Lake Ontario Smallies

[J Francho]

Finally got some time to try some different locations while on my hunt for smallies.  The south shore of Lake Ontario has been the source of much frustration from anglers. Used to be you dropped a tube, and it barely hit the botom, and you had a fish on.  50 to 100 fish days in August were not unheard of.  Now it's a ghost land.  There would be 50+ boats in the hot spots, and now, no one fishes for them anymore.  They've just disappeared.  There are tons of theories as to why, from VHS to largemouth virus, gobies eating the eggs and low recruitment, die offs in 2004, but no real data supporting anything. I put in over 30 hours fishing various places - new spots - looking for them, with little success to show for it.  Last night, I decided to look at the spots I had success as a kid, but look at the structure, and fish deeper.  Turns out, we were fishing on top of huge, 1/2 mile long underwater points.  I decided to fish much deeper, 30-40 FOW instead of the usual 12-20.  My work came up aces. 

 

It's interesting to note, I did mark a single fish, until I hooked up, so the fish must have been holding tight to the bottom.  Since I fished pretty deep, I didn't take the time to get great pictures, rather release them quickly.  The first fish I caught had to be fizzed, since I tried to livewell him, for a better photo later, but he rolled over.  Fizzed him, and he sat upright in the well, so I released him.  I think he was okay, and immediately swam straight down.  The only other pic I took was a quickie of the 4+ fish, which was also released.

 

I'll be duplicating this effort tonight, and in the future to see if this holds up.

 

Some pics:

 

Darn gobies!

 

Mr Fizz:

 

 

Lunker:

 

 

They were all really fat:

 

[clayton86]

nice work I haven't caught a smallie since that tournament we did on Keuka fathers day weekend.  

[A-Jay]

Nice Job J

 

Putting in the time.

 

btw - did I miss the screen shot of your gps there ?

 

A-Jay

[J Francho]

Not much to see, lol...It's not anything like Erie:

 

[Dwight Hottle]

Glad you figured it out J. Gobies like Jackall too.

[J Francho]

Glad you figured it out J. Gobies like Jackall too.

 

I actually went to a 30" dropper.  That kept them off.

[AK-Jax86]

Nice fish congrats

[00 mod]

Those are some fatties.  Keep at em!

 

Jeff

[Tuckahoe Joe]

Good looking fish!

[MarkH024]

Nice smallies! Lots of fun!

[HookSetDon]

Nice looking fish J, Have you fished any water on the Ontario side? 

[Mitch G.]

Nice Bronze!!!

[J Francho]

Thanks guys.  Tried a location closer to home Monday night, but nothing much to report. 

 

 

Nice looking fish J, Have you fished any water on the Ontario side? 

 

Not Lake Ontario, but I've fished the Canadian side on Erie, where it's much more accessible.  Calling in to immigration is a pain, though.

[wnybassman]

Calling in to immigration is a pain, though.

 

 

It's a 30 second phone call John.   lol     I've called in 4 or 5 times now.      Maybe you should trying calling to Customs.    Immigration might be a whole different animal.  

[HookSetDon]

I need to venture out that way, Still have yet to get into Erie! Wouldnt know where to begin though lol

[J Francho]

It's a 30 second phone call John.   lol     I've called in 4 or 5 times now.      Maybe you should trying calling to Customs.    Immigration might be a whole different animal.  

 

LOL, customs, yeah that's the place.  I have Sprint.  Calling anywhere is a pain.

[J Francho]

I need to venture out that way, Still have yet to get into Erie! Wouldnt know where to begin though lol

 

One look at a contour map of Erie, and you would see stuff you'd want to try.  I had help from wnybassman my first time out alone, but spots you want to hit aren't too hard to find.