Jump to content

Charting fish on the surface over 200fow


Recommended Posts

I'm assuming you are referring to lake Ontario.  I know we are pretty obsessed with trout and salmon but keep in mind many other species inhabit the lake. I have witnessed carp migrations on Seneca Lake for example while fishing in over 500 ft of water and hundreds of them were crossing the lake a few feet down  and even went right under my boat. In Lake O there are numerous warm water species of fish and they don't all stay in the shallows while looking for food.. Steelies will often peruse to upper layer feeding on small insects and other bait out over the depths near the surface and although you may encounter an occasional brown suspended out over deep water they usually inhabit areas where shallow water has closer to shore drop offs and they are usually more bottom oriented especially as the sun comes up brightly at this time of year. In the Spring and also in the very early morning hours they can be found near shore in the shallows as they feed in there at night in summer. For steelies troll  fairly fast 2.5-3.2 and run your lines back aways and also run some orange, pink, green or plain silver/brass sided or copper undersided spoons up high on downriggers as well as off the boards. Sometimes steelies will come right into the prop wash for spoons (e.g. on sliders). Browns also follow scum lines and thermal breaks  all over the place and are often caught weaving in and out of them trolling out aways.

Edited by Sk8man
Link to comment
Share on other sites

At those depths they are probably steelhead or shaker sized kings. If you want to see what they are you would put out some spoons with orange. A couple riggers maybe a 4 and 5 color leadcore off some boards. Dipsys out about 40-50'

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm assuming you are referring to lake Ontario. I know we are pretty obsessed with trout and salmon but keep in mind many other species inhabit the lake. I have witnessed carp migrations on Seneca Lake for example while fishing in over 500 ft of water and hundreds of them were crossing the lake a few feet down and even went right under my boat. In Lake O there are numerous warm water species of fish and they don't all stay in the shallows while looking for food.. Steelies will often peruse to upper layer feeding on small insects and other bait out over the depths near the surface and although you may encounter an occasional brown suspended out over deep water they usually inhabit areas where shallow water has closer to shore drop offs and they are usually more bottom oriented especially as the sun comes up brightly at this time of year. In the Spring and also in the very early morning hours they can be found near shore in the shallows as they feed in there at night in summer. For steelies troll fairly fast 2.5-3.2 and run your lines back aways and also run some orange, pink, green or plain silver/brass sided or copper undersided spoons up high on downriggers as well as off the boards. Sometimes steelies will come right into the prop wash for spoons (e.g. on sliders). Browns also follow scum lines and thermal breaks all over the place and are often caught weaving in and out of them trolling out aways.

Thanks for the info. I am definitely going to try those tactics.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The plankton bloom happens in 55 to 65 degree water. The forage base feeds on the plankton and the dissolved oxygen level is sufficient on the surface. So this situation calls for you to target your fishing in this area. The use of side planets and jets work well in this water column. Your boat spooks the fish away your graph picture is devoid of large fish that are nearby. If your graph indicates no fish deeper, believe it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...