MJL

The pics turned out great. The black & white has a nostalgic look to it. Beauty fish! Like you, I didn't know rainbows could jump eye-level till one of them almost took my head off this spring

Great pics stout fellow...Simply stunning...Great photography there

Thanks NJ for that. I'll give you a shout if I'm heading down that way. A few places I fished on Sunday I had a bunch of snotty green sludge collecting on my hook and split shots. I've never seen it before. Is this normal? I've fished the Niagara in early may for steelhead and July-Sept for carp and I've never encountered anything like that before. I was craving lakers...Honestly At least with the warming temps, the carp should be stirring in my local swims in better numbers. Not to forget the seasonal mini-skirt 'hatch' which should be upon us very soon...That should take my mind off of steel as well...Already saw a small run of them down in the gorge - No wonder I missed some of the hits.

Over the weekend, my family decided they wanted to go over to Buffalo, NY to do some shopping which for me means only one thing…It’s the perfect opportunity to head out to one of the most beautiful and scenic rivers this province has to offer . The usual plan involves my family dropping me off at the Niagara river in the morning, crossing the border and then picking me up in the afternoon/evening when they’re done shopping. I’ve fished the Niagara 4 times for carp and 2 times for steelhead. I’m still learning my way through all that water. Figured the water was probably still too cold for carp – I brought my steelheading gear with me instead. I’ve only caught one laker before – By accident out of the Ganny – I really wanted to catch another one. Saturday night I fiddled around with some floats to see how much weight each one will take. For comparison, the floats on the far left of the pic are the ones I use for 98% of my float fishing for steel. Certainly a big difference. I also popped into the local tackle shop to pick up some big split shots, hooks and a small variety of soft-plastic minnow baits in a few sizes and colours. Sunday morning at 5am, I stuff: my waders, wading boots, lunch, snacks, water bottle, sunscreen, minnow net + small bucket and a map of the Niagara gorge into my hiking pack and I rig up my float set-up. My family dropped me off at the river at 9am and left me there. The Niagara is certainly a lot different than just about every other river I fish for steelhead. Tried a few different areas and stretches without luck. I walked quite a bit and the heel of my wading boot fell off. No fish were hooked in the morning. I also tried catching my own minnows but even though there were hundreds swimming by the shore, I only managed to catch 2 in a dozen or so netting attempts – They’re quick buggers . (both of them subsequently fell off my hook on the cast) Stopped at one spot that looked promising. Stuck a plastic minnow on the hook and a few drifts later, I get something that bull-dogs around and stays deep for 7 minutes…Laker? Carp? Not quite…Can’t be disappointed with some steel. Beauty hen around 9lbs. Biggest one of the day – Perhaps the biggest hen I’ve caught so far this year. She was a handful on the bank. Also caught her on a soft-plastic minnow bait. In the afternoon, I hiked around the whirlpool before I had to leave. The scenery is just gorgeous and I don’t think I will ever get used to how beautiful it is. One day I’ll take a ride up there…Perhaps when I get over my fear of heights Managed to catch a few steelhead (lost a few too) and landed 1 OOS smallie around 3lbs. All but one of the fish I got into yesterday hit the plastic minnows I brought with me - one fish I lost hit a big pink worm. Spoke with a few other anglers and the action was also a bit slow for them too. Also ran into another OFC member on his way down to the river – Josh, it was nice meeting you. Lakers were nowhere to be seen. I’ve been told they come into the river to feed on the minnows. I tried lures (like kwikfish and big unweighted spinners) and various minnow imitations + spawn sacks + whatever baits I use for steelhead but just couldn’t get one on nor did I see anyone else catch one. My family picked me up at 6pm. Was tired and a little sore from my trek down by the river (and especially back up to the road) but it was well worth it…Still tired and sore today...Anyone up for giving me a massage? No rough hands please Hope you enjoyed

Wicked report Mike. That pike Jason got is massive! Beauty fish all-around

Beauty laker Tony. Congrats to you and the missus

Amazing report and pics! All that hard work getting into those lakes looks like it paid off. Beauty specks. One day I'll try my hand at one of those trips. Can't get a freezer more environmentally friendly than that Thanks for sharing

Awesome report Mike Well done for both you and your son.

Congrats Will and great report too You never forget your first. WTG!

Cool pics and vids Jacques Is that just sugar water you're feeding the humming birds? I've always wanted to try setting up one of those feeders in my backyard next to the window so I can photograph them. Neat veggie garden too. The raccoons and rabbits always ended up eating my greenies before I got a chance to

If they're floating around on top, one popular bait to use is dog kibble. You can try soaking it in a flavouring for a bit for some added attraction and then stick one or two pieces onto the hook. Bread (left fluffy not mashed up) also works too (unfortunately, ducks and seagulls like bread too.LOL). When I see carp cruising by, I also toss out a worm + single split shot in front of them and many times they take - I've even had carp do a 180 and take the worm as it's falling down to the bottom.

Great catch. No doubt was a blast on the ultra-lite Still a fair number of steelhead around in the tribs. The times I tried using pink worms for the resident trout, all I ever got were chub

Love the pics...I'm dying to get up that way for steel. Thanks for sharing.

Great report Cliff. Looks like an awesome daddy-daughter day you two had. I'm guessing she takes after Bly when it comes to fishing...They both out-fish you The question remains...When's she going to get her first carp?

I only just started fishing for resident trout (purposely) last week so I'm still fairly new at it. For the times I've been out, Panther Martins in size 1 have been producing better than any other lure or bait I've thrown at them. The basic answer is there really isn't a best approach to fishing spinners. My background to spinner fishing is primarily fishing for steelhead but the techniques I used to catch steel worked very well with the resident trout. When I'm fishing weighted spinners (Like Mepps, Vibrax, Double loon, Rooster tail, Olympique, Panther Martin, etc), my favourite approach to fishing a pool, run or rifle is to stand downstream of your intended spot, cast the lure upstream of the target and then retrieve with the current (you may have to countdown a few seconds after the cast if you're fishing deeper water). A lot of the time, I'm casting straight upstream. My go-to rod for trout fishing is a 5'6" UL spinning rod (Actually it's my only rod for smaller trout)...My go-to rod for steelhead is a 7' Medium action spinning rod (rated 6-12lb) - For me, I find longer rods less sensitive and less accurate for pitching spinners in close quarters. You can also cast across or slightly downstream and swing the spinner across the river by guiding the line with your rod. If you don't feel the blade turning, hold back on the rod, if you need more depth, lead with the rod. Great for fishing shallower runs and pools because when you hold back on the spinner to get the blades turning, the lure will tend to rise up in the water column (perhaps out of the fish's perferred strike zone) You could just leave the spinner in one spot and let the current spin the blade of the lure. Works great if you're standing on top of a log jam or undercut and you can guide the lure between branches and other snags. I find extra heavy bodied spinners work really well for this - I have one spinner (Made by Strike King I think) with a lead keel body and it has worked quite well just by leaving it dangling in the water. You can cast also them anywhere and fish them like a regular lure. Works great in slow moving, large, wide pools. A lot of the time, fish will chase them down and nail them in the shallows...Gets the heart racing Spinners tend to bring out the worst in fish. Fish don't nibble spinners (at least big ones don't)...They always smash them.LOL One of my favourite methods of catching steelhead and trout. Hope this helps

Great report Blaque. I really enjoyed the pics. Well done on taking the nephew out for a day of fishing - You've got a great fishing buddy for life Thanks for sharing Looks like great habitat to live in. Clean, cold water with lots of roots to hide in and rocks to provide homes for bugs of all sorts for fish to eat.

You know it Can't go wrong with spinners. For steelhead I enjoy tossing spinners as much as I do getting them on the pin. In terms of fun, it's hard to beat watching them follow a spinner close in, then nailing it right at your feet and then having to dodge their initial few jumps right into your spawn sacks (if you know what I mean)

Sea food probably can't get fresher than that I've always wanted to go to the Fraser to try my hand at catching the ultimate bottom feeder Awesome report and great pics. Thanks for sharing

Great report Jedi! Well done on those catches. I've only fished there once 6-7 yrs ago. I only caught lots of small perch and had 1 small pike hit a topwater lure - couldn't connect with it though. I might have to take the canoe out and try it again this year. Thanks for sharing

Might not be the coolest thing to do in downtown Toronto but after a rain, go out to the park at night with a headlamp (preferably with a red light) and pick as many as you need. If there's lawn sprinklers in the park, you don't even need rain. I normally start my worm picking at midnight in my yard when the worms are getting kinky with one another I can grab 2 worms at once.LOL You can also pick them off sidewalks, driveways and the street when it rains...It's even easier to get them there than on the lawn...They're fast buggers. Hope this helps PS If you're planning to use worms around the Islands or Harbourfront, be prepared for lots and lots of gobies (did I mention lots ) .

Thanks guys I've had that net for a few years...Use it when I'm fishing smallies in the canoe. I think it's the first time in 2 or 3 years that I've used it though.LOL GCD, that's awesome...You ever have to pull up anchor and chase Moby Dick? Ever get spooled fishing the fast water?

After a dismal carping session Saturday night (into Sunday morning), I was pumped for another fun day of hunting brookies. Over the weekend I did some research on more places to try my luck for brookies. Pulled out old maps I got from the Toronto Sportsman Show years ago. Also did more searching on Google Earth and I visited the local library to see if I could get my hands on a few topographic and hydrographic maps. Left the house at 8am this morning with my: Fishing licence + wallet, polarized glasses, ultra-lite combo, a small net, a sandwich, a bottle of water, camera, bug spray (definitely needed) + sunscreen, waders + boots and a small box of spinners and other mini lures. I packed light for this trip. Got to the river and climbed down the bank (I actually got lost twice on the way to the river but I won't discuss that ) …Tried the first few pools above the road with a panther martin spinner but no luck…Not even the chub or minnows were biting (I actually didn’t hook any all day). Walked further upstream and found a big deep pool with some fallen logs. I hid behind some shrubs for maximum concealment and 2nd cast with the spinner I get one to hit. Success! It was 10 inches long and the biggest brookie of the day Walked further upstream and fished deeper runs, pocket water, rifles, pools, undercuts and log jams. Most of the places I actually stopped at I either hooked and landed one or hooked and lost one…Unfortunately most spots were just 1 fish spots – I'm guessing the rest of the fish probably ran deep into cover afterwards. Another one – This was about the average size today – Still beautiful nonetheless A kaleidoscope of colours Landed 12 brookies in total in a 1.5km stretch of river and lost a good number of small ones. All of them were caught on the panther martin spinner (My only one which I subsequently lost to a sunken tree today). I was amazed at how fast they dart out of cover and hit lures. At 1pm I hopped into the car and made my way to a lower stretch of the river. First cast into the pool, I’m greeted with a small but sweet brownie They really liked the Mepps spinner. The release In total I landed 12 of these small browns…All them were roughly the same size. I had a fun time catching them on the ultra-lite and thought my day went pretty well (I'm sure the fishing won't always be like this)…I had another half hour to fish till I had to go home…A few more casts wouldn’t hurt… I casted my size 1 Mepps upstream and retrieved with the current…I suddenly found my drag singing like mad and my 5’6” ultra-lite rod bent over double I had a good idea what was taking me up and down river for a run After 5 frantic minutes of running, trying to horse the thing in, subsequently slipping on some mud and falling onto my ass and cussing, I tail a chrome steelhead of around 7lbs Seems the steelhead gods flicked the On-Switch…In the last half hour of my day, I hooked and landed 3 more steelhead between 2-7lbs in the same pool with the Mepps. For the other members of my Chromaholics Anonymous support group, these fish were accidents and I didn’t enjoy catching them at all (well maybe just a little ). It was a great day out. Weather was nice, fish were biting (some bugs were too but Deet kept them at bay). I’m afraid to say that I think I'm becoming addicted to this type of ultra-lite fishing. It’s the first time in my life I’ve ever wanted to try fishing for something measured in inches rather than pounds and I’m enjoying it a lot. This evening I purchased a few more Panther Martin and small Mepps spinners from BPS and it looks like I’m ready for another round with the brookies. Hope you enjoyed

Welcome to OFC Mark. Great report and pics too. Mike

Epic reportage (hehe I said epic...But it really was ) Holy mother of cod, those brookies look tasty.

Mind-Blasting report Cliff...Congrats on the PB too Can't beat spending time at an OFC G2G...Looks like you had a blast I've always wondered how squirrels taste...There's an especially fat one in my backyard that screams "Eat me!"...It really does