StoneFly

Had to take a business trip there this week, these mountains in the background are Asbestos slag piles,...anyone know anything about this? I mean the pics dont do them justice,..these are huge mountains and these people living there are sourounded by them.

2 seconds after I post this, I finally see Solos Alsakan post,..OMG,..Insane,..makes me embarrwased to even have posted this...lol

OMG,..Hands down the best report I have ever seen,.....now I know why it took so long,...Question is where do you go from here? How will you ever be satisfied fishing ON again?? EXCELLENT REPORT MIKE!!!

Stained water, very few fish, only one other angler, but this little piggy liked the big red roe. It took ten minutes to beach,..clean hook in the mouth and the Russian guy down the bank asked or begged me to keep it for him,..(She was tight as can be and normally she would have went straight back in the drink),...so I kept her eggs and I guess he ate it,...lol....no matter what anyone says about salmon fishing,..when they are this big, they are alot of fun,..just as fun as steelhead IMO especially with no crowds and your hooking them legit!!! Please dont even bring up lining, I am so tired of hearing about it. lol...If there are 50 fish in a pool,.yes you will almost innevitably snag and line,..however, if there are only a couple and your float bolts down when trotting,..I'm sorry but its a hit, especially after a rain and fish are fresher and unmolested!!!

Cheers to that with the lack of crowds,..I often choose a trib with far less fish and no crowds at all, the last time I think we saw a dozen fish in a 1km hike and i hooked into 5 of them,..no snagging, no lining,..but legit strikes from fresh fish,.crazy headhakes and nowhere near enough fish to line them....they were breaking 5 and 6lb drennan but i still had alot of fun, bowshep was there. I will take that any old day of the week over shopping carts crowds and soup,..but then again its not for everyone,..eh Ken...lol Sorry this got off topic Dave,..I think its AWESOME your daughter is so into fishing,..she couldnt have a better teacher, HD's post got me a little bothered as I know how you fish, its uncompromised!!! Cheers

so by your rationale, 'the fish are only there to do one thing' which applies to all creeks or rivers, wouldnt that make it unethical in every creek or river? use some rational thought and reasoning in your arguments,..and read what your commenting on a little more carefully,...the fact that you missed 'Steelhead' in the title and 'Rainbows' in the body...well...and when you reffered to 'We're not stupid',..just remember,..it was only you making your statements,..there is no WE behind your comments, only YOU!!! So I think you are slamming every single person that has ever fished the EAST are you not? Im not a big fan of it myself as the challenge is less,..but I wonder how many people on this board you are calling unethical?

I dont know,..I did read Steelhead in the title,..and then rainbows mentioned,.just because there werent pics,..well,...shame on you Dave for not taking pics of the steelhead...lol So from your words,...does that mean nooks, Ho's and browns are off limits in the fall once up river? I find it extremely hard to beleive Dave would intentionally line anything, I have fished with him several times and i think the thought would repulse him,..as it would me and obviously yourself,..not really sure what your point is...In fact doesnt your tagline mention a GREY salmon???

From the Toronto Star today, tells a more positive story,.. http://www.thestar.com/article/508588 Raising small fry for frying pan JIM WILKES PHOTOS/TORONTO STAR The salmon and trout that lure anglers to Ontario waters start their lives under a den mother's care. Hatchery technician Melanie Jepp scoops handful of Coho salmon fry at the Ringwood Fish Culture Station just north of Stouffville. Jepp says they respond best to AC/DC's music; Rush songs make them scatter. Email story Print Choose text size Report typo or correction License this article Salmon, trout that lure anglers to Ontario waters start their lives under den mother's care Sep 30, 2008 04:30 AM Be the first to comment on this article... Jim Wilkes Staff Reporter It sounds like a place where trout go to learn good manners. But the Ringwood Fish Culture Station is where they and more than a million salmon get their start each year. Nestled in the trees off Highway 48, just north of Stouffville, the station hums with the sounds of big fans and motors that keep water circulating in huge tanks, each containing thousands of sac-fry – the little fishies that have made the leap from roe to eager swimmers. They'll keep growing until mid-November, when they'll be released in three streams leading to Lake Ontario. Most cozy in for a year before venturing out to the deep water of the lake, where they'll grow exponentially as long as they avoid thinking a lure is food. Many will end up as some angler's dinner, but in the end, that's what it's all about. "Recreational fishing is huge for the economy, for conservation," said Lezlie Goodwin of the Anglers and Hunters Association. "Anglers spend $2.5 billion in Ontario each year." And for Lake Ontario trophy catches, it all starts in a few sheds at Ringwood, where Melanie Jepp, a mother of four, also acts as den mother to 1.7 million little Coho, Chinook and Atlantic salmon, and rainbow and brown trout each year. Jepp, 28, who studied fisheries and aquiculture at Texas A&M University and Sir Sandford Fleming College in Lindsay, works seven days a week at the Ringwood station, balancing a busy home life with her other family in the tanks. "I get to help the environment," she says. "It's cool. I get to make fish." The Ministry of Natural Resources opened the hatchery in 1982, but cost cutting forced them to mothball the station in 2006. The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters joined forces with the Toronto Sportsmen's Show to rescue the hatchery; each contributes $50,000 each year to keep it running. Metro East Anglers is the host club and its members put in many volunteer hours, including stripping hundreds of thousands of eggs from spawning salmon each October along the Credit River in Mississauga. Jepp oversees the growing process as the roe – and other eggs imported from far-flung parts of Ontario – develop into fry, then smolt before being released into the Credit, Duffins Creek in Whitby and Cobourg Brook, all of which empty into Lake Ontario. "The rainbow trout are my babies," she says. "It's like sending your kids off to school. You're happy that you got them that far but sad that they're leaving. "But they're going to grow, go on to better things, explore and learn." And end up on somebody's plate. "I like these fish," Jepp adds. "They taste good and they fight really well on the line. "But I like them as co-workers, too. They're really pretty, they're family fish. They like to touch each other when they swim." They like their music, too. And like Donny and Marie used to say, they're a little bit country and little bit rock 'n' roll. The Coho like to rock, but they're particular. "They don't like Rush," says Jepp, "it just makes them scatter. But they love AC/DC. The music makes them go faster and there's a pattern." Chinook find their pleasure elsewhere on the radio dial, favouring hurtin' songs. The hatchery is open most days to visitors, but it's best to call ahead. To learn more, go to ringwoodhatchery.ca.

Im sure Dave will offer his own reply, my question is when you refer to the 'Fish doing their thing',..did you mean the Nooks, Ho's, Browns or steelhead, or all of them ? as I think he mentioned all 4 species in the report. Just curious. oops Guess I missed it by 5 min,..Excellent words Dave!!!

Excellent Report Dave and Daughter,...nice brown, i just might have to drop by there manyana on my way to QC,...

Nice Ho silvio,..hopin to hook into one of those soon,..

This is the second teaser I have seen from your trip,..lets see some full report action...lol

GREAT Pics,...but you went all that way and NO FISHING??

I beleive its for disposal costs, proper disposal to keep it out of landfill as in recylcing,...however, knowing that industry, its more of a cash grab than anything!!! Sadly ehough

Great pics man,..Welcome,...nice work on the sturgeon!!

It hit like a steelhead, jumped like a steelhead, it looked like a steelhead, but as I landed, it turned out to be the smallest nookie I have ever caught,..lol,..Still a lot of fun,... very poor turnout at this trib again this year but the bite was on and the fish were aggresive today hittin red roebags like candy and crazy wild headshakin action, had some fun with a few other chrome nooks in the low to mid teens and again not another soul in site!!! Same Fish

This run was a fresh one and the I beleive the first this area has seen this year for nooks as i have scouted it, as well as evidenced by the amount of rainbow smolts hittin flys and roe every second drift,...lol,...what i noticed different about this year in september is the lack of chub, not a single one today, but about 25 x 6-8" rainbow smolts in 1.5 hrs. (and 2/3 on the nooks all clean and not a single snag and not a soul in site)... Anyone have any idea why a fresh run of salmon at this time of year would also see so many rainbow smolts (which is great) ... and no chub ? In the past in this locale it was usually 1 for 1 for bow smolts and chubs when the salmon first arrive? I mean, no chubs is great,..but it is better or worse for the river ?

I couldnt believe how stained the water still was from last weekends rain, still fishable though, Fresh Run of nooks showed me a good time this morning. Smashing eggs like Steelhead. The Release, Like a torpedo after a little revival. Alot of these little guys around in the 6-10" range, nice to see for the future,....

Got alot of rain that way last weekend, checkin the hydrometric,..the upper Notty has just resided to near normal, so it should clear up soon,...question is, has it been cold enough for Chrome to start flyin up during the high water,..I hope so,..but probably not quite yet,..IMO

I can second that, 5-6 years the nooks were stacked 4-5 layers deep in a location I have been checking every year since and they have been steadily declining and getting smaller as you said. This year, I have seen 4 fish so far, pathetic really. Would love to chime in over the reasons, but that may get heated. Hopefully the bows are comin soon and plentiful. Too bad they are smaller due to the same reasons the salmon are not even there Cheers,

Actually Health Canada reported a few years back that poor air Quality results in as many, if not more health related issues as smoking in Canadians, mainly respiratory. thats just Canada and our Air Quality isnt all that bad compared to some countries. Did anyone watch the olympics? How can you even think that bad air quality doesnt affect anything that breathes in an adverse way? and dont ask me to produce the stats, I already read them, if you dont beleive it, look it up yourself. Check out Aesthma for one and look at the icrease in incidence over the past few decades and what it is attributed to. And whoever said poor air quality doesnt kill, air pollution episodes certainly can, its just that they effect the imuno compromised aesthmatics and the weak alot more than average healthy person, similiar to ummmm, Listeriosis, (except aesthma)...has anyone read that in the news lately?

I think the more alarming concept is 'Climate change' and associted poor air quality vs. Global warming. Around 15 years ago when I was studying topics like this in University, it was generally only accepted on a 'Fringe' Scientific basis. Now, worldwide it is accepted as fact. Even the Auto manufacturers and big oil have condeded and they are the main reasons it wasnt politically accepted in the past. Nearly similar to how big tobbaco finally admitted that smoking causes cancer etc. Much more evidence exists for climate change occuring at a rate up to 1000 times faster than nature dictates. We do have long term global warming and cooling and change due to natural cycles, this is well documented. The rate and unpredictability of current change is what is cause for alarm and anyone who has lived 20, 30 or 40 years or longer shold be able to attest to this even in Ontario. It is well documented and proven a direct link to what humans have done in the past 100 years or so, to dramatically affect these changes. Just my opinion, although it is also widely accepted fact. Perhaps one good thing to come out of artificially rising oil prices has spawned renewed big interest in alternative energy, options that have been around awhile. Sadly the biggest barriers to implementation was change in infrastrcutre, big oil and politics in bed, as well as consumer intollerance to change and higher everday costs atleast in the shortterm. The price of oil is now 3x what it was 5-6 years ago so now alternatives especially to oil are much more cost feasible. Alternative, sustainable energy such as wind, solar, geothermal, bio fuel and biogas from waste products etc. etc. will over the next 10-20 years become a major source of energy on our planet, it has already started and is accelerating rapidly. Whatever you want to call it, climate channge or global warming, the human induced factors through emissions alone of which there is no denying also are a very major contributor to negative health effects on all animals including humans. What everone can do is keep issues like this in mind when it comes to voting and your choice in purchases. Just my $0.02

Good afternoon OFC, glad to be aboard. I dont want my first post to be controversial, but I have been reading alot of the posts about salmon and snagging, and they are half dead and they dont hit in the rivers, etc, etc. While I agree wholeheartely that once a fresh run comes in the river, and they start to turn after a few days as the water drops clears and warms, hitting a bait for feeding is rare. All you have to do is go to any pool in southern Ontario with more than 12" of vis and see 100 fish and 10 anglers using roe and ALMOST every fish that gets on is snagged and most are lost for reasons already mentioned in previous posts. I will absolutely admit when fresh fish are on the move they will strike roe out of aggression its a bio/evolutionary thing. But consider this,...If 95% of fish are snagged and a few lined with roe and the ones coming up have obviously been in the river for a while,..BUT if someone was using little stonesflys and pulling up fish that were still fresh and silver and every one was hooked in the mouth, is there something to these statistics? I have personally witnessed this time and time again over the last couple of years and really dont even use roe to fish salmon anymore. If anyone tries this and there is enough vis, you will clearly see the fish go for your fly, simliar to how stealhead hit. Salmon roe works good for the first few runs of rainbows that come up (hopefully soon with some rain and cooler weather), but there are more prodcutive and legimate baits to catch FRESH salmon at this time of year. Along with this is that if you use strong enough leader, that little Fly hook will bend, if by a small chance that #14 or #16 size hook has fouled the fish,...and therefore you have released an illegally hooked fish and and not left a hook in its back belly or tail. That same hook will usually NOT bend at all when you have cleanly hooked a fish. I have seen this time and time again. I personally would rather use small flies and get legit strikes all day, if the salmon gets off, he won, it is a sport afterall, those tiny hooks have to be set perfectly to land a large fish, while the guy next to me keeps breaking off due to hookin the fish in the belly with his #4 hook and roe bag. In a pool of 100 fish, all I am thinking of is those couple fresh ones with flies on the mind and legit hits. I'm not trying to stir anything up at all, just trying to help. I don't consider myself an expert by any means, but do consider myself fortunate to have learned from one of the most knowledgeable anglers i have ever met. I personally would love to see alot more anglers out there on the rivers using better baits for more legit strikes on salmon once in the river. I think we would see alot less dead fish in the rivers and ALOT less salmon coming up with big hooks already in their back, fins and tails. Bottom line is it is a more productive, legitimate way to fish and better for the fishery and the environment. Just my Opinion, didnt mean to offend anyone. If anyone is skeptical, try it sometime. And last but not least, one from today, pretty fresh looking, on the smaller side, in fact the only fresh fish I saw landed today, and on the fly deep in the mouth. cheers,