Went to Rondeau Bay ... a # of weeks ago

[farsider]

Sorry for the delay.

 

I went with some friends to Rondeau Bay Provincial Park just before the Bass opener. Doh!

 

We only managed to get out fishing for a total of five hours all weekend. Being as it was my first time there, I was grateful for the input from fellow OFC'ers.

 

Regarding the park in general, I doubt that I would go back. Almost all of the waterfront is segregated from the park with private cottages along both the Bay and the Erie side. I don't remember seeing that disclosed on the Parks Canada website. Site selection is crucial at this Park. I saw a huge number of sites that had no privacy at all.

 

We also timed our trip for the huge influx of muffleheads. They are a larger version of the common gnat(a non-biting midge). More of an annoyance than anything as they are non-biting.

 

So regarding the bay, It is very shallow. Very, Very shallow! Even in the absolute middle I doubt it is more than 10 feet. It is also really weedy! And I was there weeks ago. By now most of the surface would be matted with weeds.

 

We did manage some fish, some small OOS bass, some perch, lots of bluegills, one small Pike, and one catfish. From the Pier you could see some Bass still on their nests so I imagine that once the season opened, your prospects for Bass on the Bay would be good. We also saw one Bowfin and a decent Walleye but, they resisted our efforts in catching them.

 

As recommended by an OFC'er, I went over to Erieau. There was lots of guys fishing all around the Pier there. Mostly for Perch. We didn't try there but, we did grab an awesome Walleye and Perch lunch at a restaurant in town. The name escapes me now, I think it was Milly's or Mollys, or something close to that. It had a classic old maritime setup inside with these crazy clown pics all over the place. At any rate, the fish was great.

 

Here is a pic of the catfish I caught

 

Cheers,

Mark

[Lunker777]

Molly n' OJ's was the resturant you ate at and YES they have some good food !

Thats to bad you were there prior to bass opener. The weeds are crazy now... but thats what rondeau bay is all about ! hahah The fishing is still slow in there... at least it was last time I was there

 

The park at Rondeau isn't the greatest. The last time I camped there was for May 24 weekend back in high school. We got kicked out after the first night hahaha OOOPS

 

Well hopefully you can make it back to the bay to do some fishing again. Next time, let me know when you will be there and maybe I can take ya around and show ya some stuff !

[Twocoda]

Good on ya LUNKER!!!! thats what this board is meant for ...the extention of a friendly hand...the fish gods WILL smile on you

[Greencoachdog]

That's a good lookin' catfish and a pretty good size too!!!

[farsider]

That's a good lookin' catfish and a pretty good size too!!!

 

I forgot to add that we were mainly drifting throughout the bay. Dropping our lures and bait into the pockets and along the weed edges as we went. We mainly were using beetle-spins, jigs, and various worm harness type rigs.

 

The Catfish actually hit my beetle-spin while I was in full retrieve. Thats the first Cat for me that has actually hit a lure.

 

Cheers,

Mark