1,000 Islands

[Tommy X]

Going on a trip to the 1,000 Islands this coming June. Looking for recommendations for a guide, fishing artificials only. Not looking for a party/head boat situation.

What stage will the fish be in? Post spawn?  

[Tim Kelly]

Not sure if it's the case in the 1000 Islands, but a lo of the waters in that general area aren't open for bass fishing until the third weekend in June. Might be worth checking. Stunning area, my favorite part of the world - in the summer.

[RichF]

Tim's correct.  Bass season doesn't open until the 3rd Saturday in June up there.  By then, most of the bass should be done spawning but you're likely to still find a few smallmouth on beds in certain parts of the river.  

[J Francho]

1 hour ago, Tommy X said:

What stage will the fish be in? Post spawn?

 

Bass season opens up 6/17 this year.  They'll likely be in post spawn.

[Tommy X]

Thanks, We are going last week in june

[webertime]

Make sure you get the NY and Canadian Licenses as well as the Ontario Sportsman card. 

Check the tackle shop in Clayton, NY (forgot the name) for good guides.

 

If I may give some unsoliciated advise...   Small brighter senkos and 1/2 & 3/4oz drop shot weights.

[Scott F]

42 minutes ago, webertime said:

Make sure you get the NY and Canadian Licenses as well as the Ontario Sportsman card. 

Check the tackle shop in Clayton, NY (forgot the name) for good guides.

If you launch from the US side and want to fish Canadian waters, don't you have to go through Canadian Customs before you fish and then back through US customs when you return? You'd also have to carry your passport. There was plenty on water on the US side for me when I was there to avoid the hassle of going far out of my and wasting a lot of fishing time dealing with customs. 

[J Francho]

15 minutes ago, Scott F said:

If you launch from the US side and want to fish Canadian waters, don't you have to go through Canadian Customs before you fish and then back through US customs when you return? You'd also have to carry your passport. There was plenty on water on the US side for me when I was there to avoid the hassle of going far out of my and wasting a lot of fishing time dealing with customs. 

 

If you have all the proper documentation, you can call in from the water.  I can't 100% remember the whole process, but it's relatively painless.  Run into the same thing over on Erie, by Buffalo/Niagara R.

[webertime]

21 minutes ago, J Francho said:

 

If you have all the proper documentation, you can call in from the water.  I can't 100% remember the whole process, but it's relatively painless.  Run into the same thing over on Erie, by Buffalo/Niagara R.

exactly this, you have to have your docs and call in to cross. 

[Tim Kelly]

Astonishing that two grown up countries can't manage this situation better. You'd think that as long as you didn't go ashore there would be a perfectly reasonable grey area that nobody would need to get excited about. 

[J Francho]

13 minutes ago, Tim Kelly said:

Astonishing that two grown up countries can't manage this situation better. You'd think that as long as you didn't go ashore there would be a perfectly reasonable grey area that nobody would need to get excited about. 

 

There's quite a bit of smuggling going on via our shared bodies of water.  I've noticed a much larger presence of border patrol on the lake in the past decade or so, probably since around 9/11.  I'm thinking that's the reason.  They're creating a source of record and paper trail in case they identify some illegal activity.  Understandable, and not too difficult to comply to.

[Tim Kelly]

When I went to Lake of the Woods musky fishing in 2003 the understanding was that unless you anchored or went ashore it wasn't really a problem. When I went back in 2005, it was a problem and you had to phone in every time you crossed the boarder. Of course, not being an American or Canadian stressed the system to the max! 

 

I doubt much of the smuggling is done by Islamist extremists, so the 9/11 defense is a little weak. Smuggling can be policed by patrols and intelligence, like it is at sea. Whatever, it's not my problem, but I can drive from France to Holland without stopping and can only tell which country I'm in by the road signs and the quality of the roads. Belgian roads suck LOL. 

[RoLo]

Bass are in the post-spawn in June.

It's an excellent month for northern pike and largemouth bass, and a good month for smallies.

Topwater fishing for bigmouth can be outstanding in Lake-of-the-Isles area (smallmouth on rocky reefs).

I personally prefer the northern Canadian side of the St. Lawrence

and used to stay in a sleepy town called Rockport, Ontario.

I know nothing about the fishing guides

 

Roger

 

[webertime]

On 1/25/2017 at 4:42 PM, J Francho said:

 

There's quite a bit of smuggling going on via our shared bodies of water.  I've noticed a much larger presence of border patrol on the lake in the past decade or so, probably since around 9/11.  I'm thinking that's the reason.  They're creating a source of record and paper trail in case they identify some illegal activity.  Understandable, and not too difficult to comply to.

It's human trafficking along that stretch that's got everyone's attention.

[Tommy X]

Got my guide, I'm good. Thanks everyone

[FinsnGrins]

This absolutely on of my favorite places to fish, I haven't been there in sometime and reading through the thread it sounds like things have changed a bit. One thing i can tell you though I never used a guide or been to the Canadian side of the river. I always found fish on the New York side in places like Alexandria and Goose Bay areas.