Lake Ontario
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Lake Ontario Fishing Reports
Stay up to date with the latest fishing reports from Lake Ontario. Reports are submitted by local anglers, fishing guides, and our team of fishing experts.
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Smallmouth BassTechniqueVertical Jigging Deep (20'+)SeasonFallStructureHumpsEnjoyed a fun trip November 24 vertically jigging a 1/2 Binsky Blade bait for smallmouth holding in 30-35 foot around rock humps in Chaumont Bay. For this application I use a Temple Fork Outfitters rod paired with a KastKing BFS reel spooled with 8 lb. Cortland Masterbraid with a 36-40" section of 12.9 lb. Cortland Top Secret Fluorocarbon. Key to this presentation is employing short hops keeping the bait within 12-20" of the bottom. On cloudy or overcast days I use the gold blade and on bright sunny days the silver works better for me.
Omnia Community MemberBronze AmbassadorSpeciesSmallmouth BassTechniqueBlade BaitsSeasonFallStructureLedgesIt may be time for sitting in the deer stand but if you can brave the cold and big waves of lake Ontario in November you'll have one of the best days of smallmouth fishing you can imagine. As temperatures are dropping into the low 50s big smallmouth are grouping up to put the feed bag on before they winter up. This time of year they are fattening up on schools of perch. Target gradual ledges starting at around 27ft tapering off to around 45ft In the morning starting up shallower, throw your 1/2oz blade bait on top of the ledges and hop it back towards you down the ledge. You don't need big rips, just hop it about 6 inches off the bottom to trigger bites. Mid day, the schools will move out deeper and you will need to get over top of them and present your blade bait vertically to get them to commit. A 7'3 medium heavy fast action baitcaster with 17lb fluorocarbon is ideal for throwing and working larger blade baits this time of year. The bites will feel like dead weight, no need for crazy hook sets just apply pressure and constant tension to keep the fish pinned
- Daohuan SunBronze AmbassadorSpecies
Panfish / BluegillTechniqueDrop ShotSeasonSummerStructureReeds - SpeciesSmallmouth BassTechniqueHard JerkbaitsSeasonFallStructureRock Pile
Love this bait for this time of the year for smallmouth
Species
Largemouth BassTechniqueStructure JigsSeasonFallStructureDocksFlipping/skipping dock pilings in Port Bay. Bass were at front pilings regardless of water depth. 7+ bass in the 3-4 pound range. Bite picked up at about 9, shut off at around 1. Wind out of the south 10-15 mph gusts, mostly cloudy in the morning transition to high sun in the early afternoon.
- Species
Northern PikeTechniqueSoft Body Swimbaits (Small/Medium)SeasonWinterStructureSubmerged VegetationI hosted a father and son team (Jeff & Dylan) for some pickerel & northern pike fishing in Henderdon Harbor. We used TFO Professional Series rod 7' & 7'6" medium power fast action paired with Shimano Nexave spinning gear reels spooled with 5 & 8 lb. Cortland Masterbraid with a 18-24" section of 15.9 or 17.4 lb. Cortland Top Secret Fluorocarbon. We used Hayabusa Jig heads to present the swimbaits in 9- to 14-foot employing a steady retrieve. Key to our success was counting the bait down to 1/2 of the depth we were fishing. If we were in 10-foot we count it down to 5 and begin the retrieve, 12 foot count down to 6 and so on. By the end of our 4 hour trip they put 20 fish in the bet and dropped four or five to light strikes.
- SpeciesSmallmouth BassTechniqueCarolina RigsSeasonFallStructureBoulders
isolated boulders with clean bottom.
SpeciesSmallmouth BassTechniqueDrop ShotSeasonSummerStructureLedgesFished the Bassmaster Open tournament here on the St. Lawrence, but ended up spending all of my time on the lake. Found huge schools of smallmouth around Duck Island in 30-60 fow. Some schools were tight to the bottom, and I caught them drop shotting a Berkley Maxscent Flat Worm. There's current in the lake even when it's flat calm, so a 3/4 oz dropshot weight was key to getting the bait down as directly below the boat as possible. Other schools would be suspended 20-30 feet off the bottom, so I would target them with Livescope and throw a 3/4 oz white Z-Man Jackhammer at them.
