Afternoon at Ontario Place report

My first report with a "catch" and with pictures for 2012.

I spent the afternoon today taking advantage of the warm weather. Got to Ontario Place around 2pm. Fished along the water in front of both parking lots trying to target pike.



I started with a big willow-blade spinner with a wire leader. Another guy was fishing there as well. I asked him for advice, he advised against the big spinnerbait and wire leader. I donwsized to a spoon tied on directly. I tried to cover the water as methodically as I could. Eventually switched to a noname silver sinking swimbait (that I pulled off of a salmon in the Fall hahaha) featured in the picture.

I didn't see any action unfortunately. So I'm dying to spend a day out there with somebody who knows what they're doing and is able to get reliable pike hits.

I did catch a crayfish, it has fish in the name at least =P. This little buddy was a nice surprise.



Around 5pm I moved the car further east. I found some free parking around the island air port. From there I worked the Spadina Quay marina at the foot of Spadina avenue but no luck there either. I fished into the dark, till about 7pm. I started using a glow-in-the-dark spoon for a bit.

Anyway, I was glad to get a line wet. Anticipated pike is always exciting, just wish I could spend some time with a seasoned vet to show me how it's done.

Also my rod (I think it's 6ft) didn't help on the casting front... should I invest in a proper length 10ft. or 12 ft. rod? Would really help the action and casting i think.

I like to use spinners for pike during the fall when they are feeding heavily. During the warm summer months I usually use sucker minnows. Sometimes I use a jig and let it sink to the bottom of deep pools, other times I just flip and flick the minnow around weeds and logjams where I think pike are residing. Most of the time a leader is unnecessary, even when the pike inhale the minnow, because I use 10lb mono and most of these pike are under 5lbs.

So following out that logic, you might have better luck using minnows during the winter because the pike will not be in peek feeding mode now. They may be too lethargic to chase after a lure. If you know any spots where you can catch creek chub, you can try some of those or look for a tackle shop that carries minnows. Pike have a hard time resisting a minnow. I usually use dead ones and just twitch them to imitate the struggling/dying minnow look. If you get a bite, you don't need to set the hook right away. I've literally waited 30 minutes+ sometimes. They swallow their prey head first, so put the hook through the mouth to increase your odds of a good hook set.

You may already know all of these basics and be looking for more specific tips for those spots, maybe someone else can chime in with more specific info.

i would have to suggest suspending crankbaits such as husky jerk or smithwick super rogue. worked slowly around any weeds still standing also rockpiles absorb sunlight and warm the water around them. work the bait with a SUPER SLOW sweep and pause retrieve.

Was the crayfish catch and release :lol:
I have never fished the lake shore in T.O. but one lure I always have with me when fishing pike is red and white Daredevels in various sizes. I have caught pike in just about every area in the province (including Hamilton Harbor) on these. Not saying they work all the time, but they can be deadly at times and as a bonus many other types of fish will take one of these too.

Alfie.

salmotrutta said:

I like to use spinners for pike during the fall when they are feeding heavily. During the warm summer months I usually use sucker minnows. Sometimes I use a jig and let it sink to the bottom of deep pools, other times I just flip and flick the minnow around weeds and logjams where I think pike are residing. Most of the time a leader is unnecessary, even when the pike inhale the minnow, because I use 10lb mono and most of these pike are under 5lbs.

So following out that logic, you might have better luck using minnows during the winter because the pike will not be in peek feeding mode now. They may be too lethargic to chase after a lure. If you know any spots where you can catch creek chub, you can try some of those or look for a tackle shop that carries minnows. Pike have a hard time resisting a minnow. I usually use dead ones and just twitch them to imitate the struggling/dying minnow look. If you get a bite, you don't need to set the hook right away. I've literally waited 30 minutes+ sometimes. They swallow their prey head first, so put the hook through the mouth to increase your odds of a good hook set.

You may already know all of these basics and be looking for more specific tips for those spots, maybe someone else can chime in with more specific info.

Click to expand...

No this advice wasn't too basic. I was thinking along these lines but haven't had more of a reason to go buy/bring some minnows along with me. Now I'm going to definitely give it a shot. I think you're right, super slow presentation and highly natural presentation is what these cold pike need.

georgianbaydrifter said:

i would have to suggest suspending crankbaits such as husky jerk or smithwick super rogue. worked slowly around any weeds still standing also rockpiles absorb sunlight and warm the water around them. work the bait with a SUPER SLOW sweep and pause retrieve.

Click to expand...

I gotta get into those, haven' t bought any yet. The only "suspendable" cranks I have are pretty small and only dive about 3 feet max and float back up. I can't cast them far enough because they're so light. They're the Rapalla F-7 floating minnow and the R-7 shad. I'm guessing the husky jerk can get deeper and floats less?

Alfiegee said:

Was the crayfish catch and release :lol:
I have never fished the lake shore in T.O. but one lure I always have with me when fishing pike is red and white Daredevels in various sizes. I have caught pike in just about every area in the province (including Hamilton Harbor) on these. Not saying they work all the time, but they can be deadly at times and as a bonus many other types of fish will take one of these too.

Alfie.

Click to expand...

It most definitely was catch and release hahah. I used to have pet crayfish so I could pick it up without getting pinched =P

My first pike was on a big daredevil knock-off from dollarama lol. It wasn't polished on the other side, just dull metal. Can these cheap finishes be polished? Time for some googling on my part =)

Thanks for all the help guys, keep advice coming!

Actually I was talking about daredevel knock offs myself. I rarely use the real thing when fishing weeds or timber for pike. It's a lot easier to swallow losing a cheap knock off. I don't really even think the action of the lure has much to do with its attractiveness to pike, I think it is the red and white, more so the red which would mimic blood.
I should agree with salmotrutta about the minnows too. I get a lot of pike in the Grand drifting large minnows under a float, and bass , walleye and channel cats too when in season of course.

Alfie.

rapala j13 is good choice for pike too...salmon bash em up good too. you can add weight to your cranks by buying sticky weight or you can drill and fill them yourself. rogues, husky jerks and xraps actually suspend in the water column or by changing hook size you can make them sink slow or float slow. use lighter lines to extend casting range, i would suggest 8 lb berkly xt cheap and strong along with someting like a 17lb fine wire leader 6-12 inches. you can use braid+florocarbon which performs better but has a cost associated with that performance.

It sounds as if you are casting the lure as far our as you can.

I have had success hitting pike along the Toronto harbourfront and Ontario place casting parallel to the wall front. Take notice of shadow lines and light / dark areas and wall corners.

who would have thought...nice

mikeh said:

It sounds as if you are casting the lure as far our as you can.

I have had success hitting pike along the Toronto harbourfront and Ontario place casting parallel to the wall front. Take notice of shadow lines and light / dark areas and wall corners.

Click to expand...

Thanks mikeh, that sounds like a great tip. Now I have to be more careful when i approach the water not to spook anything! =)

Long casts are still important when parallel casting to structure as they do like to follow .