Springtime Browns?

[reelcranky]

Hey guys I am new to the area and I was wondering when and if the browns and coho's are caught along the shoreline in shallow water first thing in the spring? I use to fish the shoreline of Lake Michigan (St Joe) with crankbaits on inline planers in April and do pretty good on the browns and cohos is Lake Ontario similiar fishing? I was thinking about trying Olcott this April I fished there last year for the first time in the summer I think its a great port. Thanks in advance for your replies.

[LongLine]

RC - Welcome to the board. Yes they definitely are caught along the shore. The only difference is that our fish are usually bigger.

Tom B.

(LongLine)

[Capt Vince Pierleoni]

Yes it will be similar. Hard to say when it will be cranking but we don't have much shore ice now in the Olcott area. Browns are probably there already, but we generally don't count on it for good until around April 10th. Tom is right, you will be thrilled with the size of our Cohos.

[stoutner]

Yes it will be similar. Hard to say when it will be cranking but we don't have much shore ice now in the Olcott area. Browns are probably there already, but we generally don't count on it for good until around April 10th. Tom is right, you will be thrilled with the size of our Cohos.

If it gets good around the 10th of April, how long does it usually last before you have to start going deep?

[Capt Vince Pierleoni]

Stoutner, usually by then there is some stability and a mix of species. Moving deeper really depends on what you are after. Kings usually are reluctant to sell-out completely to the shallows(under 25') although an odd one here and there is encountered. Most seasons shallow fishing remains good into early May for Browns, Cohos and drop-back Steelies. The fish are often in there much longer, but success drops off as billions of alewives move in there to spawn. By this time, consistent fishing is available in deeper water, so you may choose to get away from all that bait unless Browns are what you are targeting.

[reelcranky]

Thanks for all of the great info guys I am really looking forward to fishing Lake Ontario this year I hope everyone has a good year!