silverstreak

Thanks Fella's MJL ....Nice chatting steelies with you !!! Good luck all and please remember to set a few free. Cheers.

Hit up a trib yesterday only to find that the steelies were a little hook shy. I guess clear water and heavy Angling pressure will do that. Several presentations later this 33.5 inch steelie found a plain Black spinner/red tubing to it's likeing. My best advice......carry it all and switch it up!!! Good Luck.

Love to Floatfish but also love the slam of a hardware hunting steelie. Managed a couple after work today using plain Brass spinners with tubing . Switching it up every once in a while can often give you an edge. Cheers.

Silvio Water temp is everything.If the summer weather trend continues, watch for fish in the tribs by mid to late Aug. The fresh Coho below (my favorite fish) hit a Black Bladed spinner w/ red tubing. Cheers.

Great info John and thanks for shedding more light on this issue. Also - thanks for all the hard work that you and the CRAA embark upon each year. Keep up the great work.

Clofchik According to the 2008 Lake Ont Management Report and I quote "During 2008,OMNR stocked about 1.7 million Salmon and Trout into Lake O".I know Private clubs are raising them however it seems the OMNR does still have a hand in the mix. As for stray rates ....they do not amount to squat especially since the U.S. has been Pen Rearing thus cutting way down on those fish straying into other streams. As for C & R mortality and 60 degree water temps..... seems to me this is a little flawed. Speaking from personal experience (I always check water temps at least 3 times per outing)I can tell you that steelies are a little more resiliant then that infact I can tell you 5 Streams right now (but I won't) that have received fresh runs of steelhead as of last week. I guess Alan Madden (A retired DNR Biologist) sums it up best when he say's " When a Salmonid dies from Angling, it is always due to improper handling, not Temperature" source: Atlantic Salmon Journal volume fifty three number three. In any event, I have it under good Authority that Lake O. steelhead limit changes are in the wind.....that is Great news. Thanks to all whom participated in this thread and thanks for keeping it civil. Cheers

Craig I was refering to MNR stocking. Not sure if you have seen the steelhead post's of late but in any event it was clear that the boat/ fish pic's were within sight of the Ganny shoreline hence that would make these fish in all likelyhood of natural Ganaraska origin.

Clofchik Can you please state your sources of information as this will give your argument some sort of credibility. For instance..... you suggest that the MNR stocked more Browns and Bows than chinooks. According to the 2008 Lake Ontario Management Report the were 177,133 Browns stocked, 172,133 Rainbows stocked and 527,035 Chinook stocked. In reality there were more Chinook stocked then Browns and Bows combined. Can you also please state your source for steelhead survival rates as your discription above. Cheers

How do you figure a C& R angler Kills far more.......do you have any stats to back that up. Cheers.

However, if I am on the open water I have no problem keeping my 2 fish after they are done spawning. Heck, the cost of fuel, boat etc... justify enough to keep some fish. I have no prob with someone keeping a couple however this must have an accumulative affect on the Steelhead population especially when the charter boaters are out every other day. Speaking for myself.....I do not feel the need to take a wild steelhead home just because of the cost of fuel,Truck cost's etc. For me, those fish are far more valuable. Take a look at the ganny or any nearby creeks during the fall and spring run and witness how many fish gets pulled out of the water just for the eggs and as a result the carcasses are left in the bushes or on the river banks. The shore anglers never agreed to lowering the limit to 2 fish they were enforced too simply because shore fishing was showing it's negative impact to the rainbow fishery. I must admit that I see less and less fish exiting the streams in green garbage bags each yr. Yes the roe guy's still take some fish but more and more Anglers are realising the benifits of artificials. thus releasing more of their catch. As for the 2 fish limit .....everyone had a vote on the issue via the Environmental Bill of Rights. A lot of conservation/steelhead groups also chimmed in for the 2 fish limit. We see guy on the river who will fight there fish to it's very last breath using really light leaders to get an increase hookup percentage so they can brag about their double digit days and that seems to be ok. Can't say I agree with this one either especially with the advent of fluorocarbon.5 and 6 lb leaders are now the norm. It's like I said before their are many reasons or explanations as to why things happen. If we are so worried about the low fish count at the fish ladder we should just close the rainbow season and make it a sanctuary from early fall to end of April? That should increase the count for the following season but wait now we don't have enough bait fish and the fish will die. It's a balancing act!!! Or we can drop the Lake limit to match that of the stream. I find it rather sad that the Lake limit on Steelhead is the same as Chinooks( 5 fish depending on your license) especially when the Chinny's are higher on the stocking scale.

I have been reading quite a few post's on here lately about the great Steelhead fishing in Lake O out of Port Hope. According to the pic's I have seen it seems as though limits are Taken most times out. The Lake limit on Steelhead is 5 for a sportfishing License and 2 for a conservation Licence. IMO the Lake limit is to high especially since the River Anglers agreed to have thier limit cut down to 2 fish in order to help the population rebound because of low returns. Keep in mind that there is NO steelhead stocking East of the Rouge so those fisheries lying East of there rely soley on Natural Reproduction. Also keep in mind that the Ganny only received a run of 3,500 fish this past spring (lowest in the 20 yrs I have fished there) It is a shame to think all those fish I am releasing upstream are ending up in the bottom of coolers out in Lake O. Not picking on the Charter Boat guy's entirely as they are fishing according to the current Regualtions however the spawning population is close to a all time low and every little bit helps. Keep in mind that the MNR does not stock this area instead reallying on Natural reproduction to sustain the fishery so the "More Stocking" argument can be ruled out. Interested in your thoughts on this matter however lets have a civil debate and not a mud slinging war afterall this post is in the spirit of conservation. Thanks all.

Clear water equalls tough fishing. Still managed to find a few players though. Looking forward to September. Cheers

Pags There are a number of ways to rig a Pinky. My fav involves a little work however you will not lose as many worms while fighting fish. You will need a sewing needle (about 2 inches)and some small beads. Start by tying the needle onto your fishing line then thread your worm onto the needle about 2/3 of the way. Next - cut the needle off then add your small bead and tie on your hook. You could also use jig heads however the worm will have more action if rigged as above. I do not like the whacky style of rigging simply because I use larger,thicker worms plus you could go through a lot of woms this way. Simply fish worms under a float. Hope this helps

Still some decent chromin' days ahead but hey - if the carp are calling that means more room on the river for me. Just Kidding!!! Happy Carping

Dedication = fish Good work.

Hit up a trib yesterday and was surprised at the larger fish that were around. Only managed a few average size steelies on previous outings.Only goes to show that ya never know. Fish hit a unscented worm

Well done however I would not put the steelie stick away just yet

CC and I hit one of our favorite tribs this week and fished from top to bottom. Finicky fish indeed. The super long walk paid off with fish hitting purple then pink worms not to mention some cured salmon roe. Hope the legs are ok CC. Good times indeed.

Sweet dreams Billy M.

A barrel swivel attatched to the shaft of a french bladed spinner also = no line twist. Very popular out West.

Females tend to stay on the plain side....at least that is my belief. Both spec's hit tiny Riverstones. Cheers

Males I have caught tend to keep good color all yr long.

Rivers were packed today but still managed some Steel. Hope everyone played nice. Cheers

"Dude" you aren't calling me out as I already mentioned that I was affiliated with the company. Please re read post #4 and # 8 slooowly. In any event....Point Taken Fella's. Cheers.