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Niagara Bar 9/12

skipper19
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skipper19

skipper19

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Late afternoon bite finally came in the view of Toronto today. I launched solo at Olcott and had a very nice 15 mile ride to the bar area. Smooth water and sunshine. Set up off four mile creek in 140 fow. Lots of hooks on the screen from 40 to the bottom. Trolled a Moonshine geezer, a spindoctor and fly, and a twinkie meat rig on 500 32lb copper. Trolled from about 11 am to 4pm without moving a rod. Not many boats doing a lot during the mid day, but I stuck it out and enjoyed the nice day when finally the 500 copper gets wrecked in 170 fow northeast of the red can. Hauled it to the boat and a nice male king in handpost-140268-14737319832495_thumb.jpg

Put it back out and it didn't last more than a 5 minute dunk and another king wrecks itpost-140268-14737320561907_thumb.jpg

Put down the meat rig once more on the 500 copper and also changed out the two riggers to 100 copper after seeing the fish streaking away from the riggers over and over. Dropped the balls to 75 and 85 and then all hell breaks loose as a double comes. 1st one on the meat twinkie on the 85 rigger 100 copper and then as I begin the battle, the 500 copper once again goes and keeps peeling backing as I deal with number 1. I somehow managed to keep the double hooked up and untangled, but not without the miscues with the net on number 1. That fish came to life and did a U turn out of the net and went around a rigger cable. I did an underpass with the rod with the rigger and managed the net a second time with better results. Finally got to number 2 and it has a lot of backing off the Seagate 60. It's still there and after a long battle both fish are finally on the deck.

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All the action came in the hours between 4 and 6:30pm. Grass mats were a pain getting on the riggers and the lines. Only a couple other boats left out there at that time. Picked up and ran back to Olcott, still very nice cruise. The port at Olcott is choked with duck weed, and the boat looked more green than blue and white, but the park has a nice pressure wash. A couple tokens from the check in booth, and the boat got clean very nicely. The port always impresses me with its convenience and hospitality. Everything you may need is always there and always clean.

Mark

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Mike M

Mike M

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My hats off to you making that run solo. Saw the forcast today and thought I was gonna be out there. Heard its been  great at the bar!!  Bull#### got in the way and we could not get out there. Don't know how much longer its gonna last. Hope to get one more crack at them!

Xxx

Xxx

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Man that had me excited cant imagine actually being on the scene. You pulled off some seasoned King fishing there Skipper a novice would of lost at least 1 or both. Congrats to your evening and solo at that!!!

skipper19

skipper19

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Nice Man!! Way to go! Glad to see the fish cooperate for ya!

Thanks buddy!...after the lock jaw in front of Point Breeze, and then the little 2 year olds offshore was good, but didn't fill the need for screaming drags! Even the browns were sulking after the gauntlet of boats after them down east from the point.

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skipper19

skipper19

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Nice work! If you ever need a partner let me know. I'm available a lot during the week.

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I will keep that in mind, cause I would not like to do a solo if it were peak season and lots of boat traffic, the changing depths, or if wind and waves were in play. I had very easy traffic, and stayed to the outside in deeper water off the drop. However as things got dicey with the double I did venture unknowingly into 65 fow with 90 feet of cable out!...luckily did not loose stuff! The nice day was a true good time solo but if any weather and boat traffic it would have been panic city!

My hats off to you making that run solo. Saw the forcast today and thought I was gonna be out there. Heard its been great at the bar!! Bull#### got in the way and we could not get out there. Don't know how much longer its gonna last. Hope to get one more crack at them!

Mike, the fishing is fantastic down there and it will last for a while in my opinion. There was plenty cold water from 70 feet down. 46 to 54 in the deep, but many hooks were in 40 feet in the 60s and they were inactive but streaking from the cables. With stable weather the fish will be there. The screen was stacked with salmon in some spots along the drop. I had an easy day with traffic and weather, but anything different and I would want a helmsman and a net guy for sure!

Man that had me excited cant imagine actually being on the scene. You pulled off some seasoned King fishing there Skipper a novice would of lost at least 1 or both. Congrats to your evening and solo at that!!!

Yeah buddy!..I had a chance and it payed off with some patience. I saw a few dozen boats working the drop from 4 mile to the can and very little net swinging going on in mid day. After 4pm the boats were gone, I just figured well I'm here, might as well stay and enjoy the sunset. Well the fish suddenly turned on, and to be truly honest, I think they were turned off by all the traffic in bright sun. I stayed outside and found fish there too. Just worked them with the meat, and that's what they wanted!

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skipper19

skipper19

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Good work guys! The meat is the treat! Looks like a couple of those fish are fin clipped 4 year olds like a couple of mine were yesterday. I saved the heads for Capt. Jerry Feluca. He has the DEC check them for tags....either that or he just likes fish head soup!

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Xxx

Xxx

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If there're hitting meat rigs yet, doesn't that mean they are not in the full blown stage mode yet? I always thought they hit out of aggression when there in the head to the rivers mode, and this is where the J plugs work, for those asking when is the J plug is used. What's your thought?

Edited by pap
skipper19

skipper19

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Pap, I think we have had only one real lake turnover this season. It was at the beginning of August and so there isn't a lot of "homogenized " water yet. The cold water is still deep and the warm water is not a real trigger yet for spawn runs. We have had a lot of hot weather even yet today and little change at night and almost a drought situation which has been prevalent this summer on the west end. I think the salmon are going through the change, and just chilling to wait for river temps to decrease and water flows to increase. Lots of warm water in the tribs so far. The salmon still have to eat occasionally. I don't think salmon begin to react out of total aggression until they come out of the depths and begin the typical porpoising you see in the shallows outside the tribs.

However I think even still, the action of the big spindoctor triggers a reaction of a feeding frenzy, and the corkscrew cripple action of the smelly familiar bite looks and smells like an easy meal.

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Xxx

Xxx

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Pap, I think we have had only one real lake turnover this season. It was at the beginning of August and so there isn't a lot of "homogenized " water yet. The cold water is still deep and the warm water is not a real trigger yet for spawn runs. We have had a lot of hot weather even yet today and little change at night and almost a drought situation which has been prevalent this summer on the west end. I think the salmon are going through the change, and just chilling to wait for river temps to decrease and water flows to increase. Lots of warm water in the tribs so far. The salmon still have to eat occasionally. I don't think salmon begin to react out of total aggression until they come out of the depths and begin the typical porpoising you see in the shallows outside the tribs.

However I think even still, the action of the big spindoctor triggers a reaction of a feeding frenzy, and the corkscrew cripple action of the smelly familiar bite looks and smells like an easy meal.

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Ah gotch ya, some talk that guys were catching salmon in the Black River Bay area, 50-70 ft of water if my brain serves me right, that's only a mile or so before the river. Maybe they headed back to the trench. To my way of thinking LOL. Which ain't much, there's no water in the rivers and no rain in sight with above temps forecasted for a while yet, how long can they hang out in these conditions?

skipper19

skipper19

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Not too long, the instinct to spawn will drive them to try. The biological clock runs down and if conditions are not ideal for their purpose then the stress of warm low water will definitely have a bad outcome. Many will not make the trip and the natural spawned young of the year will be much lower than the estimated 50% of population in the lake from wild fish that science says is happening. I don't believe those numbers, but I'm not one of those guys behind the microscope either. Maybe in perfect world terms it flies...but lately with the climate swings it's not something I could bet on. Hope the fall weather brings what the salmon need to be happy this year. Only a few more weeks to fall colors and that is usually the start of peak spawning runs. Hope for plenty flows and cooler nights with some long slow rain.

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Sk8man

Sk8man

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WTG Mark and cool report :yes:  We trolled for 6 hrs yesterday AM out of Hughes with 6 rods out  and never had a touch. In retrospect I think we should have started late afternoon. Glad you got into them bud. :)

Kinghunter

Kinghunter

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If I can add some information regarding the late really warm and low water.  Chinook have never been stocked in the Nottawasaga River in Ontario yet it boasts a pretty good run for the last 20 years.  I believe all naturals. 

 

The first run is always in mid to late August.  This year it was a little later but a small run did go up...........to their demise, low clear, warm water and a great many of these fish have expired before they had a chance to mature and attempt at spawning.  I would say from observation at least 75% of this first run have died.

 

We need a good amount of RAIN!  Even with cooler temps the rivers are as low as I have ever seen in mid September.  I really think the spawning this year could be in jeopardy.  How can 20 lb plus fish make it up 3" of water?  They could be stranded in the lower stretches, mature, try to spawn but most likely die by running out of time.

 

I hope not!

skipper19

skipper19

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WTG Mark and cool report :yes: We trolled for 6 hrs yesterday AM out of Hughes with 6 rods out and never had a touch. In retrospect I think we should have started late afternoon. Glad you got into them bud. :)

Thanks Les, yeah we have a problem off of Point Breeze in the same way. I am pretty sure that the spawning salmon have figured out the heavy flows into the lake. Those are mostly Niagara the Oswego, and occasionally the salmon river with reservoir releases, when they can,..of course all these on the US side. So when we speak of stratified population, it is an observation of my own that, that is quite evident after being down at the Niagara flow and seeing the screen concentration of stacked kings just waiting for the right river temp. Bait WAS there, but not in heavy concentration like off Point Breeze. So those salmon are really in a waiting game, with occasional feeding.

Last week I went off shore at Point Breeze and the little 2 year olds about 18 to 20 inches...And this year's stocks, about 8 to 9 inches, were playing with mag spoons and meat!..my guess is, these small salmon are trying to eat 4, and 5 to 7 year old alewife all the time. There is huge bait out there...lots of it! 370 fow was loaded, and the little salmon are there TRYING to eat them if they can CATCH them. I can't imagine it's easy, but a slow swimming mag spoon half the size of some of the salmon is an easy target. That target doesn't try to flee. I wonder how many of these small kings are really starving because the 2 and 3 year old alewife are down and the bigger alewife are more evasive and slightly hard to swallow in size. Hmmmm...

Mark

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