Reef Runner

I've been fortunate enough to go down South to Florida for a week every winter and fish with my Dad. Gulf/Ocean fishing is a different game than the lake fishing here in ON, whereas tides play a more important factor in the bite. That said, and as you've experienced, that cold front affects the bite no matter what body of water. I'm not sure how much this will help you Cliff, as it appears you're pier fishing, but I've found that on those cold front days down South it's best to find a spot with decent current, significantly more so than the immediate surrounding water. Time your fish for exactly when the tide is at it's highest and the half hour-hour after when the tide is going out in that spot where the current is you'll find all sorts of fish clinging to bottom waiting for tasty meal to float by. I'm telling you it's like Swiss clockwork that you can time it down to the minute when the bite turns on! Anecdote: This past visit down to Florida we were on the hunt for those delicious near-shore species for our Christmas eve dinner; Redfish, (sea) Speckled Trout, Flounder and Sheephead. Normally, we wait for the hour or two when the hightide is moving in and hit the rivers that wind through the seagrass areas near-shore and target these fish with a live shrimp under a trout call (sort of a cross between a float and popper) and do well slowly navigating the river. These rivers have, in places, tiny creeks running into them, which with steady high temps don't factor that much into the bite. Low and behold on the day of Christmas Eve a cold front moves in and we couldn't buy a bite all along the river before the crest of the high tide. So we settle down on a spot where a tiny creek flows into the river and wait until the hightide and I rig up some bottom rigs (bullet weight, swivel, leader and bait hook). To the minute the hightide was at it's crest the bite magically turned on and we went through all our bait in a span of half and hour catching a few Reds, Trout and Sheephead all in the one spot no larger that 40m squared; if you moved off the spot you moved off the fish. Just from my experience fishing down there, but perhaps you can find a spot similar to how I describe and hit those on those cold front days. Maybe one side of the pier has stronger current than the other? I would suggest setting up on that side. Time it just right and you may be pleasantly surprised. Reef

The Lower French. That's a disappointing result Jimmer. Personally love the French, and I'll scoot down to the Pickerel river: Ski in my avatar is from there. That stretch can be a tough fish and then sometimes someone flips the switch and it's on fire.

Our situation on Canal is similar since the pike moved in. Walleye fishing dried up to pretty much non-existent (I think loss of spawning habitat and the inconsistent rise and fall of the water levels in the fall/spring is the likely culprit here). Musky were in there but were getting few and far in between - did produce some decent tigers. Still an awesome bass fishery - that has always been constant. They did some spraying years ago, but it got too costly for the cottage association and was a losing battle. Now the lake is choked by weeds early in the season. My feeling is the fish are there, just harder to get at with the plentiful growth to hide in.

Awesome! Clean looking fish. Congrats on the PB

Just this past labour day I was cleaning a few fish on the dock, dipped my hands and knife in the water to get some slime off and up swims a 20 pound snapper right under my hands. Had to check my appendages after that...

It looks like what they call a pikeminnow. For us not a minnow or a pike but hey it's BC

Bravo! Bella cattura B!

Nice clean restore. Beauty's all of them. My uncle has a 69 road runner sitting in his garage that was also his first car. Supposed to be his retirement project and now that he's retired he says he can't find the time the honey-do list gets longer and longer lol. Great job!

My snowbird folks have a similar set-up, dock on an intercostal canal around Tampa. That lady fish is a good catch! Catfish are plentiful in the canals they'll pretty much eat anything. You can also get into some jacks which have great pull for their size. I target jacks with either a plain white zara spook or a plain silver spoon with a single siwash hook. I find the fishing there is most dependent on the tides, with high tide being the best and an hour on each side. If you find some areas where there is a good current during the high tide you can get into a mess of red fish and sea trout using shrimp under a popping cork bobber. I've also caught flounder using a simple bottom rig: small hook, 3-4 foot of leader, swivel and egg sinker. I usually go around Christmas so the grouper are out of season and moved out farther into the gulf. If you can get in a boat pretty much most structure you'll find holds grouper, sea bass and porgies. We'll set up up wind from the structure, anchor down, chum bag off the back and just cast shrimp or ballyhoo into the chum stream. We get a mixed bag of cobia, mangrove snapper, spanish mackerals, remoras, puffer fish and shark.

Interesting...Thanks B (appreciate your input seeing as you're a laker whisperer). Ever try using laker roe? Anyone else ever use laker roe fishing for other salmonoids?

Thanks Porkpie, appreciate it! These were definitely loose eggs.

Great action film. Thanks as always!

Had one last kick at the laker can this weekend on a small lake in the Huntsville area. Off and on showers and a slow bite saw us taking breaks from down-rigging to going for smallies in sheltered bays. All the smallies had what I called black-dot parasites, consumable and not harmful if cooked properly but I wouldn't eat it; the fins and skin were covered in these tiny black dots. All we're released for another days fun. Back on the troll, we got into some decent lakers (for that small lake - can't hold a candle to the brutes on Simcoe some of our members here are netting). Lakers were eating a gold Williams, 75 feet behind the ball down 25-40 feet in 80-100 fow. Kept two for the pan, beautiful clean flesh. One was LOADED with eggs. I saved them in a regular ziplock in the fridge for now but was thinking about tying some bags for rainbows or salmon but I';m a newbie at that. Any tips for preserving these eggs? How long can they sit in my fridge untreated in a bag? Suitable for rainbows and salmon? Tight lines fellas, Reef

Good call, can't go wrong with a stradic. Bought the Nasci earlier this year and also very impressed.

Should still be in the summer pattern. I was up there this weekend and the leaves aren't even starting to change and the water was still warm enough. Moon Basin out to the Bay still is holding big smallies out on deeper humps. Unless there's a cold snap can't seeing it change in a few weeks time. Put in on Three-legged lake for a day to change it up, man that lake is full of dinks....lots of them. Didn't catch anything over two pounds but caught lots. Marked big lakers and saw a boat down-rigging for them that got one to the net. Didn't bring the riggers and my jigging technique apparently isn't that refined lol couldn't entice one to go.

Very cool. Had a loon chase my spinner bait once. Man, those things are absolute rockets underwater.

Stayed in Eastview Lodge a few years back, they do not operate anymore. We spent most of our time trolling for lakers using downriggers and leadcore, gang trolls with a threaded minnow on the end. Walleyes were had in the evenings before sunset: jigs and stickbaits around wood and rockpiles. Enforcement up there was serious! Make sure you get a license if out of province and obey regs including size/slot limits. Was there for a week and was boarded twice where they measured our catch. Have your license on you. Also, don't leave gear in your boat at night or unattended during the day.

Those a re some nice small Jaws. Thanks Dave for representing the True North! Good luck

Sad indeed. Good luck to the recovery team.

All nice fish. Have to get down there someday.

A man was stopped by a game-warden in Northern Algonquin Park recently with two buckets of fish leaving a lake well known for its fishing. The game warden asked the man, “Do you have a license to catch those fish?” The man replied to the game warden, “No, sir. These are my pet fish.” “Pet fish?!” the warden replied. “Yes, sir. Every night I take these here fish down to the lake and let them swim around for a while. I whistle and they jump back into their buckets, and I take em home.” “That’s a bunch of crap! Fish can’t do that!” replied the warden in disbelief. The man looked at the game warden for a moment and then said, “Here, I’ll show you. It really works.” “O.K. I’ve GOT to see this!” The game warden was curious. The man poured the fish into the river and stood and waited… After several minutes, the game warden turned to the man and said, “Well?” “Well, what?” the man responded. “When are you going to call them back?” the game warden prompted. “Call who back?” the man asked. “The FISH,” the warden said sternly. “What fish?” the man asked.

Large and small mouth bass, pike, perch according to Fish Online

The jingle jangle..Good tip Porkpie; I can see a lot of uses for the elastics. OI, I agree...I usually have rod in hand to feel the strike but like to put it down in the holder when having lunch on the troll and steering the tiller at the same time. Thanks fellas.

Thanks HH and, no she didn't lol

Looking for a safe way to use my casting rods to troll in a salty s-10 rod holder; dang plastic trigger on the underside doesn't allow for setting the rod in the holder behind the reel seat. Don't want to put the rod in the holder above the reel on the blank because that's asking for the rod to snap like a twig. Maybe below the reel? (full cork grip probably fine but split grip? probably will be riding the blank). If below the reel, put a higher angle on the rod so she don't go over board on a sudden stop? Thanks for your insight. (FYI I anticipate the easy answer is buy proper trolling rods lol better half will laugh when I say I need to buy MORE rods) Edit: Also if anyone has any tips on getting rid of the jinglejangle noise when theres no rod in the holder and the boat is vibrating from the motor lol Reef