ccmtcanada

I remember back in the 70's when the mercury content in fish was so high they were warning people almost daily on the radio and TV not to eat any fish caught in Lake Ontario. Although great strides have been accomplished since then, it seems we are on the downside again. Those memories of he 70's will be with me forever, and I dont think I'd ever be comfortable eating fish from there...sad really...

Found this online in today's Toronto Star website. This is why I dont keep anything out of Lake Ontario....anyone surprised by this revelation??? ================================================== Great Lakes fish getting worse: Study Jul 05, 2007 11:36 AM Catherine Porter Environment Reporter Toxins that once only surfaced in big fish are making their way down the food chain, a sign that the Great Lakes are getting even more polluted, a new report says. In the past two years, smaller sizes of salmon, trout and carp have been slapped with strict consumption warnings - and some with outright bans - in many areas of the Great Lakes and particularly in Lake Ontario. "In Lake Ontario, between 2005 and 2007, you had eight categories of advisories getting worse and just one improving. As bad as the situation is, you've got a trend line that's getting worse," said Aaron Freeman, policy director of the advocacy group Environmental Defence and the author of the report entitled “Up to the Gills.” Warnings about eating fish longer than 75 centimetres have been in place for years, as they accumulate toxics like mercury and furans in their fat over years. Now, fish around 55 centimetres long, which haven't had as much time to accumulate toxins, are starting to show dangerous levels. That's a sign that pollution has become more widespread, the report says. "We need to reduce the amount of pollution going into lakes," said Freeman. "We have to stop dumping raw sewage. We have to limit industrial and agricultural pollution into the lakes because we're seeing higher and higher levels as indicated by the advisories." The fish in Lake Ontario are the most contaminated, a sign that it's the most polluted of the Great Lakes. That's not only because it has the most industry, but also that it receives water - and therefore pollution - from all the other lakes. "Ontario has the perfect storm," said Freeman http://www.thestar.com/sciencetech/Environ.../article/232782

Weeds...great report and nice pic too! You can sense the excitement and enthusiasm in your writing!! Nice job....gives me a little hope of landing a nice one from shore myself one day.

Great report!! Lots of great fish and information in there. Glad to see the trip was successful with minimal damage/loss to your fishing gear. That was pretty funny about the transmission too...LOL.

It was a pleasure for Bly and I meet and chat with you as well! Thanks for stopping by our campsite before we left on Sunday. It was great hearing all those stories of your US adventures!! Hope to see you next year...we'll be back for sure!

That's great news Sam. It's always nice to see local businesses do well!

Great job on that PB Pike! Yes there are bigger out there, but you got a real nice one there. I figure anything that qualifies for OFAH is a VERY respectable fish! Good on you to return...as long as you learn from your skunks/lost fish then you are headed in the right direction. The next fish after a skunk is sweet...esp when you land your PB.

Latest article I could find.... MNR looking at Pigeon Lake as carp cases spread No confirmed carp cases yet John Chambers Local News - Wednesday, July 04, 2007 Updated @ 1:32:52 PM PIGEON LAKE - Phone calls concerning dead carp in Pigeon Lake have been received by the Ministry of Natural Resources Peterborough office, but at this point staff with MNR say they are unable to confirm whether the issue is connected to carp deaths in Lake Scugog, Scugog River, Sturgeon Lake and most recently Cameron Lake. "We have received a couple of calls about carcasses on the lake but they have been fairly old in appearance from what people have described to us," said Dan Taillon, a biologist with MNR's Peterborough office. "So they may have been fish that have come through the channel. We are keeping an eye on it as best we can." Calls concerning dead carp surfacing in Cameron Lake continued to be fielded by MNR earlier this week, but the numbers appear to be relatively few at this point says Taillon. "We got a couple of calls yesterday (Tuesday) from folks saying they saw some fish over the weekend that were sick looking and a handful of carcasses but we haven't had any calls that I am aware of today (Wednesday). Taillon said so far the number of reported carp carcasses on Cameron Lake appear to be between 10 and 20. While the initial numbers appear low, Taillon pointed out carp deaths on Scugog and Sturgeon started much the same way. "They (lake users) are starting to see some fish on Cameron Lake and when Sturgeon Lake started and Lake Scugog started it was a small number at first and kind of snowballed from there, so we are monitoring that quite closely right now. MNR is still awaiting initial test results from fish pulled from Lake Scugog nearly three weeks ago. Taillon said they are in a "holding pattern" at the moment with respect to results and not much can be done to speed up the process. "We don't have a lot of control over when the tests results come in," he said. "They are running the tests and it takes them 21 to 42 days to run them. We're like everyone else and waiting for the results to come back in. To date, Taillon said the number of dead carp in the area is being pegged at between 4,000 and 10,000 fish, but it is difficult to guesstimate the numbers. "The initial reports from Lake Scugog were somewhere between 2,000 and 5,000 fish and I think we're safe to say we're looking at similar numbers on Sturgeon Lake. According to Taillon the MNR is relying heavily on lake users to notify the ministry when they see dead fish, adding they are responding as quickly as possible when they receive the information. "We are trying to get some people out on the landscape more than we are to keep us in the loop on what they are seeing," he said. "We're not driving around the lakes looking for dead fish in new areas, but when we get the calls about fish we are getting out as quick as we can. Back on Lake Scugog, MNR officials are reporting things appear back to normal with no recent reports of dead or dying carp. "It sounds like things are as back to normal as they can be on Scugog," Taillon said. "We're not receiving any phone calls, and we're not receiving any reports from Scugog. While the circumstances surrounding the massive carp deaths continues to be a mystery, Taillon said the good news is the problem appears to be confined strictly to carp. "We haven't had any reports of any number of any other species that would indicate this is impacting anything other than carp, but if people see those things in any numbers we're definitely interested in hearing from them,' he said. Unfortunately, the problem appears to "move through the lakes fairly quickly," he added. After collecting nearly 10 tonnes of bagged carp during a special weekend curb side pick-up July 4 and 5 in Kawartha Lakes, City officials have decided to have another special pick-up this weekend around Sturgeon and Cameron Lakes. Taillon said when handling the dead carp, people should exercise basic common sense. "Handle the fish wearing gloves, wash your hands when you're done, wash your tools - if you're using a shovel to move the fish - just common sense stuff for now, and when we get the results back we'll know better as to what additional steps people should be taking," he said. Without a known cause, ministry officials say they won't speculate on how they will address the issue moving forward, but according to Taillon, the news isn't as bad as it could be. "From an ecosystem perspective there won't be (much impact) because there will still be some live fish in the lakes and the lakes, I think, will be fairly quick to recover - they are good productive lakes," he said. "There are people who do value carp as a sport fishery so there will be an impact there but the good news is that we had a very, very strong population to begin with. "And obviously there is the social aspects for people having to deal with fish on their properties." Residents and cottagers on Sturgeon and Cameron Lakes who want to have the City pick up any carp that have washed up on shores in the area are asked to double bag the dead fish and have them at the curbside by 7 a.m. both days. Bags cannot exceed 40 pounds in weight. http://www.thepost.ca/webapp/sitepages/con...sif=News%20Live

The good ole red devil at number 2!!! Bly's go to lure!

If it's not too weedy where you are fishing, then I find crank baits can be very successful. If they are not agressively hitting, try altering your retrieve by stopping for about 10 seconds, then start up again. Vary your retrieve speed too....from verrry slow to fast. Try either Wallydivers or Rapalas. The size will be determined by how deep the water is, as larger ones typically dive deeper. I dont fish for Bass, so I cant help you on that one! Good luck!

What are you fishing for?

I'm not sure about where to get it fixed, but if you let us know where you are located, someone may know of a place close by. Welcome to the forum! Nice smallie!

Jen...Great report even though nothing was caught. Guess that's why it's called "fishing" and not "catching". It's great just to get out there, especially with family. You are one cool mom and your kids will grow up and remember all those great fishing trips you took them on...and then pass it down to their children one day The skunk will be gone soon...that's my prediction....I'll expect to see some fish by....let's say....Sunday! LOL

What a great report! Your little girl is VERY cute! They grow up very fast, so cherish each and every moment. Keep this up and she'll be prime to be your fishing partner in a few years!! Thanks for the report and pics. PS. Nice fish.

Nice report Lexx! Same thing happened with my first muskie...went to take measurements after the pic so I could make an OFC Tourney entry and the thing starts to flip around in my hands. Instead of having it stunned by dropping it in the boat, I lean over the side and away it went. Oh well!!! Great story about the OPP too...LOL...I have stuff in my wallet older than that too....haha.

LOL...dont know if I'd be rolling over trying to entice a 50+ inch muskie to bite my lure. With my luck, it would find my head or arm a much more appetizing meal.

Makes sense DouG!! I never thought of it that way before. I just look online to see what the temps are in my area. They have gone up from mid 40's to mid 60's in just a few short days.

Hey Stoty....here's a great guide that Bly and I used to get us started at the end of last summer...take a look...it's very helpful! http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/MNR/pubs/UrbanFishing.pdf Good luck!

I agree with Barnie...I had an 18" smallie that looked similar in girth that came in just over 2.5 pounds.

Hey there Hooked! The funny thing is that fish rarely read magazines...LOL. Seriously though, the last2 report where bly caught browns, it was a north wind...so an offshore wind for us. I haven't read that article, but I wonder if it talked about water temps as well...since they are a cold water fish, they may be in the area regardless of the wind direction. One thing for us is that when it's an onshore breeze, it's a south wind, which in general means warm air temps to heat the water. I'd suspect that you are in a better location when it's a north wind...you get both the cooler air temps and onshore breeze! Good luck out there!

Great report Tom! Lots of great information in your post. Welcome to board as well...you'll find this is the best one on the net. Oh yeah...we do like pictures...so please post some in future reports!!

I wish I was that good with power tools and some wood lying around!! Great job and most importantly, your little one loves it.

LOL Kevin...what my latest report didn't mention is that I lost 2 crank baits and a spoon on Saturday night. As far as the fish are concerned, they'll probably do fine. The hooks will eventually rust and fall out. or they'll just get worked out by themselves. I've seen lots of dead fish wash ashore, but I've never seen one with a lure in it's mouth.

No worries Tony...the spots we are at are not a secret, we see other ppl fishing there as well, they just all go home when it gets dark!! Our best fishing is after the sun sets. Just make sure you have a bath in mosquito repellent though...LOL. We do not give out our spots unless we completely trust the person....and that means meeting and fishing together to get a true feel on what they are like. Thanks for your words Tony...shore spots in urban settings are hard to come by, and yes, we do put our time in for our results.

Brian....what is it with you??? You cant escape something going wrong during a fishing trip!! Good to see you made it home ok after Saturday's adventure. I know what you mean about pics not really capturing how big the waves are...I've tried to take pics myself and always disappointed when I see them. I'm glad they were not that bad on Saturday. For hours after I got home, whenever I'd close my eyes, I'd feel like I was still on the boat....swaying back and forth....LOL. Your battery was a scary thing!! Was that the first one you tried on Saturday?? Anhow, glad to see you made it back to shore safely....and that you managed at least a few fish out there!