2018, what a crazy year

[Adamthedeertracker]

Hey folks, I whent all out for new and different species in Ontario this year with moving to down to southern Ontario for work and man was it an incredible year. Best I had in awhile.

I started the year ice fishing and got a saugeye out on the Abitibi watershed in my neck of the woods while trying to break my personal best for ling. After I got my new job in the environmental field I was paying close attention to the facebook groups for the smelt runs around the Sudbury, after a few weeks I found an opportunity and free time and whent to hit up a tributary and got a few dosen which I am more then happy with.

After my move was done and settled with, I took a bit of a road trip to attempt for channel cats at Dunnville. I took a stop at Dundas to do a bit of fishing. I ended up catching a few spottail shiners, logperch and a Rudd which I cooked up and was good. No channel cats at Dunnville thoo.

Around my area where I moved, the fish brain app was very helpful to find other lifers I was seeking. I ended up getting some huge hybrid sunfish (pumpkinseed x bluegill) at conservation area south of me and aswell as some bluegill. That summer I did catch a lot of bluegill in the trent severn area. Ive also caught my first carp too (good 10 pounder at that and also a 20 pounder later in the year) at a few local rivers. Honeyhead chubs were pretty common to where I lived. For a couple nights I fished hard for channel cats along Georgian bay and after a few missed bites and fish less nights I eventually landed in a 13 pounder plus also broke my personal best for freshwater drum.

With the heat of the summer I hit up a few public lauches and got loads of northern sunfish, they are very pretty for their small size. ALso got a few hybrids of them and pumpkinseeds too. Also with the help of fish brain I found a pond loaded with green sunfish in Brampton, they are ever aggressive biters. While attempting to catch grass pickerel I got loads of golden shiners (no grass pickerel this year). Fishing the local rivers I again I found a creek that's loaded with river chubs. I took a little road trip too back to Dundas to a well known creek that has white perch and after a couple changes in stratergy I ended up landing a few of them.


Ive also found a pond with huge green sunfish x pumpkinseed hybrids and got an absolute brute of one. Ive fished a private pond too and got fathead minnows and rosy reds of all the things hahah Ive tried out for goldfish too, first attempt at a Brampton storm pond was pretty shitty to say the least but got my redemption in Fergus and figured out a stratergy to catch loads of them. (tiny hooks and bread). I took a road trip to Binbrook Conservation area and got a few Black Bullheads out there.


After trying for a good while I finally got my first silver redhorse too at a local river. Ive also took a trip back home to catch my personal best and male aurora trout. For the remainder of the fall I mostly did some hunting but would later do a last minute fishing trip with Lake St Claire outfitters for muskie. Within the first half hour of fish I got and landed a 38 inch, nearly 20 pound muskie which I then released. It also came with a silver lamprey on to it. That day some how too a juvenile gizzard shad got on the line too.


In overall one awesome year of fishing.


Species caught this year!

Saugeye
Logperch
Rudd
Spottail Shiner
Rainbow Smelt
Pumpkinseed x Bluegill Hybrid
Bluegill
Common Carp
Hornyhead Chub
Channel Catfish
Northern Sunfish
Northern Sunfish X Pumpkinseed Hybrid
Green Sunfish
White Perch
River Chub
Fathead Minnow/Rosy Red
Green Sunfish X Pumpkinseed Hybrid
Goldfish/Prussian Carp
Black Bullhead
Silver Redhorse
Silver Lamprey (attached to muskie)
Muskellunge
Gizzard Shad (accident and released)

Other goals done

Ling Personal best
Creek Chub spawning male
Common Shiner spawning male photographed
Pearl Dace spawning male photographed
Rainbow trout with nice colors
Personal Best for largemouth
Pumpkinseed spawning male photographed
Bowfin male with normal color
Longnose Dace Photographed

1) Rainbow Smelts
2) Spottail Shiner
3)Logperch
4) Rudd
5) Bluegill X Pumpkinseed Hybrid