On February 2nd Wiarton Willie, Punxsutawney Phil and a host of other rodents poked their heads out of the frozen ground, were frightened by their own shadows and scurried back down their little biddy holes. Somehow these groundhogs communicated to the gullible human race that this odd ritual means there will be six more weeks of winter. Co-incidentally all around Lake Simcoe ice hut operators, resort owners, and a host of other local businesses smiled in unison as they heard the good news of another six more weeks of hard water action for their angling clients.
The credo that “You’ve got to get it while you can in the ice fishing business” is not lost upon the many operators around Lake Simcoe”. So far the winter of 2009 is shaping up to be one of the finest in recent memory. An early start shortly after New Year’s was key and ice conditions just improved from there. Fishing for the most part has been quite good, so for the many businesses associated with this great winter, a longer season is good news.
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Ironically the groundhogs’ prediction of another six more weeks of winter would bring the commercial ice hut operation to an official close - as all registered ice huts need to be off the ice by March 15th every year on Lake Simcoe. This is also the date when lake trout, whitefish and walleye season closes. Yellow perch have a year round open season on the lake, so anglers can and do continue to fish for them as long as safe ice permits. They can use portable huts made of cloth or synthetic fabric that are less than 7metres squared as long as they are brought off the ice each day after use.
Species By Species Report:
For the first half of the 2009 ice fishing season, perch have been prolific almost throughout most of the mid-depth areas of the lake. The challenge has been to find those true jumbos over 12 inches that Simcoe is renowned for and at times even catching enough 9-11 inchers for a meal has been a difficult task.
Anglers are asked to keep their eyes open for any tagged perch they may catch through the ice and record the length, phone and identification number found on the tag. A quick call to that phone number reporting the details and location of catch will help MNR collect important data used to manage the perch fishery. The tagging projects are being carried out by two great clubs - the Twin Lakes Conservation Club and the Simcoe Bass Anglers. Members hope anglers live release those tagged perch so that they can continue to be part of the research program.
Of the top four species fished through the ice on Lake Simcoe, Northern pike have proven the most uncooperative so far. This may turn around as warmer weather approaches in the coming weeks so don’t be discouraged if these toothy critters haven’t graced your lures yet. Check weedy flats down in Cooks Bay, especially those adjacent to the two rivers.
Whitefish and lake trout action so far could probably be best described as remarkable - especially for knowledgeable anglers who are mobile, and ready, willing and able to move when the fish do. Depth preference for either of these cold water species varies so much from one location of the lake to the next that it is almost unfair to advise how deep to fish - because it all depends where you are on the big lake.
Where I’m at, it has been about 90-93 feet for lakers and 60-80’ for whitefish; your preferred depths could be much different… but as long as you’re getting bit and having fun it really doesn’t matter.
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Izaak Wegman fighting a big Lake Simcoe whitefish |
The Dreaded Mid Winter Thaw:
During the mid winter thaw that took place the 2nd week in February, the Lake Simcoe ice fishing community was unanimously crossing their fingers and hoping the heavy rains, high winds and warm temperatures wouldn’t dampen one of the best ice fishing seasons in recent memory. The silver lining was to come with predicted cooler weather which would firm things up once again so that ice fishing could resume full speed ahead until the huts had to be off March 15th.
As predicted, by the Free Family Fishing Weekend (Feb 14-16) the conditions had improved so much that not only had all the slush and snow disappeared from Simcoe’s surface, but a couple minus 15 Degree nights had firmed the ice up so well that travel became even better after the dreaded thaw.
During that warm period there were some anxious times to be had. The anxiety felt by all ice hut operators whenever short lived mid-winter thaws occur, has never really been about safe ice conditions. Ice hut operators know that when there is about a foot of snow on the ice before a thaw and anywhere from 10-22 inches of good ice underneath, that it usually takes a considerable period of time for that ice layer to become adversely affected. And oftentimes after the thaw when all the snow disappears, the ice thickness can actually increase more rapidly without that insulating barrier overhead. Regardless of their own confidence in safe ice, the types of conditions we experienced the 2nd week of February reek havoc on business unnecessarily.
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Above we head out the week before the dreaded thaw - lots of snow; nice and cold. |
One or two media reports telling everyone to ‘stay off frozen ice surfaces’ makes these operators cringe in their winter boots because operators know those reports are almost immediately followed by phone calls from clients cancelling their ice hut reservations. It is not uncommon for operators who were booked solid on Monday (for the coming weekend) to be almost completely empty by late Friday night because of cancellations. The worst part is that 9 times out of 10 the ice is almost as thick as it was before the thaw and that fishing can actually be better because of the increased temperatures. Unfortunately - their huts lie idle without anglers there to enjoy the bounty until everyone realizes that all the ice did not melt after all.
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A week after the all the mid winter thaw and conditions are better than they’ve been all year |
The moral of the winter thaw saga is that ice hut operators will not put their clients at risk and if they ever felt ice conditions were unsafe - they would simply refuse to take their clients out. So - when in doubt about ice conditions check with the local ice hut operator closest to where you’re heading out. A listing of Lake Simcoe operators can be found at www.luresandtours.com
Hot Lake Trout Action
As mentioned most experienced ice anglers who have been mobile have stayed on top of some nice Lake Simcoe trout in waters ranging from 80-100 feet. Without question the use of a good sonar unit like the Lowrance Ice Machine has made fishing for these lakers much more fun and productive.
The basic technique we employ involves working a Krocodile spoon or white Berkley Power tube jig near bottom. While the Ice Machine is in graph mode instead of flasher and with the 4X zoom feature on, you can clearly see your lure. Sometimes we use the standard up down jigging motion, but frequently a slight quiver works better. The trick is not only to keep your eyes on the graph to catch the presence of a laker near your spoon or tube, but also to able to trigger that fish into striking your bait.
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| Izaak Wegman lands a nice eating size Lake Simcoe lake trout |
We have fished a fair bit this winter with John Whyte from Orillia who is vice president of the Ontario BASS Federation Nation and a member of the Barrie Bassmasters. He is an avid ice angler and spends a great deal of time perfecting his lake trout skills. He never fishes for lake trout blind and always has his eyes closely glued to his sonar. “As strange as it may sound, one of the most effective ways to actually convince trout to hit once you see one on the graph is to begin to reel the lure away from the fish. You should be able to see your spoon going up on your Lowrance Unit and the fish right behind it as he follows it up,” he said. Of course as you’re watching the bait and fish rise in concert with one another … your adrenalin level will escalate accordingly so realize that this will occur and be prepared. “When the two lines meet, it often means fish on, and that’s when the fun begins”, says Whyte.
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Ace Ice Angler John Whyte with a nice eating size Simcoe lake trout caught on a Krocodile Spoon |
Naturally even the best sonar in the world can’t force fish to eat - so sometimes you’ll just see them following your lure up and then suddenly turn away and swim back to bottom. The nerve of some of these heartless fish who tease us anglers relentlessly like this; it almost borders on abuse. In fact, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if some fish find a sort of sick pleasure in this perverse little game they play. Fortunately there are other individual trout who beeline it for your lure like a rabbit chasing a hare with every intent to capture and kill that thing by attacking so hard they’ll practically rip the ice rod out from your hands. These fish we call our friends ... they know how to please. Some of them we release as their reward, while others are honored at the dinner table later that day.
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| Lowrance Ice Machine In use |
Perhaps the best part of fishing lake trout with good sonar is that you’ll be watching the whole show unfold before your very eyes on the screen. Subsequently, even if you aren’t catching, your confidence level almost always remains high when you have your sonar so you just fish better. This point was driven home a week ago when I leant my unit to my brother who was fishing Lake Temagami for a few days.
My son Izaak and I went out to Simcoe with some friends where the laker action had been consistent for us all winter long. Each pair of anglers set up by fishing about 30 yards away from one another and shared one sonar ... as Izaak and I typically do. This way transducer signals to not cross one another and mess up each others’ respective ability to read graphs properly. Keep this in mind when fishing with others who have graphs near you and if yours is messing up - either convince them to shut there’s off (not likely) or move further away.
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In the middle is a separate hole with your transducer cable and sonar placed so that both anglers can clearly see it. As explained by John, the idea is to bring fish under your holes with the flash of the Krocodile spoon and when you see the fish then you need to reel in where he will either hopefully grab it or your tube jig.
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| In 2009 the Krocodile spoon made by Normark has been especially productive for Simcoe lakers. |
Anyway, that day, while everyone else was watching their Lowrance units, Izaak and I were uselessly watching the ice freeze around our holes. While others could see their spoons and jigs working near bottom, we could not. While others could see when a fish would suddenly move in, we could not. While others would know when to begin to real their baits in because they saw a fish, we didn’t have a freaking clue. And worst of all, when they were watching lure and fish meet to know when to hook up ... we were not!
They all iced some beautiful lake trout and my son and I went without as much as a smidge of sweet smelling fish slime to share between us.
People often say fishing is not always about catching and to some extent I agree. I don’t like not catching fish ... but as long as you learn something that will help you catch next time out then it’s still a worthwhile experience. So rest assured we learned something all right. Yep, next time we went out we did not fish blind. The Lowrance Ice Machine X 67c accompanied us and helped us play with several lakers that teased and tormented us relentlessly for six hours straight. The emotional scars may be with us for years ... where do I file a complaint against these inhumane sea kittens!*
Wil Wegman
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'Sea Kittens' to replace 'fish' in effort to stop people from fishing - Peta logic defies common sense!
*PETA - People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals is not just about telling you it’s wrong to eat meat, wear a leather belt or stop you from your legal right to hunt. No they also believe it’s wrong to eat fish or to enjoy fishing. They don’t even believe catch and release is acceptable and would outlaw all fishing if they had an opportunity. Their latest campaign to rename fish “sea kittens” is about as over the top as it gets and even some Vegans are discounting it as nonsensical rubbish. The following explanation about their sea kitten campaign is straight from their website:
“People don't seem to like fish. They're slithery and slimy, and they have eyes on either side of their pointy little heads-which is weird, to say the least. Plus, the small ones nibble at your feet when you're swimming, and the big ones-well, the big ones will bite your face off if Jaws is anything to go by.
... And we're going to start by retiring the old name for good. When your name can also be used as a verb that means driving a hook through your head, it's time for a serious image makeover. And who could possibly want to put a hook through a sea kitten?
Ask the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to stop promoting sea kitten hunting.
Given the drastic situation for this country's sea kittens-who are often the victims of many major threats to their welfare and ways of life—it's high time that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) stop allowing our little sea kitten friends to be tortured and killed. Who'd want to hurt a sea kitten anyway?!
Sea kittens are just as intelligent (not to mention adorable) as dogs and cats, and they feel pain just as all animals do. Please take just a few moments to send an e-mail to H. Dale Hall, the director of the FWS, asking him to stop promoting the hunting of sea kittens (otherwise known as "fishing"). The promotion of sea kitten hunting is a glaring contradiction of FWS' mission to "conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats."
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