Niagara Falls

[MichaelAngelo]

(07-27-2013 05:22 PM)alex_fish Wrote:  Also what are "river monsters"? Muskie, Catfish?
By the way. Which path exactly would one take to get down the the pool?

Pretty much big of anything you can find in Ontario . Make sure you have a big reel... because even a normal size fish in the current can be hard to turn around. Last thing you want is to get spooled... better more line than less!

Looking forward to the report!

[mcfly]

(07-29-2013 08:06 PM)MichaelAngelo Wrote:  

(07-27-2013 05:22 PM)alex_fish Wrote:  Also what are "river monsters"? Muskie, Catfish?
By the way. Which path exactly would one take to get down the the pool?

Pretty much big of anything you can find in Ontario . Make sure you have a big reel... because even a normal size fish in the current can be hard to turn around. Last thing you want is to get spooled... better more line than less!

Looking forward to the report!

Yesterday at the whirlpool action was really slow but we had a few runs. We definitely got spooled and had broken lines everywhere. I had a huge fish on a dead minnow that broke off. 20lb braid is nothing at the whirlpool, I'd even go with 50lb just to be more confident. Many many river monsters in these waters! For example, 10lb test line is like ultralight at the whirlpool!

[alex_fish]

(07-30-2013 12:35 PM)mcfly Wrote:  Yesterday at the whirlpool action was really slow but we had a few runs.

I was waiting to hear about your report before I mentioned what happened on sunday at the pool. I had just about the worst fishing day I have ever had. And I very rarely catch anything at all. So what could be worse than not catching anything? The sight of a spot filled with active fish and fish being landed and still not catching anything. I could see fish breaking the surface literally non stop (during the morning hours, then it slowed down a bit). I also saw a couple of pike looking fish near the shore. Early morning hours produced in at least one big catch for a guy close by (not sure which species as I didn't go to investigate) and the rest of the time I was there others were landing large bass sized catches pretty frequently. It baffles me as to why neither I nor my friend got any bites. Sometime past noon we could no longer handle the disappointment and we decided to try other spots closer to home.

[ST_ShoreFisher]

(07-30-2013 02:00 PM)alex_fish Wrote:  

(07-30-2013 12:35 PM)mcfly Wrote:  Yesterday at the whirlpool action was really slow but we had a few runs.

I was waiting to hear about your report before I mentioned what happened on sunday at the pool. I had just about the worst fishing day I have ever had. And I very rarely catch anything at all. So what could be worse than not catching anything? The sight of a spot filled with active fish and fish being landed and still not catching anything. I could see fish breaking the surface literally non stop (during the morning hours, then it slowed down a bit). I also saw a couple of pike looking fish near the shore. Early morning hours produced in at least one big catch for a guy close by (not sure which species as I didn't go to investigate) and the rest of the time I was there others were landing large bass sized catches pretty frequently. It baffles me as to why neither I nor my friend got any bites. Sometime past noon we could no longer handle the disappointment and we decided to try other spots closer to home.

What were you using?

[fishfight]

(07-30-2013 02:00 PM)alex_fish Wrote:  

(07-30-2013 12:35 PM)mcfly Wrote:  Yesterday at the whirlpool action was really slow but we had a few runs.

I was waiting to hear about your report before I mentioned what happened on sunday at the pool. I had just about the worst fishing day I have ever had. And I very rarely catch anything at all. So what could be worse than not catching anything? The sight of a spot filled with active fish and fish being landed and still not catching anything. I could see fish breaking the surface literally non stop (during the morning hours, then it slowed down a bit). I also saw a couple of pike looking fish near the shore. Early morning hours produced in at least one big catch for a guy close by (not sure which species as I didn't go to investigate) and the rest of the time I was there others were landing large bass sized catches pretty frequently. It baffles me as to why neither I nor my friend got any bites. Sometime past noon we could no longer handle the disappointment and we decided to try other spots closer to home.

Best time to fish the whirlpool is before 10am, and after 6pm on a sunny day, water level is also lower before 9am, so one can cast farther out to where the fish normally stage the night before. I normally call it a tough fishing day at the whirlpool if I have not landed any fish by 9am. The current down close to the bottom is also calmer than the current at the surface, fish needs to work harder to fight the current when they have to come to the surface. It gets very deceiving to witness fish surfacing, my moto is when you can spot the fish, chances are you will not be able to get them.

I have yet to hear of pike at the whirlpool, but quite a few musky around, that means fish also get spook when those toothy creatures start hovering close to shore.

Another important issue to consider is one should use small heavy 1/2 to 3/4 oz lure, spoon, jig heads, cast and retrieve or by bottom bounce technique. Lure needs to get close to the bottom with the slowest possible retrieve/presentation, hoping to not snag your lure. Most have lost enough fair share of lures to get confident fishing the whirlpool. Many fish caught were usually not too far off the bottom, but that was when the fish was able to spot your lure when you originally present it close to the bottom, to give the fish enough time to spot and chase after your lure.

If one is too concern of losing our lure, retrieving them too close to the shore for fear of losing them, then fishing whirlpool is not the place to fish. It takes the proper "risk/gutsy attitude" to be successful fishing whirlpool.

This is a river with unpredictable strong current flow, one normally cast upstream on a river system, let your lure sink, before applying slow retrieve, to also pause your retrieve every so often, ensuring the lure stays low as long as it can. Since whirlpool current keeps on changing every so often, we need to adapt to the inconsistent flow as well. Sometimes casting straight, sometimes casting in an angle.

When I fish the whirlpool, having an attitude of not losing a lure for the day is considered being very lucky. Landing fish more often than not when I visit the whirlpool (3 out of 4 visit) is also a sign of success.

[alex_fish]

Thanks for the advice fishfight.
I was there at sunrise. And the first fish I saw caught (the big one which I didn't ID) was prior to 8. probably around 7. It was a beautiful calm day and others were landing fish even through noon. As far as I saw most if not all fish were caught with worm on a drop shot type rig.
As for me, I tried spoons (waiting for them to drop before reeling), diving crankbaits, soft plastic jigs and drop shot worms - both real and fake. When none of that seemed to work I decided to try some experimentation (after prime time). I saw some garlic attractant being sold in a tackle shop... so I had placed some soft plastics in a plastic bag with a good amount of ground garlic the previous night. I used some of these garlic scented baits for 2 hours maybe with no hits. The rest of the time I was trying for carp using a corn adorned hair rig.

(07-30-2013 02:35 PM)fishfight Wrote:  It gets very deceiving to witness fish surfacing, my moto is when you can spot the fish, chances are you will not be able to get them.

This is the first time I've heard of this. What do you believe is the reasoning?
Like I mentioned. I have never seen so much surface activity. I am not sure what fish was producing it. But there was constant relatively light splashing at the surface all morning. It slowed down afterwards but was still there. From time to time a visibly large fish would jump as well.

[mrclownprince]

I was at the whirlpool last week. Many fish spotted, even some good size musky two feet away. Tried every lure, no bites. I think live bait would have been the way to go. They seem to ignore anything not very living.

[MuskieBait]

(07-30-2013 03:29 PM)alex_fish Wrote:  

(07-30-2013 02:35 PM)fishfight Wrote:  It gets very deceiving to witness fish surfacing, my moto is when you can spot the fish, chances are you will not be able to get them.

This is the first time I've heard of this. What do you believe is the reasoning?
Like I mentioned. I have never seen so much surface activity. I am not sure what fish was producing it. But there was constant relatively light splashing at the surface all morning. It slowed down afterwards but was still there. From time to time a visibly large fish would jump as well.

What fishfight said really depends.

If the bait school is suspended, predators may simply chase a single bait fish to the surface and what you see is a splash on the surface of one fish chasing one bait. In that case, it will be difficult fishing the surface activity because the predators are focused on the suspended bait.

I'm not sure if you have seen bait schools at the Niagara. Literally a school of thousands of gizzard shad or emerald shiners is not uncommon. When there is that much bait, trying to get a predator to single out your lure is difficult...unless you fish the outskirt of the bait school and NOT within the bait school.

But then, (at the right time of year) I've experienced incredible fishing when fish were crashing bait on the surface. Bait was being assaulted from the top by birds and from the bottom by fish. Once, we found the right condition and caught 8 brown trout within a couple of hours, losing a few more to break offs and popped hook, using lures that imitate the bait. Look at the size of the bait, the colour and shape...and imitate (hint, hint). If the fish are chasing pinhead Emerald Shiners and you are using a 4" husky jerk, forget it. Of course, you have to find the perfect storm situation. You can't cast a little crankbait too far...so fish and birds has to be pushing bait against the shore...but if you are willing to put in the work and with a little bit of luck, you can experience fishing like that.

[Catfish]

The whirlpool for sure. There is some big musky in there year round. Be carefull tho the hike is killer and the water level changes by the minute. It can gain about 1 foot in 10 minutes or less, so keep an eye in your surroundings.

[ray6591]

Catfish, Hearing of the water rising is scary... Have only been on one of those crazy boat rides they have there and never thought going there again let alone fishing... lol.. They told us once the boat left the dock that they only have had few accidents but by the way one person fell overboard last week. Had to hold on to my daughter till we came back ashore...