007

Good job Ranger. It's about time more people did more than look the other way when it comes to illegal fishing. You did the right thing in my book. I hope its enough to get a prosecution. I don't understand why the MNR are not down at these very obvious places checking licences and infringements in restricted areas. We all know its happening, so where is the CO to show people that they can't do it???? Nowhere to be seen and therefore they do it and will continue to do it - rape the fisheries of whatever species is easy pickings at that time of year! It's a disgrace.

Hi all. Quick question. A friend wants to go fishing with me this weekend. I would typically go to the Toronto Islands but to be honest I'm a little bored of going there and want to try somewhere different. We want to try somewhere close to Toronto or Newmarket. The short-list at the moment is Cooks Bay on Lake Simcoe or Lake Scugog. Which of these two lakes would you recommend for some good action from a variety of fish at this time of year? Also where can we rent a boat from at each place? It could be my last fishing trip outside of Toronto before I go back to England so want to make it a good one. Thanks for your help. 007

Great shots dsn. Much better to watch them do their thing! Well done for spotting the trout in amongst those salmon. 007

I understand that it would be wrong to go releasing people's catches whenever I felt like it and would understand if someone was unhappy if I did so. In this case, I thought about the pros and cons of my actions for quite some time and made a decision rather than take the easy option and look the other way. Irishfield - I'm not sure my actions can be compared with By the fact that you've left them tied to the back of your boat you have taken ownership of them (in which case I wouldn't let them go) - this fish was tied to a tree in a public place with no angler or equipment in sight.

Just to clarify. I don't think they are 'living' at the islands (plus camping is not permitted) as there have been days when they have not been there. The other thing that I forgot to mention in my original post was that when I spoke to them the first time and he asked if the bowfin was edible he told me that he didn't want the fish for himself but that he might give it to a friend back in T.O if they wanted it. Given the fact that they had packed up and were a long way (1-2 km) from that location to near the ferry, then I think it is unlikely that they were coming back and therefore I made a judgement call and I believe I acted reasonably. I just couldn't turn a blind eye and leave a fish to die - my conscience is clear, if I had left the fish it wouldn't have been. However, if in fact they were coming back for it then it is unfortunate and I apologise to them. What needs to be remembered that the islands are a very public place and frequented by huge numbers of the general public and tourists, as well as island residents (many of whom are against fishing as many board members can attest from their own conversations) - and I don't think they would like to take a walk and see big fish in distress tied to trees - while the person responsible goes AWOL. I don't think it would be too long before shore fishing at the islands would be history. I wouldn't want that for the anglers in Toronto (even if I'm not here) so I stepped up but in the future, perhaps I and others should just look the other way just in case...?

Congrats on the PB Smallie! Nice fish. Just shows you when you need that something extra its time to pull out your 'lucky' lure! Now if only I could persuade my wife to let me buy some of those $$$ luckycrafts! 007

Sorry to hear about the lost musky and slow fishing. Sure can be tough after a cold front. Hope you have better luck next time. 007

Hey all. Back from the weekend away and happy to see some positive feedback and support for my actions. dsn - it was blue and yes I've seen it before in recent weeks. You'll be pleased to know that the young heron managed to clear a few of those gobies from your carp spot by the bridge! But the water level was really low. Also lots of carp in that channel that you and MJL fished a month or so ago and did a report on. DMASSE - possibly! ccmtcanada - Unfortunately, my time in Canada is up and I will be returning to London, England in mid-December. Though I was offered a position here I got an even better offer back home, plus we miss our family! I sure will miss the bass fishing here though as there aren't any of those in the UK. The good thing is I get almost twice as much holiday/vacation time in the UK so, you never know I might be back on a plane to catch some more Bucketmouths! Plus... maybe when I'm settled on the other side of the pond I will do some fishing English style and send you guys some fishing reports and pics of a few different species that even you and Bly can't catch! 007

I hope people think I did the right thing by releasing it - I believe I did as it would certainly have died if I had just left it as they had. They had packed up all their stuff and last I saw of them (about 2 hours later) they were fishing about 1-2km away near the ferry. I'm pretty sure they had left that spot for the day. I would do the same again regardless of species. Would it have been better to leave it to die or for a member of the public to see it and report it and put pressure for fishing to be prohibited at the islands because of reckless anglers?! Who is going to look after our fishing resource otherwise? (I have never had my license checked at the Islands in almost three years of fairly regular fishing there). Problem is I can't be down there checking other folks every day - who says these people won't do the same thing to a pike or bass they catch. There needs to be widespread education of anglers (from all communities) to respect the fish and look after the resource not abuse it. I realise that Bowfin are quite tolerant of warm water but this fish had been tied up for 18 or so hours and half of that time in the bright sun with no shade - needless to say it swam off slowly - hope it survives. Have a good weekend one and all. 007

Nice carp there mate! 007

Hi all. At the last minute today I decided to take a day off work to go fishing and enjoy a beautiful day down at the Toronto Islands. The day started out great - had a really peaceful morning of fishing and photography on Centre Island. Got some beautiful shots of the Toronto skyline and caught a few fish - the biggest being a hard fighting largemouth bass of just over 3lbs. Also tried for carp as there were plenty around but no takers. Here's some pics.. I then decided to try my luck at a few of my usual spots towards Hanlans. As I walked over the main Centre Island bridge I noticed a juvenile Green Heron fishing in one of OFNer dsn's carp holes! He had smaller fish on his mind though - successfully helping out with the goby problem! I should say that as I walked around the islands the problem of really low water levels in Lake O was very noticeable. The water was at least 2ft lower than normal. When I arrived at one of 'my' spots at Trout pond I found a small tent and a young couple fishing. I was a bit annoyed as I had hoped the spot would be free on a weekday. I was also surprised that they had been camping overnight at this is not permitted at the islands. Anyway I thought I would be friendly and ask how they were doing. The guy told me that he had just had a follow from a big pike. He then asked me if Bowfin were edible as he had caught one last night. I told him that I had never heard of anyone eating one. As I couldn't see the fish anywhere I assumed he had decided to put the fish back so I wished them luck. However, as I was leaving I noticed a rope tied to a tree leading to the water, and at the end of it was a rather unhappy looking Bowfin - a big one at that - easily 5-6lbs. This made me sad and unhappy. Coming from the UK where 95% of freshwater fishing is catch and release and with me being a keen conservationist I was rather saddened that such a big fish had been tied up through the gills and mouth and kept in about 6 inches of water in full sun on a scorcher of a day and since last night (some 18 or so hours probably). However I didn't say anything as in the back of my mind I could hear many of you OFNcers saying that it is not against the law to keep a bowfin (assuming they had fishing licences that is). So I moved on round Trout Pond. As I was having lunch I noticed the young couple across the pond taking pictures of themselves with the bowfin. Lifting it up by the rope, which must have really hurt the fish's gills as it kept flapping around, which made the guy drop it at least three times from quite a height. They then threw it back in with rope attached. I couldn't bear to watch so I moved on - I just hoped they would put it out of it's misery soon. I fished a few more spots but without much luck. I then stumbled upon an area of weeds with lots of sunfish, perch and small bass so had half an hour of fun catching them before I noticed a large bass swim into the area. For the next few minutes I twitched a worm in front of him until he took the bait. This largie was huge and put up a really good fight, taking line, jumping and really pulling hard - unfortunately too hard! As I put more pressure on and steered it towards the net the hook pulled out of what I'm sure would have been my first 5lber! I moved on again and noticed that the young couple must have packed up and moved from their original spot as they were now fishing near Hanlan's Point - almost 1km from where they had been camping and caught the bowfin. They were now fishing another one of my other favourite spots so I decided to go back to Trout Pond. As I got to the spot I noticed that the couple had indeed packed up all their stuff and gone. However they had left one thing behind - the Bowfin, still tied to the tree! I couldn't believe it - how can people be so cruel? To just pack up and leave a fish that has been tied to a tree in very little water in full sunshine for a whole day to die is a disgrace. What is wrong with some people? There are so many folks out there that need educating about fish welfare, conservation and ethics. This kind of behaviour is shameful and gives all anglers a bad name. So I pulled the fish in and cut the rope and took it out of its gills and released it, hopefully to fight another day! I believe I did the right thing by doing this as it didn't look like they were coming back and it was being left there to die. Here's a couple of quick snaps of the fish as I released it.. That incident got my blood boiling, and I could no longer enjoy my fishing, so I packed up and left early. Sorry for the rant. 007

Nice catch - you got a great fishing spot there. Keep up the good work. 007

Thanks for the suggestions and the few PMs I had (I will respond to those soon). Looks like my friend want to stay closer - maybe 1hr from GTA. Anymore suggestions out there? Has anybody fished Cooks Bay at this time of year for Pike, Perch and Bass or anything else? Is it any good in October? What can I catch in Lake Scugog at this time of year? Thanks 007

Hi all, Now October is here it has hit me that my time in Ontario/Canada is coming to a close and I need to get some more fishing in before its too late and I have to return home to England in December. I will no doubt make a few more trips out to the Toronto Islands and plan to visit Bon Echo Provincial Park this weekend so hopefully will get some fishing in there too. However a good friend from work has asked me to go fishing with him one last time - problem is where to go for some productive fall fishing. The criteria would be as follows: Species - preferably smallmouth bass, walleye, pike or musky but as you know from my reports I enjoy catching anything! Boats - preferably need somewhere that rents boats Location - somewhere within 1-2 hours drive of the GTA Timing - probably the weekend of October 13th Any suggestions for lakes or rivers that meet the above criteria are welcome as are any others with all round good fishing. My thoughts were Scugog, Simcoe, the Kawarthas or BOQ - but I need to narrow it down a bit to somewhere with good fishing at this time of year with boat rentals. All help is very much appreciated. Cheers 007

Wow - you've been busy, where do you begin with a reply to a post like that? All I can say is a big Congratulations!! 007

Wow Awesome report. Looks like a beautiful place with great fishing. Some of your scenery and bison shots are amazing. Thanks 007

Congratulations Cliff on some beautiful fish - especially the PB muskie! Sounds like you had a lot of fun. You trully are a great all round angler. 007

Sharper. At this time of year the Islands on a weekday are pretty deserted, which is one of the reasons I wanted to take some time off work and fish there. I'm not one for fishing with crowds and at weekends that can happen. Although now we are almost in October it shouldn't be that busy at weekends either and the boats will start to decrease too. I should have picked a better day to go. dsn - the carp are still there but more spread out and very spooky (I need to improve my stalking tactics). All day I saw about 5 carp close-in ranging from about 8lbs to 25lbs! CCMTCanada - You're right about the next cast. I was pretty fed up by early-afternoon but I just couldn't leave early as you never know when your luck will change! Hopefully I can get a couple of good days in in October. 007

Just downloaded my photos from today and will try to add some incredible shots of the evening sky tomorrow. However there was one I just had to post now. It sums up my day! When I set up the camera for self-timer shots (in case I caught a decent fish) I took a test shot holding an imaginery fish but didn't delete it. Sure summed up the day!!! No big fish in my hands or this report! Cheers 007

Hey everyone. Well I decided to take a day off work and go fishing at the T.O Islands for the Big 4 - Bass, Pike, Carp and Salmon. I headed straight to the spots that have been producing big bass so far this fall. Because I was fishing after a cold front with cool conditions I wasn't very confident so started with live bait. I float fished worm in all the usual weeds/docks but caught nothing. So I changed tactics and started casting xraps for pike - no hits or follows - well other than baby bass that seemed to like to chase lures that are almost bigger than them! I then turned my attention to salmon - as I had seen a number of fish jump that I presumed were salmon. Cast my little cleos for an hour or so but nothing! So I continued walking along the shoreline and spotted a few carp, so tried to catch one. On about three occasions I could see a carp around the bait but each time they got spooked. It was obviously not going to be my day, but I didn't give up as I wanted to avoid the dreaded skunk. So I continued fishing with small bits of worm as bait under a float. In the end I managed to catch a few sunfish, small bass and perch. Not quite the day off I had hoped for but I guess it was better than being in the office. The highlight of the day was watching an incredible fiery sky unfold over the City Skyline as I waited for the ferry back. Maybe if I get time tomorrow I'll post some of those pics. Hopefully I'll have better luck next time. 007

Thanks for answering that one. Another couple of quick questions Cliff - you mentioned skein - what's that? Plus are these Salmon actually reproducing, because if everyone takes roe, surely its harming the fishery? Sorry for my lack of knowledge on the subject. Maybe I'll see a few salmon today who are lost and can't find the tribs so are cruising around the islands! 007

Hi all, I have a quick question... I have the chance to take the day off work tomorrow and go fishing down at the Toronto Islands - probably for the Islands 'Big 4' - Bass, Carp, Pike and Salmon. However what with the weather forecast to be cool and cloudy, I'm wondering if it would be a waste of time and better to save my time off for a day with better weather. Can the fishing be good in such conditions? Thanx for any advice 007

Congratulations Cliff on another fantastic catch. I give it another few days and you'll have beaten your PB again. Problem is I bet Bly will then catch an even bigger one! LOL Out of curiosity do people catching salmon at the rivermouths and piers generally release the salmon back into the water or do people keep them? Always wondered seeing as I haven't been down there to look myself. Anyhow, can't wait for your next report. 007

Wow excellent report and awesome pics. Congratulations on the great catch of pike. Good to see you were using a few of the lures I've got in my tackle box too! Will be trying them out very soon but from shore. Thanks for sharing 007

Awesome fish Bly. Congrats. 007