Fish-Hawk.Net

Hi

I was surprised to read this morning that the lake trout season is closed in the Big Rideau for Ice Fishing season to allow the natural fish to rebound a bit ...

Good thing I didn't head down there to try my luck.

Its not that the lake is closed to trout, its that trout is closed in the entire zone from sept - may except for a few exceptions.

In fact, looking back to my copies of the regs through 2006 and earlier, it was always closed to trout over the winter.

The Big Rideau has been closed for Lakers many, many years now....

Yup, always been closed as far as I can remember, granted I've only been ice fishing 4-5 years or so

Back in the early 1980's most of the Laker lakes south of highway#7 were open in the winter....then MNR did the smart thing and closed the season from Sept - June (end of May now)...

I can remember meeting the MNR had on the closing of lake trout in then zone 10. Sad times

This is about the same time the MNR was introduceing their much heralded splake program to offer anglers alternative trout fishing opportunities in the area.

I believe there is only a few years left in the Big Rideau/Charleston Lake Trout stocking programs. It is my understanding the lakes have been getting stocked on alternating years.


DropShot'r

Seriously though, who keeps voting no?

DropShot'r wrote:I can remember meeting the MNR had on the closing of lake trout in then zone 10. Sad times

This is about the same time the MNR was introduceing their much heralded splake program to offer anglers alternative trout fishing opportunities in the area.

I believe there is only a few years left in the Big Rideau/Charleston Lake Trout stocking programs. It is my understanding the lakes have been getting stocked on alternating years.


DropShot'r

DropShot'r, I believe that the stocking for both of those lakes has stopped. According to the 2008 stocking report, the Big Rideau was last stocked with Lakers in 2006. Charleston's last year was 2007.

I am thinking that it has been closed for close to twenty yrs. I am originally from the Portland area, and remember being quite upset when they closed it along with alot of other locals...however there was no doubt that the trout would be in trouble if nothing was done. The population has bounced back very well IMO with a lot of naturals caught and released in the summer months as well as seeing them regularly caught in perch areas during the winter.( that never used to happen back then). The MNR have discontinued the stocking program for the lake and I have been told that they feel it is now once again a self sustaining poulation. I now it would never happen but I wish that we could get a week or two of winter trout season near the end of the yr the way it used to be at Palmerston near Ompah. That used to be alot of fun....just my thoughts.

DropShot'r wrote:<snip>
I believe there is only a few years left in the Big Rideau/Charleston Lake Trout stocking programs. It is my understanding the lakes have been getting stocked on alternating years.


DropShot'r

Hi DropShot'r
Actually, stocking has already ceased completely on both lakes.
You are correct that they alternated between Charleston and Big Rideau.

In 2007, the FINAL release was performed into Charleston Lake, 20,000 stocked. (earlier years was 10,000 per year)
So the final year stocking trout into Big Rideau was 2006...

What a lot of people don't know, is that for a period of time, the alternate years also alternated between Manitous and Native trout. For example - MNR collected eggs and milt from Charleston and raised "native" fingerlings at White Lake. Same for Rideau.

Stocking alternated between native yearlings and Manitou lakers. So when you catch a fin-clipped Laker on Charleston or Big Rideau, some of them came from local fish stocks. The Manitous are visibly different, they tend to be lighter in colour and have noticably larger spots than the local origin lake trout.

Regards
O4T

TMH -
Sorry I didn't see your post before I replied
- looks like our info jives...

O4T

Out4trout wrote:TMH -
Sorry I didn't see your post before I replied
- looks like our info jives...

O4T

No probs O4T ...looks like we have something in common and have probably fished the same lakes in the past .....maybe a trout outing together is in order for 2009...

Seaweed wrote:Hi

I was surprised to read this morning that the lake trout season is closed in the Big Rideau for Ice Fishing season to allow the natural fish to rebound a bit ...

Good thing I didn't head down there to try my luck.

Silver lake is open, not too much further

TroutnMuskieHunter wrote:
No probs O4T ...looks like we have something in common and have probably fished the same lakes in the past .....maybe a trout outing together is in order for 2009...

Yep - likely even chatted once or twice. I mostly fish Charleston due to proximity (2 minutes from driveway to launch).

I often have the young lad with me - he's captain while dad's watching the riggers for a release ... - he knows the bottom of the lake really well now, steers around the reefs like an old pro - and he's only 10 !!!

We should get out this summer for sure... I'm game!!

I grew up hearing story's of how ice fishing lake trout was the "Golden" days of ice fishing, and how there were 1000's of people out day after day fishing like mad men for them.. Following the amazing storys told by the ol'man of 15-20 pound fish being caught, the storys about how "they took it away" were told religiously. In my opinion it was a good thing at the time seeing how it was being hit hard by anglers on a steady basis, but now that it has been closed for so long and stocked as it was through the years, the bait seemed to thin out. Myself and a buddy decided one day to head out in the middle of the july heat in a 12 foot aluminum boat and give the lakers a try..with only our bass fishing gear and some spoons we ended up with 9 in and hour just jigging off the side of the boat in 70-90 feet of water. all the fish we caught were no more then 3 pounds a peice. The next day we went back at it, this time more prepared for the situation. i landed a nice fish about 3 1/2 pound who had a rather big bulge in his gut, wich i figured it was a bunch of bait or a big perch and decided to keep it. that night while cleaning the fish i wanted to see what was in him, to my suprise it was 1 small lake trout and 2 perch..going on through the summer as we fished the lake more often.. i never once saw a minnow in any of the trout we caught and kept (5). later in the start of winter we wanted to get out for a good pike fish on chareslton (knowing there are some monsters ) 4 of us punched 8 holes in 4-6 feet of water and set up the big shiners.. needless to say we only fished for half hour and left because we couldent keep the lake trout off, in half hour we caught 8 and said this isnt good packed up and left (NOT WORTH LOOSING ALL YOUR GEAR). the lakers are re-plentished a 2 week season would be an amazing time to make some memories


Cheers