Bass Opener

[canvasbacksca]

Landlocked bought Sandi and me a couple of 2.5" A.C.Shiners because the guy at Angling Outfitters said that they were "the best bait anywhere for trolling for smallmouth bass". Well, I don't know if that's true, but we did have 9 in the box in the first hour and finished up 25 minutes later trolling in 5' of water between Old Cut and Thoroughfare Point.

Pretty amazing and a tribute to MNR management that this opening day was just as good or better than my first one at Long Point 36 years ago.

 

[Duck Soup]

Yeah, those A.C. Shiners were always a cut above a similar sized and coloured original Rapala but I didn't realize that they were still available. I'm not sure why but the wood minnow baits still seem to out-perform the modern plastics. I hope to try my luck tomorrow. There are advantages to having direct access to the Bay and the bass opener is high on that list. I still have a few 2.5 inch shiners....probably 30 years old. Thanks for the post.....don't see much about local fishing, good or bad, posted this season.

 

[quinner01]

Was the bay jam packed like every other opener or did the potential bad weather scare a lot of people away?

 

[Landlocked]

Great report but remember my what my four year old said "I don't know how many we caught but it was more than you" (it doesn't matter that it took 6 hours, lol )
The conditions were definitely not ideal but it didn't seem to matter, this will be a tradition in my family for hopefully another 36 years!

 

[jeweller]

We also kept the tradition alive by going out today with the wind that just seemed to blow right though you. Grandauthers first opener, she had a blast catching her first bass. We had a resectable morning that was to way to early but we were off the water by 9 with enough bass for a fish fry for 8 people. All in all a great day!

The meaning of life? FISHING!!!

 

[big guy]

Yes sir, those AC Shiners are very good lures, and were also great for salmon up at Owen Sound many years ago too. But then so were Ping-A tee's, of which you never hear of anymore.

 

[canvasbacksca]

Quinner -- There were fewer boats out at 6am than I can recall seeing, but I don't know if there was a big increase later in the morning / afternoon.

 

[Stick]

We fished the Long Point side of the bay in the afternoon and there were very few boats out for what I was expecting. The wind was brutal with most of our drifts ranging from 1.9 to 2.5 miles an hour on the GPS. Only picked up a pair of smallies on bottom dragging tubes before we had enough and headed for the cover of a certain bay that never seems to dsappoint for hammer handles and even a few good sized perch on spinnerbaits. Sure felt good to get back out on the bay and wash some other 20 year old lures.

Stick

"Rivers are living things, sometimes swollen and discoloured, other times thin and anaemic. Spend enough time around a particular river, you learn to read its moods, like a spouse reads a partner."

Gord Ellis ONTARIO OUT OF DOORS