September Bow Fest, Grandfather, Father and Son Team. September 16, 2013

For some, Fall means fairs and festivals. For those who like to enjoy fall fishing on Lake Ontario, it means a festival of Fins. Rainbows in particular are ready and waiting for your lure and although they are often offshore, the conditions for angler comfort can be picture perfect in September.

From Photo_Gallery10

This particular day was an example of just that. Two double digit bows came to the net and there was plenty of action throughout the trip. Let’s just call it Bow Fest, because like no other time of the year can you catch good numbers and often the biggest bows of the year. Also they are only shallow in the water column making short lead shallow set riggers and short string divers the most entertaining way to take these silver rockets. Little need for long lines, they are on the feed and ready to bite the back of the boat if it tasted good enough.

John (Grandfather), David (father) and William (son), were ready for one finally boys outing before they find themselves deep into the Hockey season and convert to a lifestyle of a “Rink Rats”.

From Photo_Gallery10

William is in rep hockey along with his older brother and younger sister. The entire family lives the eat, sleep, hockey lifestyle and although the season had just started, they wanted to take a moment and enjoy a last opportunity to do a fishing trip before a full schedule of practices, games, tournaments, and travelling from rink to rink.

Watch this video for an example of the steelhead action during this Bow Fest...

ShaneThombs
www.FINtasticSportfishing.com

A POW after BOWS, September 14, 2012

Helmut was over from Germany to visit his brother John who lives not far from London, Ontario. There was a Language barrier with Helmut, but between fellow fisherman the only real language we need is the sound of the drag on a reel. The weather wasn’t the nicest, with light rain and choppy waters, but both John and Helmut were far too excited to turn back home. We started fishing and it didn’t take long before we were hooking up on rainbow trout. Helmut was really enjoying his time and was all smiles when we netted each fish. He was also no slouch in reeling in each fish, his confidence and experience shows he was an avid fisherman from across the pond.

From Photo_Gallery10

John was also pleased to see his brother enjoying himself and he shared in reeling in fish. John managed this nice 12 lbs Rainbow Trout.

From Photo_Gallery10

John is a Lake Erie Walleye fisherman with his own boat. I was paired with two that are good on the rod and reel, and yet clearly they developed fishing skills from opposite sides of the Northern Hemisphere.

Can fishing be considered a universal language? Or maybe it could be found in their genes.

John explained that even though they were brothers, Helmut and John grew-up apart, in much different worlds and were much different in age- nearly 20 years apart. It began with Helmut at a young age where during WW2 the Nazis took Helmut and his mother to a Nazi POW camp. As the war came to a close, Helmut was pulled from his mother and raised in an adopted family in Germany. His mother moved to Canada and John was later born and raised in Southern Ontario. Helmut and John didn’t know of each other until their mother passed away in 2011.

John and Helmut grew up in different corners of the world, but both happen to find fishing a centre for excitement and relaxation with the benefit of a delicious dinner.

Shane Thombs
www.FINtasticSportfishing.com

Schooling the Schooled on a School, August 23, 2012

Making this the second year Bob and his son Nicholas was able to fish with me, this was the first time for a new and very special guest. Bob’s daughter Madison was ready to learn with his dad and brother, what all the hype about Lake Ontario fishing was all about.

From Photo_Gallery11

Bob is a school teacher and his son and daughter were making their way through grade school and the start of high school. I was particularly fond of this fishing opportunity with the three, because like most tough social times in life, none of that stuff matters when you go fishing!

Nicholas explained that he is the centre of attention when it comes to amusing the bullies in school. Conversation about it was evident that it struck a sore spot and as with most adults listening to the stories of bullying, it immediately takes you back to a pivotal event where you yourself was in the bad situation and bullied.

From Photo_Gallery11

School years can be hard, but I expressed to Nicholas that for me, I found an outlet. Try to find an interest and allow it to be part of you. A passion for something allows you to focus on something that can become your place of piece, calm and understanding.

From Photo_Gallery11

We are given gifts, those gifts that are discovered and then applied with a purpose is the ultimate synergy. When you find that perfect fit you find yourself schooled outside of school. When you become immersed in your passion, that means so much to you, stress over social acceptance becomes less concerning. A passion that will take you to a new level of understanding of self-awareness of what you are capable of learning and being a part of, whole-heartedly. I write about this in first person because like Nicholas, I too felt out of place in the social fabric of school. But fishing and the outdoors was my found passion.

From Photo_Gallery11

This fishing trip was kept light, we didn’t dig into the social concerns, because fishing is an escape from all that. Instead Nicholas, Madison and Bob took turn after turn on the rods reeling in Rainbow trout after rainbow trout from a school of fish suspended over 240 FOW.

Shane Thombs
www.FINtasticSportfishing.com

The WOW Factor with Tom and Mac, August 22, 2012

Tom works with me at the City of Hamilton and we have been out a hand ful of times fishing together the past two years. Mac was also out fishing with Tom and I last year and to make it an annual thing Tom suggested Mac join him for a Steelhead fishing bonanza. To show him the "WOW factor" as Tom would call it.

From Photo_Gallery9

I was out in the morning and had a incredible trip with good numbers to the boat, This would be a tough act to follow! Here's the link to the morning trip blog report. http://fintasticsportfishing.blogspot.ca/2012/08/english-style-fish-august-22-2012.html

The lake was still very calm and it was warm out, but still very comfortable to fish in. We ran out to the vacinity of my morning waypoints and set up. It was nice to see the same sort of action start immediately after setting lines. Soon rods were firing consistently and the yelling with cheer from Tom and Mac came on every silvery steelhead leaped out of the water behind the boat.

From Photo_Gallery9

Tom says while holding up this nice steelhead, "This is the WOW Factor". It was an incredible afternoon and while the sun started to drop we angled the boat to shallower water in front of Grimsby. Even after leaving the numbers of fish out over the 240 FOW area, we still continuted to hit fish all the way into 100 FOW where we ended the trip. Some big Trout came to the boat on this 6 hour trip but a very productive 20 fish boated ending the day with 42 fish in total between the two trips. I was exhausted!

Shane Thombs
www.FINtasticSportfishing.com

English Style Fish? August 22, 2012

Steve moved to Grimsby from England a short time ago. Steve was not much interested in fishing when in England, but his brother Gary, who still lives in England, was a fishing fanatic. So much so, he was also a charter fishing captain who took large groups to angle bottom fish from the salt waters along the west shores of the United Kingdom in the North Sea and south to the English Channel. Salmon and Trout fishing was to be a new adventure for both Steve and Gary.

From Photo_Gallery9

My dad was with us on this trip and he has always had an interest in the English culture since he was second generation Canadian, but with roots in the United Kingdom.

Gary had flown in from England the evening before. This was his first day in Grimsby, Ontario, but Gary had travelled world wide for work and fished many exotic places. Steve made it a point to entertain his brother for the next week with somesite seeing and some Ontario angling trips. Steve had repeatedly mentioned he was less interested in fishing then his brother Gary, but he still wanted to see what Lake Ontario fishing was all about. Steve felt the need to know more about Lake Ontario and other local fishing opportunities since he now lives in Grimsby. I wish more Ontarians shared this interest for what outdoor activities are closer to home! More than 6 million Ontarians live in the Golden Horseshoe around Lake Ontario, and a small fraction know of the great fishing they have only minutes away?

From Photo_Gallery9

I am not one to pump up guests with high expectations of fish catching numbers or size. Instead I explain that we can only hope for the best. I use the caveat that the fish are always moving, sometimes you hit a good day when the fish are hungry and other times its tough sledding. Honesty the fishing had been superb since mid-June and a slow day this summer was still a very good day in retrospect. I had a lead on some great fishing over 220 FOW Northwest of Grimsby. I ventured to new waters today, but I had in mind what I needed to do.

It was time for the August Silver Blue Zone style fishing to begin. The Offshore connection! Although Steve and Gary may not completely understand the difference, the 9 mile run to our destination was a change from our shorter 4 – 6 mile runs we have been fortunate enough to make, and stay on top of fish, throughout the summer. Don’t get me wrong, the fish were still inside 150 FOW, but I felt the need to really stack the odds in our favour and knowing that August is usually the time to think off shore for numbers of fish.

I have a way of fishing blue zone (off shore habitat) waters that make things as productive as possible to catch fish and with a conservation ethic that will ensure thier survival when released. Although Leadcores are very productive in this pelagic environment, they are time consuming to set and are hard on the fish since it is a long fight to get them 500 feet to the boat. There are times Leadcore is needed to make bites happen on ultra-spooky conditions and shy fish, but if I can deploy a spread that pulls fish to the boat and can catch them on short lines- that is my favourite. Good for the fisherman and most of all, good for the fish.

Steve and Gary took turns on the rods as we boated 22 silvers with over half being 2 and 3 year old chinook salmon. The rest were high flying rainbow trout. Gary and Steve both witnessed great fishing, and we shared some great jokes and stories from the entertaining brothers.

From Photo_Gallery9

Shane Thombs
www.FINtasticSportfishing.com

Mitchel's Many, August 19, 2012

I am obviously passionate about fishing and I sometimes can’t help but talk about it at work. Sometimes I find an ear that will listen to my endless fishy discussions and during my tenure in a different department at the City of Hamilton, I found a co-worker that also shares an appreciation for this outdoor activity and I felt it necessary to show him what Lake Ontario fishing is all about.

Mark invited his dad to join us for this Sunday morning trip. His dad’s birthday had recently past and he lives in Whitby so it was a matter of matching our schedules and good weather to make it all come together.

Yesterday was one of those highlighting trips of the year. We boated lots of big fish and experienced great water conditions on the Lake.

Despite a migraine I woke up to, I was convinced it would go away if our luck continued like where it left off only 8 hours before.

Mark and his Dad, Bob, met me dockside at 6:00 am while the sun was still below the horizon. As we turned out from the marina and pointed the nose to the East the golden and red ball was just coming up to greet us. The Lake was still calm and it was an enjoyable ride to our destination east where we caught fish the day before.

We set up a 6 rod spread of 1 10 colour Leadcore, 3 downriggers and two divers. It was only a few minutes to get all six in the water, but it took less than a minute for the Fullcore to hook-up on the first fish. Handed the rod to Mark and moments later the one rod on the Starboard side downrigger releases. I hand that rod to Bob and we had a doubleheader – so we thought. ;)

When Bob got the fish to the back of the boat I netted the fish, but noticed another fish hooked on the slider as well. A doubleheader was actually a tripleheader but with only two lines! A few attempts to net the second fish were unsuccessful, so instead I resorted to lifting the fish in and hope the hook doesn’t pull out or line break. Both fish came on board and Bob was excited to see a Lake Trout and a Rainbow Trout come in the boat on a single try at the rods.

The trip continued with great action of Rainbow Trout and Lake Trout in the 5-8 lbs range. The Chinook salmon that were in the area the evening before had vanished. Mark caught is first Lake Trout, Bob and Mark both caught their biggest Rainbow Trout.

My migraine did subside, either that or the activity left me thinking about other things- Who needs Advil Liquid Gels when you have Trout that come from the Liquid of the productive waters of Lake Ontario.

Mark later said “So many fish were caught we lost count, but now we’ve got the video to go back to, and verify who won the bet between me and dad, haha. Hard to believe so many fish are out there in the lake and we had them all to ourselves that day without any other fishing boats on the water, and on a weekend too- no less.”

Now Mark will have his own fishing story to tell at work instead of lending an ear to listen to my stories.

Shane Thombs
www.FINtasticSportfishing.com

Vicki, Trevor and Andy rock silver salmon, August 18, 2012

Vicki and Trevor were looking for an adventure to share in celebrating a milestone year being together. It was a toss-up, jump out of a plane and hope the shute opens or jump into a salmon fishing boat and reel in a fish longer than your arm. Because we are here, you can guess the decision sided on a salmon charter.

From Photo_Gallery10

Two weeks from my last time on Lake Ontario after winds and crazy weather, it was now time to create something out of nothing. Most trips are with a destination in mind to start our fishing trip, but with no information to build on from a recent fishing trip, it is sometimes a shot in the dark. Those times you need to rely on your gut instinct when making decisions on where to fish and how to plan your attack.

Weighing in the facts; there was a reliable report of good numbers of trout out 250 FOW in front of Bronte. A run that would be 9 miles on smooth water- not even a concern. Although many days old now, I also had another reliable report that suggested a good mix of salmon and trout just east of Grimsby. Winds since that day were out of the west and I had a gut instinct that the winds may have pushed them slightly east.

Do I go west out 9 miles or do I run east for 7 miles? The question was literally answered only moments before passing the rocks and pushing the throttle down. East it was as we travelled and stopped in front of Bartlett Road in Grimsby. Then continued to troll east as we set up.

Only with a few rods out to start, our first fish was on and Vicki was first to pull in a fish. A rainbow trout to break the ice at about 2:15 pm. Then there was a period of about 30 minutes that required Mark to search out the area for more fish. Then we hooked up on a dandy Rainbow trout and Trevor was next. It was a beauty rainbow trout and I decided to cut the trolling motor down to reduce the speed for the fight. Mark mentions 2.3 on the down speed.

Trevor managed the 13 lbs Rainbow Trout to the boat, took some pictures and then put the fish back. But then the light switch turned on. It was like the fish turned on. It felt like there wasn’t a single full minute went by without having a fish hooked up. And they weren’t small fish. Salmon in excess of 20 lbs and numerous rainbow trout over 10 lbs.

From Photo_Gallery10

Watch the video to get a feel for the activity during the 4 hour fishing trip in the middle of the afternoon.

Trevor and his father Andy took turns reeling in fish. Vicki was sensitive to motion sickness in the boat even though the water wasn’t choppy. It was unfortunate that she felt that way but she was a trouper for insisting we continue fishing even as she continued feeling ill. We did call the planned 6 hour trip short and arrived dockside at 6:30 pm.

From Photo_Gallery10

A short 4 hour trip but it was an action packed trip with a great bunch!

From Photo_Gallery10

Shane Thombs
www.FINtasticSportfishing.com