Over the Hump

Sunday February 21 2010 Barbara and I have been in Florida since late November and it has been nice to be able to spend time with my daughters and my grandchildren and is always nice to be out of the snow and cold of upstate New York in the winter. It has been about ten degrees below normal in Florida so far this winter and this cold weather has taken a toll on the snook and tarpon. It got so bad that Florida has closed the fishing for snook and tarpon until April, many snook and tarpon died in the first cold snap that we had. I try to fish as much as possible when I am here but this winter the cold north winds took a lot of the fun out of it.
I have my fingers crossed that the weather will settle down and spring will arrive on schedule. If there are no surprises by this time in April I should have the boat (lucky Dutchman II) in the water and be fishing for brown trout. I am always excited about the new season. There are many factors that effect the fishing on Lake Ontario it could be the weather, stocking survival and how much bait is available, so some years are better than others . But even on our slow years we still have the best freshwater fishing anywhere. Where else can you go and catch trout that range anywhere from three pounds to over twenty and to catch chinook salmon like we catch. You either have to come to the Great lakes or you have to spend thousands of dollars and fish in the Pacific Northwest. Far too often Lake Ontario fishing gets taken for granted. It is one of the few places to fish that is close enough and affordable enough that the average fisherman can enjoy it.
If you would like to experience the fishing on lake Ontario this year you can contact me and we can set up a charter trip with lodging for you. If you have a boat of your own you can bring it to lake Ontario and experience the spring near shore fishing. Either way if I can be of assistance contact me. I am always glad to help out. Captain Bill