, release it to swim another day, or take it home to eat. Don’t leave it on the bank to rot. I hope the Ministry finally does something about this practice.

We went back to Bronte once more last year and the smell of rotting fish was even worse. We didn’t stay long and I decided I didn’t want to go back. I fish for the sport of it. I accept that fish naturally die off and that, despite your best efforts, not every fish you catch will live.  But to snag a fish, and  I say snag because that’s exactly what’s going on, with the goal of harvesting the roe…and leaving the fish to decompose on the bank…there’s nothing right about that.

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!

2011 Salmon Spectacular Recap

The weather was much more cooperative for this year’s Owen Sound Salmon Spectacular and as a result I was able to get out on the water far more than last year. Unfortunately, that didn’t result in catching any more fish. In fact, after hitting the water for three of the ten days of the derby, I got royally skunked!

A beautiful sunset on the water.

Darrell and I ended up running dipsy divers in an effort to get our baits down where the fish might bite. We don’t have downriggers on the new boat (it’s meant to be a car-topper after all) but after running long lines that were a little difficult to manage in the heavy boat traffic, maxing out at a depth of 70-feet and getting no bites, I think we may have to invest in riggers in the future. We tried a variety of lures and combinations, running the standby Lymans quite often but nothing seemed interested.

I never tire of seeing the rods all set up.

Even without catching a fish, participating in the Owen Sound Salmon Spectacular is a lot of fun. The whole city is immersed in the event and it seems like there are anglers everywhere you go. There is entertainment daily in the big tent and it becomes one huge party. Many anglers line the pier, hoping to fish starting their run up the river. But for me, the real action is out on the water where so many boats troll by, attempting to land the big one.

My camera was having major issues capturing the number of boats out on the water. Picture about 20 boats in this view...it was incredible. I loved being out at night especially - with all the lights it makes the bay look like a village.

The derby ended at noon on Sunday. The awards ceremony was set for three o’clock that afternoon and Darrell had bought quite a few draw tickets for the 17ft G3 boat that was being given away, so we were in for the long haul. And what a long haul it was…we didn’t leave there until 6:30 or so. But it was truly a sight to see, the amount of prizes being given away was amazing. There were prizes awarded for the top ten salmon from each day and the top five trout from each day. It’s worth entering a fish in this derby because you stand a great chance at walking away with some fantastic prizes.

The winning trout was an 11.97 lb lake trout caught by Ken MacKay of Owen Sound. It was Ken’s first ever time downrigging and he wasn’t sure what depth he caught the fish at because he was too busy playing with the button on the rigger! For his catch Ken walked away with a 14ft G3 boat, 15hp Yamaha outboard and two manual Scotty downriggers.

The winning salmon weighed in at 21.16 lbs and was caught by Rudy Hachey of Owen Sound. Rudy caught his fish in the early hours of the morning, 80ft down in 90ft of water, on a white Lyman black ladderback. It would have been impossible to not be happy for Rudy – he was so thrilled with the win and always smiling.

When the awards ceremony ended, and Darrell’s draw tickets proved to be unlucky, we climbed into the truck for the long drive home. Both of us were exhausted but, despite being skunked, we had a great time and will look forward to the event again next year.

For complete Salmon Spectacular results click here.

For more on Rudy’s win click here.

 

No Go At The Salmon Spectacular

This morning started early with a wakeup of 3:45am. We’d actually meant to get up earlier but one of our darling pets seemed reluctant to let us go and turned off the power to the alarm clock.

On the road shortly after 4, Darrell and I headed to Owen Sound to participate in the opening weekend of the Salmon Spectacular. We knew the wind was likely to pick up but hoped that the water would be somewhat calm if we got there early enough.

Unfortunately, the first sound we heard upon reaching the launch was that of waves crashing into the rocks. It didn’t take long to confirm that we weren’t launching the boat today! A few brave souls were out there, being tossed around by the waves. I think I’ll pass on that today – no sense sinking our little boat the weekend after we bought it!

Hopefully we’ll find some calmer water to throw into on the way home.

Enter The 2011 Owen Sound Salmon Spectacular

This coming Friday, August 26th, marks the start of the 2011 Owen Sound Salmon Spectacular, put on by the Sydenham Sportsmen’s Association.

The Salmon Spectacular is an incredible event that takes over Owen Sound for a week with live music, Elvis impersonators and a big fish fry. There are even nightly draw prizes that can land you some pretty great fishing gear.

I have never seen a city more involved in a fishing event than during this derby and it seems like everyone is involved in one way or another.

Owen Sound Tourism is running a contest called Guess The Big One where you can enter to win one of two great prize packages. I just entered the contest but I’m not telling my guess!

The derby awards prizes for the largest salmon and the largest trout caught during the week. Last year the winning salmon weighed in at 19.25 lbs and the winning trout was a rainbow that weighed in at 16.14 lbs.

And the prize for landing the big one…how does a new boat sound?

This is an event where anglers can fish either from boat or shore and be equally successful. In years past the big ones have been caught from both areas. Lacking a boat is no obstacle in this derby because the fish are staging at this time of the year and are in close, allowing every angler a good chance at landing the big one.

Last year’s edition was a pretty wet one. The final weekend was nothing but rain and I’ll admit to not being in the greatest mood. While I didn’t catch a single fish last year, I still walked away with a pretty great entry prize – a new Sportspal canoe with a Minn Kota electric motor and some tackle. That canoe has gotten a fair bit of use in the past year, as has the motor!

If you have the time to head to Owen Sound, buy yourself a ticket and have some fun. Whether you catch the winning fish or nothing at all, it will an event to remember.

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!

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.