Steelhead fishing southern Ontario.

[Fishinwithginger]

Hey everyone,
Jesse whalen or as some know me Fishinwithginger. New ambassador to fish hawk.
A little about me if you don’t know, I’m an avid multi species angler from southern Ontario who loves to share my knowledge and my catches.

Figured I’d start by saying hi and hope everyone had some great holidays.

Let’s talk steelheading southern Ontario-
As this is a sensitive topic when it comes to spots let’s keep those up to the responders choice.

Let’s talk about water conditions , baits, floats, reels, wether you float fish or hardware fish. Or bottom bounce. Do you prefer roe or beads?

What time of day do you prefer and what do you look for when out on the water?

Me myself , I enjoy creek fishing for steelhead, I enjoy floatfishing or hardware.
Hardware is where I started but have fallen in love with float fishing.
I’m running a few different rods & setups.
Atm okuma aventa with okuma sst
Or
Raven im6 with a classic raven helix Center pin . Those are usually my go too.

When it comes to baits, I prefer running tandom to see what the fish are liking, roe beads pink worms or nymphs , I’m not shy to play around.

When it comes to water conditions for me , I like a lil colour and I make sure to always look at the flow charts, but more times then I’d like ti admit I’m out trying even when it’s not the best. Because you don’t know unless you cast.

When looking for new spots or trying new water , I tend to look for fast water paired with a deeper hole near by , some eddys and tailouts are also key.

2022 was an amazing year for steelhead. With Erie and lake O tribs and rivers producing some absolute giants,
And I can’t wait to see what 2023 has in store.

thanks for reading and can’t wait to read some responses.

[Corvus Lacus]

I caught my first 'Bow (that's what we called them back then) in 1971. I was in grade 9, and my Dad and I were fishing in Thornbury. I had never caught a fish before that put up that kind of battle...it practically burned the drag out on my Mitchell 300. I've been "hooked" on migratory Rainbow Trout since that day.

I became a member of the Ontario Steelheaders...and in the '80s I fished with "English Dan" Sutherland, who essentially introduced centrepin/floatfishing to the Great Lakes. Dan grew up in the UK..."trotting" for Tench and Carp. The same technique proved to be deadly on river run Steelhead. I remember him with his modified spey rod and an Adcock Stanton reel "putting on a clinic" at many tribs around Southern Ontario. My first 'pin was a JW Young that I bought from him.

Since then, I've had many outfits in the arsenal...but my favourite continues to be a 13' Loomis IMX with a Mykiss 2 reel (Keith, the mfgr, was a good friend).

I'm a member of the Ganaraska Valley Fishing Club, so that's where you'll usually find me in the spring. However, every May, I make the trip to the north shore of Superior...there is just something magical about the wild fish and rivers in that part of the world. In the autumn, I always make it out to the Saugeen on Huron, and the Salmon in NY...lots of friends on both that I've made over the years. I've also had the good fortune to make pilgrimages to the Holy Grail of this species...places like the Thompson, Skeena, Babine, Kispiox, Squamish, Gold, Dean...

If you asked me what perfect conditions are...I'll take "pea green" water with 12" of visibility all day long.
As for baits...it's been many years since I've fished roe...it's usually beads, nymphs or jigs under my float. However, I've been known to pick up my spey rod and swing streamers...just love that smack.

I come from a school that treats this precious resource with the upmost care...we generally do in-water releases to minimize handling...so not a lot of photos. Besides, we're from a generation that didn't have social media to broadcast them on...lol
Here's one of me on the Cypress, one of my favourite rivers with my " go to" outfit...

Not sure what kind of "responses" you're looking for...but I'm always glad to answer any questions...

[Corvus Lacus]

The mild temps and liquid precip have kept a lot of the local tribs open this winter. Steelhead have been staging the last few weeks, and the conditions (except for a few blow-out days with chocolate milk) have been great. If the trend continues, it'll be an early spawn this year..

[Fishinwithginger]

Amazing replies guys! Great reads!
It’s been a great fall / winter / spring for steels that’s forsure!