007

Great report and great pictures. Wish I could get up early to experience those kind of mornings on a lake! LOL

Thanks for all the info guys. TonyB - you've really got me excited now - I think the campsite we have is at Bells Point, so close to where you saw the school of pickeral and musky - could this be a weekend where I can catch two new species, and maybe even from shore? Fingers crossed. 007

A couple of you mentioned a key issue - depth. At this time of year where are the walleye likely to be? Deep during the day and shallow at night? Unfortunately, I have no idea how deep the lake is I will be fishing. That said whether I have a boat or not I tend to like to fish near features close to shore, islands, shoals etc, rather than trolling on large expanses of open water. What lake depths should I target and do I presume that the fish will be near bottom? Is my best bet for catching a walleye from or close to shore in the evening then? Sorry for lots of questions - just keen to catch a new species. Thx 007

I need some help people! This weekend I am camping up at Restoule Provincial Park. We have a waterfront site so am hoping it is rocky with some deep water so I can fish for smallmouth bass from shore. I have caught a few smallies before and have a good idea of how to catch them and strike them off this year's fish list. But the one fish that I hear is in the lake that I would like to catch is walleye. I have never targetted them before and have never caught one. Therefore I need help. I would like to catch them from shore if possible, or perhaps if I can rent a baot from a boat out in the main lake. What would you say was the best technique/bait to catch walleye in a lake from shore and/or boat? Jig with curly tail? Deep diving lures? Worm harness? I've heard of these but haven't a clue when and where to use them and which is best. Look forward to seeing what everybody's go to bait is! Thanks in advance for all your tips. 007

Motv8tr - the bass sure are fun when they jump - though I do lose a lot that way when they shake the hook. It wasn't my first bass ever just of this season - am looking forward to many more this season. Jediangler - LOL dsn - haven't had any luck with the bowfin yet - the last two years I have seen one cruise past me at the islands in June but it hasn't been interested in my bait. CCMTCanada - There is probably too many species to catch (50+) - I just want to try and catch as many different ones as possible in the year (small or large), and then see if anyone will try to take on the challenge and have fun beating it!! I guess the key ones to still get would be the popular species like smallmouth bass, pike (actually net one rather keep losing them), musky, walleye, salmon, few varieties of trout. But I am looking forward to hopefully catching a few of the unusual ones which are perhaps more interesting too - like bowfin, drum, white bass. Hopefully I can catch a walleye and smallie or may be even a surprise pike or musky this weekend. Fingers crossed. 007

Better luck next time with the bass. Nice pike though. There are lots of fish at the islands but finding them and then getting them to bite can be challenging - I know from experience. 007

Well done Ben. Looks like you got some nice bass there. The islands is great during the week - much quieter and more choice of spots to fish than at weekends. As a seasoned T.O Islands fisherman who has walked 90% of it, I can tell where your spots were even with the photoshop treatment - but your secret is safe with me! LOL 007

Well folks, here is the latest installment of my fish quest. Not surprisingly I was out targeting bass. I went out Sunday to the Toronto Islands to knock another fish species off my list for this year (officially - seeing as I had accidentally hooked into a few pre-season). Unfortunately I got out there late - about 11am - which meant it was already scorching hot, busy with people and boats. I did find a quiet spot to sit and fish for a few hours. Targeted the edge of weedy areas with either rapalas or float and worm combo. Fishing was really slow - all the fisher folk passing by me had had no luck, so I felt good about myself that after about an hour managed to persuade a shy 1lb bass out from under the weed with a worm. Another fish off the list and my first on my new 8ft 6' ugly stik. I continued in the same spot in vain for quite a while until the sun had moved and left me without any shade. After a lunch break and a few photos of the local inhabitants, I continued to target the weedy shallows for anything that swam past as the bass had clearly retreated to the weed to avoid the midday sun. I managed to catch a few pumpkinseed sunfish but even they weren't that interested - many still spawning. Also managed a perch. I decided to go for a walk to the channel at Hanlans Point to see how busy it was at the spots I had fished for carp on Monday - no real chance of fishing for the big carp with the amount of boat traffic and moored boats along there. So back to my first location. Sure enough, with the sun starting to drop in the sky and the shadows getting longer the bass were coming out of the hiding places, though it didn't make them easier to catch! With all the fish fry around they were having a ball, no need to go after my bait or lures. It was pretty cool to see the bass, like small whales cruising around mouth wide open devouring all the little fish as they tried in vain to escape by jumping out of the water. Fotunately my persistence paid off and I did manage to hook one - about 3lbs in weight - which after a quick picture was released to continue terrorizing this year's offspring. Nice day out. Mission accomplished. But fishing was very slow and place was very busy - oh I long for another day off work to fish the islands in peace and quiet. Looking forward to targeting smallmouth bass and catching my first ever walleye up at Restoule PP this weekend now. Cheers 007 P.S - Quest update - Species caught so far this year = Largemouth Bass, Common Carp, Yellow Perch, White Sucker, Brown Bullhead, Pumpkinseedfish, Rock Bass, Bluegill, White Perch, Common Shiner, Golden Shiner, Creek Chub, and Lake Chub. + Northern Pike lost at boatside.

Well done Cliff. Great report and good to see you holding something other than a carp for a change! LOL 007

Those smallies are anything but small! Wow.

Great report and nice fish. Thanks for the report. 007

Nice one Ben! Love the shot of the Bowfin and congrats on the pike. Nice to see there's a few around still - I was beginning to think they had all gone as I've failed to catch a pike or bowfin there on last three visits despite casting a lot of lures around the weedbeds. Looks like you had a great day. 007

Congrats on 'your' bass. I accidentally hooked some bass at the islands last week about that size - I don't think they have packed on much weight yet so I would say it is more like 4lbs! Don't worry I'm sure you'll catch one of your own soon. Might be out there tomorrow. 007

Wow - that Freshwater Drum (Sheepshead) is huge! Thanks for sharing. 007

Nice job Photoz. I like the photo of the ducks! 007

It's a good guide to fishing in the GTA. I have been using it as a guide for new spots for a while. However a word of caution - it is a guide - and having fished some of the locations quite a few times I don;t believe that some of the species listed are actually there. For example, I could be wrong but has anyone caught a smallmouth bass in Grenadier Pond or at the T.O Islands? It also shows bullheads as not being present at the Toronto Islands and yet there are loads of them in there! 007

In relation to the line strength I was using for the carp - what strength do other people use? If my fish was 15lb and I used 12lb line, what size fish could I catch on that line? Or should I be changing my reels to say 20lb line in case I hook into one of the monsters at the Islands?

Thanks for the kind words guys. MJL - I wouldn't say no to a mirror carp, but I know they are quite rare here. I prefer the common carp though - much better looking! LOL Just a quick recap - the species caught so far this year is as follows: Yellow Perch, White Sucker, Brown Bullhead, Pumpkinseedfish, Rock Bass, Bluegill, White Perch, Common Carp, Common Shiner, Golden Shiner, Creek Chub, and Lake Chub. + Largemouth Bass (accidental OOS) + Northern Pike lost at boatside. Hopefully in the next two weeks I will be able to add an in season largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and maybe my first walleye from my trip up north to Restoule for the long weekend! 007

Pretty cool pics. Congrats. 007

Sorry UrbanAngler - if I had known I would have taken a look when I was there earlier!

Hi everyone, Well it's not often I get to go fishing two days in a row but after the despair of losing my personal best pike yesterday I decided to use my day off work to go fishing again to see if my luck had changed. I had planned to meet up with dsn for some carping at one of his secret locations but unfortunately he couldn't make it. Having had a long day on Cooks Bay yesterday I was pretty whacked and sunburnt so didn't make it out until after lunch. Destination - the Toronto Islands. Once on the Islands I went for a walk along the main channel at Hanlan's Point - the great thing about fishing during the week is there are lots of good spots to fish - at the weekend its a different story with little space due to moored boats. I've caught a few small pike along this channel in the fall so I started casting xraps through the gaps in the thick weeds in the hope of making up for yesterday's misfortune. No such luck - so still no (landed) pike this year. I switched to a float and a worm on my new 8ft 6 Ugly Stik rod but apart from one good sized perch that I lost and tiny 2-inch bass (this year's babies I guess) chasing the worm, it wasn't working out and lookedlike it was going to be one of those days. I walked on a little further and noticed a number of carp cruising around. This is not an uncommon sight down here - I always see huge carp at the islands cruising high in the water but not feeding. A little further on, no more than 3m from the bank in about 8ft of water I noticed a carp winding its way through the weed on the bottom. Could it be feeding or at least interested? Not far away I see a patch of sandy lake floor surrounded by thick weed, so I toss a couple of handfuls of sweetcorn into the gap in the weed and watch and wait. Five mins go by and the carp comes back but cruises on by. After another five minutes and another handful of corn I notice a number of shapes on the bottom - possibly a carp and a large bullhead. The water is getting murkier so they I assume they are feeding, so I change my worm to corn and try my luck. Not long later and under my float goes and at quite some pace - so I set the hook, the reel screams as the fish runs and sure enough..... snap! That's when I realised that the reel I was using only had 8lb mono on it! Ok, so I'm not going to land a 20lb islands carp on 8lb test unless I'm really lucky. So I change to my 7ft medium heavy rod with 12lb line (the strongest I have) and try again. Not surprisingly after all that ... nothing. But I said to myself be patient and bait the area again. This time I attach a sinker not a float to make sure the bait is on the bottom. Ten minutes later the rod bends round and I have a fish on! The reel screams at me again as the line races out. Its a good strong fish - definitely a carp. I hang on tight and let it have its first run, I then tighten up the drag and reel in line... off it goes again.... so I tighten the drag a little more and walk down the bank to get more line back before I run out of line! A few minutes later I have a nice looking carp rolling at the surface - now to land it! The good news is - I actually remembered my net! One swoosh of the net and it was mine! As I lifted the heavy fish ashore it became clear to me that I had caught my biggest carp ever and in fact my biggest fish ever! As I unhooked it a couple walking past decided to come over and take a look. Once unhooked I asked if they would take some pictures and they obliged. I then took its vitals - 15lb in weight and about 30 inches in length - a personal best and far bigger than my previous biggest fish - an 8lb carp. I know its not the biggest carp in the world (nor the Islands) and not everyone likes carp but I was so happy with my prize catch. Here's a few photos.... (I realise that the picture shows the background and I have said where I was fishing but I don't think it is anyone's secret location, most people who have fished the islands have walked the area I'm sure, the carp are everywhere and not in one spot, most of the summer the boats will prevent anyone fishing there anyway, and most importantly the nice lady that took the pictures did such a good job getting me, my PB fish and the CN Tower into the frame it seemed a shame to crop or photoshop the images - hope this doesn't upset anyone). After all that excitement, I knew the rest of the day wouldn't compare. But I continued my walk around the islands, taking in the peace and quiet and casting as I went. Didn't see many bass today, no pike but lots of carp, and lots of pumpkinseedfish on their spawning nests. In fact I spent about half an hour enjoying watching them in the shallows flirting or guarding their nests from other fish. The carp wasn't my last fish of the day though. I managed to catch one more species for the year, though nothing to get too excited about - a goby! That's when I knew it was time to go home! From the sublime to the ridiculous. Thanks to all those who have given me advice or words of encouragement recently - particularly the carp boys - dsn, MJL and ccmtcanada. Hope to post another report and another species soon - perhaps I'll get even with a pike soon too! Cheers 007

Another question - how long will it take for the XRap in the lost pike's mouth to come loose or disintegrate? Not only am I annoyed I lost the fish but hate ot when I leave a lure in a fish. In the meantime, if anybody catches a pike of about 30 inches with an xrap in its mouth, can I have it back?! LOL

I've been in Canada almost three years and the first two years fished 100% catch n release cos that's what I was used to and because I am a great believer in conserving the resource for future generations to enjoy. This year I kept my first two fish to eat while camping as we had run out of fresh meat and wanted to give it a try. I think responsible harvesting in this way is ok in somewhere like Canada where there are clean lakes up north and an abundance of certain types of fish - hopefully takes some pressure off the ocean's fish stocks - which seem to be in serious trouble. My only concern is that I see some people keeping everything they catch, whatever the species and whatever the size and often from waters for example in the GTA which I doubt are very clean! It can't be good for the resource (especially when you factor in all the cormorants eating plenty) and certainly not for their health LOL A word of warning for those fishing Grenadier Pond in T.O and keeping their catch - the guidelines on eating sport fish for this year states its only safe to eat 1 bluegill a month - so put some back!! LOL

I was just wondering what everybody else does with their fish. Whenever I am out fishing people stop and ask if I have caught anything, when I tell them yes - they usually want to see it - which assumes I have kept it, and they are surprised when I say I put them back. There seems to be a philosophy of catch and keep/eat rather than fishing for the sport/enjoyment. I know I come from England where it is all catch n release and here in Canada there is a history of eating what you catch but I was just curious as to what today's angler does and whether Catch n Release is getting more popular or not. I hope I have done the poll thing correctly - otherwise the multiple choice answers to the question would have been: 100% Catch n Release Mostly Catch n Release but occasionally eat a fish caught Target certain fish for eating and put others back 100% Fish to Eat - keep everything within the regs limits cheers 007

OK so the poll thing didn't work.......... I'll have a second try! Second time lucky - please respond to the other post - the one with the poll! Cheers 007