Lake Huron Spring Chinook SalmonJeff Wall | Nomad Adventures info@nomadac.com The groundhog said six more weeks of winter from Feb 2.... he was wrong! It has been a lot of years, close to 20 since I was able to put some decent time in on the spring Great Lakes fishery. April is normally our second busiest month for river guiding, but the winter that wouldn't go away gave us some time for personal fishing. Canadian kayak fishing guide Jeff Wall showcases his spring catch. Over 40 fish caught in six outings last spring. All were salmon or trout except one giant out of season walleye. Steelhead, Coho Salmon, Brown Trout, Chinook Salmon, Atlantic Salmon, Walleye, Lake Trout were all caught and released over six separate days of fishing. Long lining shallow crankbaits on light lines pretty much sums up the spring kayak fishing in Ontario for the Great Lakes region. We employed a variety of minnow baits, smaller spoons, and kwikfish style lures. Slow trolling with abrupt direction changes were the ticket in the open water trolling but crashing two lures thru the baitfish schools got us several doubles. I don't have to tell you how exciting that is in a kayak! Please always consider best practices when heading out on the Great Lakes, especially when it is still winter. Better yet, hire a guide! Be sure to look up Nomad Adventures for your next spring kayak fishing trip. Hope you enjoy! Giant Lake Ontario WalleyeLake Ontario Atlantic Salmonby Bruce Ranta April 25th, 2004
Migratory rainbow trout, called steelhead, are highly prized trophies. They’re beautiful fish, leaping titans when hooked and a culinary delight on the plate. For many anglers, steelhead are the ultimate challenge. Although they’re the same species, steelhead of the Great Lakes and the Pacific Ocean are different from rainbow trout in smaller inland lakes. The term steelhead describes a rainbow trout that was born in a stream, migrated to the sea, and returned to the stream as an adult to spawn. Such fish are said to be anadromous. Given that the Great Lakes are every bit seas, albeit freshwater ones, a steelhead in Ontario refers specifically to the anadromous rainbow trout found in these lakes and their tributaries. Elsewhere, they’re merely rainbow trout. Or are they? Fishy History In 1989, rainbow and cutthroat trout were moved by taxonomists from the genus Salmo, which includes Atlantic salmon and brown trout, to the genus Oncorhynchus, which includes pink, sockeye, chum, Chinook, and coho salmon. Technically, the rainbow trout (oncorhynchus mykiss) isn’t a trout at all, but a salmon. It’s also the same species as the East Asian trout. While long a fixture of Ontario’s fishery, rainbows are non-native to the province. They were once found only on the West Coast of North America, but humans have widely transplanted this magnificent fish. Today, one of the most important transplanted, self-sustaining populations of steelhead in the world is in the Great Lakes. The first transplants to the Great Lakes watershed began in the U.S. in 1874, but the first introductions of steelhead to the lakes proper took place when the Aux Sables River was stocked in 1876. On the Ontario side, the first fish were brought in privately sometime in the 1890s to a headwater pond on the Nottawasaga River. The first known recovery of a steelhead in Ontario was a 4-pounder taken near Duck Island, near Manitoulin Island, in 1904. With an introduction in 1878 in the State of New York, the Lake Ontario watershed was the second Great Lake to receive rainbows. By 1920, they were well established in a number of rivers on the U.S. side. The first seeding on the Ontario side took place in 1922 into a pond in Riverside Park, Toronto. The Lake Erie-St. Clair watershed was first stocked in 1882, but no fish were recorded in Ontario waters until 1920. The first Ontario stocking was in 1936 in Norfolk County creeks. Lake Superior was the last of the Great Lakes to receive rainbows, and this time the introduction was initiated by Ontario. Fish were stocked near Sault Ste. Marie in 1883, followed shortly by American releases, also in the eastern basin. By the turn of the century, large numbers of rainbows up to 8 pounds were being taken by commercial netters targeting lake trout. Not surprisingly, Great Lakes rainbows are not a pure strain. They originate from a long history of stocking both wild and domestic strains on both sides of the border. It’s even possible there was some early hybridization with cutthroat trout, a species known to interbreed with rainbows in the wild. Cutthroats were planted in a number of New York and Michigan tributaries in the late 1800s. Compared with resident stream rainbows, steelhead of the open lakes are brighter and usually silvery. The clearer the water, the brighter the fish. Some lake fish look almost nickel-plated. Once they return to natal streams, they begin to darken and display a bright red band along the body. The steelhead doesn’t live to a ripe old age, especially when compared with long-lived Methuselahs like lake trout. Few steelhead live to see their ninth birthday, and generally life expectancy is only 6 to 7 years. HACS has been the Ontario Kayak Fishing series charity for the past several years. Previously there has been a one day tourney for the children coping with cancer. Two years ago the organization that had been running it decided to cease the event. As you can imagine, this was very disappointing for both the children and their families.
We did some scrambling last year to try and pick it up for them, but it was too late in the year to make it happen. This year with the generous help of the Belwood Lake Conservation Area, we have put together enough resources to make it happen. We have use of the stocked pond rather than host it on the lake. I am also securing the Hampton Barn http://www.grandriver.ca/parks/hamptonbarn.htm as the host facility. HACS is a foundation that thru donations from folks like yourself, enables children being treated for cancer, to have opportunities for them and their families to have fun and smile. So, I am asking that any of you who have some time on Saturday May 10th to drop in and assist with making this a great event for the kids. The event will run from 9am-1pm. It also happens to be the opener of pike season, so bring your yak and take a few casts in the lake. More details to follow. Thanks in advance for your help! Take the time to read and understand ALL the rules that apply to operating human powered watercraft in Canada. It will probably one day save you some money from being fined, but may well save your life too!
Stop by the Nomad Adventures booth if you make it to the show Feb 14-17th Family Day weekend. We will have lots of tournament information available, in support of our charity, Help A Child Smile.
http://springfishingandboatshow.com/ We will be having draws for Ontario Kayak Fishing Series shirts, free tourney entries, a free series entry, half day guided kayak fishing trip, and a full day guided kayak fishing trip. Be sure to stop by and get a ticket!! 2014 OKFS long sleeve technical tshirts will be on sale for $25/ea or $40/two. We will be near the indoor pond and kayak displays. Be sure to stop by the Hobie fishing kayak display at the Fogh Marine booth too! A long but very interesting scientific study to explain the decline of all Pacific Salmon species, and the efforts the federal government has gone to keep it out of the public. Disturbing when you consider the impact it would have worldwide. By Sola DaSilva, CBC News Posted: Jan 29, 2014 6:03 AM ET Last Updated: Feb 03, 2014 10:42 AM ET
Great Lakes under the largest cover of ice in 20 years. In 1978, almost the entire Great Lakes were covered in ice at 94 per cent. Most of Lake Erie is covered in ice as this NASA satellite image taken on Jan. 9, 2014 shows. The Great Lakes are under the largest cover of ice in 20 years. The early winter polar vortex that brought in freezing temperatures throughout eastern North America has put an ice cover over about 52 per cent of the Great Lakes. And that ice cover is expected to continue to expand say scientists, as frigid temperatures keep their grip on the region. 'Right now, we exceed by a good margin what we normally have at this time of the year and we’re also exceeding the average peak for the winter season.'- Denis Dubé, senior ice forecaster with the Canadian Ice Services. The last time the lakes had this much ice cover this early in the year was during the 1993 - 1994 winter season. Lake Erie, while the southernmost lake, is also shallowest of the lakes. It is virtually locked in ice, with 97 per cent coverage. “Right now, we exceed by a good margin what we normally have at this time of the year and we’re also exceeding the average peak for the winter season,” says DenisDubé, a senior ice forecaster with the Canadian Ice Services. Ice formation on the Great Lakes typically peaks by mid-March. At this point last year, there was only about 12 per cent ice coverage on the lakes. The average for this time of the year is between 20 and 25 per cent. And at its peak, the total ice formation on the Great Lakes for 2013 was about 40 per cent. In fact, the average ice cover for the whole winter for the past 30 years has ranged between 50 and 55 per cent, according to George Leshkevitch, physical scientist with the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory. New data from Canadian Ice Services as of January 29 shows Lake Ontario currently has the least ice coverage at 23 per cent. Lake Superior, the largest of the Great Lakes, is well over half (65 per cent) covered in ice. Lake Michigan is about 38 percent covered and Lake Huron is almost 67 per cent covered in ice. The thickness of the ice cover varies from lake to lake but reports show as much as 30 to 40cm of ice spread across most of the lakes, says Dubé. The amount of ice coverage is significant this year due to how early in the season it formed and the cold snap brought the ice in really fast. “Ice was reported on parts of the Great Lakes in the latter part of November, while usually it starts in mid-December,” Leshkevitch said. Dubé says if the freezing temperatures continue, it is possible that we could challenge the absolute maximum ice coverage experienced since 1973. In 1978, almost the entire Great Lakes were covered in ice at 94 per cent. This record is followed by about 91 per cent in 1977 and 90 per cent for 1993 to 1994 winter season. Meteorological conditions including wind speeds impact ice conditions on the Great Lakes, says Leshkevitch. Powerful winds can break up the ice and push them onto bays and small enclosures causing an ice pile up of up to 10 feet high. Satellite image of the ice cover on Lake Ontario shores in Hamilton. The image shows a thin layer of ice on the surface of the ice with a new layer of ice about 5cm thick starting to form around the edges. (Image: Canadian Space Agency RADARSAT-2. Annotation: Denis Dubé, Canadian Ice Services) Dubé says the Canadian coast guards have already had to deal with brash ice and continue to collaborate with the US coast guards to break up ice on the upper lakes. Ships beset in ice will need to be rescued by coast guards and this is costly for shipping companies, says Leshkevitch. But, it is not all bad news. According to Leshkevitch, the thick ice covering will be great for ice fishing. A stable ice cover is also good for Whitefish spawning beds. Leshkevitch says there are forecasts for up to 62 per cent ice cover by the end of February. “It’s still only January, so we’ll see. It’s very dependent on the weather and the meteorological condition,” he said. Jennifer Stanonis, WGRZ6:36 p.m. EST January 8, 2014
Buffalo, NY -- We get ice jams on the Niagara River when strong southwesterly winds flow down Lake Erie and push ice that's near the mouth of the river downstream. The ice boom is at the mouth of the river and would normally stop the ice flow, but when winds are so strong and gusting more than 45 to 50 mph, the ice boom is actually designed to sink and let the ice pass, so the ice boom doesn't break. So the strong winds push the ice down the Niagara River and often ice piles up on the east side of Grand Island where the river narrows, causing flooding behind the ice jam. This is common, like right now, when the Lake Erie is just forming ice, since the new ice is more susceptible to moving. Once the lake freezes over the ice is solid so it doesn't move from strong wind events. There was also some flooding along the Tonawanda Creek near the Niagara River in some parks, since the ice jam wouldn't let water out of the creek. The flood threat is now over since the winds have weakened and ice isn't being pushed into the river anymore. But we could have another flood threat this weekend, widespread potentially, with a warm up and heavy rain. Foul weather kept us off the rivers for a lot of November and December, so we had to chose our days wisely. The fishing sure was good when we did get out in December! In five outings in the month of fishing only Lake Huron flows, we only had one day where less than six fish were hooked. Most of those days we saw winds over 40km/hr and high water, even rain and ice. Not to mention the fog that rolled in on our last steelhead kayak trip Dec 29th when the temp went from +1C to -8C in 20mins! Looking forward to Spring '14 steelhead! |
FISHING NEWS ONTARIOOntario and Great Lakes region salmon, steelhead, and migratory trout fishing articles, information, news, and reports. Stay up to date on our most recent trips, events, tournaments, and general news on adventure fishing and kayak fishing in Ontario and Canada. Archives
April 2021
Categories
All
Links |