aniceguy Posted October 18, 2009 Report Posted October 18, 2009 DAY 1 Its Once….. Twice…..Three times a Chromer The planning for the day sort of took a mind of its own, I have a bass Tournament on Erie the next day out of Port Colborne so I was intending to get out and go through some way points and a new emerald shiner bait that’s ohhh so screams drop shot. Somehow that got transposed with wanna go steelheading…ahhh….ohh ok. Where? I wanted to go fish up north as I hear it was on…….the time factor came into effect and we decided a trip to the cookie cutter capital of the Center of Steelhead universe….…..was in order A quick drive and we start looking at the precip that never appeared as per the weather man..change of plans My Friend and I decide Estuary 101 was in order, so you know, with this cold weather these fish start to nose into rivers from the lake and some river systems are just perfect for fishing them in the early am. I really like to capture the essence of these estuaries as its a neat backdrop to fishing a river and the scenery in many cases is superior to the fishing. This particular river was beyond gin clear but had a very decent fishable population of hot fish straight from the lake, sadly the drift was like watching paint dry but it was productive and the direct peaceful drift into the lake something I always enjoy One of the many from this drift After a while it started to slow down and suddenly watching paint dry didnt sound like such a bad idea....packed up and off we went Stop number two on the journy has us at a small intimate river that lots dont fish due to it not being stocked, and being very on / off with fish, the scenery is second to none though again another estuary shot I hope captured the intent which was peacefulness I love fall steelhead for many reasons but most of all for the bright chrome and the translucent fins on the fish they are fish that just are truely beautiful After a while we decided it was time to move on to the final destination of the day but before that I noticed something I saw in the past but never quite captured its flavor on film, an old boarded up beachfront resort closed forever or for the season I dont know but its image reminded me of a what a postcard from Normandale during the second world war might look like.... in reality its simply a storm surge protector and a delapatated resort but I hope I was able to recreate the sense of what it could be. The final destination These systems experienced major flooding over the summer with a few storms and as such these major storm events I heard it was a silt pit, I have fished it at 700cfm but now adays half that is needed to be fishable. We arrived at a stop to take a quick peek and I was amazed at the amount of silt there really is.....its awful What we did realize is that it had a foot of vis and with the right technique it fished today. After a few checks with a float gradually adding more shot and no fish we knew there was one technique that would work, seam and current break fish stacking shot and bouncing it off the bottom We were right it was steelhead nirvana and beyond, a few pics happened but the severe silt and the consistant fishing meant no mud pics for many reasons .............. but first and foremost its not good for the fish. As a steelheader one of the greatest things that can happen is leaving with a huge container of roe bags and having to stop because you ran out from fishing them One of THE many many many of the day My camera is slimed, as are my waders, wading jacket and ...well everything else but I cant stop the smile..... DAY 2 Simon Forst does a series on Erie called the Frost Bite Series its every weekend in November until Bass closes in Canada. If huge monsterious Erie Smallies are something your into November is the time, the big smallies school up and really feed hard Then again its Erie and a 5 k wind turns to 20 k really quick and it gets gross especially in a bass boat. Anyhow today was the last of the official club tournaments, for the CBAF it was a good time to start to get a feel for some new water The lake was closed at the border due to weather and water it was nasty Trust me its decieving, they were not fun, I got stuck running of to some deep water and had to run troughs back time for some aleve I do think The other thing that i had to endure this morning was bitter 50 degree spray in -6 windschill on the boat, I found that there are lots of face protectors but this seems to feel the best and provide the most comfort although it slips from time to time and I swear my nose kills..any suggestions? Is this a report on fishing or a fashion report............The obvious scenery was devoid other then the above picture I spent some time making it look nicer...... Anyhow I was able to find some different water and mark a dozen waypoints, the fish are still scattered, incredibly tough to find consistantly ......just tough Suffice to say its Erie and you usually catch but the fish were not where I expect them to be, I guess its still a few weeks too early to really have them school up and dial in....I still managed a few regardless its always great when fall comes and Erie starts her fall dance. As a guy with a huge passion for conservation of our wild life I saw something today that made me instintively say cool....A well know TV host was fishing today also and there was a tournament by a small group, that group was negligent in taking the time to fizz thier smallies and as a result thier air bladder wouldnt let them sink, eventually they would die....the TV host did what ever it took to scoop the fish from under a dock away from a bird to make sure it was fizzed and released back to live and fight another day.....no fan fair no camera's simply just doing the right thing.......you know who you are.... On a side note those that like to bass fish and dont have a boat or a ful aresenal, or skill but have a desire to learn and have lots of fun you should consider joining a local bass club it is an experience you wont forget, and you could get lucky and have some of the best canadian tournament anglers as your boater, you will learn at an exponential rate and it is an experience well worth it over the winter check out some of the club meetings. visit the site and enjoy http://cbaf.ca/ Im off to sleep, but I need to fish in the morning somewhere, hope you enjoyed my pictures and thoughts
Twocoda Posted October 18, 2009 Report Posted October 18, 2009 great few days !!! and EXCELLENT report ...totally enjoyed reading and seeing the journey
Guest ThisPlaceSucks Posted October 18, 2009 Report Posted October 18, 2009 that's a good mixbag of fishies! thanks for the report!
ehg Posted October 18, 2009 Report Posted October 18, 2009 Even though i don't fish these areas, really enjoyed this report and the great pictures! Looks like a productive time was had and some beauty fish were caught.
BillM Posted October 18, 2009 Report Posted October 18, 2009 Nice Louis!!! Me and Ferg were about a mile downstream from you Pounded them pretty good... It blew out yesterday though, hit a few fish in the morning and that was it.. I should have stayed in bed.
The Urban Fisherman Posted October 18, 2009 Report Posted October 18, 2009 yepp, well written - nice photos! Thanks dude! Cheers, Ryan
justin elia Posted October 18, 2009 Report Posted October 18, 2009 (edited) Bill,All of our fish hooked with the exception of 3 skippers, were all 7-10lbs. Did you guys notice larger than average fish too?Just a few from the day with Louis. Edited October 18, 2009 by justin elia
BillM Posted October 18, 2009 Report Posted October 18, 2009 (edited) Justin, we got a few shakers on Friday, but most were 7-10lb fish. Ferg landed a monster brown, had to be around the 12-13lb range, I think I landed 3 fish while he was fighting this one, I was laughing the entire time... Found most of the fish in the tailout's, little skippers upfront.. Here are some pics. Edited October 18, 2009 by BillM
aniceguy Posted October 18, 2009 Author Report Posted October 18, 2009 thread hijackers Funny Bill I found the skips smack dab in the seams right in the middle of a pool.....Funny how fish are.......
BillM Posted October 18, 2009 Report Posted October 18, 2009 thread hijackers Funny Bill I found the skips smack dab in the seams right in the middle of a pool.....Funny how fish are....... The shakers were all over the place, I also nailed one right in the middle of a run, just out of the fast stuff. However, the best fish of the day for me was the one I yanked right out from under a few fly fishermen... I was a good 50ft downstream and got yelled at for being to close, lol.
JPD Posted October 18, 2009 Report Posted October 18, 2009 No worries Louis, you would have done the same thing if you were beside that dock they were dumping the smallies off of. I ended up fizzing an extra 7 bass and took them out to deep water. The worst part is that they were dumping them in 2 feet of mud filled water from all the boats loading at the ramp. Several of the anglers fishing this Grimsby clubs event were well know people and one's that I have gotten to know fairly well over the years fishing Erie... I am pretty shocked by this since two in particular have helped the CBAF with fizzing over the years and are good people. Pretty sad when the resource is secondary to a silly tournament. JP
aniceguy Posted October 18, 2009 Author Report Posted October 18, 2009 The shakers were all over the place, I also nailed one right in the middle of a run, just out of the fast stuff. However, the best fish of the day for me was the one I yanked right out from under a few fly fishermen... I was a good 50ft downstream and got yelled at for being to close, lol. Ohh God Bill dont even go there a few years back there was a 2 week long thread on the us steelhead site over a Canadian coming between them, when they were seperated by ohh 100 feet....they couldnt flick cast dude to the 50 feet of distance the centerpin angler left.....that was me it was almost a rumble on the catt.......
aniceguy Posted October 18, 2009 Author Report Posted October 18, 2009 No worries Louis, you would have done the same thing if you were beside that dock they were dumping the smallies off of. I ended up fizzing an extra 7 bass and took them out to deep water. The worst part is that they were dumping them in 2 feet of mud filled water from all the boats loading at the ramp. Several of the anglers fishing this Grimsby clubs event were well know people and one's that I have gotten to know fairly well over the years fishing Erie... I am pretty shocked by this since two in particular have helped the CBAF with fizzing over the years and are good people. Pretty sad when the resource is secondary to a silly tournament. JP Glad you posted this JP I didnt want to mention it was you...having seen pretty much every other TV at some point on the water ( except Dave Mercer) It was impressive that you didnt care about your boat getting cracked on a dock or if your arm got broken while under a dock if the boat gets rocked.....The sort of thing you did earned major respect today, I hope a lot of guys see this and learn that your a class act Straight line anglers didnt do thier due diligence that day, especially since your right I saw the faces of some of the ppl there and if they didnt want to fizz them Mel or any of us would have........ Rember the G B thing I ll buy a pitcher for you next get together! Has anyone else seen a TV show host go to this length to save a fish
fishinguypat Posted October 19, 2009 Report Posted October 19, 2009 ANYONE CATCH SOME STEELHEAD at bronte? or
BillM Posted October 19, 2009 Report Posted October 19, 2009 ANYONE CATCH SOME STEELHEAD at bronte? or These aren't bronte fish, lol
snag Posted October 19, 2009 Report Posted October 19, 2009 Hey, Great shots ya got there. I think I'll pay more attention to the appendages from now on. I need a warm drink now.Brrrrrrrrrrr
Leecher Posted October 19, 2009 Report Posted October 19, 2009 Great report and pics aniceguy Sounds like you had a good couple of days on the water!!! Beauty fish and thanks for sharing Leechman
anders Posted October 19, 2009 Report Posted October 19, 2009 Awsome photos....by all...thanks for sharing
blaque Posted October 19, 2009 Report Posted October 19, 2009 I wasnt too far from you guys, the cookie cutters are getting bigger if the few that i brought to shore are any indication
johnnyb Posted October 19, 2009 Report Posted October 19, 2009 Ohman.....I think I need a steelheading mentor....simply don't know how you guys make it look so easy! Great report....thanks for sharing
MJL Posted October 19, 2009 Report Posted October 19, 2009 Great report Louis. Way to spend a weekend. Great pics too
super dave Posted October 20, 2009 Report Posted October 20, 2009 I hate you Louis. We were there on Sunday and it was probably 2 inches of vis. The only place we got fish was the small feeder creek. Oh well, theres always next time.
aniceguy Posted October 20, 2009 Author Report Posted October 20, 2009 Dave!!!!! Where have you been, was going to ask Andy for your contact info PM me we should get out again....You know how it is Dave a timing window these days there
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