Snidley

Try the Kwikfish X Stream if you can find them Cabelas also has the Flatfish with the eyes on them. I saw a show where guys hammered Salmon and Lakers on them at the Niagara Bar Try some Hot Shots 35 Rattlers and Mag Wiggle Warts as well. They all work for salmon steelhead and Lakers. Many other baits like Jackal Squirrels, Lucky Craft Staysees, and Evergreen Sledges work even better. I'm also going to try Rapala Diving Husky jerks in the UV colour schemes as well. So many lures so little space in the "toon

The $20 parking fee at Bronte and 16Mile creek is for cars WITH TRAILERS. Again why guys rolling Lake O don't launch at Humber West for free eludes me

The City of Oakville actually bought a expensive flats boat to police the notorious area south of Rebecca st down to the main harbour at Lakeshore rd. They were doing a great job nailing the poachers that would fish illegally from shore in the Bronte estuary but the whole thing is controversial. I understand why they ban fishing from shore in the estuary due to the fact that one side of the river there is private property and the other is a city park that has, correctly in my view, been designated as a fishing free park up to Rebecca st. Lots of guys fished there at night though and they littered, started fires, (usually using garden furniture stolen from the private property), stole boats from the private property etc. You can fish from a boat as long as you don't beach it or anchor up (this is a detailed question as to what is considered anchoring up) Personal watercraft (seadoos) are banned in this area . There are lots of guys that want this area opened up to shore fishing but so far that has not happened. As far as Bronte pier and fishing there I would say that it really is not nearly as bad as say Port Hope. There are lugans for sure, There are snaggers for sure. But overall it's not nearly the gong show as the upstream activity at Bronte, Credit, Ganny, Saugeen, etc. is. Salmon season attracts meat hunters and roe hunters in droves and this is always going to be the case. Why anyone would want to keep a Lake Ontario salmon eludes me and I am dead set against roe angling in any form so if it was banned tomorrow I would be a happy camper. At this point I am concerned that the authorities are moving to implement a P3TA friendly shoreline by limiting access all over Lake Ontario (including Port Dalhousie which will shortly be a non fishing location). The massive expenditure of $$ directed to shoreline enhancement being done these last few years is aimed at turning our shorelines into a colossally expensive walking promenade for dog walkers and tourists very similar to the shoreline in Chicago. In that context banning pier fishing looks like the municipal goal.

No overnight parking in the lot as well I'm told. That will cost you $50 if caught. Looks like the Credit is it boys. Or west Humber launch. I'm now in St Catherines and our beach Lakeside does not open till 8 am, and closes at 9pm now. Towed if in the parking lot at other times. The biggest shocker to me is that if you cannot show a drivers license illustrating that you live in St Catherines you can't use that public beach at ANY TIME. Politicians and municipal authorities are now showing their true colours. They WILL push the public around whenever they are given the chance. And the pandemic has given them the opportunity. Where is the OFAH in all of this. Access is the first step to eliminating our fishing rights.

Hey David. What is that connector on the Lucky Craft popper? It looks similar to the connector on a Kwikfish

Instead of an "O" ring as a line tie I usually prefer a clip or even better a Rapala loop knot tied direct to the lure. I find you get a louder gurgle when walking the dog at low speed or a bigger splash when aggressively popping the bait. I also really like the Sure Set hooks on the back of all topwaters not just poppers. I've never seen Sure Sets with feather tails but I make my own feather tail using Swan feathers that I pick up in the spring and fall when they molt.

Excellent video. The single hook makes a big difference for snagging. That water looked ideal for using a Rebel Crick Hopper or Big Ant lure as well. Same technique but with a small wiggling lure. I use them always for Steelies but I replace the 2 tiny treble hooks with one (rear) treble hook and in deeper pools I put a bit of BB weight about 2 feet up the line to get it down into the pool while not impeading the action. The steelies get pissed off and really nail it hard.

Similar to pinooks around Sault St Marie. In that case it was pinks and chinooks

I also use siwash hooks especially when pier chucking. You don't lose nearly as many lures to the bottom and you can add a small twister tail or swimbait tail without messing up the action . You might miss an initial hookup or 2 but once hooked up you will never get a lost fish to a bent out treble hook tyne and if you get a jumper the siwash has way better bite making it mush harder to throw. I've seen guys having success with the flutter spoon technique at the Whirlpool targeting salmon and steelhead. I've seen trolling spoons used but the guy who did best was using small/mid sized Williams Wablers and Sutton Spoons. Both those lures have a much fatter profile than a typical trolling spoon and they "flutter" more especially the Sutton spoon (actually known as the Sutton Flutter Spoon). The much discussed "Miracle Spoon" is another A Team winner for salmon and steelhead just about everywhere..

I forgot to mention Rattletrap type baits from Spro, Yozuri, Lucky Craft, Jackal, Daiwa, Cotton Cordel. They not only work but cast a mile. I've seen Americans on TV catch inshore salmon on soft plastic minnows from Berkley as well. I'm trying soft plastic swimbaits this year because I know they work for big Steelhead and usually salmon and steelhead will hit similar lures. Again put a heavy jighead on a swimbait and not only does it cast far it also hugs the bottom which is where chinooks often linger when they are not jumping

Lots of lures for salmon that work as well or better than J13's. They cast better as well. Lymans, Fast Tracks, Husky Jerks, Tail Dancers, Shad Raps, Reef Runners as well as virtually all of the Japanese jerkbaits like Lucky Craft Pointers, Slender Pointers, Staysees, Bevy Shad 75, Jackal Squad Minnows, Squirrel 79, Evergeen Sledges, Megabass Leviathons, Yozuri Flatside Minnow, Hardcore75/90shallow and divers, Live Target Smelt, Jointed and Perch. Crankbaits work too, like Wiggle warts, Mag warts, Flat warts,Big O, Hot Shot 20,25 30,Wordens Fat Fish Flat fish/Kwikfish. The list goes on and on. The downside is they all cost money and lots of it but J13 are now $12-$13, Moonshines are $8-$9 too. but if you are only firing out J13 and some spoons you are not really trying that hard.

If you have identical trolling spoons double them up using as small an "O" ring as you can manage and with your fav colour exosed. They will then be heavy enough to cast and they will also rattle a bit. Downside is that a breakoff will be expensive. I used to do this with some trolling spoons but also with Williams Wabblers which are a tad light for long distance chucking. In my experience the best salmon lures these days are Moonshine casting spoons, especially the Bloody Nose colour and the Chartruse Tiger colour. They both glow blue when lit. Sometimes they like the smaller triangle style other times the traditional Canadian spoon pattern. The glow lasts a long time when you flash on them but as usual they are good so they are also expensive. Sail probably still has some. I'm now in St Catherines and so far I've not seen much happening here but Bronte had fish last week. As far as crankbaits and jointed baits like J13 or Fast Tracks putting some glow paint on the bottom helps salmon find them at night. They can find unlit ones with their lateral line but some visual targeting helps too. What really helps most is cold water and stained water, then they will find whatever you throw at them and you will be into them by double digits. It's coming any time now.

Hi Cuzza. I'm going to be in Oakville on Tuesday (tomorrow). Interested in the shirts. fire me your phone number and I will call to make arrangements or you can call me at 647-951-9142 (free call from Oakville) thanks Paul

This got me thinking of Borat, the movie, lol. On a more serious note I'm told that if attacked by a black bear you should fight back as hard as you can With grizzlys you should play dead (or is that you are dead?) Either way avoid bears and be really carefull of garbage when in the outdoors.

Very cool vid. Surprised there's no Drum or Trout as I've caught both of those species in the upper by the Chinese restaurant/bridge.

I just bought a salmon net or I would be all over yours. If you still have the shirts I might grab them from you next week when I'm in Oakville. remember it takes 1800 gallons of water to grow enough cotton for 1 tee shirt (not that those shirts are cotton) (and those are American gallons, lol)

Good net for the pier. If those shirts are the ones made in Jordan they are very nice if you don't mind used clothing (even actresses going on the Oscars red carpet frequently wear used gowns. Vintage designer ones they call them)

Fishing from an inflatable for salmon is the best fishing possible here in Ontario. Except for the inflatable part. Salmon thrash at the boat so be very carefull of how you end the fight or an errant hook could be catastrophic. For some reason authorities around Ontario have become obsessive about night fishing. It's getting banned everywhere including here in St Catherines.. Mainly they do it by banning parking overnight. Unfortunately nighttime fishing for salmon is by far the most successful method. Killjoys.

That's good news because I've always been told that salmon can't survive on smelt. I bet it makes for a way tastier flesh on them as well. Thornbury here I come,lol

On many occasions I let my girlfriend drive if I had been drinking. O'Leary is a wine buff so it is not out of the question that he let his wife drive home, assuming she was not drinking, which the breath analizer confirmed. This would be sensible, responsible and therefore could have been the case. Personally I find O'Leary unbearable as a tv personality but that is not a crime (but maybe it should be, lol)

Thank goodness I have my Hobie or there would be no salmon fishing for me this fall. As I said in another post high water has ruined all of the places I fish in spring/summer. Even impoundments like Montsberg are unfishable, not so much because of water levels but because the precipitation has washed fertalizer/cow poop into the water causing massive overgrowth of weeds. It basically sucks right now.

That's a lure knocker. I think the angler Timmy Horton sells them on his website. The knot was NOT a Palomar knot. The lure knocker is a great solution out of a boat or in the situation shown here. I don't think most snag situations you would get into on the Niagara would be solved by this device. If fishing from a boat I would say you would be past the snag too fast and from shore you would most likely be much further out from shore to use this effectively

As far as saving lures from snags another method is to do everything that dave524 says except instead of the wooden plank use a red and white bobber with a bell sinker on the red end (it will hang on the spring loaded wire). Like Dave says the bobber will carry your line past the snag and a few tugs will pull your lure from the opposite direction. I fish the lower (Whirlpool, Pebbly Beach) backbouncing with pencil lead and this technique has saved me hundreds of $$$. I call it rescue 911 for lures. I was down to the Niagara after bass opener and the water at that time was incredibly high even before 8:10 am ( the time that the water comes up 40 feet or so traditionally). Signs said the path is closed and literally at some points the water was up to and covering the lower path. That's really high. I have not been down since but maybe someone can chime in as to how the water level is currently. Personally I do best when the water level is much lower with the Whirlpool going counter clockwise. When it's high the Whirlpool goes clockwise. This year virtually all of the places I fish have been ruined by high water.

And baby lakers stocked by Michigan

CO2 boats in Oakville has the proper glue and vinyle or Hypalon patches. costs about $40 and they will explain how to do it. The repair is very simple and works well. It's a DIY operation for sure