25 replies to this topic

[MuskieBait]

My fishing brother, Elijah, visited Toronto over Thanksgiving weekend. In the last week, he traveled from his home in Los Angeles to Miami to Pennsylvania to Toronto...going through interviews...but also fishing along the way.

For an accomplished angler, who has caught 320+ species, there were some specific species he wanted to catch. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to go chase a muskie (especially since the endeavor would only yield one species for the effort), or go chase a season dependent Lake Sturgeon in Quebec. Our strategy was to rely on some prime location for some prime targets that were high on his wish list, but yet provide opportunity to expand his lifelist.

Day 1

He arrived in Toronto by red-eye bus, having been delayed for an hour and missed one connection...but the important thing is he got here at 7am and we're off.

Elijah's highest priority species were Redhorse species and Freshwater Drum. I've got a location just perfect for them. We got to our first location and was fishing by about 9:30am. Water was high, fast, coloured and visibility was only 12" at best...but we went at it...and guess what he caught...

Location 1 (43.650473, -79.366917):

1) River Chub
2) Golden Redhorse
3) White Perch
4) Freshwater Drum

By 1:30pm, we decided to try another location. We got to location 2 by 3:45pm. Condition was even worse than Location 1, but we tried at it. Water was too muddy for Shorthead Redhorse, Silver Redhorse or Walleye...but we did get one easy species checked off.

Location 2 (43.663483, -79.32847):

5) Round Goby

Water was way too coloured up, so we decided to go for some micro fishing. Elijah had been micro fishing in California. Unfortunately, the native species there had been demolished by invasive species. Which invasive species? Those popular sportfish such as Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Brook Trout, Smallmouth Bass, Largemouth Bass, Striped Bass, Channel Catfish and Bluegill Sunfish, which are so highly prized by anglers, but completely ravenous against native California species. An absolute tragedy when short sighted anglers and agencies push to satisfied desires and severely wiped out native species. Elijah really wanted to catch some local minnow species. After a quick late lunch, we whipped out the tanago hook and got some species before dusk.

Location 3 (43.649156, -79.372852):

6) Rosyface Shiner
7) Common Shiner
8 ) Striped Shiner

As a last hail mary, we decided to fish at a river mouth for any lingering salmon. No salmon, but we did see a couple of trout patrolling the schools and schools of Emerald Shiners in the area. Even the trout didn't want to play, but we added more species by first catching the lifer Emerald Shiner, then using the shiners to catch Elijah's other target species.

Location 4 (43.799609, -79.319144):

9) Emerald Shiner
10) Rockbass
11) Yellow Perch

Day 2

Elijah was exhausted from all the traveling...so we started the day when he decided to get up. At 10am, I arrived at Michael's house and we checked a creek nearby. One species had been eluding us yesterday...but we had no shortage of them in this area.

Location 5 (43.656394, -79.381725):

12) Creek Chub

Elijah wanted a White Sucker, so Michael suggested a spot. The water was high and coloured and we couldn't see them on this overcast day. The Creek Chubs were also too ravenous...so we took a hike to check upstream.

Still no suckers, but Michael said there could be a chance at Atlantic Salmon smolts. We stopped to fish a fast riffle...and BAM.

Location 6 (43.655539, -79.383281):

13) Atlantic Salmon

We're running out of time. It's 1:30pm and Elijah's flight is a 6pm. Michael said he has a no fail White Sucker spot...the only caveat is that he had not fished it in the fall. If they are around, we should know within 20min. We sent out 3 rods and Elijah was to man all three of them. About 15 minutes in, there was a vibrating tap on the rod...

Location 7 (43.661525, -79.382964):

14) White Sucker

The last possible species Elijah wanted to catch was a Brown Bullhead. Most of our spots had possibility for bullheads...but they were not cooperating. Even as our last hail mary of the trip, the bullheads refused to play.

I guess he'll just have to return next time to fish some more.

As fellow species hunter, we had an absolutely grand time fishing together. It's a bonus he checked off 14 species in just 15 total hours of actual fishing time. That's not too bad at all.

** Sorry, no pictures...Elijah took all the pics.

[hamiltonangler94]

Nice variety of species! To bad he didn't catch a smallmouth, pike, or walleye which Ontario is known for.

[MuskieBait]

He has already caught smallmouth bass (in California) and northern pike (in the UK)...and not interested in spending time to target species that were already caught. He did catch 3-4 smallmouths at Location #1.

 

It was too bad the conditions were terrible at Location #1 and #2...it would have been nice for him to catch a Walleye since it would be a new species to him.

 

Elijah was more interested in species that are largely available in Eastern North America. Even though Steelhead and Brown Trout were available now, he would rather chase after local minnow species than to catch those trout species which he had already caught out west. After all, what's the point of spending hundreds of dollars on flights and bus ticket just to go somewhere to catch a species that is available to him in California? Doesn't make sense...

 

Unfortunately, most people think of only the species you list when it comes to fishing in Ontario. Ontario has over 60 sportfish species and some of the less targeted species are much more plentiful and fight even harder than the popular sportfish.

[hamiltonangler94]

Of course we have a great variety of species thanks to the abundance of water we have. But I still highly prize smallmouth, pike, and walleye, and am happy i am able to fish for them. I consider smallmouth a trophy fighter and pound for pound you'll be hard pressed to find a better fighter, this is especially true for river smallmouth.

[MuskieBait]

I can name many local fish that fights harder than a river smallmouth...pound for pound. A 5lb carp will out run a 5lb river smallmouth any day. A 5lb freshwater drum will out pull a 5lb river smallmouth any day. A 5lb bowfin will out pull, out jump and out twist a 5lb river smallmouth any day. You should try it.

 

Don't get me wrong. I still find it fun to catch bass...but don't intentionally go out to target them anymore. They are more or less a bycatch now. Plus, I catch more and bigger bass while fishing for anything else but bass. Throwing muskie bucktails is a sure fire way to catch some big largemouths...and fishing half a crawler for redhorse is a great way to catch some steelhead for that matter.

[FishingNoob]

Unfortunately, most people think of only the species you list when it comes to fishing in Ontario. Ontario has over 60 sportfish species and some of the less targeted species are much more plentiful and fight even harder than the popular sportfish.

 

Is there anywhere I can get a list of these 60 sport fish? I am interested in starting my life list and this seems like a good start.

[hamiltonangler94]

I have caught both sheepshead bowfin and carp, and to be honest the carp gave me a less than enthusiastic fight, it was like reeling in a log, but it could have been just that carp. Now on the other hand bowfin and sheepshead fight great, but you have to remember they are usually bigger than smallmouth, bigger fish equals better fight.

[buck]

He has already caught smallmouth bass (in California) and northern pike (in the UK)...and not interested in spending time to target species that were already caught. He did catch 3-4 smallmouths at Location #1.

 

It was too bad the conditions were terrible at Location #1 and #2...it would have been nice for him to catch a Walleye since it would be a new species to him.

 

Elijah was more interested in species that are largely available in Eastern North America. Even though Steelhead and Brown Trout were available now, he would rather chase after local minnow species than to catch those trout species which he had already caught out west. After all, what's the point of spending hundreds of dollars on flights and bus ticket just to go somewhere to catch a species that is available to him in California? Doesn't make sense...

 

Unfortunately, most people think of only the species you list when it comes to fishing in Ontario. Ontario has over 60 sportfish species and some of the less targeted species are much more plentiful and fight even harder than the popular sportfish.

 

.

[MuskieBait]

Not really, but you can start with the Guide to Eating Ontario Sportfish and start with the ID list there.

 

BTW, there are some fish I count in the 60 that others would no consider as a "sportfish"...like Redhrose species. But I consider them as sportfish personally since they do fight hard and are just as much a sport as anything else that swims in Ontario.

 

I can type you a list here though. Mind you, not all of them may be targetable in southern Ontario (distribution issue), a number of them as Species At Rick (SAR) or protected under the Endangered Species Act (so although they may be incidental catches, you can't really go and target them), and some of them have closed seasons in southern Ontario.

 

Family Acipenseridae

 

1) Lake Sturgeon

 

Family Amiidae

 

2) Bowfin

 

Family Lepisosteidae

 

3) Longnose Gar

4) Spotted Gar (although this species is protected under SAR in Ontario...but may be incidental catch)

 

Family Centrarchidae

 

5) Rockbass

6) Green Sunfish

7) Pumpkinseed Sunfish

8 ) Warmouth (very limited distribution and a SAR)

9) Orangespotted Sunfish (very limited distribution and a SAR)

10) Bluegill Sunfish

11) Northern Sunfish (limited distribution)

12) Smallmouth Bass

13) Largemouth Bass

14) White Crappie (limited distribution)

15) Black Crappie

 

Family Moronidae

 

16) White Perch

17) White Bass

 

Family Percidae

 

18 ) Yellow Perch

19) Walleye

20) Sauger

** Wish we still have Blue Pike from Lake Erie

 

Family Sciaenidae

 

21) Freshwater Drum

 

Family Clupeidae

 

22) American Shad

 

Family Anguillidae

 

23) American Eel (protected under SAR...but might be an incidental catch)

 

Family Catostomidae

 

24) White Sucker

25) Longnose Sucker

26) Northern Hogsucker

27) Silver Redhorse

28 ) River Redhorse (protected under SAR)

29) Black Redhorse (protected under SAR)

30) Golden Redhosre

31) Shorthead Redhorse

32) Greater Redhorse

33) Spotted Sucker (protected under SAR, very limited distribution)

 

Family Cyprinidae

 

34) Goldfish

35) Common Carp

36) Creek Chub (they can get over 12"...why not?)

37) Fallfish (they can get over 1lb...why not?)

 

Family Ictaluridae

 

38 ) Black Bullhead

39) Brown Bullhead

40) Yellow Bullhead

41) Channel Catfish

42) Stonecat (they can get to 8"...why not?)

 

Family Hiodontidae

 

43) Mooneye

44) Goldeye (northern Ontario)

 

Family Lotidae

 

45) Burbot

 

Family Esocidae

 

46) Grass Pickerel (protected under SAR...very limited distribution)

47) Northern Pike

48 ) Muskellunge

49) Chain Pickerel (I think this is also a SAR...very limited distribution)

 

Family Osmeridae

 

50) Atlantic Rainbow Smelt

 

Family Salmonidae

 

51) Atlantic Salmon

52) Brown Trout

53) Chinook Salmon

54) Coho Salmon

55) Pink Salmon (limited population)

56) Rainbow Trout

57) Brook Trout

58 ) Lake Trout

59) Arctic Char (yeah, in a couple of rivers in James Bay if I remember correctly)

60) Aurora Trout (if you want to count subspecies)

61) Lake Whitefish

62) Round Whitefish

63) Cisco

 

I may be missing some here and there...but these are the species off the top of my head (and off my lifelist). Although this is a list you can work on for sportfish, don't forget the many smaller species that you can target as well...those minnows and darter species are both plentiful and sometimes extremely frustrating to catch...some are even harder to find and catch than the mighty muskie.   Trying to identify the various minnow species can also be a huge pain in the arse sometimes.

[MuskieBait]

I have caught both sheepshead bowfin and carp, and to be honest the carp gave me a less than enthusiastic fight, it was like reeling in a log, but it could have been just that carp. Now on the other hand bowfin and sheepshead fight great, but you have to remember they are usually bigger than smallmouth, bigger fish equals better fight.

 

I was comparing pound for pound...and that comparison would still stand. I think you just ran into a lazy carp

[MuskieBait]

I love what you're doing, your approach to fishing is fantastic, Do you ever fish for the fight or is it always about the species?

 

Both. Don't get me wrong...I still have the itch to fish for steelhead, muskies, salmon...etc...the chase is fun, the fight is fun...even if I've caught them already. But I won't spend all summer chasing after muskies or the entire fall chasing brown trout. That's just not my game at all. Each year, I strive to chase some new species...both locally and abroad if I can afford to do so.

[BackwoodsBassr]

This sounds awesome. I've been recently trying to expand my own list of target species and I'm having a blast. I doubt I'll ever approach these kinds of numbers though haha way to go!

[FishingNoob]

Not really, but you can start with the Guide to Eating Ontario Sportfish and start with the ID list there.

 

BTW, there are some fish I count in the 60 that others would no consider as a "sportfish"...like Redhrose species. But I consider them as sportfish personally since they do fight hard and are just as much a sport as anything else that swims in Ontario.

 

I can type you a list here though. Mind you, not all of them may be targetable in southern Ontario (distribution issue), a number of them as Species At Rick (SAR) or protected under the Endangered Species Act (so although they may be incidental catches, you can't really go and target them), and some of them have closed seasons in southern Ontario.

 

Family Acipenseridae

 

1) Lake Sturgeon

 

Family Amiidae

 

2) Bowfin

 

Family Lepisosteidae

 

3) Longnose Gar

4) Spotted Gar (although this species is protected under SAR in Ontario...but may be incidental catch)

 

Family Centrarchidae

 

5) Rockbass

6) Green Sunfish

7) Pumpkinseed Sunfish

8 ) Warmouth (very limited distribution and a SAR)

9) Orangespotted Sunfish (very limited distribution and a SAR)

10) Bluegill Sunfish

11) Northern Sunfish (limited distribution)

12) Smallmouth Bass

13) Largemouth Bass

14) White Crappie (limited distribution)

15) Black Crappie

 

Family Moronidae

 

16) White Perch

17) White Bass

 

Family Percidae

 

18 ) Yellow Perch

19) Walleye

20) Sauger

 

Family Sciaenidae

 

21) Freshwater Drum

 

Family Clupeidae

 

22) American Shad

 

Family Anguillidae

 

23) American Eel (protected under SAR...but might be an incidental catch)

 

Family Catostomidae

 

24) White Sucker

25) Longnose Sucker

26) Northern Hogsucker

27) Silver Redhorse

28 ) River Redhorse (protected under SAR)

29) Black Redhorse (protected under SAR)

30) Golden Redhosre

31) Shorthead Redhorse

32) Greater Redhorse

33) Spotted Sucker (protected under SAR, very limited distribution)

 

Family Cyprinidae

 

34) Goldfish

35) Common Carp

36) Creek Chub (they can get over 12"...why not?)

37) Fallfish (they can get over 1lb...why not?)

 

Family Ictaluridae

 

38 ) Black Bullhead

39) Brown Bullhead

40) Yellow Bullhead

41) Channel Catfish

42) Stonecat (they can get to 8"...why not?)

 

Family Hiodontidae

 

43) Mooneye

44) Goldeye (northern Ontario)

 

Family Lotidae

 

45) Burbot

 

Family Esocidae

 

46) Grass Pickerel (protected under SAR...very limited distribution)

47) Northern Pike

48 ) Muskellunge

49) Chain Pickerel (I think this is also a SAR...very limited distribution)

 

Family Osmeridae

 

50) Atlantic Rainbow Smelt

 

Family Salmonidae

 

51) Atlantic Salmon

52) Brown Trout

53) Chinook Salmon

54) Coho Salmon

55) Pink Salmon (limited population)

56) Rainbow Trout

57) Brook Trout

58 ) Lake Trout

59) Arctic Char (yeah, in a couple of river in James Bay)

60) Aurora Trout (if you want to count subspecies)

61) Lake Whitefish

62) Round Whitefish

63) Cisco

 

I may be missing some here and there...but these are the species off the top of my head (and off my lifelist). Although this is a list you can work on for sportfish, don't forget the many smaller species that you can target as well...those minnows and darter species are both plentiful and sometimes extremely frustrating to catch...some are even harder to find and catch than the mighty muskie.   Trying to identify the various minnow species can also be a huge pain in the arse sometimes.

You are totally AWESOME! Now, I just need to start fishing! (After I check the regs). Awesome, Awesome, Awesome! The fact that you know all these species off the top of your head! I heard about microfishing, any recommended gear to get?

[MuskieBait]

This sounds awesome. I've been recently trying to expand my own list of target species and I'm having a blast. I doubt I'll ever approach these kinds of numbers though haha way to go!

 

It is not that hard actually. There are many sampling reports that you can read through to find species distribution. And then it is down to resisting the urge to fish for bass, trout, salmon, pike, muskie and walleye and just head out to explore and target the species.

[MuskieBait]

You are totally AWESOME! Now, I just need to start fishing! (After I check the regs). Awesome, Awesome, Awesome! The fact that you know all these species off the top of your head! I heard about microfishing, any recommended gear to get?

 

As a start...an ultralight with 4lb mainline, 2lb leader (or fly tippet) and #26 hooks. If you are lucky, you may even find #28 or #30 hooks at fly shops. Don't bother trying to tie the hook at the eye...use a snell knot. I usually use a uni knot to snell on the hook. For the more common minnow species that are larger (Creek Chub, Common Shiner, Striped Shiner, River Chub and Hornyhead Chub), you may want to use larger hooks such as a #14 octopus. Just match the hook size to the size of the mouth of your intended species...or else you'll deep hook many of them (sometimes unavoidable with the ravenous Creek Chub and Common Shiner)...or you'll also lose many of your hooks when you have to cut the line.

 

You may not really even need the reel unless you have to cast out further from shore. For really small streams, you can simply tie the line to the tip guide and it'll be sufficient. If you need to fish deeper areas or you need to cast, a 1000 size or even a 500 size spinning reel is more than enough. A decent drag would be nice though. A 8" Common Shiner or a 10" Creek Chub can be quite a handful if you are fishing with 1lb tippet LOL.

 

As for the rod, the longer the better since some of these micro species are extremely shy. I've even used my 12'6" float rod for micros LOL. But I would say as a start, go with you typical 6-7' UL rods...and if you are really into micros later, then check out some of the tenkara rods.

[hamiltonangler94]

Haha muskiebait i gess were gonna have to agree to disagree

[salmotrutta]

Awesome MuskieBait, very cool report. Blair would love this, he seemed like an avid multi-species angler.

PS. Blue Walleye you mean.

[salmotrutta]

I know we're not supposed to name rivers, but I'm sure no one will object to me mentioning that the Conestogo River is a surefire river for brown bullheads. So is Mud Lake in Whitby

[w_ boughner]

I know we're not supposed to name rivers, but I'm sure no one will object to me mentioning that the Conestogo River is a surefire river for brown bullheads. So is Mud Lake in Whitby

used to be!!! ;p

[MuskieBait]

Haha muskiebait i gess were gonna have to agree to disagree

 

That's just fine with me. People have different preferences.

 

Personally, I think all freshwater fish are weak...after going toe to toe with jack, tuna, bonefish, barracuda, tarpon...so my opinion is quite biased.