Canada - 2016 Kawartha Lakes Bass Opener

[Attila]

After Christmas and Easter, this is my favourite day. I didn't get much sleep last night, and found myself awake at 2:00AM after only about 4 hours of sleep; it's amazing what a bit of adrenaline can do to a person...

The Kawartha Lakes chain is located in central southern Ontario and is home to a decent population of bass which sees a lot of both tournament and weekend warrior action given its close proximity to Toronto.  With its mid June opener for bass, the spawn is protected and thus ensures that future generations will be able to grow in this fertile watershed.

I went to Sturgeon Lake like I do every opener, arriving at my first spot around 5:15AM. Was lucky enough get a few on a Skitter Pop in a frog pattern but nothing of any real size. I did manage to raise one on a bone w/ a chartreuse head patterned Storm Rattlin' Chug Bug but it just wouldn't commit. The Chug Bug also coaxed a few other fish into hitting at some docks but nothing of any size.

I drove back through Bobcaygeon with the intent on fishing the faster water in the centre of town but the water was so low I didn't bother getting my gear out of the car.

I then continued along the south shore of Sturgeon, stopping at a couple of spots and successfully caught a few more fish on the Chug Bug and Skitter Pop. While it was fun catching numbers of fish, I really wanted to get something over 2lbs so I decided to put on a lure that worked well for me in the past; a Heddon Pop'n Image in the Gizzard Shad colour. I managed to raise a few more fish and had the giant I was looking for follow the lure into about 6" of water but once again it just wouldn't commit to the bait.

All in all was a fun day to be out and about and I'm looking forward to next weekend when I get the chance to fish at Presqu'ile Provincial Park in the Bay of Quinte area and take in the Quinte International Air Show as well. Attached is a picture of the average sized fish I managed to catch today. In total I caught 17 bass but with no real size to them.

Hope that everyone else made the most of their day!

[buzzed bait]

17 bass sounds like a good start to me man!!

[Attila]

It was a fun one for sure; was going to go out today but I was just too tired after being at an air show yesterday.  Next weekend though I plan to hit a couple of spots.

[Drunkentigerrr]

On ‎6‎/‎19‎/‎2016 at 11:45 AM, Attila said:

After Christmas and Easter, this is my favourite day. I didn't get much sleep last night, and found myself awake at 2:00AM after only about 4 hours of sleep; it's amazing what a bit of adrenaline can do to a person...

The Kawartha Lakes chain is located in central southern Ontario and is home to a decent population of bass which sees a lot of both tournament and weekend warrior action given its close proximity to Toronto.  With its mid June opener for bass, the spawn is protected and thus ensures that future generations will be able to grow in this fertile watershed.

I went to Sturgeon Lake like I do every opener, arriving at my first spot around 5:15AM. Was lucky enough get a few on a Skitter Pop in a frog pattern but nothing of any real size. I did manage to raise one on a bone w/ a chartreuse head patterned Storm Rattlin' Chug Bug but it just wouldn't commit. The Chug Bug also coaxed a few other fish into hitting at some docks but nothing of any size.

I drove back through Bobcaygeon with the intent on fishing the faster water in the centre of town but the water was so low I didn't bother getting my gear out of the car.

I then continued along the south shore of Sturgeon, stopping at a couple of spots and successfully caught a few more fish on the Chug Bug and Skitter Pop. While it was fun catching numbers of fish, I really wanted to get something over 2lbs so I decided to put on a lure that worked well for me in the past; a Heddon Pop'n Image in the Gizzard Shad colour. I managed to raise a few more fish and had the giant I was looking for follow the lure into about 6" of water but once again it just wouldn't commit to the bait.

All in all was a fun day to be out and about and I'm looking forward to next weekend when I get the chance to fish at Presqu'ile Provincial Park in the Bay of Quinte area and take in the Quinte International Air Show as well. Attached is a picture of the average sized fish I managed to catch today. In total I caught 17 bass but with no real size to them.

Hope that everyone else made the most of their day!

Hi Attila,

 

I also am from Toronto. Great post btw. Do you fish off shore or on a boat? I have been fishing since I was a toddler and Kawartha's is simply not the same anymore.

Just my two cents.

 

Drunkentigerrr

[jr231]

What color frog pattern on the skitter pop ? I caught my PB on a brown over sized one.. but I have a smaller green one that does nice as well. 

[Attila]

On 11/9/2016 at 10:11 AM, Drunkentigerrr said:

Hi Attila,

I also am from Toronto. Great post btw. Do you fish off shore or on a boat? I have been fishing since I was a toddler and Kawartha's is simply not the same anymore.

Just my two cents.

Drunkentigerrr

Hi Drunkentigerr, I'm glad you enjoyed my post.  I'm a shore fisherman who doesn't mind getting his feet wet by wading publicly accessible shorelines.

I grew up fishing Rice Lake and camping on Serpent Mounds, then our family bought a cottage on Sturgeon Lake and that opened up a lot of new water for me.  I've found that the fish are still there but the manner in which we fish for them has changed. The only obvious change in numbers is the hit the walleye population took, and I'm happy to see the slot limit in place which has been helping the last couple of years.

11 hours ago, Yeajray231 said:

What color frog pattern on the skitter pop ? I caught my PB on a brown over sized one.. but I have a smaller green one that does nice as well. 

Hi Yeajray, nice to hear from you.

Yes, my favourite Skitter Pop pattern is the brown frog pattern which I usually cast around rocks and docks during somewhat low light conditions. Last year (2015) I also was successful on the silver/chartreuse X-Rap Pop which I intend to include in my topwater box in 2017. This past year I spent more time devoted to walking style baits like the Strike King Sexy Dawg Jr. as I wanted to gauge its effectiveness against highly pressured fish, and it worked very well.

Cheers, and both of you have a good day. Sorry for the late responses.

Attila