Ontario Shore Fishing Forum - CHannel cats in the GTA?

Has anyone caught any in the GTA? Lower Humber or Don maybe? i know hamilton harbor has them but if i can have an outing more local I'd prefer that.. Catch and release of course ! Smile

No one's caught a Channel in GTA? :O They all go to St Kitts and Ham Harbor then eh .. lol

(08-09-2017 06:19 PM)Johnnyfishing Wrote: [ -> ]Has anyone caught any in the GTA? Lower Humber or Don maybe? i know hamilton harbor has them but if i can have an outing more local I'd prefer that.. Catch and release of course !

Channel cats are low in population in Lake Ontario's Burlington area and then east of there - as seen in Ontario's eating guide listings based on their netting surveys.

https://www.ontario.ca/environment-and-e...tario-fish

Here's a search done looking for channel cats in Ontario..... as seen no hit balloons for the whole east end of Lake Ontario.......... but you do see them Hamilton and west plus inshore in the golden horseshoe.

[attachment=1505]

A tip to others - this is a great way to start your searches for species spots. Excellent tool for more than eating guidelines. Also shows sizes caught during netting.

Cheers,

OldTimer

Aren't Channel Cats more of a Lake Erie thing? Dunnesville?

(08-26-2017 11:12 PM)gthnk Wrote: [ -> ]Aren't Channel Cats more of a Lake Erie thing? Dunnesville?

They are found in many places in Ontario. However the size of the population and % of biomass varies substantially from place to place.

Yes, Dunnville is known for it's annual run of lunker cats coming up from Lake Erie. But so is South Hampton below Denny's Dam.

MNR's channel cat atlas:

[attachment=1506]

Cheers,

OldTimer

Catfish likely have the largest biomass percentage in ontario rivers. GTA cats should not be an issue, just have to find a good spot. As the air temp starts to dip they will start feeding heavy so they should be biting very well soon.

I have heard of them being caught at Port Credit and Humber river estuary. Guess the best thing to do would be to go there with some cut bait or frozen shrimp and give it shot in the evening... Otherwise Hamilton Harbor or St Kitts it is... Might as well save the failure since I always get skunked at Port credit ! LoL ...