Summer Steelheading
by Nic DiGravio
Steelheading
in Ontario rivers isn't limited to just the spring. Summer brings
off shore Steelheading into "prime time." The great lakes of Ontario offer
spectacular summer 'bow' fishing, and the lakes are in good form!
Lakes Ontario, Erie, Huron and Georgian Bay all produce good silver bullets, but my personal favorites are Lakes Ontario and Erie.
Lake Ontario, from the Niagara River mouth to the Ganaraska River in Port
Hope, provides Rainbow trout fishing of the deep. During the hot summer
months I find
Rainbow trout in the deeper water column of 90 feet and depths of up to
250 feet. The hotter the days the deeper I will travel. When making the
first trip to Lake Ontario I like to start my search at 200 to 250ft of
water and move in shallow from there. Temperature obviously plays a key
role as it does with any type of fishing. If you have a temperature probe
on your downriggers find that consistent 60 to 65 degree F mark and start
your fishing at that spot. If you don't own such a luxury then start your
cannon balls at depths of 15ft and 20ft, dropping down 5ft intervals every
half hour or so or until you find the fish. Bait fish are also a good indication
of where the bows will be too.
For Lake Ontario Steelhead I like to use spoons such as the Northern King - green/silver, orange/silver and blue/silver combos. Watermelon and Emerald are also good colors in Northern King spoons. Silver Fox makes great spoons in the same colors mentioned above for running 'cheaters', which is the way to go, when off shore Steelheading. Rapala black and silver body baits also work well as does Yozuri black/silver and chartreuse/green color combos. The list is endless, but spoons, for me, are always a good starting point.
Lake
Erie is another fantastic Steelhead fishery. It's overrun and the Steelhead
are relatively easy to find. Hot summer months send me searching in the
deeper water column, which, in Lake Erie, is 70 to 80 ft of water. To reach
these depths one must travel a pretty good distance as opposed to Lake Ontario.
Lake Erie is a shallow lake so keep your eye on the weather when off shore
fishing because it can 'pick up' in a moments notice. Erie is not much different
than Lake Ontario as far as speed and lures go. With a speed of 2 to 2.5
mph. same lures mentioned above are used with the addition of lures such
as the A.C Shiner in blue/silver combos and black and silver as well as
Bomber body baits in the same color patterns. Spoons though are still a
good starting point along with the 60 to 65 degree F. mark with your temperature
probe. Try the same method of finding them in Lake Erie as Lake Ontario,
start your cannon balls at 15ft and by implementing your 5ft depth changes
at half hour intervals you shouldn't have a hard time finding the Bows.
A good rule of thumb for both these lakes is to run a long lead because
of the shallow depths you're fishing. Generally, this is where Steelhead
are found.
When hooked in the river Steelhead are known to be excellent fighters, but when caught in the wide-open lake well,.that's what I call 'fresh water Marlin'. They are a sight to see, with their tail walking acrobatics and torpedo like maneuvers, fighting hard to the very end. That is why I have tremendous respect for this fish! When releasing them back into the wild I can't help but wonder, who is really 'hooked' here, the Steelhead .....or me?
back to Multi-species Fishing page