Tried fishing the nuke plant...

[Locnar]

A buddy and I canoed out to the nuke plant this morning. Buddy had a cool cart thing, so we just pulled the canoe down to the rouge and launched from there. We got to the plant shortly after 8am, and the west outflow was just loaded with fish. Probably saw about 30 smallies, some of the biggest I've ever seen... must've been 5-6lbers, the smallest being around 2.5-3 lbs. A whack load of big dirty carps, a few rainbows and 1 Chinny. Could not get a single fish to bite. Threw everything we had at them, crankbaits, tubes, worms, jigs, swimbaits, flies, dropshots... The fish would come by and look at the offerings, get within a couple inches and say... "Nah screw you" and turn around. The water was crystal clear, so I had a 2ft leader of light mono... that didn't make any difference though. Anyone have any luck there? Is there anything I'm doing wrong?

[porkpie]

Some days live bait is the show. Generally you can get them to take artificials but in certain circumstances a minnow or worm presentation is the deal sealer!! Better luck next time!

[Locnar]

I was thinking live minnows is probably the best bet. Do you think we arrived to late? Would we have had better chances right at dawn?

[buick14]

Spooky buggers. You catch fish you don't see, don't catch what you do see.

[Locnar]

So you suggest stay back a ways and casting in?

[Rich]

I dunno what the nuke plant is like but at the Nanticoke coal outflow (which is shutting down jan 1) there is a deep fast moving trough back from the actual outflow discharge. The drop from the flow into the lake, right where it gets deep, is where the action was, hands down. We usually drifted over it with jigging spoons and caught all sorts of fish year round.

 

Dunno if that helps, but hey at least ya seen some fish, only ones I saw today were at the seafood counter.

[John Bacon]

Was that the Pickering plant? I was out this afternoon (not in a canoe though) and didn't get anything either. Spoke to another group and they didn't get a bite either.

[Locnar]

Were you in a bass boat? And was the other group two guys in a canoe?

[fishindude]

http://youtu.be/ui9xDt5Mhh0

Edited November 17, 2013 by fishindude

[Joeytier]

Spent lots of time out thru the years and youre absolutely nuts for going out there in a canoe. A light on shore can turn half foot waves out on the lake into 3 footers once it hits the current. Ive had multiple close calls out there in deep aluminums. If youre cray to do it again, at least put the canoe in at the end o liverpool so you dont have to venture far.

 

And yeah, clear water is almost always the kiss of death if youre not out for first light. Time to bust out the planer boards

Edited November 17, 2013 by Joeytier

[Locnar]

Yeah made sure to check out the wind conditions. It was as calm as bob marley out this morning. Perfect morning for it... except the fish didn't think so...

[John Bacon]

Were you in a bass boat? And was the other group two guys in a canoe?

 

I was in a Princecraft. The ones I was talking to were in a Legend. I didn't get there until the afternoon.

[MCTFisher9120]

Drop shot if the current isn't too swift maybe even twitching a Vision 110 jerkbait might work well. Never tried in there before.

[ehg]

Spent lots of time out thru the years and youre absolutely nuts for going out there in a canoe. A light on shore can turn half foot waves out on the lake into 3 footers once it hits the current. Ive had multiple close calls out there in deep aluminums. If youre cray to do it again, at least put the canoe in at the end o liverpool so you dont have to venture far.

 

And yeah, clear water is almost always the kiss of death if youre not out for first light. Time to bust out the planer boards

 

A canoe from Rouge R.? Ya, Liverpool Rd. is better choice.

To be successful there you have to use rattlin raps or jointed shad raps and be there at sunrise or sunset.between Dec 21- Mar 21.

Did report last year. Any daytime pictures were from about 7 am to 9 am. the fishing drops right off after that.

Do it right and it is non stop catching for couple hours then gotta go, fast.

 

http://ontariofishingcommunity.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=67005

[Gnote]

Ive been a couple times and we ran a live minnow on a small hook with 1 small split shot. We just let the line drift out with the current 50-100 ft and just wait. Prob caught 60-80 drum and a few smallmouth

[John Bacon]

Yeah made sure to check out the wind conditions. It was as calm as bob marley out this morning. Perfect morning for it... except the fish didn't think so...

 

Conditions can change a lot faster than you can paddle a canoe from the nuke plant all the way to the Rouge River. With water temperatures around 40 degrees fahrenheit, tipping or getting swamped could easily become fatal. I hope that you are least keeping close to shore.

[misfish]

When the only 3 times I fished it,there,I threw tubes. Long casts. Let the current drag it. Always caught some fish. I read along time ago in a mag,guys fishing there in float tubes catching browns and walleye.

[Locnar]

 

Conditions can change a lot faster than you can paddle a canoe from the nuke plant all the way to the Rouge River. With water temperatures around 40 degrees fahrenheit, tipping or getting swamped could easily become fatal. I hope that you are least keeping close to shore.

 

Yes, I'm aware of that. We had a back-up plan, land at liverpool if need be and walk the canoe to another buddy's house and get a ride back. We weren't paddling, he had a trolling motor attached to a flat back.

[Afraz]

Anyone been back out that way recently ?