Anything at Frenchman's Bay?

[Johnnyfishing]

I was working in the area for the afternoon and gave it a shot since i had my fishing gear on me.. It looked promising and from all i read on the net and pamphlets I had confidence in the spot but all I got was GOBY after GOBY after GOBY !!! Spotted one big Carp to and baitfish in the main lake, possibly alewives.... Such a disappointment.. I was hoping for some Perch, White Perch or drum even but you can't even present your bait longer than 15 seconds without getting ransacked by GOBIES!!! THis seems to be the fixture with any Lake Ontario shore spot now... SO disappointed! lol

[Abu Garcia]

(07-10-2016 11:43 PM)Johnnyfishing Wrote:  I was working in the area for the afternoon and gave it a shot since i had my fishing gear on me.. It looked promising and from all i read on the net and pamphlets I had confidence in the spot but all I got was GOBY after GOBY after GOBY !!! Spotted one big Carp to and baitfish in the main lake, possibly alewives.... Such a disappointment.. I was hoping for some Perch, White Perch or drum even but you can't even present your bait longer than 15 seconds without getting ransacked by GOBIES!!! THis seems to be the fixture with any Lake Ontario shore spot now... SO disappointed! lol

Thanks for the update Johnny! I haven't made it there yet as of this writing lol.
But that is not a good report though with those gobies.

[MuskieBait]

I was there last in mid-June looking for Gizzard Shad at the mouth of Frenchman's Bay

Saw a few medium size Northern Pike around 4-6lbs cruising in and out of the shallows...consistently.

Saw pods of Common Carp of 3-10 individuals around 10-15lbs breezing through the shallows...consistently.

Saw a few Largemouth Bass around 2lbs cruising in and out of the shallows...consistently.

I was targeting Gizzard Shad and was traveling light. I didn't have any lures with my except for a few plastic grubs and a few leadhead jigs. I tossed it around and the few Northern Pike would follow a few inches until it looked up and saw me. Then it refused to bite complete for the next 2 hours. I was casting to a Northern Pike when a Largemouth Bass cruised by and bumped the jig but dropper it. Of course, none of the Common Carp cared for fluorescently coloured plastic grubs. They didn't even care for a whole nightcrawler. I also saw a Freshwater Drum around 6-7lbs feeding in the rocks. As soon as I started to stalk it and try to get a nightcrawler to it, it picked up and left for deep water. I was at a high and visible position so stalking was almost impossible unless you can cast 70 feet with an unweighted nightcralwer.

Fishing pressure is very high in that area. By observing the fish, I can tell they are very wary. I saw Common Carp feeding along the shoreline until they were 30 feet from my position, then they would pick up speed and skirt around my position. The Northern Pike were less spooked. They would still set up ambush near my position but they would completely ignore lure (there were two other people fishing specifically for Pike that day). As for the Largemouth Bass, they were out of season so they were a bit more brazen...but still, not committing to any presentation at all.

And unfortunately...the Gizzard Shad school had left when I finally had time to check them out. Oh well...

[observer135]

When I think of Lake Ontario, I think of excessive pollution and fish that you can not eat.

Am I the only one thinking this? Would you actually eat fish from lake Ontario?
Not trying to hijack this thread, so perhaps you can pm me your thought and replies to avoid hijacking.

[MuskieBait]

Overall, Lake Ontario has improved a lot in terms of pollution. If you refer to the Consumption Guide, many smaller fish has a restriction of 8 meals per month. Larger species, such as Chinook Salmon of substantial size (usually over 10lbs), are much more restricted (down to 1 to 2 meals per month). Similarly, large Common Carp and large predatory fish such as Northern Pike and large walleye should be avoided.

I would also be more hesitant on fish around Frenchman's Bay...due to its proximity to the nuclear power plant...even though the cooling water released is deeded safe, there could be other contaminations present in that area.

[tweedwolfscream]

(07-13-2016 08:24 AM)observer135 Wrote:  When I think of Lake Ontario, I think of excessive pollution and fish that you can not eat.

Am I the only one thinking this? Would you actually eat fish from lake Ontario?
Not trying to hijack this thread, so perhaps you can pm me your thought and replies to avoid hijacking.

Yes I'd eat fish from Lake Ontario, and I have done so, including pike from Frenchman's Bay.

The Guide to Eating Ontario Fish is your friend, if you're worried or just curious about pollution in fish. It has an entry specifically for Frenchman's Bay as well as one for the Toronto Waterfront Area, and other parts of Lake Ontario.

The pattern you'll see from the above links is pretty clear: fatty fish like carp and salmonids have very low recommended consumption levels, while leaner warm-water predators like bass, pike, walleye and panfish have much more liberal ones. The reason is that the plasticky types of contaminants (PCVs etc) that pollute industrialized waters like Lake Ontario tend to accumulate in the fat under fish's skin, so fish without such fat layers don't carry as much of that sort of contamination.

The same does not go for all contaminant types. For lakes up north that you probably think are clean and beautiful, the contaminants to watch out for are heavy metals like mercury (naturally occurring, but sometimes exacerbated by damming and resource extraction), which affects warm-water predators just as much if not more.