Kings on Queen Victoria Day, May 24, 2010

One week after John Poirier has his operation, he is hard to keep at home any longer then one week out of the Hospital. Monday May 24 th Victoria Day was a glorious day on Lake Ontario . Light winds but mostly no wind kept the lake as flat as a pancake and the heat wave of temperature on land was moderated to a comfortable temperature out on the water. We had guests Joe and Mike with us to try spring salmon fishing for the first time.

6:00 am we departed from Port Weller’s St Catharine’s Marina and headed out to the Niagara Bar’s ledge at Four Mile Point. We stayed close to shore to see if the alewife were still in shallow and to much of our surprise they were still think inside 40 FOW. Surface temperatures were consistent around 56’F. We angled out to the drop off on the Niagara bar but continued to scan for bait. Balls of bait were numerous all the way out and we decided to drop down off plan in 60 FOW just as the ledge showed on the screen. Right away the picture on the graph looked promising.

We set two rods stacked on one rigger 60 ft down we ran a reg. sized Dreamweaver’s Dave’s Salmon Slapper 60 ft back and the top rod running 40 feet down and 50 feet back with NK 28 Orange crush. I set the other rigger with a Spin Doctor Mountain Dew with a Atommik Tournament Big Fin (B-Fly) and had it back 10 feet and down 100. I went to set the first diver rod and was stopped when the rigger fired with the Dave’s Salmon Slapper taking a coho at 4 lbs.

Almost got all eight rods in when the slide diver set 60 feet back and 120 feet out on a 5 setting with a Glow Frog Yeck 88 finds a 9 lbs Rainbow all over the surface.

Wire diver using a Black 124 Walker Deeper Diver on 1 ½ setting and out 400 ft pulling a Black/double crushed glow green dot Spin Doctor and MC Rocket #69 with Green dots in a Clear Rhys Davis Cutbait Head, takes a head shaking thrashing that was evident even 400 feet behind the boat. Before the assumed big king had a chance to turn and make it’s run the hooks pulled out. Time to target deep kings as well.

The Orange crush on the stacker clip on the higher set rigger goes off and short into the fight the fish comes off.

On the other side of he boat we set on braid a Kelly Green Tiger 124 Walker Deeper Diver on 1 ½ setting and out 380 ft with a Spin Doctor in White with Crushed glow tape and Mountain Dew Tape on either side and pulling a MC Rocket plain #69. Sliding snell rig with a leader length of 60” of 30 lbs test Seagar and set with the bend in the rocket to roll at just a little faster then 1 revolution per second. The down speed was consistent at 2.0 mph and temp was around 40’F to 42’F. After about a half an hour after it was set, the diver rod gets hit. 12 lb Chinook comes to the boat. One hour later the same set takes a 13 lbs Chinook.

Slide Diver with the glow frog Yeck 88 set 60/120 went off a short time later and the fish comes un-pinned in the middle of it coming to the boat.

Full Core with four ounces of lead snap weight was used at the leader end to maximize depth and then clipped on an inline board and set 100 feet out to the side of the boat. The board gets heavy and very slowly pulls back. A small Chinook of about 3 lbs comes on a NK 28 Green/Black/silver.

Fish were taking minnows close to the surface and it was decided to try a Baby Red Spin Doctor with a small Howie Fly in white. Two ounces of lead snap weight set 50 feet from the flasher and then let out another 50 feet and clipped to the board. The board was set out about 50 feet out to the side of the boat inside the Fullcore board mentioned above. 10 minutes later the board is jerked back and a rainbow at four pounds is all over the surface behind the board. Boated and in the box it goes.

At the end of the trip at 12:30 pm We began pulling rods when the Slide diver takes another shot, but the hooks pulled out again and that fish was left to grow bigger.

Final count was 6 for 9 (one coho, one small shaker Chinook, 2 Rainbows, and 2 three year old low teen Chinooks) All three Chinooks had the adipose fin clipped.

Many of the boats struggled and the deep pattern was a slow bite for those that were looking for a derby winner.

Shane Thombs
www.fintasticsportfishing.com

Feed The Fry Salmon Tournament, May 14-16, 2010

The second annual Feed the Fry Tournament was scheduled to run on May 15th, but with the chance of wind from the Northwest it was decided to go on Sunday May 16th. http://www.straitlineanglers.com/Feed_The_Fry/Feed_The_Fry_tournament.htm

On the Friday May 14th, Perry Poirier went out of Jordon in his boat. we started in 70 FOW in front of the harbour and worked our way out and to the East. For the majority of the morning the sonar showed no fish or baitfish until we reached 130 FOW. Then the odd mark of fish in thedeeper parts of teh water columnand small schools of bait. It wasn't until we reached 200-230 FOW that the picture appeared more promising.

With only a slight ripple on the water and the fog disipated we could see a slick that pointed out a surface temperature break. It was colder water inside (shoreline side)of the slick and warmer outside, as well the water was off coloured where it was a few degrees warmer. The bait was on the colder side and fish were now being marked in the top 50 feet as well as a deep of bait and marks in below 150 feet in 200 FOW. We set for the upper water column, but only managed a single strike on a wire diver flasher Fly on 3 setting out 110 ft.

In preparations for the tournament and the call to reschedule it for the Sunday, I was on the phone for three hours straight talking to the registered captains and notifying the tournament information. In conversation with some, I come to find out the bite had began at the Niagara Bar. No other information on depths or tactics, but it was a good starting point.

Our good friend Ed Barbosa was down from Meaford, Ontario for the weekend to fish with us int he tournament and also one day on the lake. I checked the marine forecast and sure enough the winds would be bad int eh afternoon, but tolerable in the morning. So we made plans to launch from Port Weller and head out to the drop on the outer Niagara Bar.

The moring was overcast and a three foot chop out of the Northwest. I took our time motoring out and set up in 100 feet of water. We set up for our typical above 100 ft sets and concentrated in the top 50 feet. We started trolling and every boat we passed was hooked up and we didn't move a stick with a "TYPICAL" up high rigger, Leadcore and diver sets. It was about 9:00 when we figured out that we needed to go deep- REALLY DEEP to catch those fish.

I put an MC Rocket Blueberry Muffinbehind a Black Double Crushed Glow Green Dot Spin Doctorputting it down 120 feet. It fires not five minutes later.

So I send the other rigger down even deeper at 142 ft using a Mountain Dew SpinDoctor and Hammer Fly and while we just net the first fish that newly set deep rod fires. Now we are saying "we figured this out", If that's not the most wrong thing to say, I don't know what is.

Next move was to set the big 107 and 124 Walker Deeper Divers down a little deeper as well. Sending them out on a 1 1/2 setting out 300 and 325 feet using Flasher/Fly and Flasher/MC Rocket. The MC Rocket # 69 was behing a ProTroll Green Dot behind a 124 black Walker Deeper diver and it took a crushing blow that snapped the rocket clean off. The other diver on braid managed a fish during a doubleheader at 12:00 pm where it was set on a 3 setting and out 200 ft.

We also managed a small rainbow on a Fullcore and a coho on five colour in the early part of the morning. Using spoons. 5 colour had a Northport Nailer Watermelon II but also with a glow Ladderback tape on the face.and the Fullcore had a Dreamweaver Reg. Dave's Salmon Slapper.

The core were set down the chute and had a number of short strikes.

Ended the morning at 12:30 after our last double header. Only managed 5 of 10 hook ups in the boat. The fish we lost were quality fish. This provided us a starting point for tournament morning.

Now, like I said, it was the kiss of death to say "we figured this out" and come tournament day our spot dried up and the three fish we had on, didn't come to the boat. We worked it hard but the picture on the graph didn't look anywhere close to it's picture onSaturday. The water also had gotten colder down in the depths where yesterday we had 42 degrees down 140 we had 40 down that same depth on Sunday.

At 11:00 am we made a last ditch effort andtried our spot we found on Friday but the water had changed and the blue clear water had moved in to that area and we couldn't find that green water patch.

After weighin we later found out the fish had moved down the ledge to the Canada/NY fence. Same patterns would have worked.

In the tournament a number of bigfishwere at the scales including a 27.44 lbs pig. Here are the details of the tournamentboth pictures and results.

http://www.straitlineanglers.com/Feed_The_Fry/2010_Feed_The_Fry_tournament_pictures.htm

results...

http://www.straitlineanglers.com/Feed_The_Fry/2010_Feed_The_Fry_Tournament_Results.htm

The tournament raised $1990 for the Port Dalhousie Pen Imprinting Project. 45 boats and 21 caught fish. The top 11teams caught three fish.

Shane Thombs
www.fintasticsportfishing.com

Bronte and Stoney Creek, May 7, 2010

This spring has been a tough one. Winds are still an issue and the baitfish are thick as thieves in tight to shore and no where else - up until now.

John, Brian and I launched from Grimsby and boated over to Bronte. Water temps started at 49'f and at Bronte was 45'F. We started fishing in 150 FOW and started marking bait on the bottom in clumps and the odd fish ranging from less than 40 feet down to the bottom. The majority were on the bottom. But we harked great big bait fish schools directly in front of Bronte out over 160 FOW. Reports from other boats that the water temps dropped west of Shell Pier to 42'f, we stayed East of that and found the better picture in front of Bronte instead of East of Bronte.

Talked to a number of boats and they were all struggling with us. We finally hit a fish on wire diver Walker Deeper diver out 300 ft set on 1 1/2 Glow Frog with a green dotted Glow ProTroll with a Dalmation MC Rocket in a clear head. Down speed was 2.0 mph. Wire had a loop - broke off the works.

Just as we were pulling lines the wire diver went off again but the fish was off before getting to the rod. Black 107 diver on 1 1/2 setting and out 180 feet pulling a Sea Sick Waddler SpinDoctor with a No-See-Um fly.

We pulled lines and headed to Stoney Creek and set up infront of Chipmans in 150 FOW and trolled into about 100 FOW. 130 FOW had more fish on the gragh, but no bait to be found. Water temp was 46'F on surface. Again,most fish marked on the bottom but some in the top 40 feet and at mid depths (60-80 feet down).

We managed a short and fat Rainbow on braid diver Walker Deeper Diver 107 out 270 on 1 1/2 setting pulling a Blue Killer Protroll and a UV Blue Atommik Tournament Fly.

We fished Stoney Creek for about one hour and then had to get off the water for 1:00 pm.

Shane Thombs
www.fintasticsportfishing.com