RoyL

For a guy that's desperately waiting for ice-out, 64 inches of ice is just ...obscene!

It's great to see the beginnings of an "Eastern Ontario Contingent" forming on this forum! I haven't done it before, but from everything I have learned and read over the years, the western bays of Wolfe Island (Reed's Bay and Big Sandy Bay) would be my target spot after ice out, flat lining in 6-12' of water. That should be the first water to warm up, attracting the minnows and the lakers should be in there chasing the minnows. Since you are allowed 2 lines per angler in that zone, try some very small lures too and you might pick up some monster crappy. Typical ice-out date for this area is around April 12-15. It may be later this year because I'll bet the ice out there is thicker than normal. I'd guess the last week of April and the first week or two of May would be best. As far as other fishing around Wolfe and Simcoe Island, that's still prime small mouth bass territory. In the early 70's I shared shifts driving a cab with a fellow who took the summer off and guided out of the Wolfe Island Hotel with a 25' cabin cruiser. He would show me pictures where he took 5 fishermen out and they all limited out (6 each) on 5+ lb fish! Apparently jigging off rocky bottoms in 15-25' of water works all summer. I'm sure the fishing pressure has increased since then, but I'd still expect a lot of fish in the 2-3lb class. Use light rods with 8-12lb test line and you will have a blast.

I moved to Zone 18 from the Oshawa area about 12 years ago. Been doing mostly bass fishing since then, but every year I have it on my list to find a place to go after some early season Brook Trout action (as an alternative to ice-out crappie). Haven't gotten around to it yet, because I haven't had the time to explore various lakes. Anybody have any info to share? Won't need much in the way of water access. I have a 16' canoe that I have to build a motor mount for in the next couple of weeks to mount a 2hp Honda 4-stroke I picked up last year (another project that's overdue). I'm presuming I'll be looking for lakes north of Highway 7 between Kaladar and Perth (I am 25 km south of Sharbot Lake).

@Yellow Fever Thanks for the info and the generous offer! I'd love to try some ice-out laker fishing on light tackle -- maybe around Wolfe Island? I am not a great fan of lakers on downrigger tackle suitable for salmon. Even 20 lb'ers come up like a wet boot when you are used to Salmon peeling off 200 yards of line with a screaming drag or the aerobatics of Rainbows in mid-lake on a flat calm day. Maybe we could arrange a two-boat excursion, 'cause I'll be bringing my 30 year old son. Right now I'm working with a wide/deep 14' with a 25hp tiller that I'm looking to upgrade - either the motor (newer, not more hp) or the whole rig. Then I intend adding a 17-19' "lake boat" that will be suitable for Wolfe Island, Thousand Islands excursions for the wife and rigged with downriggers for Wellington / Waupoos / Hay Bay/ Main Duck (if we get a perfect day).

Yes, except that's in the US in the southeast corner of the lake. The question is about fishing with a boat in the northeast corner of the lake. No question that the southeast corner (Mexico Bay) gets some of the hottest (and earliest in the season) fishing, If you look at a map of Lake Ontario, with the idea that the Salmon migration is a counter-clockwise route around the lake, starting at NIagara, you can see that Mexico Bay is is where they turn north and that Main Duck Island is about where they are turning west, heading past the south shore of Prince Edward County and past Wellington. The real question is: how many of them drift north into the more sheltered waters of Prince Edward Bay and points north?

@Snidley This is the kind of fishing I was used to out of Whitby (that's where this episode was shot). http://www.ahtv.com/2018/episode-9-lake-ontario-tyee/ @BillM That's a great post. Exactly the kind of discussion I was looking for. Too bad it's 14 years old. The problem with fishing both Main Duck Island and Wellington is that during the summer, "fair weather" winds on Lake Ontario are typically from the southwest. Cooler, high pressure days might be from the northwest, but the balmy summer days are typically southwest winds. That gives the wind 250 km of open water from Hamilton to Main Duck (210 km to Wellington) to pile up the waves. Even 10 knot winds can pile up uncomfortable 4-6 foot waves in that distance. That's what makes the sheltered areas so attractive - Prince Edward Bay (off Waupoos), The North Channel (north shore of Amherst Island), Adolphus Reach, Long Reach (leading into the Bay of Quinte). I guess I'll just have to upgrade the boat and start hanging out with other boaters in these areas. It was a lot easier when sharing a dock with 40 other salmon fishing boats in Whitby! It was "come have a beer (and tell me where the fish are!)" The good thing is that Wellington is only a 100km drive from my place, so we can try for nice calm days, and if we find it's too rough when we get there, it's only about 30km across the County to Waupoos. If Wellington is rough because of southwest winds, Waupoos is guaranteed to be sheltered.

I used to run 27' boat out of Whitby trolling for Lake Ontario salmon and rainbow trout each summer, and I have been missing it. I moved just north of Kingston a dozen years ago and have concentrated on back lakes bass since then. When I was in Whitby, I could tell you exactly what week the salmon would appear, in what locations and at what depth the best fishing would be. Seldom got skunked if the fish were around. I am thinking of upgrading my 14' tin boat to something that could handle minor excursions on to the big lake or the river around Wolfe Island and I am looking for the same kind of information for this area that I could have provided around the Scarborough to Bowmanville area 10 years ago. For example, I know guys will say "head out the Main Duck Islands in June", but that's out of the question - I won't be looking for a boat that can handle that. Do the salmon and rainbows (Steelhead, but I only call them that when they head upriver) frequent more sheltered waters? For example, off Bath? off Waupoos? Do they head into the Bay of Quinte off Adolphustown? If so, when? We used to track the counterclockwise movement around the lake to know when they would be off Whitby. One of the key bits of information was when they appeared off Wellington -- usually late May, early June. They'd be in Whitby two weeks later, initially down 15' in 30' of water. Would love to start a conversation about boat fishing at this end of the lake. So far all I see on the board is shore fishing , and musky fishing off Gan. Roy

I live in Verona, just north of Kingston. Have been here for 7 years. Still learning the area, but have developed some favourite spots. Would be very interested in communicating with anyone who knows or lives in the area, especially North Frontenac. Looking to do some ice-out trout fishing this year, north of Highway 7 and looking for a roads/lakes report given the flooding and late breakup this year. Also looking for a spot with some good pike for May. In my immediate area, lakes are about 2 feet higher than normal, with record water levels dating back to the 1970s. Roy

Thanks guys. Always appreciate the time taken to answer. Particularly liked the advice about checking out the foam. Not something I would have thought of.

I'm thinking of upgrading my boat to a bigger aluminum. Got my eye on one listed privately, but have some concerns about being sure of the purchase -- i.e. testing like I could in the spring. I'm sure I could find a mechanic to tank test the outboard (50hp to 75hp), but what about leaks in an aluminum? (Vintage about 1990). Worries me that winter would be the perfect time for someone who didn't care to offload that leaky aluminum that nobody would buy in the summer. And, in my opinion, any promises or guarantees (written or otherwise) aren't worth a pinch of you-know-what if you're dealing with someone who would do that in the first place. What would you do? Any answers, or wait until spring and pay more? RoyL

Peacock Lumber Oshawa http://www.peacocklumber.ca/

I have been following this discussion, and actually pulled out my reg summary book to check on this hook issue, because I also remember a line in the old regs that specifically said a maximum of 4 hooks, with a treble counted as 3 hooks UNLESS part of a lure. i.e. if you used a treble on a quick strike, you could only use another single hook (the workaround of turning it into a "lure" left for another discussion). However, current regs now define a "hook" as a "single pointed or multiple-pointed hook on a common shaft". I think there has been a change somewhere down the line. They now seem to call each "hook" in a treble a "point", not a hook. So a treble is now just one hook, where it definitely used to be 3, unless attached to a lure. RoyL

Irishfield -- that would be great news! I have a river here where I can catch shiners the size of trout -- they're a blast on ultralight, and then go pike fishing a couple hours later. Best size are the 7 inchers, but I've caught them up to 14". The restriction is printed in the 2008-9 summary. I'll look online. Found it! Changes to the printed regs. You're right! http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/239044.pdf .... Page 6 Love this board! RoyL

Dang! I was thinking of using the same technique, but here in Zone 18, we can't use any bait-fish longer than 13cm (5.1in), alive or dead. I guess they don't want us catching any big ones! RoyL

P.S. We have all assumed that your boat has more than 9.9hp. Registration is only required for boats with 10hp or more. 'course trailers always have to be licensed.