Fish-Hawk.Net

Hello!

I was on this board a long time ago. So long that I had to create a new user LOL

Quick notes about me:
1. As the username hints, I fish mostly in urban areas
2. I moved to Ottawa from Sudbury / North Bay area in 2001, hence why I was on this board a while back.
3. I now have my basic fishing spots within the city and Ottawa area
4. Fly fishing has become my primary fishing passion but I still spin fish.
5. I have an offroad vehicle, a little car topper aluminium boat, two float tubes and two sets of wadders

QUESTION!

What's my best bet to catch some fish?

1. Muskie in the Ottawa River or Secret Spots in Rideau River?
2. Trout on the fly or spinning gear in Calabogie? (I've never caught anything in Blithfield Long Lake but apparently there are rainbow, caught other trout in that general area in the past)
3. Large Mouth in the Petrie Island Backwaters?
4. Walleye in my regular Ottawa River spots?

Big Thanks!

How about all of the above??? This is the best time of year to fish bud, mainly because most species are biting. I like to think of fishing like blackjack, you can do well and get lucky for a little bit by playing blindly, but if you learn how to count the cards your odds of winning skyrocket. Fishing is the same. You COULD catch walleyes in the middle of the summer during the day, but your odds are much higher if you wait till night in the fall. I will be targeting muskies next week, mainly because of the full moon on nov.6, and the fact that the river is running high and this puts them in spots I can fish from shore. I COULD try for them this week and maybe catch one, but the odds aren't in my favor so I will try for something else. Logic and common sense are powerful tools, especially in fishing!!!
Good luck with whatever you try for bud, im rooting for you.

Trout

and I am jealous

Muskies have been hot but this past week has had them off a bit but next week should get em moving again.

Did some poking around in the shallows locally, pretty much void.

RJ

I have noticed that they moved as well rj. I mostly fish the rideau from shore for muskies, and I hooked a beauty the other day after 6 hours of nothing, but he got off The water is very high right now, so I hope when it drops that will concentrate them in the usual spots. What are your go to lures this time of year rj??? I like twin bucktails and large rapala jerk baits fished steady and slow, just bought some musky innovations titan tubes, hope they work as well

At this time of year it's BIG plastics for me. This sucka ate a big Bulldawg within the first 3 feet of it hitting the water.



I've got a bunch of WaterWolf Shadzillas too that just arrived at the house. They look awesome. I'll give em a go this week...

RJ

Nice 'ski dude!

I had this week off so I've been shore fishing everyday for about 2-3 hours and got skunked all but 2 days... No idea what I've been doing wrong

Reboot: it's generally more difficult to catch fish in this area when the water starts to gets cold. They are feeding but the summer techniques like cranking and using spinners don't produce as well, at least in my experience. The fish start to slow down so a slower presentation is called for. Come November I start to use a slip bobber rig with live bait (usually minnows if I can get them). Cast it to likely areas and let it drift. You'll also find it easier to fish at dusk and just after dark. You can get a bobber with a light in it for about $8. It makes it a heck of a lot easier to see what's going on.

Good luck!

flewdogg that slip bobber technique is deadly especially from shore. I like to use glow worm harnesses with a couple split shots and worms or leeches. I just bought a new glow in the dark bobber from lebarons called the Little Joe Nite Brite Lighted Pole Float. This thing is awesome!!! You can see it better than anything else on the market, it's heavy so you can cast it further and it has light that can be replaced when needed. It is meant to be used with larger baits, you can just add weight if you want to use smaller lures. Go ahead and buy one you wont be disappointed.

Tbone: thanks for the tip, I will check it out! I have been using a cheap one (made by Thill, I think) and it's kind of flimsy. I like the sound of the one you got at Lebaron. Sounds sturdy!

I've been able to score some nice walleye the last couple of nights throwing stickbaits and grubs from shore. Seems the best time is just after dark. The next few weeks should get even better.

Flewdogg and Tbone1088 thanks for the tips, I'll probably be out again this weekend and I'll try live minnows.. Would Oziles out by Petrie sell them? Also, how would I be able to store them? Doubt I'll be able to use all of them in one go..

Flewdogg and Tbone1088 thanks for the tips, I'll probably be out again this weekend and I'll try live minnows.. Would Oziles out by Petrie sell them? Also, how would I be able to store them? Doubt I'll be able to use all of them in one go..

when i have extra minnows i keep them in a cool place and if they die i put them in a baggie with some table salt and you can use them once more but after that they are like mush.

Id be targeting trout and eyes but if your into musky my brother has been getting one every outing on the Rideau recently.

reboot wrote:Flewdogg and Tbone1088 thanks for the tips, I'll probably be out again this weekend and I'll try live minnows.. Would Oziles out by Petrie sell them? Also, how would I be able to store them? Doubt I'll be able to use all of them in one go..

If your going out west go to Bits and Baits, Gord always has good minnows

Minnows survive best in cold water so this is a great time to store minnows in your garage, they can survive for weeks without food as long as the water is cold. Check your minnows everyday or two and take any dead ones out as soon as possible, depending on where you get your minnows almost all should survive but if one dies you dont want it to contaminate the water and kill the others. Good luck!