This topic is locked
i think it sounds good, gong show on niagara or saugeen. I havent fished either so id learn a tonne.
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Elite membership fishing day?!
Started by Float down, Aug 18 2012 01:15 PM
147 replies to this topic
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#22
Guest_Blair_*
Guest_Blair_*
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Posted 19 August 2012 - 12:30 AM
i think it sounds good, gong show on niagara or saugeen. I havent fished either so id learn a tonne.
lol the "Shark" sets the hook.
Ever play Poker before GDB? ..... I havent *SMILES*
#23
georgianbaydrifter
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Smallmouth Bass
Posted 19 August 2012 - 12:32 AM
in...
#24
Guest_RiverNinja_*
Guest_RiverNinja_*
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Posted 19 August 2012 - 01:03 AM
I'm in.this would require a big river where we can all fish, i'm thinking saugeen this fall
#25
georgianbaydrifter
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- Active Members
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Smallmouth Bass
Posted 19 August 2012 - 01:12 AM
is there camping at that trailer park i hear so much about? could be a good place to swizzle
#26
NOTTA STEELER
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Sunfish
Posted 19 August 2012 - 02:02 AM
The Saugeen is a great choice of river for an OFF meet . This fall they are expecting a larger return of Steelhead than last year and that would be a blast .
The Saugeen can be over whelming for some because of it's size and rocky bottom , a staff is a GREAT thing to bring with you . And Blair ..I have nailed many crazy Steelhead bottom bouncing the Saugeen .
October 6th. is Thanksgiving weekend , me thinks it should be a different day or weekend , like the 13th.or later .
What ever is decided ...it would be an absolute ... YES ....from me , I wouldn't even care if I caught a fish ... I would be too busy behind the camera to care .( well maybe a couple would be nice )
The Saugeen can be over whelming for some because of it's size and rocky bottom , a staff is a GREAT thing to bring with you . And Blair ..I have nailed many crazy Steelhead bottom bouncing the Saugeen .
October 6th. is Thanksgiving weekend , me thinks it should be a different day or weekend , like the 13th.or later .
What ever is decided ...it would be an absolute ... YES ....from me , I wouldn't even care if I caught a fish ... I would be too busy behind the camera to care .( well maybe a couple would be nice )
#27
Guest_Blair_*
Guest_Blair_*
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- Guests
Posted 19 August 2012 - 02:57 AM
CRONZY (fishTV)
A couple of newsletters back I noted the potential of Ontario’s Saugeen River. I’d spent a leisurely drift down the Saugeen with John Valk of Waterdown’s Grindstone Outfitters <a href="http://www.grindston...neangling.com/" target="_blank">www.grindstoneangling.com . It had been ten years since I made my last drift downstream from Walkerton and the experience was not only thrilling and exhilarating, it got me thinking about the potential this river has as a sport fishing destination. In fact, after an afternoon of fishing and talking with Valk as we made our way downstream towards Lake Huron, I now truly believe that the Saugeen River really does have the potential to become one of the best, if not the best trout stream found anywhere in eastern North America. It’s a big, big river, laced with spawning beds, deep pools and cooling springs. The habitat offers excellent cold water fish rearing potential. The river also runs for the most part through a combination of farm and bush country. You can enter this big waterway just about anywhere above the town of Southampton and think you were fishing the west coast.
There’s only one problem….the trout are missing. Yes, the Saugeen gets a run of steelhead, but sport fishing can be improved to the extent that this river really could provide three hundred and sixty five days of world class fishing. At the present time anglers enjoy a decent run of steelhead from October around til May, thanks in part to a limited amount of natural reproduction, straying Michigan trout and fish farm escapees. Some brown trout stocking does take place upstream in hopes of generating a summer fishery. Still , up until recently, the river lacked any significant fisheries rehabilitation on the part of Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.
Well, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources is still dragging its feet when it comes to pumping up the potential of this system on its own, but the Ontario Steelheaders www.ontariosteelheaders.ca and the Lake Huron Fishing Club are getting together to jointly improve the fishing on this river system. For the past ten years the Steelheaders have been rearing steelhead to fingerling size and then releasing them in the upper Saugeen. This past summer the Steelheaders sent 65,000 steelhead fry to the Lake Huron Fishing Club’s Kincardine hatchery, where the club will give the give the small fish a little extra loving care. Plans are in the works to hold the fish over until a release in the upper Saugeen River next spring. Here’s hoping the steelhead can be cared for until they reach that all important 8 inch length.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Blair
It's funny how you Fish new areas, stick to the "regulars" and then sometimes "forget" old Friends....
Growing up in Guelph, the Geen was a close trip away. We went to: Hanover, Paisley .. Lots of time at Denny's Dam.
Man, it;s been awhile.
* Notta- Thanks for pointing out that Bottom Bouncing still does the trick.
The Geen was where after Niagara, ... I started to learn and fine tune the "Art".
You definately "Cover" less water than on a PiN (no doubts) ... but there's nothing in the world like "Feeling" the initial take and strike.
Bounce baby bounce, rock ... rock ... rock..."Nibble" .. WHAM!
To each their own *SMILES*
___________________________________________
Years of effort behind Saugeen miracle
DARRYL CHORONZEY, FOR THE SUN TIMES Friday, January 6, 2012 6:14:06 EST AM
There's a popular little phrase: "All fishermen tell lies, except me and you, and sometimes I don't even believe you" that has been passed around for years between angling buddies.
Here's a little story that is not a lie, but the truth, from an angler that has himself been around for more than a few years and fished most of the finer trout waters from the Great Lakes to the Pacific Ocean. Without a word of a lie the steelhead fishing and the runs of steelhead I witnessed returning to Ontario's Saugeen River this past year were the finest I've witnessed on any trout stream in North America.
Some might say, "well what the hell does Choronzey know and what right has he got to make that statement." Well, let me tell you what Choronzey knows. For almost 50 years I've been blessed to be able to make my living in a Godsend of a profession. Working in the world of outdoor media, I've been writing columns for some of Canada's major newspapers, published and edited my own outdoor magazine for more than two decades and I have just about finished off my career as a cross- Canada television fishing host.
There have been many perks that came with the job, especially the opportunity to fish, time and time again at most of the fabled steelhead rivers found in North America. From Alaska to California I've compared and judged many of those famed west coast steelhead holes. On the Great Lakes, I like to think that I've visited, waded and drifted baits in some of the better streams from Thunder Bay all the way down the big system to the Ganaraska and that's including both sides of the border.
In those 50 years I've been personally involved in some very significant fisheries enhancement programs and at the same time have had the opportunity to work closely with some very industrious, intelligent and committed volunteers and professionals to both improve existing steelhead runs and introduce new ones. But nowhere and at no time in those 50-odd years have I witnessed an occurrence the likes of which I refer to as the miracle on the Saugeen.
Just a little more than eight years ago, I sat down in a local Owen Sound Ministry of Natural Resources office with a group of concerned sportsmen, made up of members of the Ontario Steelheaders and the Lake Huron Fishing Club, as well as a brain trust from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. The subject at hand was how to improve the Saugeen River rainbow fishery. Yes, the Saugeen had a past history as a significant steelhead river, but the big flow had lost much of its shine as a premier Ontario steelhead stream.
To some of the experienced and knowledgeable individuals sitting around that table at that meeting it was obvious one of the longest flowing rivers on the Great Lakes was now well past its glory days. The once excellent fishing of the late 1960s and '70s had been mostly based on straying stocks of trout planted by Michigan. These days, Michigan has done a much better job of imprinting the rainbow smolts they stocked and less fish have been straying over to Ontario tributaries. While the river is immense in size, very little natural reproduction was evident due to the fact a number of dams were preventing returning rainbow from reaching prime spawning locations necessary for self-sustaining natural reproduction in some of the Saugeen's headwaters above the town of Walkerton. Downstream of Walkerton, the Saugeen is often too silty during the runoffs of spring and fall and too warm during the summer months. In the frigid months of winter deadly shifting drift ice scours the river bottom, greatly reducing survival of eggs, fry and fingerling trout before they had the opportunity to smolt out to the open waters of Lake Huron and mature.
At that first sit down it became evident that the big flow
required a complete makeover if the fishery was to be revived and the goal of a self-sustaining natural reproduction was to be achieved.
STOCKING, IMPRINTING
It was agreed by all parties that an intensive stocking program had to be undertaken. It was agreed that three important factors had to be taken into consideration: Genetics of fish stocked, size of fish stocked and location of fish being stocked. Thanks in part to some straying fish stocked by American states on the opposite side of the border, sufficient numbers of steelhead adults could still be trapped and relieved of their eggs and sperm at Denny's Dam at Southampton in the spring. The actual genetic strain of the creature was believed to be of Chambers Creek origin. The Chambers Creek steelhead enter the Saugeen from late September throughout the winter until they spawn in mid to late April. As adults they average eight to 12 pounds, but can nudge the scales over 20 pounds. Their sporting performance is excellent throughout their river stay and just as important, they prove to be exceptional open water combatants when tested with rod and reel.
Since the spring of 2005 members of the Ontario Steelheaders and the Lake Huron Fishing Club have been trapping adult-run steelhead at Denny's Dam. They set a collection target of one 100,000 viable eggs and always have met that goal. The mixing of eggs and sperm then takes place on site at the Lake Huron Fishing Club's Kincardine fish hatchery. Depending on water temperature, club members generally carry out their total egg take and fertilization over a few days.
Once the eggs are fertilized and resting in protective trays, the members from Lake Huron Fishing Club take over the chore of babysitting for the next 12 months. It should be noted the Kincardine facility is state of the art and these babysitters are some of the best in the business.
From Day 1 of this program the target size of these fish has been set at smolt, averaging between seven to eight inches long. The finished product that are transferred from hatchery to transport trailer almost always attain that growth and overall length from snout to tail.
Now that genetics and proper size at release had been achieved, the all important choice of release location was taken in to account. Proper stocking location relates to the best imprinting of the smolt at release to achieve the best possible return of the steelhead once they have grown, matured and are ready to return to the river of their release. Sound fish management takes into account the importance of proper imprinting. Rivermouth and shoreline stocking were out of the question. Both locations offer little if any imprinting and few fishing opportunities when the adults fail to return.
The Lake Huron Fishing Club, Ontario Steelheaders, and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources were in agreement from the start of their project that proper imprinting was all important to create the needed sport fishery. There was also the matter of having the maturing adult fish return to the best spawning tributaries in the mid stretches of the Saugeen River. From the very first days of the stocking program for the majority of these healthy steelhead smolt have been released approximately 50 miles upstream from Denny's Dam at the town of Walkerton.
But there is much more to this story than just raising and releasing fish and having the pugnacious steelhead come back to the big river for fishing success.
FISHWAYS IN PLACE
A second very important part of this tale concerns fishways. Remember, all involved at the initial sit-dow set the goal to achieve natural, self-sustaining steelhead reproduction. Up until that meeting between sportsmen and government officials few if any steelhead were able to reach the prime cold water spawning tributaries above Walkerton. That could only be achieved by getting the trout over and around two manmade dams. One was situated in Walkerton and the second, Maple Hill, is an active hydro generating facility approximately 15 miles upstream of Walkerton.
A fishway had been installed by the Ontario Steelheaders on the Walkerton dam more than 30 years ago, but the original design was flawed from the start and fish passage was minimal at best. A series of meetings again took place between the Ontario Steelheaders, the Ministry of Natural Resources' Jody Scheifley and Shawn Carey and engineers and construction consultants. Within a span of few weeks, necessary funding was in place, architectural plans were drawn, the steel fabricator completed his welds and finally an enormous boom and crane rig was lowering and positioning thousands of pounds of steel steps and water control gates for the new Walkerton fishway.
Did modifications and refinements work? You bet. Within minutes of being filled, hundreds of chrome-sided steelhead were entering and passing through the new Walkerton fishway to new waters.
Six months later, the same crew made up of volunteers from the Ontario Steelheaders, contractors and engineers set their sites on the Maple Hill dam. One fishway was already in place on the hydro dam, but why not add another? Within a few short weeks, forms were set, concrete was poured and hemlock steps were set in place. Once again, the hypnotic water of the Saugeen was allowed to enter the new fish passage and the results were almost immediate. Hundreds of steelhead were now able to naturally enter some of the finest steelhead spawning water to be found on the Great Lakes.
TRAPPING, TRAILERING
The Ontario Steelheaders and Lake Huron Fishing Club for decades had been partners in an annual trap and transfer of pre-spawning adult rainbow trout to tributaries in the mid-reaches of the Saugeen. Even back in those days experienced members of the Steelheaders recognized the importance relocating spawning fish to prime waters above the two dams.
With the new program in place the two clubs again had their eyes on these coldwater tributaries and their future importance in establishing natural reproduction of the Chambers Creek strain into the waters of the Saugeen. This time though, with the co-operation of the Ministry of Natural Resources, permit collection numbers were raised and fish would be collected not only in spring, but autumn as well.
As returning fish numbers began to increase over the past seven years, so also did the collection numbers. At the start of the program, permits were set at 500 spring-run adults and 200 fall run steelhead. Last year those figures had been expanded to 1,000 spring-run steelhead and 500 autumn-run fish.
Working with the clubs, I estimated it would take a minimum of three weeks in April of last year to attain the goal of trapping and transporting. The two hardworking clubs carried out and moved those 1,000 adults in less than five days. The autumn collection was almost the same.
All steelhead adults are released into tributaries branching off the waters of the South Saugeen upstream of Maple Hill and Hanover. One tributary in particular, the Beatty Saugeen, flows for almost 50 miles from Hanover upstream to Hwy. 6. This river runs ice cold, is crystal clear and offers some of the finest spawning and nursery water that can be found anywhere in the country. It also offers protection for the spawning adult steelhead with
extended fishing season closures in effect during the spring spawning period.
THE FUTURE
Now what do we have, what have the two clubs accomplished and what can we expect for the future?
First and foremost, in a short span of a few years the two volunteer clubs, working with a few dedicated contractors, engineers and the local MNR office have created a miracle. It's agreed and estimated by long timers on the river that as many as 30,000 steelhead now run the Saugeen annually. At Steelheaders Park downstream of Denny's Dam as many as 500 fish a day are being caught in a stretch of a few miles. The dam at Walkerton is approximately 50 miles by river to where the Saugeen empties into Lake Huron. This immense stretch of water is fishable until the last week of December and is full of autumn run Chambers Creek steelhead throughout that time frame. It's a big, beautiful flow that offers some of the best fishing anywhere in Canada. Definitely the best steelhead fishing in Ontario.
The open water fishery in the so-called Huron Blue Zone has been exposed and is about to create an entirely new Lake Huron sport troll fishery.
I've personally witnessed hundreds of steelhead now moving through the new fishways at Walkerton and above daily. We move and transfer a thousand adult steelhead in a little more than four days to new spawning waters.
The upper protected tributaries like the Beatty and others can be likened to arteries in a heart. They are some of finest spawning and nursery waters found anywhere on the continent. Now that the fish can move up into this system, natural self-sustaining reproduction will take hold and succeed. The goal of imprinting the steelhead into these upper waters is still a few years away.
The two clubs, the Lake Huron Fishing Club and the Ontario Steelheaders are committed to carrying on their present work. Both stocking numbers and capture and transporting numbers of adult fish are to remain the same. The fishery will continue to grow. Natural reproduction of this strain of trout will definitely succeed in time. Neighbouring communities such as Port Elgin, Southampton, Paisley and Walkerton will benefit from the economic spinoff generated by the growing numbers of visiting anglers estimated to be in the thousands.
Some refer to the work accomplished by the group at that original sitdown a few years back as a miracle.
My fishing cap goes off to this dedicated group of volunteers, the professionals involved and the Owen Sound District office of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.
Like I've stated, I've been around the sport of fishing a long, long time. I'm just happy to refer to it as the best darn steelhead fishery on this entire continent of ours.
A couple of newsletters back I noted the potential of Ontario’s Saugeen River. I’d spent a leisurely drift down the Saugeen with John Valk of Waterdown’s Grindstone Outfitters <a href="http://www.grindston...neangling.com/" target="_blank">www.grindstoneangling.com . It had been ten years since I made my last drift downstream from Walkerton and the experience was not only thrilling and exhilarating, it got me thinking about the potential this river has as a sport fishing destination. In fact, after an afternoon of fishing and talking with Valk as we made our way downstream towards Lake Huron, I now truly believe that the Saugeen River really does have the potential to become one of the best, if not the best trout stream found anywhere in eastern North America. It’s a big, big river, laced with spawning beds, deep pools and cooling springs. The habitat offers excellent cold water fish rearing potential. The river also runs for the most part through a combination of farm and bush country. You can enter this big waterway just about anywhere above the town of Southampton and think you were fishing the west coast.
There’s only one problem….the trout are missing. Yes, the Saugeen gets a run of steelhead, but sport fishing can be improved to the extent that this river really could provide three hundred and sixty five days of world class fishing. At the present time anglers enjoy a decent run of steelhead from October around til May, thanks in part to a limited amount of natural reproduction, straying Michigan trout and fish farm escapees. Some brown trout stocking does take place upstream in hopes of generating a summer fishery. Still , up until recently, the river lacked any significant fisheries rehabilitation on the part of Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.
Well, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources is still dragging its feet when it comes to pumping up the potential of this system on its own, but the Ontario Steelheaders www.ontariosteelheaders.ca and the Lake Huron Fishing Club are getting together to jointly improve the fishing on this river system. For the past ten years the Steelheaders have been rearing steelhead to fingerling size and then releasing them in the upper Saugeen. This past summer the Steelheaders sent 65,000 steelhead fry to the Lake Huron Fishing Club’s Kincardine hatchery, where the club will give the give the small fish a little extra loving care. Plans are in the works to hold the fish over until a release in the upper Saugeen River next spring. Here’s hoping the steelhead can be cared for until they reach that all important 8 inch length.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Blair
It's funny how you Fish new areas, stick to the "regulars" and then sometimes "forget" old Friends....
Growing up in Guelph, the Geen was a close trip away. We went to: Hanover, Paisley .. Lots of time at Denny's Dam.
Man, it;s been awhile.
* Notta- Thanks for pointing out that Bottom Bouncing still does the trick.
The Geen was where after Niagara, ... I started to learn and fine tune the "Art".
You definately "Cover" less water than on a PiN (no doubts) ... but there's nothing in the world like "Feeling" the initial take and strike.
Bounce baby bounce, rock ... rock ... rock..."Nibble" .. WHAM!
To each their own *SMILES*
___________________________________________
Years of effort behind Saugeen miracle
DARRYL CHORONZEY, FOR THE SUN TIMES Friday, January 6, 2012 6:14:06 EST AM
There's a popular little phrase: "All fishermen tell lies, except me and you, and sometimes I don't even believe you" that has been passed around for years between angling buddies.
Here's a little story that is not a lie, but the truth, from an angler that has himself been around for more than a few years and fished most of the finer trout waters from the Great Lakes to the Pacific Ocean. Without a word of a lie the steelhead fishing and the runs of steelhead I witnessed returning to Ontario's Saugeen River this past year were the finest I've witnessed on any trout stream in North America.
Some might say, "well what the hell does Choronzey know and what right has he got to make that statement." Well, let me tell you what Choronzey knows. For almost 50 years I've been blessed to be able to make my living in a Godsend of a profession. Working in the world of outdoor media, I've been writing columns for some of Canada's major newspapers, published and edited my own outdoor magazine for more than two decades and I have just about finished off my career as a cross- Canada television fishing host.
There have been many perks that came with the job, especially the opportunity to fish, time and time again at most of the fabled steelhead rivers found in North America. From Alaska to California I've compared and judged many of those famed west coast steelhead holes. On the Great Lakes, I like to think that I've visited, waded and drifted baits in some of the better streams from Thunder Bay all the way down the big system to the Ganaraska and that's including both sides of the border.
In those 50 years I've been personally involved in some very significant fisheries enhancement programs and at the same time have had the opportunity to work closely with some very industrious, intelligent and committed volunteers and professionals to both improve existing steelhead runs and introduce new ones. But nowhere and at no time in those 50-odd years have I witnessed an occurrence the likes of which I refer to as the miracle on the Saugeen.
Just a little more than eight years ago, I sat down in a local Owen Sound Ministry of Natural Resources office with a group of concerned sportsmen, made up of members of the Ontario Steelheaders and the Lake Huron Fishing Club, as well as a brain trust from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. The subject at hand was how to improve the Saugeen River rainbow fishery. Yes, the Saugeen had a past history as a significant steelhead river, but the big flow had lost much of its shine as a premier Ontario steelhead stream.
To some of the experienced and knowledgeable individuals sitting around that table at that meeting it was obvious one of the longest flowing rivers on the Great Lakes was now well past its glory days. The once excellent fishing of the late 1960s and '70s had been mostly based on straying stocks of trout planted by Michigan. These days, Michigan has done a much better job of imprinting the rainbow smolts they stocked and less fish have been straying over to Ontario tributaries. While the river is immense in size, very little natural reproduction was evident due to the fact a number of dams were preventing returning rainbow from reaching prime spawning locations necessary for self-sustaining natural reproduction in some of the Saugeen's headwaters above the town of Walkerton. Downstream of Walkerton, the Saugeen is often too silty during the runoffs of spring and fall and too warm during the summer months. In the frigid months of winter deadly shifting drift ice scours the river bottom, greatly reducing survival of eggs, fry and fingerling trout before they had the opportunity to smolt out to the open waters of Lake Huron and mature.
At that first sit down it became evident that the big flow
required a complete makeover if the fishery was to be revived and the goal of a self-sustaining natural reproduction was to be achieved.
STOCKING, IMPRINTING
It was agreed by all parties that an intensive stocking program had to be undertaken. It was agreed that three important factors had to be taken into consideration: Genetics of fish stocked, size of fish stocked and location of fish being stocked. Thanks in part to some straying fish stocked by American states on the opposite side of the border, sufficient numbers of steelhead adults could still be trapped and relieved of their eggs and sperm at Denny's Dam at Southampton in the spring. The actual genetic strain of the creature was believed to be of Chambers Creek origin. The Chambers Creek steelhead enter the Saugeen from late September throughout the winter until they spawn in mid to late April. As adults they average eight to 12 pounds, but can nudge the scales over 20 pounds. Their sporting performance is excellent throughout their river stay and just as important, they prove to be exceptional open water combatants when tested with rod and reel.
Since the spring of 2005 members of the Ontario Steelheaders and the Lake Huron Fishing Club have been trapping adult-run steelhead at Denny's Dam. They set a collection target of one 100,000 viable eggs and always have met that goal. The mixing of eggs and sperm then takes place on site at the Lake Huron Fishing Club's Kincardine fish hatchery. Depending on water temperature, club members generally carry out their total egg take and fertilization over a few days.
Once the eggs are fertilized and resting in protective trays, the members from Lake Huron Fishing Club take over the chore of babysitting for the next 12 months. It should be noted the Kincardine facility is state of the art and these babysitters are some of the best in the business.
From Day 1 of this program the target size of these fish has been set at smolt, averaging between seven to eight inches long. The finished product that are transferred from hatchery to transport trailer almost always attain that growth and overall length from snout to tail.
Now that genetics and proper size at release had been achieved, the all important choice of release location was taken in to account. Proper stocking location relates to the best imprinting of the smolt at release to achieve the best possible return of the steelhead once they have grown, matured and are ready to return to the river of their release. Sound fish management takes into account the importance of proper imprinting. Rivermouth and shoreline stocking were out of the question. Both locations offer little if any imprinting and few fishing opportunities when the adults fail to return.
The Lake Huron Fishing Club, Ontario Steelheaders, and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources were in agreement from the start of their project that proper imprinting was all important to create the needed sport fishery. There was also the matter of having the maturing adult fish return to the best spawning tributaries in the mid stretches of the Saugeen River. From the very first days of the stocking program for the majority of these healthy steelhead smolt have been released approximately 50 miles upstream from Denny's Dam at the town of Walkerton.
But there is much more to this story than just raising and releasing fish and having the pugnacious steelhead come back to the big river for fishing success.
FISHWAYS IN PLACE
A second very important part of this tale concerns fishways. Remember, all involved at the initial sit-dow set the goal to achieve natural, self-sustaining steelhead reproduction. Up until that meeting between sportsmen and government officials few if any steelhead were able to reach the prime cold water spawning tributaries above Walkerton. That could only be achieved by getting the trout over and around two manmade dams. One was situated in Walkerton and the second, Maple Hill, is an active hydro generating facility approximately 15 miles upstream of Walkerton.
A fishway had been installed by the Ontario Steelheaders on the Walkerton dam more than 30 years ago, but the original design was flawed from the start and fish passage was minimal at best. A series of meetings again took place between the Ontario Steelheaders, the Ministry of Natural Resources' Jody Scheifley and Shawn Carey and engineers and construction consultants. Within a span of few weeks, necessary funding was in place, architectural plans were drawn, the steel fabricator completed his welds and finally an enormous boom and crane rig was lowering and positioning thousands of pounds of steel steps and water control gates for the new Walkerton fishway.
Did modifications and refinements work? You bet. Within minutes of being filled, hundreds of chrome-sided steelhead were entering and passing through the new Walkerton fishway to new waters.
Six months later, the same crew made up of volunteers from the Ontario Steelheaders, contractors and engineers set their sites on the Maple Hill dam. One fishway was already in place on the hydro dam, but why not add another? Within a few short weeks, forms were set, concrete was poured and hemlock steps were set in place. Once again, the hypnotic water of the Saugeen was allowed to enter the new fish passage and the results were almost immediate. Hundreds of steelhead were now able to naturally enter some of the finest steelhead spawning water to be found on the Great Lakes.
TRAPPING, TRAILERING
The Ontario Steelheaders and Lake Huron Fishing Club for decades had been partners in an annual trap and transfer of pre-spawning adult rainbow trout to tributaries in the mid-reaches of the Saugeen. Even back in those days experienced members of the Steelheaders recognized the importance relocating spawning fish to prime waters above the two dams.
With the new program in place the two clubs again had their eyes on these coldwater tributaries and their future importance in establishing natural reproduction of the Chambers Creek strain into the waters of the Saugeen. This time though, with the co-operation of the Ministry of Natural Resources, permit collection numbers were raised and fish would be collected not only in spring, but autumn as well.
As returning fish numbers began to increase over the past seven years, so also did the collection numbers. At the start of the program, permits were set at 500 spring-run adults and 200 fall run steelhead. Last year those figures had been expanded to 1,000 spring-run steelhead and 500 autumn-run fish.
Working with the clubs, I estimated it would take a minimum of three weeks in April of last year to attain the goal of trapping and transporting. The two hardworking clubs carried out and moved those 1,000 adults in less than five days. The autumn collection was almost the same.
All steelhead adults are released into tributaries branching off the waters of the South Saugeen upstream of Maple Hill and Hanover. One tributary in particular, the Beatty Saugeen, flows for almost 50 miles from Hanover upstream to Hwy. 6. This river runs ice cold, is crystal clear and offers some of the finest spawning and nursery water that can be found anywhere in the country. It also offers protection for the spawning adult steelhead with
extended fishing season closures in effect during the spring spawning period.
THE FUTURE
Now what do we have, what have the two clubs accomplished and what can we expect for the future?
First and foremost, in a short span of a few years the two volunteer clubs, working with a few dedicated contractors, engineers and the local MNR office have created a miracle. It's agreed and estimated by long timers on the river that as many as 30,000 steelhead now run the Saugeen annually. At Steelheaders Park downstream of Denny's Dam as many as 500 fish a day are being caught in a stretch of a few miles. The dam at Walkerton is approximately 50 miles by river to where the Saugeen empties into Lake Huron. This immense stretch of water is fishable until the last week of December and is full of autumn run Chambers Creek steelhead throughout that time frame. It's a big, beautiful flow that offers some of the best fishing anywhere in Canada. Definitely the best steelhead fishing in Ontario.
The open water fishery in the so-called Huron Blue Zone has been exposed and is about to create an entirely new Lake Huron sport troll fishery.
I've personally witnessed hundreds of steelhead now moving through the new fishways at Walkerton and above daily. We move and transfer a thousand adult steelhead in a little more than four days to new spawning waters.
The upper protected tributaries like the Beatty and others can be likened to arteries in a heart. They are some of finest spawning and nursery waters found anywhere on the continent. Now that the fish can move up into this system, natural self-sustaining reproduction will take hold and succeed. The goal of imprinting the steelhead into these upper waters is still a few years away.
The two clubs, the Lake Huron Fishing Club and the Ontario Steelheaders are committed to carrying on their present work. Both stocking numbers and capture and transporting numbers of adult fish are to remain the same. The fishery will continue to grow. Natural reproduction of this strain of trout will definitely succeed in time. Neighbouring communities such as Port Elgin, Southampton, Paisley and Walkerton will benefit from the economic spinoff generated by the growing numbers of visiting anglers estimated to be in the thousands.
Some refer to the work accomplished by the group at that original sitdown a few years back as a miracle.
My fishing cap goes off to this dedicated group of volunteers, the professionals involved and the Owen Sound District office of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.
Like I've stated, I've been around the sport of fishing a long, long time. I'm just happy to refer to it as the best darn steelhead fishery on this entire continent of ours.
#28
ChaseChrome
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Banned
Posted 19 August 2012 - 09:34 AM
Well, if team Greece is going to be there...I'M OUT!!!!!!
Never mind...a fine idea man!!
I'll bring the OUZO then...
Lots of fishable water below the dam and park...cemetery run can manage a good number of anglers...
CC
Never mind...a fine idea man!!
I'll bring the OUZO then...
Lots of fishable water below the dam and park...cemetery run can manage a good number of anglers...
CC
#29
troutddicted
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Bouts with trouts
Posted 19 August 2012 - 11:38 AM
Chase, it'll be fantastic! You'll have a grand time. We'll be drifting half skein sized globular clusters of eggs, chumming the water to get the fish active with fresh bow roe we will harvest from zippered roe wagons, using parr's as bait for catch muskies and if its warm enough, I'll be beefcaking all around the 'geen like its a modelling runway 
#30
Majstor
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Posted 19 August 2012 - 11:49 AM
ohh i forgot to say i'm in 
#31
CJR
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Posted 19 August 2012 - 12:10 PM
Chase, it'll be fantastic! You'll have a grand time. We'll be drifting half skein sized globular clusters of eggs, chumming the water to get the fish active with fresh bow roe we will harvest from zippered roe wagons, using parr's as bait for catch muskies and if its warm enough, I'll be beefcaking all around the 'geen like its a modelling runway
LOL, literally spit out my drink when I read this.
#32
despotiko
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Sunfish
Posted 19 August 2012 - 02:13 PM
Aw Sh!!!!!T! I'm in, but only if i get to wear my spartan helmet with some short shorts and sandals. Dozer needs someone to beefcake with?! 
That ouzo should keep me from freezing my balls off, good idea Chase. Trebles and souvlaki on me!
+1 for the Geen
That ouzo should keep me from freezing my balls off, good idea Chase. Trebles and souvlaki on me! +1 for the Geen
#33
Guest_Blair_*
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Posted 19 August 2012 - 02:29 PM
Aw Sh!!!!!T! I'm in, but only if i get to wear my spartan helmet with some short shorts and sandals. Dozer needs someone to beefcake with?!
I KNEW the talk would eventually get around to WHAT to WEAR. Always does.
I must admit, I'm a bit nervous, knowing some of our Fashion Kings will be out in full Walk Off mode.
Thankfully, I have called some of my Fashion Friends ... and some great suggestions have been made.
Going to Start the Day - Casual. This nifty little outfit says " Hey I'm ready for anything, but not yet quite wanting full stage" The white's are past labour day ... but screw all you bitches, I like it!
For later in the day ...
I'm going with "CETURION HOT" It defines my shape, yet allows the centre of attention to be where it should be: Those lovely eyes!
Matched with a terrific and Bold pair of Sandals: I'll stand OUT of the CROWD and be ready for any "quick Releases"
Finally, the PIECE DE LA RESISTANCE - Evening Wear: Nothing beats all out FORMAL
Well boys, looks like this is going to be the PARTY of the YEAR.
Toodaloo ....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39YUXIKrOFk
*SMILES*
#34
troutddicted
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Bouts with trouts
Posted 19 August 2012 - 03:48 PM
Will you be bringing a spear along as well? 
#35
Dugger
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Perch
Posted 19 August 2012 - 03:57 PM
..... if I hear the words "sword fight" on this thread I'm calling the local authorities 
.... that's classic, Blair.... if some ignoramus tangles your line you can assault the neanderthal in full battle gear
a charging Roman soldier in field dress has a way of thinning a crowd
.... that's classic, Blair.... if some ignoramus tangles your line you can assault the neanderthal in full battle gear
a charging Roman soldier in field dress has a way of thinning a crowd
#36
Guest_Blair_*
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Posted 19 August 2012 - 03:58 PM
Will you be bringing a spear along as well?
Part of the OUTFIT! Part of the outfit....
I have a "telescopic" one with multi-colour slip covers - Great for those quicky change ups.
When the DATE is finalised, We can set up a Double at the Salon ... D.
Dont want to look like a Grizzly out there!
Jerome does the best waxing, your choice of either Full body smooth, or just bikini touch ups.
#37
Float down
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Perch
Posted 19 August 2012 - 05:15 PM
Alright then! The geen on the cemetery side? The big corner pool can easily hold 20+ dudes. Then during the course of the day we can all go where ever and meet up later? so on October 13'th we'll all meet up and get into some lane Huron chrome! Are we Gunna do this even if the weather is shite? I think we should! Hahaha! And hah we could do a pot luck thing if you're all into it?
#38
Majstor
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Posted 19 August 2012 - 05:44 PM
i'm down as long as the river is not flooded. would hate to drive 3 hours to a chocolate water lol
as long as the river is not flooded. would hate to drive 3 hours to a chocolate water lol
#39
CJR
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Posted 19 August 2012 - 05:49 PM
So for sure Oct 13th? Just want to make sure it's good for everyone before I put in my request for the time off work 
#40
Guest_Blair_*
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Posted 19 August 2012 - 06:00 PM
SATURDAY OCTOBER 13, 2012
Goderich, 13 October 2012
Sunrise / 7:10 am
Sunset / 18:45 pm
5:27
17:259.6%
New Moon
October 15
"Goderich" (Closest with Stats) Temp & Precipitation Records http://www.farmzone....cl6122847/so024
Goderich, 13 October 2012
Sunrise / 7:10 am
Sunset / 18:45 pm
5:27 17:259.6% New Moon
October 15
"Goderich" (Closest with Stats) Temp & Precipitation Records http://www.farmzone....cl6122847/so024
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