Spring Kayak Fishing Seminar at Fogh Marine, March 6

We will be hosting a kayak fishing seminar geared towards boat buyers and folks looking to get into the sport.
topics to be discussed will be;

• Choosing a boat
• Freshwater Fishing Basics
• Wind and Weather
• Electronics and Rigging
• Trip Planning & 2010 Events

Please see link for more details on time and location.
Hope to see you out!

Nets quickly pulled from Colpoy's Bay

Posted By PAUL JANKOWSKI, SUN TIMES STAFF

Posted 4 hours ago

Native fishing nets were taken out of Colpoy's Bay early Wednesday morning, according to a Ministry of Natural Resources enforcement supervisor.

Rob Gibson confirmed the nets were removed but when asked if charges were possible, he said the matter remained under investigation.
David Leggatt, the president of the Bruce Peninsula's Sport-men's Association, also said the nets were removed although no one in his club saw it being done. "It was before daylight and where they went with them, we don't know," he said.
Ralph Azkiwenzie, the chief of the Chippewas Unceded First Nation, said the issue had actually been resolved Monday.

The fisherman set the nets in the bay because he "thought the area was open and it was not," Azkiwenzie said. "As soon as notification was made as to us, I had my fisheries staff follow that up with the fisherman concerned and he agreed to disengage . . . From my understanding there was complete co-operation with the MNR enforcement officials" and no charges would be laid, he added.

Gibson said he could not comment about that and other Ministry of Natural Resources spokesmen were unavailable for comment.
Azkiwenzie said the matter of nets in Colpoy's Bay was brought to his attention by Gibson. He then informed his fisheries staff and "they got ahold of the fisher-man. Then eventually Mr. Gibson did speak to the fisherman and there was full co-operation."
A now-expired agreement covering the native fishery banned commercial fishing in some areas including Colpoy's Bay. It also forbade targeting of salmon and rainbow trout, Leggatt said, and the fisherman involved "obviously knows" the area where he set his nets was "right in the middle of where the rainbow trout are getting ready to spawn."
First Nations in the area have a right to a commercial fishery but they also have to "to fish legally . . . they're not fishing legally. That's not a legal area to put nets and they're not legally allowed to target salmon or rainbow trout and obviously they were right after the rainbows because that's prime staging area where they'll be heading into the creeks in about two or three weeks," Leggatt said.

Azkiwenzie said that while the agreement over fishing had expired, "the same rules apply . . . We have status quo right now, pending getting back to the table to talk."  He said negotiations had stalled because of "a number of procedural delays" including a provincial cabinet shakeup in January when Donna Cansfield was replaced by Linda Jeffrey as the minister of natural resources.

"At the local level we have the Lake Huron manager and we have the district director out of Peterborough, so all these people have been apprised. We're just waiting to get back to the table hopefully, very, very shortly."

Until there's a new agreement, there is a process in place "on how to deal with things before they get out of hand" and it had worked in this instance, Azkiwenzie said

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Winter Steelheading in Ontario

Most of the fishing is confined to creek and river mouths from Dec 31 until the last Sat in April when the season opens again. 
The Niagara River is open for business all year and winter catches of Brown Trout and Lake trout can be as common as Steelhead depending on what section of the river you are fishing.  The lower river below the Whirlpool is a definite must fish section with several different options to drop in on.  The key to success is to not spend much time in any section, but rather fish the hell out of it for 2hrs and move on to the next.  In two hours, you will have either detemined if there are active feeding fish, and have caught the most active ones or nothing is holding there at that moment.  Catching three fish out of any one spot is a good "drop-in" and you've probably exhausted the run so you should consider moving half an hour to one hour after hooking the last fish.
Try everything before you leave though and overlook nothing.  When fishing with buddies, be certain each is using something different.  ie. roe, streamers, bunny/marabou jigs, plastic minnows, pink worms etc.  If fishing solo, then start changing up after 10 drifts in each of that runs pockets because the key to success can be as simple as a colour change or size change away.  Pinks, oranges, whites and purples are all very good winter colours.  Winter baitfish are generally emerald shiner or smelt patterns in 3-4" sizes, so match the hatch.

I have a friend who is unemployed and fishes several days per week.  He has started to get successful in the last 2 weeks because he's discovered where fish hold and basically runs to those spots for first dibbs - yes, he's still a buddy.  If your friend does this, then you are within your right to fish in close proximity.  Unfortunately though, this same fella when not on the fish and you are, likes trying to grease you out and is always low holing people.  Stand Your Ground!  Tell 'em off if there isn't enough water for the both of you to fish.  Luckily the Niagara is a big river and you can almost always find other produtive spots to fish.

The temps are rising and this coming week is forecasted as sunny and +2/7C, so the fish are going to get very active shortly.  Get out there and get your fix before the masses see the forthcoming reports and start flocking to the productive water.

Good Fishing!

Nomad Adventures at the 2010 Toronto Spring Fishing and Boat Show

It was a hit!!
Our kayak fishing display and the unveiling of the Ontario Kayak Fishing Series went over very well.
Thanks in large part to Morten of Fogh Marine in Toronto who offered us to exhibit with his Ocean Kayak and Hobie Fishing Kayak display at the show.  There was lots of interest from folks who had never seen anything kayak fishing related before and from folks in-the-know and experienced kayak anglers.  The big surprise came from all the pro anglers and power boat fisherpeople.  The benefits of fishing from a kayak in Ontario are now being realized by the general public.

Nice to meet all the folks who stopped by to talk and I hope to see you at the Kayak Fishing Seminar at Fogh Marine on March 6th!  Jeff Wall will cover topics such as "choosing your first kayak", "minimal get started" and "kayak fishing basics".

Our next show wil be the Niagara Outdoors Show April 3/4.

The Niagara river is in good shape for hooking some steelhead.

Good Fishing!

Feeling the heat, Obama comes good on Asian Carp.

But, is it enough and is it already too late??


Chicago Suntimes

http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obam...-carp09.article

The Obama administration said Monday it will spend $78.5 million to help keep giant Asian carp out of the Great Lakes as the ravenous species of fish threatens the water's ecosystems as well as nearby home values.

The U.S. seeks to reduce the number of times Chicago's waterway navigational locks are opened to slow carp movement into the Great Lakes, the White House Council on Environmental Quality said in a statement. The U.S. also will use sonar, electrical shocks, netting and expedited carp DNA testing to control the population of the fish.

DNA from Asian carp was found in Lake Michigan for the first time last month, hours after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to order the closing of locks and dams on rivers in the Chicago area. States including Michigan and New York have said immediate action is needed to keep the fish from hurting commercial fishing.

The White House plan includes 25 short- and long-term actions, including the expedited testing of environmental DNA and doubling the testing samples to 120 per week.

Also, the federal government will award a $13.2 million contract in March to build barriers between the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and the Des Plaines River.

And it will award a $10.5 million contract to build a third electric barrier.