Kawartha Lakes

[disspatcher]

From another board I frequent...the member posting this is a fairly well know Guide and very well known on many other fishing boards.

I have heard rumors in the past that some Northern Pike have invaded Balsam lake through the locks from Canal lake I found what happened a couple days ago disturbing. I had some customers out on a guided fishing trip on Balsam lake and although we had a awesome day catching lots of nice Walleye we boated a Pike and only 5 minutes later we caught a Tiger Musky!! I have been fishing this lake for over 25 years and have never caught either species there before.

I sent these pics with some other details to the MNR for file (which they appreciated) and they confirmed with me the practice that any angler catching a Pike in any of the Kawartha lakes should keep it and not release.... this is exactly what we did. I fear that in a few years Balsam (and possibly other kawartha lakes) could go the way Canal and Dalrymple lakes did. They both used to be awesome Muskie fisheries years ago, followed by a few years of nice Tiger Muskie and now the Musky are pretty much gone and replaced by alot of smaller Pike.



One thing for sure is that the colours and bar patterns on a Tiger Muskie are absolutely beautiful... here is a pic of the one we boated:
http://profishntanglingservices.com/MyP ... er0609.jpg

Here is a pic of the Pike we caught and kept minutes before catching the Tiger Muskie:
http://profishntanglingservices.com/MyP ... ke0609.jpg

Remember that if you ever catch a Pike on any of the Kawartha lakes KEEP IT!... also a good idea to contact the MNR and give them specifics in terms on lake, location etc.


Take care and Good Fish'n.... Greg.

ProFISH'nt Angling Services

 

[tangledline]

thankyou for the info ...
these are important changes to be aware of and understand their effects on the lakes inhabitants...

 

[frozenfire]

yes, i have heard of pike being caught on balsam for a while now.
i don't fish the lake at all, but this summer, i have a camping trip at balsam and will be on the water a lot fishing for bass and ski's
you bet that if i land a pike, it's going to end up for dinner... i've never kept a pike in my life though!

Do you guys think that in the next 10 years, the pike will be established in the other nearby kawartha lakes as well?

 

[reefrunner]

It is true, unfortunately, pike are spreading East. But it may not be as horrible as the doom sayers retort.

I've cottaged on Canal Lake since 1994. There were pike in there when we bought the place. In that time, I had caught one pure strain musky and two tigers in the lake since. Pike are plentiful (which are still good fun, don't get me wrong - no complaints here).

I go over to Balsam quite often as its a 1 hour cruise through the canal, signs are posted at the Kirkfield liftlock identifying pike and warning about their spread. I have never caught a pike in Balsam but know they inhabit its waters. The earlier spawn of pike over the musky, I believe, arises a competition for forage of the fry, which the pike get first dibs as they are a little more mature then, to the detriment of the musky. Tiger musky do not reproduce, you can look it up - they are beautiful however and a pleasure if you hook into one.

It is always assumed that the Kawarthas will go the way of Canal but I think it is too early to determine. I would point to many Ontario Lakes where musky and pike co-exist, ie., Lake of the Woods, Lac Seul, Vermillion, GeoBAy tribs, etc. My beleif is that bigger bodies of water may hold both species and introduce a third, the tiger. Of course, there are specific interest groups that believe any threat to a native fish population; existential, real or otherwise, is the be-all and end-all to their fishery. I give these guys credit, however, for being the most conservationist guys out there with respect to the particular fishery - they put alot of effort into managing it. Most Musky fishermen I know are true CPR practitioners, hardly any musky are kept at all - which is a good thing.

Pike, on the other hand, are also a great sportfish - worthy of our best management as well. Nature will find a way for them to spread into other waters, we can manage its spread, but in the end and no pun intended, it's only natural they expand in habitat range. What has to change is the perception and general attitude that pike are not good eaters. I disagree, pike are very tasty. They take a little more work to clean, good videos out there on youtube on the 5 fillet method I recommend to everyone. Another tip for culling them, immediately when caught for the dinner table, sever their nerve receptors by incision from the gills to the backbone. When highly stressed, like dragging 'em by a chain all day or in the livewell, they release a toxin in their flesh that gives it that distinct "fishy" taste. Try it out, honestly, I prefer pike to many other sportfish for eating. It's all about changing attitudes and perceptions.

Anyway, my two cents.

Reefrunner

 

[ec1]

reefrunner, how often do you expect to catch pike on canal?
But to be honest, I would hate it if the musky were gone and all that were left were these pike that are all small and dinky.

 

[reefrunner]

ec1,

I catch pike everytime I'm there! It's not rampant, some days you still gotta work for them. Alot of them are 1-4lbs hammerhandles, but sporadically you get some nice ones. My PB from the lake is approx. 15lbs. Caught on opener weekend three years back. Was trolling (only window of opportunity is in the spring when you can troll as the weed growth is pretty quick come June) and saw a whole bunch of baitfish breaking surface just infront of my bow, next thing ya know FISH ON. Had a crappy net and the darn thing took a run right into it, torpedoing a hole right through. So I'm fighting the fish in one hand and feeding line through a broken net on the other, lol.

Yes, it does suck that the Musky are all but gone. Such a surprise when you see one, lost a 30inch tiger last year boatside, and you feel lucky as heck even when you spot one. But I enjoy fishing for pike, still a scrappy esox, put up a good fight too. Like I said, they are tasty. Only other fish out of the lake I prefer over pike are the crappie, yum.

Canal is still an awesome fishery - maybe not for the musky and walleye fisherman, but pike and BIG bass both smallies and largies; Crappie, assorted panfish, catfish, and carp(never targetted them). Lots of action and surprises from what comes out of those weeds. I see people fishing the causeway all the time, don't know how successful they are - see lots of worm and bobbers but there is an abundance of pan fish. Even I do the worm and bobber thing once in a while - it's all good!

If you ever think about heading that way, PM me and I'll give you some tips.
Here are some pics of canal lake fish from previous years (no oos fish - just enjoy the fish porn gents)

 

[frozenfire]

Excellent!

 

[ec1]

Those are some nice fish Reefrunner. I've only fished on the causeway a few times this year, and I've yet to have caught a fish there. There are always a lot of people there out for crappie at night, and when I was there, only a few were caught.

I'm not really sure what else there is to be caught at the causeway, although when i go i'm after the crappies anyways.

 

[David Kearney]

thanks for the info I will make sure that if I am ever up there fishing roo keep the pike.

 

[reefrunner]

Those are some nice fish Reefrunner. I've only fished on the causeway a few times this year, and I've yet to have caught a fish there. There are always a lot of people there out for crappie at night, and when I was there, only a few were caught.

I'm not really sure what else there is to be caught at the causeway, although when i go i'm after the crappies anyways.

Thanks for the compliments ec1. Adding to that, I am astonished you have never caught anything there, wow, i see people there all the time - perhaps too much fishing pressure?

I too love the crappie hunt on canal. Spring opener is the best time of year as they are ACTIVELY feeding. I use a "search" bait - like a floating rapala J-7 to find the fish and then worm/bobber or micro-jig once a school has been located that time of year. Throughout the summer they take to deeper weeds so livebait works best, just have to pick through them sunfish and perch.

I can see the causeway being overpresured - I can tell you even when fishing from a boat close to it's shores I'm not all that sucessful. If it's a calm day and you got some sort of pontoon or tube just head 30-50f off shore and there are fish. I can see them shore fishers drool as I pull in pike and bass hand over fist somedays, lol.

Like I said, I know the lake very, very well from years of angling it's waters. Shoot me a PM next time your up that way. well, I hijacked this thread pretty darn well - my apologies on the tangent.

reefrunner