Best fish ever

[whaler1]

So what's the fish you are most proud of? Who has a pic and or story of your best fish trolling Lake Ontario that didn't get away.

[Jared015]

My father and I, with our family, come up from Cleveland every year.

My dad, in the 80's, went for a few trips, but stopped coming. after telling me amazing stories of all the fishing in NY we finally decided to take a trip in 2007.

Multiple years of chartering from Tracker charter inspired us to get boat and run along side Cpt Dave. Allowing us to bring more family and friends.

We gradually went from this annual trip being only 3-4 days long to now being10 day trips multiple times a year.

We love it up there

The time that comes to mind for me was the first year with our boat.

We went trolling the last morning before we left. Just me and my father (now tradition). We had Little gas left from a long day before and did not get in to the marina in time for gas. So we decided to get on the water early ,with the little gas, and come back in early. If we did good we'd go back out if we did bad we would just load up he boat and head home.

We hit a nice steelhead right away that I lost. But followed that up with a 20 lb King that I caught. it looked to be a good start

It began to get busy and boats were tight. We had a GOOD King on the line and boats were forcing us to turn hard while fighting the fish. We ended up losing it and to top that off we had to turn hard again because of another boat.

My father who was driving began to cus as we tried to organize the mess we had.

Then the downrigger goes off and starts running out line fast. We knew it was a good King. We just said "get this fish in, then all this will be worth it". Well after about 25 mins he was near the boat.

My dad was trying to untangle lines (the fish was all over the place) and drive.

On top of that The boat used to have a stalling issue at idle speed. It would stall every once in awhile. Whelp it decided to do it when we were trying to net this fish. Not once not twice Three times.

All this and my dad got the net tangled on the rocket launcher in the rod handles when he leaned it on there to go start the boat again.

All this was going on and my dad was cussing up a storm. F this boat F this Net. we're never going to catch this fish. I started to laugh to myself because I thought there's no way this much can go wrong and we could lose his fish he would've been lost already.

Boat stalls again and my line goes wayyyyy slack. I said "he's gone"

My dad says "dammit I'm sorry I lost him". I replied "no you didn't I lost him"

I kept reeling and the line tightened up again. The fish ran at the boat.

My dad got the net untangled and tried netting it twice and missed. The fish moved to the starboard side and he said im gonna wait till he gets to the back again. I yelled just net him!!!

He did and then said help me he's too big.

As the fish hit the deck we went from pure mayhem and cussing to jumping up-and-down hugging each other and saying this fish is huge.

We went in and decided not to come back out that was the best way to end the trip.

I will never forget that moment with my father

Edited January 12, 2016 by Jared015

[Jared015]

34#

Edited January 12, 2016 by Jared015

[whaler1]

That's a great story!

[Gill-T]

In high school me and the boys would head down to Lime Lake (Machias) for a little "poor-man's salmon" fishing at night on the docks.  Throw out a little corn to chum, rods go out with hooks loaded with Blue Boy or Delmonte (we would let the fish tell us what they preferred) sit back and enjoy the summer evening temps while enjoying an under-age Old Mill-swuaky can of beer.  This evening in particular I decided to dispense with the usual light spinning gear and trade the drag burning run for a battle royal with my Diawa Sealine-rigger rod combo with 20 lb test.  Well the bite was slow to start so perhaps a few to many beers dulled the senses a little.  Upon resetting my line I must have forgot to keep the reel on free-spool because I hear a noise and turn to watch my rod go straight into the water at break neck speed.  There was a slight pause where my brother and I just looked at each other before I actually reacted to my cherished new trolling combo (which I had earned cutting lawns) was speeding across the water.  I sprung to my feet and launched myself full-out extension in the direction the rod was last seen.  While over the water the full moon revealed the chrome reel parts moving just under the surface to me and I landed with a perfect catch of the rod handle as I splashed down with a perfect belly flop.  The ruckus of the large splash and my brother laughing loudly brought a bunch of cottage owners out to see what was going on at 11:00 pm at night.  The carp was landed ( only 8 lbs) and a legend was born ( in my own mind).

[Big Spoon]

After college I bought my first boat - a 17' Flare Center Console, with an 88 Johnson SPL on the back.  I fished that little boat hard on the FLX and Oneida, and when the weather looked right, on the Big Lake.  I burned a lot of gas on Ontario, and looking back, it's a wonder we ever got tight.  These were the days when I would read online about boats limiting out in hours, and we'd troll all day without moving a rod.  We'd fish dipsies without line counters, cowbells for kings, no downspeed, temp... nothing.  It was no wonder we were never successful.

 

But... there was one day, when we found the dumbest, hungriest fish in the lake.  I can still remember my dad about jumping off the boat when that rigger rod started pounding.  We got the rods cleared, and thank god no one was around us, because we must've done 4 circles while fighting the fish.  We finally got it to the net - it wasn't a monster, but it was ours. This was the most expensive fish I've ever caught.  It's cost me 4 boats, and thousands in tackle and electronics.  We've come a long way since that one king on the Flare, but it's one I won't forget.

 

 

[vogel451]

My first year trolling Cayuga Lake I set a few goals (besides teaching myself how to troll!).  I wanted to catch a 6lb LL, 6lb Rainbow, 10lb Laker and a 10lb Brown.  I fished hard, harder than I do now lol.  The first season I managed to get my rainbow at 6.2lbs and Laker at 10.75lbs.  The Second season I I caught my Landlock a colored up male at 6.4lbs.  I trolling for almost 2 more seasons an only caught a handful of browns.  Never really could get a brown program going and 4lbs being the biggest so far.   Most days I never caught one.  On may 12th of my 4th season I hook up.  We were trolling the east shore when I look for my planer board off my port side and its nowhere to be found.  I turn to my buddy and ask "What happen to my board?"  Thats when the drag started rippin....  He wouldn't jump.. I couldn't get a glimps...  Slowly making ground I finally start to see color.  She was big!  What was it?  I bring the fish to the back of the boat and my buddy scoops her.  It was the 11lb Brown that I had been trying so hard to catch.  Since I was 100% self taught beside internet research the catch was that much better,  What a great day on the water and on the wall it went!

 

[Yankee Troller]

This fish was caught the first Spring we fished on the Trojan. The reason this fish takes "best fish" to me is because the colors and hues on it are amazing! This fish was flawless with no scars or lamprey markings. It also went back to Lady O to fight another day.

 

 

This one is a close second! Brown Trout are the prettiest fish in Lake Ontario!

 

[j.dav1978]

22 pound brown caught on 4lb test and a noodle rod what a blast!!!

[fathobbit0074]

It's not the biggest but it's def my favorite

[skach1]

First year using wire, 2nd year with my son on lake O. Dipsey fires an he grabs it. Takes a 250' run, battle it for 25 minutes all the while throwing up and fighting the fish. 15# coho !

Sent from my SCH-I435 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[whaler1]

Caught this Brown in 2011. This fish didn't miss many meals lol.

[ontherise]

Holy crap!!! What a fat a&$ !!!!

[whaler1]

Yeah it was a freak. 20 pounds 11 ounces and only 33 inches.

[TileMan Dan]

Did you measure girth on that fish. I bet itis bigger than its length.

[whaler1]

Did you measure girth on that fish. I bet itis bigger than its length.

I didn't but I will, its on the wall of the dead animal room.

[whaler1]

Same fish

[Giz9219]

Wow that's a hog!!!!

[whaler1]

It was really cool. First couple days of the summer derby. Skinny water and light line. Got it up and close like ten times only for it to bulldog away. Looking from the boat down to the fish it looked like low teens and I was getting impatient with it. Only when it hit the net and then the deck you could see what a freak it was.

[John Kelley]

I spent two years in NY working, and fishing on Lake Ontario every chance I got.  My biggest and best were the following: 30 pound 3 ounce king salmon, 14 pound 4 ounce brown trout, 18 pound laker,13 pound steelhead, and 12 pound Coho and my sole Atlantic @ 10 pounds.  I was proudest of the big king because I caught it all by myself on a fairly rough day, in my little 20' Tracker Tundra.  Here is the story of that day:

 

I arrived at the “Oak†late morning and was on the lake around noon.  All by myself, so I decided to motor out to about 150' of water to set up shop, and troll her north to the open water.  The lake was a little bumpy, so I decided to fish two riggers with spoons and the 400' copper with a herring Twinkie rig behind a white with green dot 11" DW paddle.  The spoons I was fishing were Carbon 14 on the starboard rigger and Double Trouble on the Port side rigger, with matching sliders on each rig.  I set the riggers at 90' & 100'.  I did not have much action until I hit the 29 north line, and then I could not keep the steelhead off of the doublet trouble slider spoon.  After 6 steelhead, of various sizes, and one open water brown trout, I finally left that slider off of the port downrigger.  Shortly thereafter, I took a real hot rip on the copper, and it was off to the races, with line screaming off the old Okuma 55L.  5 minutes into the fight, the line went limp, and one of the three hooks on that treble had been completely broken off.  I switched out that hook with a new treble, and was back in action again.  This was all taking place in about the 540' to 570' area.  Fifteen minutes later another screamer grabs the copper, and it is off to the races once again.  I had this one on a little bit longer than the previous fish, but it cut through the 50 pound leader, and was gone soon, too.  It was about at this time that I opened the windshield, and the wind grabbed it and slammed it into my net, knocking the net into the drink. Now I am sitting 11 miles off shore with no landing net, in a hot fish zone!!  in the meantime I had boated 3 more steelhead, two more on the double trouble, and one on the carbon 14 slider.   I figured out that the salmon wanted herring strips, so I re-rigged the copper setup one more time, and set up a herring rig on the starboard rigger as well, and sent it down to the 120' mark.  Now I have the Double trouble spoon down 80' on the port rigger, the copper 400 pulling herring, and the starboard rigger @ 120' pulling Herring.  Copper fires again, and this time I land a nice little 15 pound king on it, and have to gill the fish to get it into the boat. I was quite proud of myself for that maneuver, and threw that fish in the box.  About a half hour later the port rigger fires hard and instantly starts screaming the clicker on the old Sealine 47.  This fish was a lot bigger, and a little trickier to get my hands in its gills.  When it was all over, I hoisted a nice 26 pound hen into the boat, and was thinking quite highly of myself.  My digital scale was jumping between 26 and 28 pounds, so I called the Cove to see if I could use their scale just to see what it actually weighed when I got back.  They said sure, as long as I made it there before 8 p.m.  It was about 5:30 or 6, and I had 2 nice salmon in the box, so I just decided to troll south, toward shore and be happy with my afternoon.  I think I was about at the 450' area, heading south, when I noticed some nice hooks on the screen @ 100' of water.  I raised the starboard rigger up to 100', reeled in the 20' of slack, and just turned around to look ahead of me, when I heard the clicker on that Sealine screaming hard and fast.  The rod was doubled over, and I had a real hard time getting it out of the rod holder.  I socked the fished good, set the rod back in its holder, then reeled in the 400 copper and the other rigger as fast as I could, and grabbed the rod again.  I could tell this was a good fish, and circled him to gain some line on him.  Pretty soon I was looking at the biggest salmon I had seen all season, lying on the surface behind the boat.  I struggled a couple of times to get him close enough to gill him, and then hoisted his big body into the boat!!  My first Tyee, and I was pumped!!  I shouted out Tyee a couple of times as loud as I could, and was quite stoked!! Landed without a net, even!! Yeah!!  Back at the Cove it weighed 30 pounds 3 ounces, was 43 inches long, and 24.5 inches around.  It is now safely at the taxidermist shop!  I caught a bunch more salmon and steelhead Saturday and Sunday, but nothing that nice.  Thanks.

Edited January 18, 2016 by John Kelley

[whaler1]

Great stuff!

[dbutts]

A few years back on Cayuga lake . 2 biggest fish I've caught on that lake, 20 mins apart. One is on my wall, one is on Steves wall.

[TileMan Dan]

Nice browns.

[vogel451]

Nice Browns Dbutts!  When were they caught? late August early Sept?

[CVO]

This last season meant more to me than any other. Finally my 6 year old daughter wanted to be on the boat and fish every chance we had. She got to the point where she was setting riggers to the depth she thought would work, while I held the rod, she would tighten up the drags on the divers to where she thought would work too..and of course she had to pick the spoons or flasher fly combos. By mid summer she had learned what our go to rigs were. Of course, there had to be at least something out there with purple or pink on it! So here's a few pictures of fish she brought to the boat on her own...besides the one king, that was on a wire diver and the fish was just shy of 25lbs. The big Brown in the last pic was caught on a purple rapala during the seneca derby and I was so proud of her and that fish..it weighed in at 10.3lbs

Edited January 19, 2016 by basspro