Snidley

That vid of the boater snagging the shore anglers line is very aggravating but not actually dangerous (unless he had to return to the launch nearby of course, lol). The guy I saw was a full on charter boat and he was using Otter Boards with heavy rigging rope. Had he hooked up with one of the small boats he could easily have pulled them from the boat or straight up guillotined them. Ahh..Salmon season a challenge to the senses, the common senses that is.

Good luck HEEBS. Depending on the judge Small claims can be a great option. I have used it successfully myself. This whole thing is a great example of how our government lets us all down at virtually every turn. OMVIC was set up to protect consumers from fraud at dealerships and related industries. You could not find a more blatant fraud than this particular transaction and their best effort is to send the consumer back to the fraudster. How outrageous. On the other hand if the dealership does anything that would affect the government themselves, like holding inventory for more than a year and not remitting HST as an example, they would be all over it with fines etc. Lazy, useless and incompetent are just some of the adjectives that come to mind regards OMVIC. Thieving dicks would come to mind for Chrysler and their dealer network.

I've seen a large charter boat running big planner boards amongst the kayakers, scullers, tinnies and myself in a Toon at the Credit estuary targeting salmon. It's the right move in deeper water away from the small, or tiny craft found at the mouth this time of year and the guy should know better, but he doesn't

Reminds me of Bronte and the Credit during salmon season. Many power boaters don't respect paddlers, sailors or small craft as they should. Reminds me of an old Disney cartoon that contrasted the same guy (portrayed as a dog) when he was a pedestrian and when he was a motorist. The cartoon was very funny as I remember it but it made a serious point about safety and mutual respect.

Thanks again steelee.

I'll share something I learned from Jos at Angling Outfitters re float fishing with a pin in cold weather. He uses, and sold me, a relatively inexpensive Rapala centerpin float reel. In the cold Jos covers his Rapala reel with black hockey tape. This he claims reduces the cold metal /finger contact freezing aspect of winter pinning substantially. I don't float fish much at all but in winter my approach is to use a baitcaster (I only winter floatfish the Niagara) with P-Line Hydro Float line. The line is coated so no water absorption and I can throw a baitcaster with gloves on.

Thanks steelee. Was the current going clockwise or counter clockwise for most of the time?

I know earlier this spring they were cutting down trees to remedy some sort of tree disease. Or so they said. There is always the issue of people dying down there (I've seen 3 bodies myself) and perhaps they are looking to deal with the unfortunate death toll down there by making the whole beautiful place off limits. That would be a shame

At this time of year you see guys heading up the path with a salmon and the you find the salmon half way up ,lol. It is a brutal hike.

Thanks that is much appreciated. By the way I'm told that the Whirlpool parking lot is now a pay for parking lot like the lot at the Glen so take some change or a credit card. The Glen parking is $10 so I'm betting that's the same at the Whirlpool.

Has anyone been down lately? I was at Lakeside Park, St Catherines yesterday and the water level in Lake Ontario was wayyy down. I wonder if the high water issues are over. It would be good to know for sure, Thanks

For sale used Legend tournament St Croix Mag Cranker cast rod with a full cork handle, regular guides in great condition. This rod is rated Heavy, Moderate action, 12lb-25lb line rating. This rod is in great shape and is a terrific caster for larger crankbaits, spinnerbaits chatterbaits etc. I want $200 for it or trade for a 81/2' to 91/2 ' salmon spin rod for shore use. I live in St Catherines but I come to Bronte and the Credit this time of year and I can bring the rod with me. Sorry I don't use a cell phone anymore so no pics and no texts. if interested you can call me at 647-951-9142 or email me at [email protected] Thanks for looking, Paul

At this time of year the wardens are busy wit much more egregious poaching than that. Wildlife like bears, deer, moose etc take a pounding at this time of year. Nice to see that bow fishing in a crowd does not seem to alarm the other "anglers". Soooo... I guess it is safe.

I forgot Lakeshore Promenade as a trollers free launch as well. It's in Mississauga

That was definitly the show I saw. Romanack's son was the Michigan angler in this particular show. I guess the whole family took it upon themselves to wash up after the catch. I would too after seeing the results

I see that todays promo at Fishandsave.com has Wordens Mag Lip 4" trolling plugs on sale for $3.59 USD. These ones are red and they have 17 of them for sale. I've ordered from them in the past and received good service and great prices ($1.99 USD for Hot Shots, Kwikies, Wiggler Warts, bags of Yamamoto soft baits and Lucky Crafts for a little more scratch). I would be careful to check with shipping cost before completing an order if you are Canadian since that can cost as much as the order itself if you are not careful. I have NO financial relationship with these guys but I have used them in the past with no complaints. I saw a TV fishing show where the guys trolling he Niagara Bar were using Mag Lips for springtime Chinnies and Lakers and they hammered them on those baits The guys were from Michigan and Oregon respectively and the west coast guy was a buddy of Buz Ramsey, a famous steelhead/salmon angler from the west coast He swore by Mag Lips which are like an enhanced Flat Fish but he was also sponsored by Wordens. He did another unusual thing in my mind. He washed the he lures with each catch and as a cleaning agent he used Lemon Scent Joy dish detergent. Don't think you can get it here but I've always believed that fish did not like citrus smell at all. Clearly I am wrong because these guys caught a ton of both Lakers and Salmon and they were 20lb plus fish in the springtime, something i would have bet was impossible.

Lakeside Park in St Catherine's is not really a fishing destination it's much more of a swimming, yoga on the beach, beach volleyball location. I've only seen one other fishing guy with a kayak going out there. There were several women that would go down early like me to get their yoga in before it got hot later in the morning. In reality for most places on the planet parts of society depend on outsiders showing up for tourism or work and ,to me, it's a slippery slope to ban non residents in any town let alone a town in the Niagara Region where tourism is important, if not vital. I recently learned something else of interest re gentrifying LakeO. This lake enhancement program is part of a Federal initiative that has contracted for 56,000projects, big and small, across Canada. I guess this could be good for construction employment but as usual the Feds have screwed up and 22,ooo of the projects have literally gone astray, ie. the Feds do not know what they are, if they have been done, if done if they are to agreed parameters or code etc. That would make it the biggest screw up of all time. I know is St Catherines the project is well on it's way BUT the new piers (2 of them, fancy ones for the Condo guys that have taken over Port Dalhousie where fishing used to take place) are built to specs that reflect the pre flooding conditions or normal water levels . The last 2 years we have had significant flood conditions on L Ontario and that means in all likelihood, the new piers will be flooded again maybe even before they are completed .I'm told the Feds are unwilling to modify the already started project so there's a good chance the whole thing will have to be redone. Well played Justin

SQUIRREL!!! Friday am. at Bronte. First cast with a Squirrel in the lake, which was rolly and eventually got rough (east wind) I landed a nice 17-18lb Chinnie. Then landed 2 more and lost one on the Jackal. The lost one bent out a belly hook. It was an xx Owner but when they hit the belly hook as they do when they are still eating this happens a lot. Also went 1 for 2 on the XPS minnow. Nicest fish came on the XPS which was an aprox. 20lb hen that was still basically silver.I think they are just starting at Bronte as did the other guys I talked to at the launch. I did try more traditional salmon lures like J13, J 11, J9 Rapalas as well as Shad Rap RS and Nada for them.

I'm in St Catherines. Does Pete's have them , or grimsbey tackle?

Meegs if you are making these from scratch i have a suggestion. I have the Moonshine version of this style plug. It's plastic so IMO it's not exactly the same but one aspect of the lure is superior. Like the Moonshine spoons the glow paint on it glow's literally for hours. It would be well worth your time to look into glow paint technology for a supplier that can provide the longest glowing paint possible. In many cases the length of time the paint glows for is much more important that the intensity or brightness of the paint because many of us believe that glow lures work best when the glow is subtle as opposed to super bright. When trolling it would be good to have confidence that the plugs you have down are in fact glowing even half an hour after you put them out which is not the case with Lymans, or J-plugs or Tomics. One other thing is that many trollers for Walleye and salmon have been using is UV paint. There's a guy in Grimsby that paints Husky Jerks and some other walleye lures and gets double the money for them at retail. I have several UV painted Husky Jerks and Fat Fish that definitly catch salmon whether it's the paint or not I can't be sure but the lures themselves caught this fisherman and for you that's the goal.

Bug Bite in flatfish, (Silver /Red dot in Kwikfish), frog in both Kwikies and Flats, Perch in Kwikfish, Red in both, Skunk in both, and in Kwikfish Extreme they make a glow in the dark version that is luminous white with a pinkish dot are my favorites for salmonoids. I bet there's lots of other colours that work well if you ran them. I know in Hotshot 35 Rattlers I have found Black/sparkle, Red/black dots or Red alone, Bubba (silver pink firetail) Silver Chartruse Green Firetail and even luminois glow and green firetail have all worked well. In Hot Shots the best colour I have used is actually a group of Blue/Silver Prizm, BlackSilver Prizm, and Black/Gold Prizm. I only have one 35 non rattler and I'm afraid to throw it but I've got a bunch of 30 non rattlers and they all work really well. I use them back bouncing at the Whirlpool almost exclusively but I have a toon and the Kwikfish Extremes are very effective slow trolled because they dive much deeper than the regular Kwikfish/Flatfish so no need to lead with a sinker 8-10 inches up the leader.. I love talking about lures obviously, and all of these traditional lures will work and work well for Rainbows, Lakers, Browns, and Salmon of all stripes. The main reason I throw these baits at the Whirlpool is because they were bought for $2-$3 each and backbouncing at the whirlpool means losing lures at an atrocious rate. When I take the toon out at Bronte or Credit my go to lures are never these baits. In the dark I throw or troll J-13's that I have made into glow baits, Glow Lymans, Reef Runners made to glow, Rapala Tail Dancers in the Scatter Rap lip made to glow and even a Bass Pro Balsa Boogie with the bottom pained in glow paint.. They all work due to the glow paintjobs and the depth they go to as well as their action. I run them on 17lb. to 30lb fluro leader (the fluro for toughness rather than invisibility). Once the sun comes up I go to a much different formula. I believe that salmon, steelies and especially browns have excellent eyesight and they condition really fast. These traits lead me to adapt my approach dramatically. I drop the leader weight to 15lb luro and go down as low as down to 8lb fluro leader Here invisibility as well as toughness is important. If I'm running 15 or 12lb leader I will run Japanese lures like Jackal Squirrels, Squad Minnow, Lucky Craft Pointers Diving Pointers Slender pointers, Evergreen Sledges and Yozuri Hardcore and 3DS, 3DR minnows. These lures tend to be pricey at upwards of $20 each and even in the toon in open water you can get breakoffs or , even in salmon, toothy bite offs .Not only are these lures silly expensive they are really hard to replace here in Canada so I'm careful with them and I would never be chucking them from piers as an example. When I go down to 10llb./8lb fluro I cheap out and go to Rapala Shad Rap RS, diving Husky Jerks and a lure I use for all species with incredible success, a Bass Pro Shops XPS floating minnow in the 3 1/2" size. These are relatively cheap lures that are Chinese knockoff of a Yozuri/.Dual bait from the 1980's. They like Rapalas are easily replaceable and I don't cry over when I lose them. In salmonid lure fishing, in daylight, size matters in lures and leaders . Lure quality with regard to realism, diving depth, action and scent or lack there of matter. In my experience, mainly in Lake Ontario, better quality lure selection, one that avoids using what everyone else is throwing or trolling will result in better results. Details like scent, applied to lures to attract and to mask human scent, all count IMO. The final aspect to lure fishing for salmon, again in my opinion is timing your trips to maximize wind velocity (you want chop, rough is even better) water temperature (cool is good, cold is much better) and water clarity (stained is good dirty is better) . Finally all this is based on my use of lures exclusively for fishing and I feel it is good advise but I would also say that in my experience salmonids are also very unpredictable. Sometimes they are suicidal, will bite anything and are not playing by any of the parameters I outlined above. Other times you need dynamite or a cricket to catch or snag one( something that should be avoided at all costs). In the end getting out there frequently is the ticket to success, but the authorities are making ease of fishing, especially around Lake Ontario very difficult these days so trying your best is still a valuable approach to any angler looking for the unprecedented tug of a salmon or Steelhead.

Sail was selling Kwikie Extremes and Hot Shots for $1.99 for almost all of '18 and '19. There might be a few still in those dump bins of $5.99 or $2.99 lures I seem to remember Fire Plugs too. For sure Joc at Angling OUTFITTERS in Woodstock has a wack of Flatfish, Kwickfish, Hot shots and I'd bet Tadpolies too. He wants big $$$ for everything there but he has the selection (on just about everything) and if you chat him up and buy in multiples you will find everything there is negotiable. Another great lure type from the past is the Wiggle wart (BradsWigglers and Wordens Fat Fish are similar styles) Wee Wart, Steelie Wart and one of my all time favorites, Flat Warts. Like Hot Shots salmonoids hammer them really hard (I believe the vibration/noise makes them mad). Bagley used to make the killer Diving B Flat II. It's a balsa bait with a lexan lip at an extreme angle that makes the lure "thump" in the water very similar to the vibration of the larger Kwikfish. I've had the fish hammer it to the point that all that the comes back is the lexan lip You probably can't find them anywhere except ebay but you can get a similar effect by gently heating the lexan lip of a Rapala Shad Rap (the balsa one) and bending the lip to an extreme angle. Carefull with the heating part, the lexan bends easily with just a little heating and you don't want to weaken the lexan itself. One last thing for those that don't know it, if you are in or near Woodstock Ontario do yourself a favor and drop in to Angling Outfitters. It is by far the best tackle shop in Ontario . It really qualifies as a tourist attraction for men, in my opinion.

Looks like a new in box F4 Flatfish in bug bite. That's a killer right there. Tadpolies and a Fireplug too. Brian you have hit the motherlode

Sorry to hear about Mr Fletcher. I used to buy a key that opened a pad lock to a cow field that led down to Montgomery rapids on the Notty every year from him. Now that was a circus for sure, particularly on Labour Day weekend. If you got there at sunup on a weekday when our kids used to go to school in September it could be epic J-13s and Mepps #4 used to be the ticket there They were going to turn that cow field into a lux housing community but I'm told it got nixed by the authorities. Lucky for those rich guys because that spot is a bugfest in summer

Fishing World had new Lymans last time I was there. They were plastic though. That makes them similar to J plugs or Moonshine Lyman style plugs. Like their spoons the Moonshines really glow and glow for a long time. A firm called Tomic also makes a Lyman style plug. Theirs are plastic or a composite material and are big on the left coast. if you are near Owen Sound you could try Fletchers Sports if he's not dead yet. He was an old dude but I've even bought lures off of his ceiling in the past. The lure was a firetiger jointed Bagley minnow that is a killer Chinnook bait