The Don is Dead ? 1970-2010

Don River Estuary

  I remember back in the late 60's and early 70's the public outcry that Lake Erie was officially declared "dead". No surprise there considering more than a century of unrestricted industrial dumping, near non-existent controls on agricultural runoff and free flowing sewage. Closer to home, the story was the same with the Don River. Even today, a drive along the Don Valley Parkway south of Bloor St. shows a tired old river beaten into submission with controlled banks and an industrialised estuary. But things are not what they seem.

 Last month on an outing just north of the Toronto city limits, my friend and I noticed several youths on a resdential street carying fly rods. Having grown up in the general area, I assumed they were in pursuit of the "mighty" Don River chub. On our return trip, out of habit, it was decided to check out the water to see if there was anything interesting going on. What a surprise, the dirty old Don had a full blown run of salmon!

 As with boyscouts and most fishing fanatics, we were prepared for all possible situations. The back of the vehicle contained just about any type of tackle you would ever need. So within minutes of our discovery we were actively trying to outwit these migratory visitors with a variety of baits ranging from spinners and spoons to roe bags and flies. 

Chinook Salmon

 So.. who says the Don River is dead? Not me!

What other commonly held beliefs are full of crap? Carp are a garbage fish, sunfish and catfish aren't worth eating, pike and musky lose their teeth during the summer. 

  I learned these "fish tales" as a youngster from my "enlightened" peers and it's taken half a lifetime to re-educate myself on the pure joy of angling. No longer will I be victim to good-old-boy fish snobbery. Any fish is a worthy fish, they can't all be trophies. I'll take my opportunities as they come and keep an open mind when it comes to my expectations.

Coho Salmon

 The main reason for this posting is for you the reader to keep an open mind. The most common fishing myth is that you have to travel great distances to find productive water (unfortunately, most people don't know what's in their own back yard). In recent years my most valuable fishing equipment has been my collection of Backroad Mapbooks, Google Earth, and the MNR's Guide to Eating Gamefish. These publications have allowed me to find hidden hotspots in my area and given me an idea of what can be caught there.   

 By the way, salmon are not the only species available in the Don River. It has healthy populations of carp, shiners, bullhead catfish, chub, suckers, rockbass, sunfish, the occasional largemouth bass, pike in the lower stretches, and rainbow and brown trout.The Don is dead... don't you believe it!

For more info try:Urban Fishing In Toronto & Surrounding Areas

by for now

John

Barrie Bonanza

 It looks as if Lake Simcoe has produced another bumper crop of perch again this year and if today is any indication of things to come, mining Simcoe's gold will be a true bonanza this winter. I got the call this morning and by 2pm we were buying a bucket of shiners just a few blocks from Kempenfelt Bay in downtown Barrie. 

Barrie Marina

 
 As we walked from the car out onto the breakwall at Barrie Marina, a dozen boats could be seen working the drop off for smallmouth bass, as there's still a full month left in the season. These bass fishermen must be true fanatics because although the thermometer said 7 degrees Celsius, the wind chill was well below zero.

 That being said, we quickly baited our hooks, cast out with the expectation of being able to light a smoke and (at least on my part) put on my gloves. This was not to be the case as we both had fish on immediately and it continued that way for the next half hour nonstop. Finally I had to take a break just to warm my hands up in my pockets. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining but it's the same thing with me every year at this time; I look out the window or watch the weather report and dress according to that information. WRONG. It may be early November but if you are going to do this: DRESS AS IF IT'S WINTER!

Bass Fishermen


   As it turns out, the perch came into the
marina before the bait fish and had voracious
appetites, aggressively competing for our
offerings. This is about as close as it comes to
"production fishing". Five times in the first hour I had true double headers. That's two fish on my line at the same time!

 The perch averaged a good 9", with the occasional one upwards to 12", all of them giving an excellent fight for their size on ultra-
light tackle. A 5' rod makes almost anything
feel big but these guys were truly insane.

Perch Double Header


 Believe it or not, after an hour or so of non stop action, we decided to explore the area in search of a school of true jumbos. We made our way out to the end of the breakwall where the water is deeper and less weedy. Unfortunately it was also less "perchy" too.

 Amazingly, before we returned to our original spot, we noticed several schools of lake trout cruising the drop off. Unfortunately we were not geared up for these large fish, what with the ultra light rods and pinhead shiners. We didn't stand a chance of hooking one let alone landing it, but it was a truly incredible thing to see all the same.

 In a matter of three and a half hours, we caught well over a hundred perch each (most of which were of suitable size for the dinner table), but only kept enough for a good feed. Simcoe's perch population may seem inexhaustable, but erring on the conservative side is never a bad thing with regards to catch and keep.

Tonight's Dinner

 Todays outing was an unexpected surpise that I hope to repeat several times before the big freeze, but if not, the day will always remain a memorable day on Barrie's waterfront.

Until next time, see ya

John