Mudsharks!

[Josh Roelofsen]

Been a bit since I've even logged in, stupid busy

Anyway, saw a little boat I wanted on kijii in Brampton so I went and grabbed it and proceeded to an east of Toronto harbour with somewhat low expectations for some nighttime Chinnys on hardware and hopefully topping up my roe supply for the upcoming Steelhead season.

Got in just as it was getting dark and hooked up pretty quick on a J13. Big male boot....as aarkness decended I switched to glow spoons and hit a hen that was also somewhat stale. Poked away for a few hours and got into some darker fish. Unfortunately I was stuck in the back of the harbour being in a small boat with strong winds pushing directly up the channel.

About midnight the wind suddenly died despite being forecasted to increase drastically As the waves died I moved over to the deeper water in the channel and found the freshies stacked! Hooked up ever cast or two from midnight till 2am when I called it quits with a sore arm and a boatload of fish/roe. Boated 20 or so and lost several more. It was a good night! Most fish came on a #2 glow/pink Len Thompson and they seemed to prefer a strong glow last night.

Many fished were released quickly boatside but here's some mediocre pics anyway

 

[FlyingViking]

Nicely done Josh! Thinking outside the box actually.. nicely done

 

[Josh Roelofsen]

Nicely done Josh! Thinking outside the box actually.. nicely done

September is usually Chinny month for me. Generally by this point I'm fishing west tribs or moved down to the south side tho. The reports of relatively small runs a couple weeks ago and creek temps being stubbornly high since should have been a good clue that many fish were still wandering the lake. Realistically I should have put those continued good pier reports and last night's full moon together as a sign of potential success. I try to avoid putting too much thought towards moon phases in most of my fishing but last night was a good reminder of how it comes into play. I don't think the fresher fish would have been as eager to push out of the lake towards the stream mouth on a off phase.

Lotsa rain coming now but the west end tribs are still very warm and may not see a huge push depending how much temps drop as the runoff subsides. I thinlk there will be good west end fishing, particularly in the estuaries for a couple weeks. And the south shore stagers are just showing up now in proper numbers.

II'll be more interested in steelies going forward but won't rule out another trip or two towards PC, Bronte and Port D

Josh

 

[Fshrmn4life]

Way to put a program together as usual @Josh Roelofsen!!! You sure seem to have things dialed in year round!!! Hard work and perseverance definitely does pay off and I'll be the first or one of many that could say I could learn from you!!! Once again nice job on a nice bag of fish. look forward to your next post, tight lines and keep doin what you're doin!!

 

[Josh Roelofsen]

Thank you @Fshrmn4life .....as much as I would decline to say I had that trip planned I do appreciate the kudos and I do try and give hints in most posts I make. I am not one to share exact locations, particularly on smaller waters but I have no issue helping motivated anglers put together a plan and sharing rigging/techniques. I've been called every name in the book for being *secretive* and not sharing every last detail in many reports. Fact is, most anglers are too stubborn to adapt and catch the fish that are under thier noses most of the time....most guys overthink it.

Take your targrt fish and determine its seasonal habits, prespawn/spawn/postspawn and remainder of the year.

Know your targets food web. Food sources are rapidly changing and you can't be afraid to break free from the usual pattern to find fish. Perfect example is lake Erie walleye that used to feed exclusively on smelt but can now be caught chasing goby like bass.....same thing with Simcoe whitefish. Everyone thought they disappeared for a few years because they couldn't catch them on the traditional deep patterns. Some adapted quickly to the shallow goby bite, some still are convinced the whities are extinct

Erie is the most extreme example of stubborn anglers imo. I fished with those old guys in the 80's who waited for that migration across the lake in mid june-july. They did and still do miss shallow fish from may on into summer in the Central Basin and I literally destroyed them in the western Basin through March-April. Not a boat in sight....looking forward to the late fall fishing if weather allows...

Josh

 

[Centerspin]

Nice, we tried east of Oshawa Sat night, saw lots of fish, on FF and jumping on top, tried till 2 am and could not get one bite. same for 3-4 boats around us. Water was 72F everywhere. Was strong North wind but no waves at all.

 

[Tyler0420]

Another boat eh josh? Looks like you had a great night out breaking in the new boat.

 

[Red Fisher]

@Josh Roelofsen Well what does the new one look like ? You come up with some great ideas in these boats man... RED

 

[Daveschmidt27]

September is usually Chinny month for me. Generally by this point I'm fishing west tribs or moved down to the south side tho. The reports of relatively small runs a couple weeks ago and creek temps being stubbornly high since should have been a good clue that many fish were still wandering the lake. Realistically I should have put those continued good pier reports and last night's full moon together as a sign of potential success. I try to avoid putting too much thought towards moon phases in most of my fishing but last night was a good reminder of how it comes into play. I don't think the fresher fish would have been as eager to push out of the lake towards the stream mouth on a off phase.

Lotsa rain coming now but the west end tribs are still very warm and may not see a huge push depending how much temps drop as the runoff subsides. I thinlk there will be good west end fishing, particularly in the estuaries for a couple weeks. And the south shore stagers are just showing up now in proper numbers.

II'll be more interested in steelies going forward but won't rule out another trip or two towards PC, Bronte and Port D

Josh

Funny how those moon phases sneak up on you sometimes, and how much their importance differ from each angler.

A relatively unexperienced friend of mine was out fishing one of the piers last night. When he was giving me his report, excitingly he said it was quiet then all of a sudden they got 5 in a row and it seemed everyone hooked up right at about 8pm. Moonrise was at 7:53pm last night, coincidence… I think not

I am a believer! At the end of the day though a poor moon phase isn’t going to keep me off the water, and in my opinion, weather fronts will forever trump all. You will however find me on my “A” musky spots during a major or a minor!

 

[Fshrmn4life]

Funny how those moon phases sneak up on you sometimes, and how much their importance differ from each angler.

A relatively unexperienced friend of mine was out fishing one of the piers last night. When he was giving me his report, excitingly he said it was quiet then all of a sudden they got 5 in a row and it seemed everyone hooked up right at about 8pm. Moonrise was at 7:53pm last night, coincidence… I think not

I am a believer! At the end of the day though a poor moon phase isn’t going to keep me off the water, and in my opinion, weather fronts will forever trump all. You will however find me on my “A” musky spots during a major or a minor!

Being a former muskie nut on Lake st Clair as well as a die hard walleye guy after learning about moon phases and experimenting in areas known to hold fish I can definitely say I'm a believer and my success ratios during them times led me to it. The same can be said on my part ice fishing for walleye but the key is being in areas where the fish want to be otherwise the results were next to nothing. Find the fish and be there at the right time and the game is over rather quickly most times

 

[Josh Roelofsen]

This is the little boat I grabbed. I sold my small 1-2 man raft I built last year to a buddy and wanted something just a bit longer. Turns out this one despite being a, little longer was still a little small for my large 6'6" frame I'm gonna build a simple rowing frame, add proper oars, 2 swivel seats and rod holders then lend it to another smaller friend to try out. If he likes it I'll get enough out of it to break even. Otherwise will be up for sale in the spring.

 

[auzure]

This is the little boat I grabbed. I sold my small 1-2 man raft I built last year to a buddy and wanted something just a bit longer. Turns out this one despite being a, little longer was still a little small for my large 6'6" frame I'm gonna build a simple rowing frame, add proper oars, 2 swivel seats and rod holders then lend it to another smaller friend to try out. If he likes it I'll get enough out of it to break even. Otherwise will be up for sale in the spring.
View attachment 50152

Fit for 2, you and the king