salmon education

[Chinook Chaser]

salmon education

I am always trying to learn how to find these kings. Let's say using this temp map, fishing out of pville and having no reports to go off of and you know there are kings local, where should the kings be?

[hard knox]

I would think if that is a surface  temp map it really is not of a lot of help i would ck to see if any  buoy temp ,depth data is available and look at water current maps to see were that may be concentrating warmer water and bait and find the best structure in that area and start there .Then well under way and while fishing scan for birds all day long find them and you have found fish .GOOD LUCK

[Chinook Chaser]

great thanks for the input. throwing out some hypothetical situation to see what people thoughts are. if the map was up to date the morning your fishing and you don't have any buoy temps, would you need to be concerned with current if the temps are up to date?

[Paul Czarnecki]

great thanks for the input. throwing out some hypothetical situation to see what people thoughts are. if the map was up to date the morning your fishing and you don't have any buoy temps, would you need to be concerned with current if the temps are up to date?

Everything likes an "edge". That said, the edge could be on the surface or below the surface. Satellite temp graphs are useful tools but only when they are well detailed and you keep in mind that quite often kings can be a half mile from the "break" and still orienting to it.


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[Gill-T]

That surface temp map is probably the least accurate one available.  It uses satellite image to measure heat signature that is why it appears black whenever cloud cover exists.  When you get a cloudless day and an accurate picture look for an area where the temp gradient lines are close together denoting a temp break.  Fishing Bass, logs and rocks represent structure.  When fishing pelagics, water temp and currents are our structure.  

[Chinook Chaser]

Thank you to everybody who has replied so far with your knowledge period I want to become a better fisherman without taking 30 years to do so.

[TyeeTanic]

Rather look at this, temperature transects:

 

https://www.glerl.noaa.gov//res/glcfs/glcfs.php?lake=o&ext=vwt&type=N&hr=00

 

You want to find a body of water that is warm on top, and has a zone which is 44 to 48F.

That will tell you the depth the fish are likely to be sitting in.

Look for structure on your fish finder map ... where does the bottom drop quickly, where are there "peninsulas", where is there a mound?

 

If that structure corresponds with the depth you are looking for in terms of temp (44- 48F), start there. 

 

Obvserve the following:

- what do the reports online say?

- are you marking fish?

- do you see bait?

- do you see lots of birds somewhere in the distance?

- what color is the water (green is good)?

- are there any other boats catching fish in the area?

 

Have fun, stick to the lures/flies you know work, and keep trying.

[tinfin]

Yes temp transects! Look for bait pods, with hooks preferably, along with the above comments, all good stuff.

[FisherNewb]

Do you have any recommendations where to go fishing this autumn for salmon in lake ontario

Edited July 17, 2017 by FisherNewb
misspelled

[King Slammin]

Do you have any recommendations where to go fishing this autumn for salmon in lake ontario

There is really only two major spawning runs on the US side. The Kings stage in front of the Niagara River on the "Bar", and the Salmon River. There are minor packs of staging Salmon at all the ports in between but usually not as heavy of concentration. We kill them every year at the bar as long as the weeds coming out of the river don't clog up the lines




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[Traveling Circus]

35 minutes ago, King Slammin said:

 

There is really only two major spawning runs on the US side. The Kings stage in front of the Niagara River on the "Bar", and the Salmon River. There are minor packs of staging Salmon at all the ports in between but usually not as heavy of concentration. We kill them every year at the bar as long as the weeds coming out of the river don't clog up the lines

 

 

When do you start to see staging fish off the bar? 

[Sk8man]

Some good tips here from knowledgeable folks. An important consideration is also knowing your target fish real well and their habits especially seasonally. As mentioned above salmon are pelagic fish meaning that they inhabit the upper layers of water (typically the open sea..remember although they have been "transplanted" to the Great Lakes they basically spend much of their lives in salt water in their native conditions) so they roam great areas in search of food. and because they are not bottom oriented the structure considerations that pertain to demersal fish (those living on or near bottom or near to shore) do not really apply. Breaks in temperature, bait distribution and availability are the main concerns and this largely determines their positioning in the water column as well as the areas they tend to roam. When in search of bait they may go way out of what is thought to be their "preferred temperature"   and they may orient close to bait pods that are on or near bottom despite not truly being bottom oriented dwellers if actively feeding  or the temperature is desirable in summer. In late summer as Fall approaches the feeding and temperature considerations pretty much go out the window for mature fish anyway. Their urge to feed is replaced by the one to reproduce and spawn so their roaming becomes more shore oriented and when they start homing in on their home streams and they are no longer actively feeding and may be "staging" near bottom off the mouths of streams. Now they they mainly hit lures out of aggression.so you shift your methods toward trying to irritate them with active lures and bright colors as contrasted with trying to lure them to bite out of a feeding response.

Edited July 17, 2017 by Sk8man

[King Slammin]

 
When do you start to see staging fish off the bar? 

They usually start showing up late August/ early September. Some years there's fish there in early to mid August.


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