Just wondering,why there are no Salmon and Steelhead in Simcoe

[davey buoy]

Question I have thought about lately. I think the lake is big enough to support that?. Maybe something to do with descent size rivers for them to spawn?. Surely deep enough,lots of bait fish.What are your thoughts on this?,would be interested to know why.

[Joeytier]

Native species take precedent over introduced species for recreational purpose in most cases.

[davey buoy]

Native species take precedent over introduced species for recreational purpose in most cases.

Ok,but why can't they live there,say hundreds of years ago before stocking ?

[Terry]

there use to be steelhead in simcoe, till 1800s I think they built a gristmill that blocked a river and they had nowhere to spawn

you still hear the odd one caught and the odd brown, but icefishing steelhead would be a blast on simcoe

[misfish]

There are rainbows in the lake still. Just no one targets them as their numbers are not that great. I caught a spawned out one years back on a small trib.

[davey buoy]

there use to be steelhead in simcoe, till 1800s I think they built a gristmill that blocked a river and they had nowhere to spawn

you still hear the odd one caught and the odd brown, but icefishing steelhead would be a blast on simcoe

Thanks for the info,also thinking The trent water system connects,Lake O,Georgian Bay, and Simcoe.You might think a few more would make there way here. Maybe a good river is the problem as you mentioned.

[BillM]

Definitely no spawning grounds off Simcoe that would sustain a steelhead population. Any of the rainbows or brookies you get in there are residents for sure.

[misfish]

Definitely no spawning grounds off Simcoe that would sustain a steelhead population. Any of the rainbows or brookies you get in there are residents for sure.

 

Also caught out in the bay Bill.

[BillM]

Residents as in, they most likely came from one of the many streams that flow into Simcoe. It would be cool to think they spawn in those tiny creeks but spend their time out in Simcoe chowing down on smelt, lol.

[davey buoy]

Interesting,do you think the lack of Salmon is similar to the few steelies in the lake?. Or is that a complete different thing?.

[misfish]

Residents as in, they most likely came from one of the many streams that flow into Simcoe. It would be cool to think they spawn in those tiny creeks but spend their time out in Simcoe chowing down on smelt, lol.

 

 

I keep forgetting the meaning of resident. LOL

 

There is a lot of restoration going on out the Oro way for bringing back the numbers of specks /browns and bows. Lets hope we see the out come in our life time.

Edited September 19, 2014 by Brian B

[BillM]

Interesting,do you think the lack of Salmon is similar to the few steelies in the lake?. Or is that a complete different thing?.

 

Lack of salmon where? In Simcoe?

[davey buoy]

 

Lack of salmon where? In Simcoe?

Yes,there in the lakes to the north,south,and bigger rivers as well.

Edited September 19, 2014 by davey buoy

[BillM]

Yes,there in the lakes to the north,south,and bigger rivers as well.

 

If they weren't stocked they won't be in there. What lakes other then the great lakes are salmon and steelhead in?

[Terry]

I keep hoping a few get a break away and make it up the trent or severn to simcoe

[davey buoy]

 

If they weren't stocked they won't be in there. What lakes other then the great lakes are salmon and steelhead in?

Not sure what other lakes Bill,that's why I asked why not here?.

[BillM]

Not sure what other lakes Bill,that's why I asked why not here?.

 

There's nowhere for them to spawn. They aren't shoal spawners like the lake trout are. They need to go upriver, that's why the Great Lakes were a perfect place for them.

[spincast]

 

There's nowhere for them to spawn. They aren't shoal spawners like the lake trout are. They need to go upriver, that's why the Great Lakes were a perfect place for them.

Now, ya see, that's what this place is all about. Thanks Bill - you just answered a question G asked me last week I didn't have an answer for ":Dad - How come the lakers don't run the rivers?" Now I know and Dave knows why he has to drive an hour before he can hook a chinny

[davey buoy]

Now, ya see, that's what this place is all about. Thanks Bill - you just answered a question G asked me last week I didn't have an answer for ":Dad - How come the lakers don't run the rivers?" Now I know and Dave knows why he has to drive an hour before he can hook a chinny

It's all coming together now, thanks as well Bill. Rick,agreed,this place is the best!!!!

[BillM]

Davey, get down to the southern shore of Lake O in the spring you'll get your laker fix

[Gnote]

When i was i kid i hooked an 11 lb rainbow in the river that runs through washago to the old grist mill. Nobody could believe what it was but it was a pretty cool experiance for me. Up till i started fishing lake ontario it remained my pb too.

[FloatnFly]

there are cases of landlocked salmon, but they are different than the monster chinnies, chinnooks would overrun simcoe pretty easily, they swim laps around lake ontario until spawn time.

 

but simcoe could definitely support a resident trout population, would be pretty cool to have a still water trout fishery there, i know there are other still water trout lakes in ontario

[moemoe]

 

If they weren't stocked they won't be in there. What lakes other then the great lakes are salmon and steelhead in?

trout lake in northbay, landlocked atlantics that are actually self sustaining

[MJL]

Keep in mind that the only salmon and trout/char native to Ontario are landlocked Atlantics, lakers and brookies. Steelhead and pacific salmon (chinooks, coho, pinks) are only native to the rivers west of the rockies and wouldn't have naturally occurred in lakes/rivers here prior to the 1800s.

 

Could a naturally self-sustaining population of steelhead or salmon exist in Lake Simcoe today? TBH I'm not sure but a whole lot of habitat restoration would likely need to occur to improve water quality, temperature and remove dams so that fish could access the coldwater stretches of the tributaries to spawn. Then there's the MNR's stance on introducing non-native fish to new bodies of water...

 

trout lake in northbay, landlocked atlantics that are actually self sustaining

 

According to this article, the landlocked salmon were first introduced to the lake in 1935 through stocking. Unfortunately a chemical spill in 1967 in their primary spawning creek pretty much wiped out that population until further re-stocking in 1989, 1990, 1991, 1994 and 1995. It is pretty cool that we have a self-sustaining population of Ouananiche here in Ontario.

 

http://www.afs-oc.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Fitchko1996.pdf

[Rod Caster]

You got it MJL. It's the only inland, non-great lake in Ontario with a self-sustaining Atlantic Salmon population. The main spawing creek (Four Mile Creek) is a fish sanctuary year-round (and actually enforced during the smelt run now) and the fishing season is only one week per year. Even the lake trout are closed except for one week per year to ensure that the Salmon are not by-caught. There are tons of healthy lakers in that lake.

 

To me it's actually a shame that they don't continue stocking the lake with Atlantics to actually create a fishery, or just give up on the program, because the bi-product has been the waste of a fantastic lake trout fishery.

 

Anyway, back on topic, not sure if anyone has actually mentioned it here, but other than Atlantics, lakers and specks, all the other char/trout/salmon species are non-native to Ontario. So, if there are no connecting waterways to the great lakes, and Simcoe is no longer stocked, that is your reason why it has no Rainbows/Salmon.