Newby as a Kayaker, Spoonpuller Member, and Salmon fisherman.

[longfish]

Hey it took me a while to get on here but finally made it, thanks for the add. My name is Arnie and have fished since I was 2 years old in Holland. My dad taught me to love this sport and am grateful that he did. I am now 72 so thats 70 years of fishing. I fish from North Bay as far south as Florida, fishing everything from Perch to Shark. I fish soft and hard water.

Soft water is mostly from Waubaushene where I have a trailer and a tinny....sold my Doral. This coming year I hope to do some Kayak fishing in Lake O, for salmon, so I will be hanging out in that section of spoon pullers. Kayaking is new to me and through the winter I will be rigging my Kayak for salmon and ready for Lake O in the Spring. Weekends after May I can be found fishing Pike, Bass....mostly Smallies, Pickerel, Muskie, and Salmon in Georgian Bay.

The last two years have taken some charters on Lake O and now hooked on the beasty Salmon....Thanks to Jim and Captain Ryan.

Hard water I fish mostly Simcoe in a variety of locations as well as Nipissing, Lake St, John, Lake St. Joseph, Gull Lake and Georgian Bay.

I use my 14 foot Smokercraft and recently purchased a Kayak, a Hobie Pro Angler 14 ft, rigging it for salmon.... I have the tracks in place as well as two rod holders and have also mounted my Humminbird Helix ten with down and side imaging, on the right side. The left side I made a plate to mount the Scotty 1061 manual downrigger to. I will run a Dipsy off the right side.For power I have 2 100AH LiFePo4 Lithium batteries, which will go behind the seat. Yes that is a lot of hydro but the plan is to power it with a 55 or 80 thrust Minnkota Ulterra.....the Ulterra because it has auto deploy and store. It will also have I=pilot and link to work in conjunction with my Hummingbird. I hope to talk to a Minnkota rep to see if I can possibly get it as a Riptide Salt water model as I do fish in Florida and plan to also use it there. I am also hoping to add a Fish hHawk X4D.

Retired from Ford Oakville and run a small business....I have it down to 3 days of work and 4 days of fishing......Born to work.....retired to fish.

A pleasure to be with you everyone and look forward to sharing info and meeting some of you as well.

[SpoonPullers.com]

[trophycraft]

Welcome aboard! 🙂

[oakville_angler]

Welcome! Newbie here as well and live right down the street from the Ford Oakville plant


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[longfish]

Welcome! Newbie here as well and live right down the street from the Ford Oakville plant


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Welcome Oak Angler......I dont see the Ford plant anymore....retired in 2008....but do frequent my union hall often. I reside in Acton.


To Trophycraft....Thanks for the welcome.

[drjoe]

Ditto Welcome but at 72 yoa that can be big cold water out there ; stay safe !

[longfish]

Ditto Welcome but at 72 yoa that can be big cold water out there ; stay safe !
[/quote

Thanks Dr. joe…. Yes 72 but definitly not your average 72…..lol

[JpScribbler]

Hello Arnie. Welcome to the bigs! big water and big fish and big time fun.
I fish the Hamilton/Grimsby shoreline in my yak - mainly spring and fall. Another angler on this board, King Joe comes from the Stratford area and we usually do well on lakers and the odd bow. Go to the Kayak section of this board and there will are  plenty of kayak-centric-posts to peruse. Another angler Nels does quite well out of the Hamilton/Bronte area. SteelheadChaser has some great kayak video and he fishes further east, out Scarborough way I believe.
King Joe and I usually meet at a launch at the foot of Elizabeth Street in Grimsby. It's made for kayaks and canoes and is right beside 40 Mile Creek (next to Foran's Marina).
We also launch off Hamilton Beach strip, not far from the Lift Bridge. There's a parking lot there and easy access to the beach. This coming spring I'll also head to St. Catharines way to Charles Daly Park just off the QEW. The brown trout fishing is usually decent there and a good spring starting spot. Warmer water out of the Niagara and Jordan Harbour.
I fish from a Hobie Pro Angler 12. Sometimes I use a clamp on downrigger but mostly stick with long line and spoon, or lead core or Dipsy Diver. All depends on wind, temp and fish depth. My preferred setup is lead core one side and Dipsy on the other. I can handle the drag because when I'm not peddling, I have a Torqeedo with a 9 lb lithium battery. I can troll 10-15 hours with that at 2.2 mph.
Joe uses his "twin cams" his arms and use Jet Divers because there is less resistance.
In the spring, off Grimsby, we usually fish in 30-60 feet of water. We have gone out to 80 fow with fish down around 30 feet. But you have to pay attention to the weather reports, both posted and visual. It can change quickly out there - not as mercurial as Lake Erie, but you do have to pay attention.
We had a decent spring, but the fall was uneven. I found there was a lot of wind out there.
Welcome aboard. Perhaps we'll see out there this spring.

[longfish]

Hello Arnie. Welcome to the bigs! big water and big fish and big time fun.
I fish the Hamilton/Grimsby shoreline in my yak - mainly spring and fall. Another angler on this board, King Joe comes from the Stratford area and we usually do well on lakers and the odd bow. Go to the Kayak section of this board and there will are  plenty of kayak-centric-posts to peruse. Another angler Nels does quite well out of the Hamilton/Bronte area. SteelheadChaser has some great kayak video and he fishes further east, out Scarborough way I believe.
King Joe and I usually meet at a launch at the foot of Elizabeth Street in Grimsby. It's made for kayaks and canoes and is right beside 40 Mile Creek (next to Foran's Marina).
We also launch off Hamilton Beach strip, not far from the Lift Bridge. There's a parking lot there and easy access to the beach. This coming spring I'll also head to St. Catharines way to Charles Daly Park just off the QEW. The brown trout fishing is usually decent there and a good spring starting spot. Warmer water out of the Niagara and Jordan Harbour.
I fish from a Hobie Pro Angler 12. Sometimes I use a clamp on downrigger but mostly stick with long line and spoon, or lead core or Dipsy Diver. All depends on wind, temp and fish depth. My preferred setup is lead core one side and Dipsy on the other. I can handle the drag because when I'm not peddling, I have a Torqeedo with a 9 lb lithium battery. I can troll 10-15 hours with that at 2.2 mph.
Joe uses his "twin cams" his arms and use Jet Divers because there is less resistance.
In the spring, off Grimsby, we usually fish in 30-60 feet of water. We have gone out to 80 fow with fish down around 30 feet. But you have to pay attention to the weather reports, both posted and visual. It can change quickly out there - not as mercurial as Lake Erie, but you do have to pay attention.
We had a decent spring, but the fall was uneven. I found there was a lot of wind out there.
Welcome aboard. Perhaps we'll see out there this spring.

Hi JP thank you for the welcome. Today I tracked down the trolling motor I will be using finally.....now I have to hope it will come in and that I have time to install it for the Spring salmon fishing. I was at Natural Sports in Kitchener today and after a long discussion I have put by the wayside a Riptide as I can not get it in remote deploy and store. So freshwater it is and for the few times I use it in Florida I will take the prop off and give it a good wash. I also looked at a Toqeedo but decided against it as I have some pretty long runs on Georgian Bay and want the power to get in quickly, which I will need on Lake O as well. Have read all the Kayak section a few days ago and am so happy that you chimed in and welcomed me and hope to share and also to learn from you guys that have already done some of this. I learn fast and have sponged most posts on a variety of salmon methods. I am brand new to Kayaks since last Fall. I am new to salmon but have fished with Ryan Harrison on a few charters and got absolutely hooked....lol. So I am not a complete stranger to salmon or big water. I grew up on Lake Ontario between the sisters and the Credit River and have fished out of my Tinny and a 19 ft Doral Bowrider that I sold to a guy in Grimsby and it will be running out of a marina by Vineland Rd. So to my Yak....14 ft Hobie P.A. Already installed is a plate off the left rail where I can slide a scotty manual rigger if needed. Already installed are two Yak Attack tracks left and right. beside the rigger is a track installed rod holder and a rod holder on the right track.....also on the right track is a Helix 10 down and side imaging with Chirp....right side is where I hope to run dipsy's. On the back will be a 3x5 Canadian flag for traffic visibility. I have bought navigation lights to be installed. So today I attacked the trolling motor and have to do a measurement as it will come back towards the seat from tip of bow by 52 inches. If that is too long I will look at a photo bracket reinforced under the front deck with 1/4 inch aluminium plate and mount a quick release on it according to how much room I think I will need. So I will probably order a Ulterra 80 lbs thrust with a 45 inch shaft with 24 volt capacity, with a side and down imaging transducer built in,it will also have auto-pilot and link to run tracks already on my Hummingbird Helix 10 and all off a foot pedal or remote. The other feature the Ulterra has is power trim straight up and down also run from the remote. The autopilot gives me spot lock as well. I have 2 LiFePo4 batteries that are 100AH at a total weight of 40 lbs.....to charge those batteries I bought a two bank Noco onboard charging system but will use it for charging on shore for now....these suckers are expensive but awesome to have for weight. The Ulterra and those batteries set me back approx 7 grand but I want to build a fishing machine like no other. I estimate my top speed to be between 7 to 10 mph. The only other thing and I am looking at right now is a dry suit to wear early Spring and late Fall. I also picked up a Tekota 800LC....hard to find and no more will be made till begin of 2023. A month ago I found a 700LC and scooped that and had a 800 LC on order and meanwhile bought a Okuma 403c which is now a backup reel. I also purchased a rigger rod, A Dipsy Rod and a River rod. Also started to collect spoons and flashers and dodgers matched to spoons......also have fleas  and heads to run meat. Thats about where I am at right now. I must say that I  would definitely welcome a invite from you guys when I get this put together as I know experience is the best way to get through a learning curve.....and believe me that this transition has been expensive and a lot of work to get to this point. I think my Kayak/salmon adventure will run around 15 grand........oh I also purchased a handheld VHS radio....a Standard Horizon HX890. I will also down the road equip it with a Fish Hawk X4D. Looking forward to meeting you guys if I may join you at some point. Regarding weather yes I am a freak on that.....Georgian is another water body that you better watch the weather.....my go to is on my cell Accuweather .com and has excellent doppler radar and hourly reports on temp wind and precipitation........and off course will have marine weather on the VHS.

The best part of all the above gear is I will make a quick release for the Ulterra to switch between my Yak and my 14 foot Smokercraft tinny.

[JpScribbler]

Sounds like you are building BATTLE...ship!
Fingers crossed for an early spring...will reach out when it's yak time. Once south shore waters reach 42 degree range, I'll be watching wind and wave reports.

[longfish]

Sounds like you are building BATTLE...ship!
Fingers crossed for an early spring...will reach out when it's yak time. Once south shore waters reach 42 degree range, I'll be watching wind and wave reports.

Thx JP I appreciate that and will look forward to it.

Arnie

[longfish]

Hey I finally got the trolling motor narrowed down. Purchased a Ulterra 45 inch shaft with 80# thrust, auto deploy/stow, Auto pilot and link to my Helix 10 Hummingbird, Motor has built in Transducer with down and side imaging, spot lock and it will navigate on it's own following a track on the GPS or follow a direction or contour.

[longfish]

X4D Fish Hawk came in yesterday, thx to Pro Tackle....someone on here mentioned that they had three......they are now down to 2 in case you want one.

The Ulterra trolling motor wont be here till March apparently the are way behind in manufacturing, ordered through Natural Sports....thx for the research John. Also still waiting for the mounting bracket.

Torpedos arrived today as well, two Cudas and 2 Musky models.

Also ordered two more paddles from Grimsby tackle along with a 4 and 5 lbs shark weight. Lots of new stock coming in there.

[sdcaller]

Welcome Arnie
This is a good Forum for Lake Ontario information.
I don't post much on it as I don't fish Lake O much, but I have been a member for years.
Ralph
SDC

[longfish]

Hi Ralph....thx for the welcome.....Yes after a very long absence from Lake O I am back.....I grew up not far from the sisters......so I plan on taking the Kayak to Lake O probably out of Bronte and some of the other Kayakers have extended a generous hand towards me and then it looks like I will be launching from Toronto to around Jordan pending on weather and where the fish are. Weekends I will be on Georgian Bay in Waubaushene

[longfish]

I have been working on my Hobie 14 Pro Angler battleship here and there over the winter and am almost ready to launch except for The Ulterra trolling motor that was ordered in December is still not in....grrrr. I have installed the mount for it and the Fish Hawk X4D, the Helix 10 G2 Chirp Si Di, Rod Holders, three tracks, LED navigation lights, 4x LED blue cockpit lights, 24V LiFePo4 200AH lithium battery setup to power the Ulterra. When motor arrives I will put in 6 gauge 24Volt marine wiring with a 60 amp circuit breaker and a 12 step down regulator for the sensitive electronics. I will also probably next week put in a panel for the 12 volt system and wire all Navigation lights, cockpit lighting and the Humminbird and the Fish Hawk.