What are these fish?

[Cudz]

I have been out at sunrise a couple of times recently and the Simcoe has been glass. I park the boat in 80' of water and for the 2 hours straight there are fish of all sizes surfacing. I am not talking about 1 or 2 fish I am talking about hundreds. lots of smaller fish but a few bigger splashes as well. I tried throwing a small jig at a group of them but no luck. They appear to be eating off the surface. These goofy flies are mating all over the place out there. Anyway, what type could these fish be? I know when they get near to my boat both my fishfinder and vexilar light up. Maybe just balls of smelt and herring eating off the surface and a few bigger lakers following them around. It was interesting but at the same time a bit frustrating.

[DRIFTER_016]

Whities will also come and feed on the surface when the Shad Fly hatch is on.

[solopaddler]

Yep, it's most likely the annual mayfly hatch (about 3 weeks early this year) and whitefish feeding.

 

It's one of the highlights of the year for me on my lake in QC.

Pretty much the only time of year when you can catch whitefish on dry flies.

 

Years ago when I first attempted to catch them I missed half a dozen wicked hits. Big splashy boils where my fly dissapeared. I'd set the hook and...nothing.

 

It took a while to figure out, but the whitfish were either slapping at my fly with their tails or pushing it with their snout to submerge the fly.

Once the fly was submerged they'd suck it in with their underslung mouth.

 

So after missing the first 6 and clueing in I began to catch them.

You'd have to force yourself to wait 3-4 seconds after the initial rise (not easy to do) then gently lift up on the rod.

 

Caught a bunch that way.

 

On my lake the mayfly hatch usually occurs last week of June/first week of July but apparantly it's starting right now as well.

[OhioFisherman]

Cudz, if there is a big Mayfly hatch going on the fish may be stuffing themselves on them to the exclusion of anything else. The worst trip I ever had on the G/B was during one. You could see smallies and walleye rolling on the surface eating them, and the occasional bigger fish, pike or ski, grabbing a walleye or smallie.

[limeyangler]

very likely whitefish eating the flies...saw an excellent clip of flyfishing for whitefish once...cant remember where...maybe youtube.

[BillM]

Sounds like it's time to get out on Simcoe with the flyrod..

 

A dropper pattern would most likely work awesome.

[wallacio]

The insects that you are seeing on Simcoe right now are't Mayflies but Midges (small non-biting flies)...they can actually be quite a nuisance when fishing Simcoe - you end up inhaling them! Their larvae (small red worms that live in the mud on bottom) are actually an important food for Whitefish.

 

As for the fish on the surface, in addditon to Whitefish (which have already been mentioned by others), you are also prbably seeing Cisco (Herring) and even baitfish eating the emerging Midges on the surface.

Edited June 1, 2010 by wallacio