Sudbury Sunday Morning, July 10, 2011

Our friends Paul and Glen from Sudbury recommended us to a friend they work with (Keith) to make the drive down to Grimsby and come out for some Salmon and Trout.

At 6:00 am Keith and his two friends come on board. They said they were into it last night, hey it was Sudbury boys out of town on a Saturday night. So it was a Sudbury Sunday morning trip out of Grimsby.

A 5 mile boat ride to just inside the west weather marker we set up in 80 FOW. After talking to a friend the morning before, he had some success with Chinooks out from the rifle range. Knowing this, it was our game plan to seek for bigger kings in the water between the weather markers and Fifty Point.

The lake was flat and the skies were overcast with high level clouds. The temps for the day were supposed to climb very high, but the cloud cover seemed to help the temperatures throughout the duration of our trip.

When the first line was set on the rigger down 28 ft, the second rod was only pinned in the other rigger when the first one went off with a rainbow coming to the boat. Third rod to go out was a diver on 3 setting and out 90 feet and within minutes it goes off. This time an unsuspecting surprise, a Brown Trout about three lbs.

Then all of 7 rods were out and then a steady pick of rainbows came to the boat with the odd small salmon. In the meantime I ask my dad (who’s driving) Keeping driving out until you stop marking pods of bait then we will turn west. That turn didn’t happen until we reached 185 feet of water.

The Wire Diver set on 1 ½ and out 85 feet with a NBK SpinDoctor and Skienmachine Attomik fly takes a major hit and peels drag. That fish comes to the boat after a lengthy fight and a double header with a smaller king, and the fish weighs in at 18 lbs.

From Photo_Gallery4

Then there was a number of rainbows for a while when we decided to then turn back around and go over our waypoint where we hit the 18 lbs fish.

We get close to the waypoint when the full core on the planer board pulling a Hog wild Magnum Warrior Spoon goes wheeling with a screaming drag. But this time the drag didn’t stop and with concern, we started to turn on the fish. Now the fish had slowed it’s pace for pulling drag, but to me there was a little difference in the mode of fight that this fish was displaying. Staying down and using it’s brute strength and think and heavy body this king was applying pressure on the equipment that concerned me to watch. After all that line back on the reel and the fish in sight, the boat erupted with excitement as this fish was nothing to sneeze at.

I put the net around the beast and ask for help to manage the net over the motors and into the boat. Dad helped and the fish hit the floor with a thud. Keith was spent. His arms like rubber, but his adrenalin to pick up the monster wasn’t second guessed. He held it for a few photos and then on the scale to see what she turns out in numbers. 30.8 lbs reads the Digital scale! Impressive.

From Photo_Gallery4

A few other kings and a bunch more rainbows and two Lake Trout completed a Grand Slam of four species and 11 kept fish in the box. The count of fish that came on board was over 20 fish but we lost count. Even on the way in, a few other great Chinook hook-ups were on the line but managed to get off during the fight.

From Photo_Gallery4

The fish cleaning resulted in a decent amount of fish going back to Sudbury and a few more fishing story’s to be told.

Shane Thombs
www.FINtasticSportfishing.com

Sean and Peter, Saturday Morning July 9th, 2011

Sean and his father Peter jumped on board for a morning 6 hour trip begining the day at 6:00 am.

After a great evening of fishing the night before with Doug I had in mind where to start fishing. The lake was rough with 4 foot waves out of the Northeast all morning. This made a sloppy ride, but Chris and Peter were familiar with rough water after fishing excursions out of Costa Rica for sailfish.

It wasn't long after our 4 1/2 mile run straight out to the Grimsby weather markers where we hook our first fish; a rainbow trout on the downrigger set 30 feet and using a glow frog Northport Nailer K100. There were a number of fish that followed with a mix of rainbows, salmon and lake trout. But the highlight of the trip was a giant Lake trout that Sean managed to the boat. The fish pulled the scale down enough to read 21 lbs! Big Lake Trout. Good stuff Sean.

From Photo_Gallery4

Shane Thombs
www.fintasticsportfishing.com

Doug the Fireman puts out the fire from hot fishing, Friday Eve July 8th, 2011

Doug was given a Father’s Day gift of a fishing charter on Friday night. To say the least he was ecstatic to come on board and depart from Grimsby in search of salmon and trout. John Poirier was also with us to steer us in the right direction and keep us on fish. It wasn’t long in the set up before the action started. Soon the back of the boat was busy with fish taking shallow set spoons on Riggers and shallow set divers (out 90 feet on 3 setting was hot). Spoon colours didn’t seem to matter and it wasn’t long before the longer 7 and full core leadcores were put away and replaces with 5 colour leadcores.

The warm water was thin across the surface and it appeared the optimal depth to catch fish was between 25 and 35 feet down. Below that it was ice cold. The Sonar only showed the odd hook , but bait was around so that was enough to know to stay in the area of the weather markers with the most concentration inside the weather markers into as shallow as 70 FOW.

We boated 9 for 11 with a grand slam of Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout, Chinook Salmon and an Atlantic Salmon! The largest Chinook was 12 lbs, but the highlight of the night was when the strike from an 11 lbs rainbow sends the fish out of the water 1 ½ times it’s length in the air.

From Photo_Gallery4

The fish was high flying and a true challenge to bring in. Biggest rainbow Doug has ever seen. He caught his biggest Chinook salmon and his first Atlantic salmon that night as well. Fishing was hot- but Doug the fireman could handle it.

Shane Thombs
FINtastic Sportfishing
www.fintasticsportfishing.com

Canada Day Weekend 2011

They say it’s better to be late then to never show! Finally it is time to ready the boat for it’s first trip of the season. Thursday before the long Canada Day weekend, friend Brian Blainey and I launched the boat at Lake Court Marina in Grimsby and while he parked the trailer I started up both the Main motor and kicker motor. Both started right up and purred like a kitten.

Barb, Brian and I took it for a spin out on the lake taking a nice long sweeping turn out in the lake while the sun was going down. Motor ran great. Back to dock and be ready for a fish come the morning.

Canada Day Friday Morning was a nice one. We set the boat up with the equipment and Aidan (my son), Brian and myself. We motored out to 70 FOW straight in front inside the weather marker. Setting rods was a slow process as /I was checking over everything as we go. Before we got to the third rod the first rod went off and Aidan was on the rod. Then it was a double header with the other rod in the other rigger. Brian was on it. Aidan’s Lake Trout came off, but Brian managed his Lake Trout to the back of the boat where we unhooked it at the transom. Then the other rigger rod set after Aidan’s lost fish was pumping and another Lake Trout was hooked and landed this time by Aidan.

Adjustments were made to avoid the parade of Lake Trout by speeding up and keeping the baits higher in the water column. Even that couldn’t keep them off. Fullcore leadcore behind an inline board pulls back and Brian pulls in this brute 19.2 lbs Lake Trout.

From Photo_Gallery4

We moved out to deeper water out to 195 FOW and the braided line 107 Frog colour Deeper Diver out 90 feet on a 3 setting with a Michigan Stinger in Mongoose with black ladder takes a couple rainbows in at around three pounds each.  The rigger down 40 ft was good for some shaker kings and lakers, and the sliders were productive with more rainbows.

From Drop Box

The biggest king at only about 9 lbs came in on a wire diver black Walker 107 Deeper Diver set on 1 ½ and out 110 with Mnt Dew NBK with a Mirage Howie Fly.

It was a great day on the water and the first trip on the boat was a success.

On Sunday my dad and Aidan were up early for a morning fish. We began our troll south east of the East weather marker and my game plan was to troll east to hunt for more kings.

Immediately we start hooking up with a 4 lbs Lake Trout and a smaller rainbow on a shallow diver set and riggers. As we troll east we discover the down water temps were getting colder so a loop inside lined up in front of Bartlett Rd in Grimsby we troll into 75 FOW and then turned and troll west again. When reaching the east weather marker We catch another Lake Trout  and then another three rainbows as we troll west past the west weather marker and further to in front of  the microwave tower located at the top of Woverton Rd that runs up the Escarpment.

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

Nearing 10:30am we decide to troll our way back to the weather markers and turn in and pull lines. At 11:00 am we reach the middle of the two weather markers and turn in between them. The Wire diver using a black 107 deeper diver on a 3 setting out 90 and pulling a North Port Nailer Butterfly with Pearl ladder back tape starts head thrashing. I grab the rod and the drag lacks a smooth retreat of wire as the mid teens king starts swiftly pulling line from the reel. After a five minute fight the hooks pull free and the fish swims away. Great day again fishing with dad and Aidan.

Salmon at Grimsby Weather Marker, Saturday Eve June 11, 2011

The last day of the St Catharines Game & Fish Spring derby, there was a nervous Brian Blaney as he waited to hear if his top spot 26 lbs 7 oz king we weighed in Thursday evening, would hold in there for the last few hours. Here's a picture of it.

From Brian shows his 26lbs 7 oz St Kitts Derby Entry

Bad news- it got beat out at 4:00 pm-we found out the next day.  I stand corrected - He won! Congrats bud!  Note to self - hearing information through third person is never the best:)

The fishing in the evening started off with two quick kings, both on divers. Wire out 120 on 2 setting with Wonderbread Spin doctor and Mirage Howie fly. That king went 3 lbs 11 oz. The next one was a spunky 18 lbs king tagged with 1627 that took a Michigan Stinger Glow Alewife Stingray behind a Walker 107 wonderbread diver on braid back 200 ft.

From 18lbs takes the reel counter up to 550 ft before turning

There was a period where we couldn't get anything going despite marking fish continuously in the rigger lines but nothing willing to take a lure. With many changes with spoons and flasher fly combos we finally managed two more kings. One smaller shaker on a free slider using another Glow Alewife Michigan Stinger with the rigger down 50 ft and slider around 27 ft. The other king was a frisky 11 lbs 12 oz king that jumped twice. A Yeck 66 in Glow Frog 40 feet behind the ball and 33 feet down. It was tagged 1629.

From Brian with a frisky king

Down speeds throughout the night were 2.0 mph on Depth Raider.

End count was 4 for 5 all around the Weather marker in 95 fow to 125 fow.

Better luck next time on the derby standings Brian.

Shane Thombs

www.fintasticsportfishing.com

Grimsby skinny water, May 6, 2011

John wasn’t available to get out early on the Friday Morning so we left Foran’s ramp in Grimsby at 9:00 am. Knowing our game plan was to roll out past the rocks and start fishing, we warmed up the kicker in the marina and followed out past the muddy water coming out of Forty Mile Creek. We started in 25 FOW and trolled out to about 45 FOW. Winds were Southwest on our stern and the heavy overcast let go some light showers periodically throughout the morning. We started with two spoons and two Fastrak body baits fishing from bottom to flatlines off the boards up top.

Once breaking past 25 feet of water we were in clearer water. It was evident that the southwesterly winds and calm seas for over the past week was started to work against us in keeping expansive coloured water out to any reasonable depth. The SONAR showed very little in the clearer water with the odd fish extremely high in the water column.

Surface temperatures were 44’F and in the muddy water close to shore it was 46’F. Very little bait on the SONAR as it was thought that is too high in the water column for us to see them.

With two hours gone by without a sniff we decided to turn in shallow and put the stick baits and shallow sets a real go. We trolled to inside 22 FOW in front of Grimsby Beach and just reaching the faint coloured water provided by the plume from Forty Mile Creek roughly 1 km west of our location when our first fish of the day started to move the rigger rod on the starboard side. The rigger set 11 ft down and a Michigan Stinger Stingray NBK set back 75 feet takes a coho. While reeling it in the Starboard inline planer board gets heavy in the water and then starts pulling back. John is on that rod to begin a double.

The coho comes to the boat easily and was recorded and released before bringing the fish on the board to the net. The fish come in to the net and the first king went 12 lbs at 10:40 am. Tag number 1626 and released.

From

Bomber Long A Red Back with Yellow Belly and black dots. 150 feet back flatlined on Mono.

We trolled west back to in front of Foran’s and then turned and went East again to stay in the 20 FOW and troll with the noted .7 mph currents that were moving east along the shoreline. Our down speed was 1.8-2.1 mph and GPS was 2.3 mph going east and nearly 3 mph trolling west.

Trolling just past the rocks at Forans in 20 FOW the port side in line board gets slammed. It is peeling backwards at an alarming rate and the board in like a highspeed water skier and the reel sounds like the whining of the ski boat’s motor! It was humming along and then off in the distance the king clears the water and instantly the line goes slack. Broke off the only Yellow top white belly Bomber Long A that was set on a flatline on Mono 130 feet behind the board.

On the same troll to in front of Grimsby Beach, we turn out and it slows the port side board to nearly a crawl, and then it jerks back and starts going in reverse. Fish on! The king was sluggish this time and throughout the fight Johns thinks it’s a lake Trout. Then at the back of the boat the fish wakes up and starts short runs and weaves back and forth. The fish comes to the boat and weighs 11 lbs. Given tag number 1628 and released.

This was a Bomber Long A 130 feet back and was another discontinued Bomber Colour. Silver with orange head, yellow top and belly.

Time ran out and we needed to head in at 1:00 pm. 3 for 4, but wish we clued in on the shallow fish earlier. That’s fishing.

Shane Thombs
www.fintasticsportfishing.com

Ken Fisher Memorial Derby, April 30, 2011

13 boats and 30 people made for a great showing to the Strait Line Anglers Club www.straitlineanglers.com annual Ken Fisher Memorial derby and club day celebration. Ken Fisher was a good friend. I fished with him every weekend for nearly three years on board the Grey Ghost. He was a joker, a story teller and an avid Salmon fisherman. He put a lot of energy in keeping the club on track. He was a treasurer for many consecutive terms and continued to press the guys to keep the club a unity of good friends and great pride of being a part of the club. Ken Fisher passed away before his time with brain cancer and the club will not forget his passion for fishing and fishing friends through the club.

The day was picture perfect with sunshine and little wind. The spring, thus far, has been cold and rainy and even though we were at the end of April, the fish were still in a typical early April patterning of shallow and only feeding in short time windows and when the opportunity presents itself.

A 6:30 am blast-off had us guessing where to start. The King of the Lake (KOTL) tournament out of Port Dalhousie had their blast-off at 6:00 am and had already reached their fishing locations before we started. We noticed that a number of the KOTL tournament boats were fishing west of Jordon out to as far as Grimsby . Waters in front of Beamsville were the most plentiful with a cluster of boats, and we decided to run out in that direction and scan with the sonar for clues to tell us when to pull off the throttle and start our morning troll.

The SONAR didn’t reveal anything that would tell us to stop, so John said- lets set up on our old early April 2009 waypoint straight out from Vinland in 50 FOW. Our surface temperature was 42’F. We watched as the boats continued to troll west in front of us and moved shallower over the course of the next hour, but not nets were pulled. We followed suit and turned in around the location of the end of Tufford Rd between Vineland and Beamsville. On our turn in and deciding to turn back east along what we finally come across was some green water in 30 FOW, we hit a coho on a three colour and NK28 mirror spoon with Mnt Dew Tape on the face of the spoon.

From

The decision was made to pull lines and run back to in front of Jordon. We set-up in 40 FOW and continued to troll in shallower and into coloured water from the plume coming out of Jordon Harbour . The water inside of 30FOW was chocolate brown. Many boats were fishing in the muddy water, but we decided to work the water outside of 30FOW

We marked some fish close to bottom in 40 FOW and worked one small area over and over.

A Bomber Long A with a yellow back and white belly was set 50 ft behind the ball and down 28 ft.

After a short time the rod takes a light strike and John takes the rod and pulls the line out of the release with a quick jerk of the rod and then quickly gathers the slack line only to set up on a heavier fish. It wasn’t long and the drag started to pull off the reel. Not a long run, but it was clear it was a king. A short fight and the king came to the net. Then the other rigger using a Black and Purple customized with metallic metal flake on the side also set 50 feet back and down 22 feet.

I grabbed the rod and quickly brought in another small coho.

We work the area, but nothing seems to move so we angle outward and a short time later hit one last fish. Another coho on the three colour leadcore pulling a Orange Crush NK 28.

Time was running out and weighin at 2:30, we decided to call it a day at 2:00 and go it to get prepared for the weighin and BBQ. Everyone managed to catch fish and it was easy to see that it was anyones game to catch the largest fish- salmon or otherwise.

We managed to weigh the largest with our king coming in at 15.96 lbs about 3 pounds over second place.Great day to be on the water, and a great event for the fellow Strait Line Anglers.

From

Shane Thombs
www.fintasticsportfishing.com