flyboy7

The surface temp of Lake Ontario is in the mid 70's this time of year. No special clothing is needed. I think the best way to dress for cold water is to wear a dry suit. However, I don't own one and avoid the lake until the surface temp starts to warm up.

Yesterday I took the afternoon off work to take advantage of the relatively calm lake forecast for salmon trolling in my kayak. I got on the water mid afternoon and didn't have high hopes for action at that time of day. I started marking fish and bait at about 75 FOW. At 100 FOW I put my Fish Hawk TD down and found temp at about 85 feet down. I fished for a while in the 75 to 90 FOW range but couldn't get any of those fish finder hooks to bite. Someone at the launch told me that there were lots of fish in the 120 to 150 FOW range so I headed out. I landed a good steel head in 140 FOW. Wasn't marking much out there so I headed back inside where I saw bait and fish. Caught my first salmon in 110 FOW on a flasher/fly. it was a male that was already turning brown. My Dipsy Diver was set for 85' but who knows where it actually was.. Not long after, I caught an 18" skipper on the same flasher and home-made fly in about 90 FOW. By then I was getting tired from paddling and decided to troll for another 1/4 mile before calling it quits. The same flasher/fly combo got me a 23 lb king a few minute later. Not a bad day for me pulling a single line behind my plastic craft.. Fish are turning dark. Time is running out!

I kayak fish Lake Ontario for trout and salmon all summer long. For lake trout I use a 4/0 or 5/0 cowbell with spin-n-glow 2 feet behind it and a 3-way swivel with a 1 lb round sinker about 10" below it. Drag it along the bottom at about 1 mph in about 100 FOW. For salmon & steelhead I use a dipsy diver with spin doctor & fly. I use to use 30# mono but didn't like how hard it is to trip the dipsy diver. So this year I have been experimenting with 150# Power Pro braid. The reason for such high strength line is that it is about the same diameter as 30# mono which is critical for keeping spiny fleas off the line. So far the heavy braid seems to be pretty good for preventing flea build up (not quite as good as 30# mono). When I first started this a few years ago, I used 40# braid which was a flea magnet. The dipsy diver creates a significant amount of drag. For deep water trolling I use a magnum dipsy diver with the ring on it. That subtracts at least 1 to 1.5 mph from my paddling speed (significant especially in a head wind). For trolling up to 50' deep, I prefer a 10 color lead core line (good for 50' down) which creates no noticeable drag. Good luck!

10mph is 3 times faster than my paddles take me. Go for it!

Nice video!

Good report Matt. I had a similar experience to yours but only made it to 170 FOW and ended up landing 4 lakers. The only significant marks that I saw were between 90 and 125 FOW. Most marks were on the bottom but a fair number were suspended between 30 and 60 feet down. Thanks for the temperature and screen info that you shared with me yesterday on the radio. Interestingly, I saw and heard fish splash on the surface in the 100 FOW area several times. I also watched a big chromer porpoise 3 feet out of the water two times in a row in about 40 FOW as I was starting out at around 12:30. Not sure what species he was.

I use size 4/0 Hammerhead cowbells (silver with watermelon & green) and pull a chartreuse spin & glow 24" behind it. I suppose you could attach it to a downrigger but I don't use them on my kayak. I use a thumper rig with a 1 lb sinker that I let bounce on the bottom at between 1 and 2 mph.

Nice job and great video!

Nice job Steve! And good report..