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.

Start here: http://boating.ncf.ca/buy-usa.html#start RoyL

I've got many years experience fishing for Salmon out of Whitby on my 27' boat, but I sold my boat and all my Salmon gear when I moved up here north of Kingston a few years ago. These recent posts out of St. Kitts and Bronte are giving me the itch again! When we fished out of Whitby, we'd always wait for the counter-clockwise migration around the lake. We'd hear reports out of Wellington, then Cobourg and then the fish would appear off Whitby about the middle to end of June (the southwest corner of the lake is always first 'cause it warms up first). Enough preamble! What I'd like to know is if there is any opportunity for using my 14' (wide and deep) tin boat with a 25hp tiller down at this end of the lake without having to replace my downriggers. i.e. flatlining, or using the little mini diving rigs I still have but never had to use. (How about the live bait drift rigs they use on the Niagara bar on the US side? Naturally, I'd be picking nice calm days, staying close to shore, and probably fishing water depths no more than 50', down 20-25. (that's where they typically were in Whitby until after the first week of July anyway). Anybody have any experience at this end of the lake they'd care to share? I don't really want to go out and buy $500 worth of gear for what will only be a couple of outings. RoyL

Actually, you should get the previous owners ownership signed over to you (much like a car sale). The transfer of ownership is on the back of the ownership. Failing that, you may be required to get a notarized statement of loss of ownership (cost me $15 once). Then you need the bill of sale to establish the price. Hopefully, you got separate bills for the boat and the motor. Registration involves only the boat, so if you present the BOS for just the boat, you will later get a bill from the Province of Ontario for the 8% sales tax on it (assuming you didn't pay it to a dealer (and even if you did, you may have to prove it later -- happened to me once). If the BOS also includes the motor, you will be required to pay the 8% on everything. Service Canada takes care of boat registrations. Number is easy to remember 1-800 - O - Canada RoyL

Desert Lake Resort http://www.desertlakeresort.on.ca/

Three years ago, I bought a used older 14' Starcraft, (wide and deep) aluminum with a 25hp Merc tiller (probably late 80's). Bought it from an acquaintance who only owned it for a couple of months before discovering it didn't suit him (He couldn't get in an out of it -- had a double hip replacement at the time I bought the boat from him -- he did fine with his pontoon boat instead). He got the boat a few months before from a "home mechanic". I think I got a pretty good deal, and I absolutely love the boat and trailer. However, I soon discovered that the motor doesn't really suit the boat, and I am thinking of making a switch. And here is where I'm looking for some discussion of my options. Here are the issues: 1) Initially, the boat pulled to port, BIG TIME. i.e if you let go of the tiller it would make a 90 degree turn and flip you out. Took MUSCLE to hold it on line. Lots of experimentation showed that the shaft was too long -- cavitation plate was 2 inches below the bottom of the boat. (adjusting the movable fin didn't help much.) Fixed this by putting a 1.5" piece of wood under the clamp, effectively raising the transom height by that amount. The transom is 16" (without the block) and I measure the shaft length at about 18", making this (I guess) a long shaft, where this boat should have a short shaft with a 16" transom. Anyway, that work-around works, and it handles ok now, although the clamps are a little higher on the inside of the transom than I'd like. 2) It appears that this motor has been suped up, probably for use on a Sea Flea. There haven't been any changes to the power head, but the bottom end has been drilled out (very well done) just above the cavitation plate on both sides for additional exhaust ports. This gives an unmuffled exhaust when at planing speeds -- makes me self conscious on quiet Sunday mornings on cottage lakes! 3) the reverse lock has been removed. (Probably part of the suping-up) I can idle in reverse, but anything more, the engine will kick up. Other than that, it's running great (started this morning in the driveway --yes, I had the water muff on it -- after winter storage on the third pull), and it's got lots of power. So bottom line, pros: runs great! Cons: Noisy at planing speed, uncertain reverse, and work-around necessary for handling due to shaft length. So, what should I do? 1) live with it? 2) try to swap for a short shaft 25hp? 3) replace bottom end housing and reverse lock if I can find someone with a motor with a dead power head? (How much labour involved?) 4) something else? I don't want to spend a ton of money. I suppose I could justify $500 without getting a second opinion from the better half (she would undoubtedly choose option 1 for any price tag bigger than that! Your ideas appreciated and welcomed! RoyL

Montreal st exit north, then 1st right. Look for the spot where the road crosses the canal. Parking at the lock. Walk and explore. Beautiful spot!

South of the 401, all the way from Ajax to Trenton. RoyL

The husband of one of my employees is a mechanic and has a portable cherry picker they use for removing engines that should do the job. However, he is closer to Kingston. But give him a call. Something might be arranged. Call Mike at 613-372-1493. RoyL

Try an upholstery shop. I remember one in downtown Oshawa that would surely have what you need. RoyL

Do a Google search for "foam mattress Toronto". You can buy regular foam from these places, not just the expensive "memory foam". RoyL