Maybe I'm Out of Order

[2lumpy]

Hi Folks,

I'm a member of a few hunting/fishing forums in the western USA, so I understand the presumptive nature of a first time poster asking for information, without ever having offered any sort of contribution first. If I could I would but without any information regarding your part of the world, as yet, I have little if anything to share. So I certainly understand if no one wises to respond to my question.

I live in So. Central Utah and enjoy a fishing and hunting lifestyle. We have a few smallmouth bass in a few lakes however, our environment isn't conducive to growing bass so our smallmouth fishing is very marginal. I've watch fishing programs for 50 years about the smallmouth fishing in Ontario. For the first time, I am going to travel to Toronto then on to Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City the last week of September, on a DYI site seeing tour. (I was born in So. Alberta and have always wanted to visit the Eastern Provinces, this will be our year to make the trip.) I am traveling with my wife and another couple.

I would very much like to spend a day or maybe two attempting to fish for some of your famous smallmouth bass, while we are in the area. Is that a practical possibility. Could we hire a guide? if so, could you recommend one? Can we rent a small skiff and fish on our own, with any expectation of finding fish? If so would you mind suggesting a location? Are smallmouth active during last September, early October? Am I wasting my time?

Again, I understand if you believe my inquiry is inappropriate. Thank you for what ever advise you might be willing to share.

DeLoss Christensen
Glenwood, Utah

 

[buckhorn-bassin]

Wasting your time for smallies that time of year??

No sir! That can be the start of the best time of year. I wouldn't rule out hiring a guide at all either. You won't have to worry about trying to locate fish they will take you right to them.

Lake simcoe isn't too far from Toronto area.. Lake Erie as well. I really enjoy Rice lake.. Most will agree simcoe or Erie would be better choices. Iv never been to Ottawa area but I do know the St.Lawrence river is also a very good smallie area. I think your making the right choice coming here for smallies. Haha

PM me if you have any other questions..

 

[fishermandan420]

Simcoe has some pigs, and a little easier for boating than lake erie.

 

[Dozer]

Welcome I second what buckhorn said - Simcoe or Erie for pig smallies. I do sugggest hiring a guide however - especially if you have one day to fish. Erie is around 2 hours from Toronto and Simcoe is just a hair over an hour. Not sure about Erie guides but check out Steve Rowbotham on Simcoe - hes got numerous first place finishes in bass tourneys in the area and bass is his specialty. Best of luck and enjoy your trip

 

[instapump416]

There's some awesome SMB videos on youtube where they fished Simcoe and Erie.

I think some of the vids have guide info on them.

 

[Bow Man]

My vote for Erie, there are some really monster out there, if you check this forum : http://www.niagarafishing.net/forums/?showforum=7 I am sure someone can help you out for a guide on Erie.

Out on Erie it is all about tubes, and more tubes.

Also as stated Simcoe is also very good for the smallies.

 

[2lumpy]

Folks, thank you so very much for your suggestions. I am encouraged. I will begin to follow up on your suggestions and see what I can put together. And I promise I will report back on our fishing trip, short though it will be. The one thing I get frustrated with on the other forums I frequent is a newcomer asking for some direction, getting it, then never letting anyone know what happened.

On an unrelated matter, as a first time visitor to Ontario, besides the well advertised tourist sites, are there any "special places" we should visit while we're visiting the area. We're country boys, so the city lights are interesting but we are more inclined to look for roads less traveled.

 

[Rivermaniac]

If your in the city check out Ripleys aquarium down in the core of Toronto, but I suggest to get there early cause it has a tendency to be packed. Kensington market is a nice place to step into as well. There's also the ROM which is a museum if you into that stuff. They have different main attractions every couple of months. Oh and almost forgot about the distillery district.

 

[Rivermaniac]

Btw welcome to OFF

 

[Bow Man]

If you hit lake Erie, be sure to check out Niagara on the Lake, A very nice town. It is just 15-20 mins down the road. You can always check Niagara Falls..... but it is a tourist trap. There is a casino in the falls if you are into that.

 

[AaronKrick]

Fintastic sportfishing is great, they do lake Ontario and erie for perch, walleye and bass and of course salmon and trout on ontario. Shane will put you on fish and he's a great guy.

 

[navairum]

I havent caught a smallie under 3.5lbs out of Lake St.Clair yet this year (mitchell's bay more specifically)...

 

[MuskieBait]

Check your PM.

 

[salmotrutta]

Not much time + what to see in the countryside in Ontario = tough question.

Sounds like you want no part of the touristy traps (CN Tower, Niagara Falls, Parliament) - they will bore you to death if you prefer to see some nice country. Although I suppose the falls themselves are ok to visit - but bear in mind that just beside them is a concrete jungle of casinos and tourist traps galore.

The drive between Toronto and Ottawa on the 401 can be boring - if you take highway 115 to Peterborough then highway 7 to Ottawa - you'll have a more scenic route through some small country towns, though the speed limit will be 50mph instead of 63, but you also cut 60kms off the total distance. I've seen both moose and bear on that route, whereas on the 401 you'll mainly see deer and coyotes.

The drive between Algonquin Park and Ottawa takes you through stunning countryside - so consider visiting Algonquin Park as the drive itself will make it worthwhile.

I'm sure a lot people here know some good spots for large smallies, but your best chance would be to hire a guide that hunts big ones for a living. I've caught pigs in the upper Grand River and Lake Ontario, and recently my pb from the Kawarthas Region, they are all over.

 

[2lumpy]

salmotrutta

salmotrutta, your highway suggestion is excellent. We prefer the highways that go through the small country towns. The town I live in has 600 +/-, my buddy's town has 80 +/-, we understand roads with farm equipment and livestock residue. Freeways are great if your looking to make time between destinations. We're in no hurry, I'd much rather see a good looking draft horse in a pasture than a shiny new Mercedes-Benz on the blacktop.

We'll visit Niagara Falls, as a kid I eat a lot of Nabisco Shredded Wheat. Every box had a picture of the Falls on it. It's been on my bucket list for over 50 years. Someone mentioned the casinos etc., at the Falls. We live 4 hours for Las Vegas Nevada so the casinos visits else where are not of much interest, I've lost enough cash to satisfy that itch long ago.

We'll spend a day in each of the four cities (Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City) mostly to get a visual memory of the business districts these significant cities from my home land but other than a few of the historic museums such as Fort York, The Plains of Abraham, the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa etc, that's about it for the city stuff. We have our wives with is so we need to make sure they get a portion of the time allocated to what they want to do and see (a little shopping for the grandkids) but we're going to bend a rod too, if we can make the right connections.

How could I travel all the way across the continent, to Ontario and Quebec, and not take at least a little time to wet a line?

I'd really like to take one of the highways through Algonquin Park as we drive from Toronto to Ottawa, I'm having a little trouble determining if there are motels inside the park, do you know if we can find lodging in the Park or do I need to look outside the boundary for a place to spend the night. Also, are there any good smallmouth bass lakes or rivers along the highway through the Park where we could maybe find a guide to spend a day with.

Thank you salmotrutta, I appreciate your suggestions, along with all the others.

DC

 

[FisherGirl]

Guides rock!

fishinniagara.com (Dennis)
or
fish city tours (Taro)


Dennis is on Erie every day and Taro is all over the GTA and surrounding areas. I'm pretty sure Erie the THE spot for smallies, and if youre coming up from 'merica, it
might be the perfect pit stop.

I went out with Taro on Erie 2 summers ago and we caught upwards of 20 fish each in one afternoon.

 

[rich_ace_G]

Like most people suggests...hiring guides will be huge help if you have limited time on your hands. They will take you to the right spots...more fishing and less googling. Make sure you identify the regulations...every zone differs from one another. Hopefully you make the best of the trip and show us some pictures.

 

[MuskieBait]

I don't believe there are motels within Algonuin Park. You may have to look just outside the park for some.

There may be cabins available within the park though...if that's an option you like to consider.

Many lakes along Highway 60 (the highway through Algonquin) have Smallmouth Bass...and quite a good population. There should be some guides that operate in the area.

 

[Jet fishin]

Listen to me, Lake Erie. One of the best fishing lakes there is, they even have commercial fishing boats that's how many fish there are. I would recommend going from turkey point using a guide or boat going east at a depth of 10-18 feet of water beneath u follow the boats. Lake Erie has to great populations of big perch and lots of big smallmouth bass! And welcome.

 

[2lumpy]

Folks, I apologize for not getting back to you sooner regarding my trip to Ontario. It's been a busy fall. We spent 6 days in Ontario and Quebec. You folks live in a beautiful part of the world. We throughly enjoy every minute we spent on the highways and byway of the provinces. While we never did get a chance to do any fishing I did make some phone calls to some of the local outfitters but never could get times and schedules to line up. We arrived the first week of October and the forests were ablaze in color, it was spectacular. We did two day in the Algonquin Prov. Park and then did the back roads over to Montreal and then over to Quebec City.

I am planning a "strictly" fishing trip back to Ontario to try for those small mouth bass. I will take the recommendations you've made and focus my efforts on Lake Erie, with a local fishing outfitter. That's far to much water for a old man like me to tackle without a knowledgeable guide.

Thanks for the many responses to my inquiry, I sure do appreciate it.

DC