Algonquin Adventures / Fish Behaviour

**Posted by Kurt** 3/06/2018 1:53 pm

We don't need to identify any lakes but I'd like to hear some interesting stories about fish behaviour people have encountered in the park, the crazier the better....

-It's only happened once, but a few years back I stumbled into a speckle feeding frenzy on a shoal in the middle of a lake, the water was glass but over this shoal it was literally boiling, just like up swells along an eddy line. The specks weren't waiting to see any action from a lure, they slammed anything the second it touched water. I had my limit in 10min. and a tackle box full of bent and mutilated spinners....

-I've also seen some crazy speckle behaviour in a very clear lake. In one instance while pulling a 3lbs spec towards a net at the surface, I watched a similarly sized spec race up to the surface in front of the hooked fish and take a swipe at the spoon, I lifted the net and almost caught both of them. In the same lake I watched a large speckle perform some amazing underwater acrobatics, spinning in a tight circle so fast it looked like a video in fast forward....

**Posted by Algonquintripper** 3/06/2018 7:57 pm

Well, there's this.

**Posted by clipper paddler** 3/07/2018 2:57 pm

A friend and I were fishing one day and we saw a Lake Trout sitting still near the surface of the water, after a few seconds it charged at our canoe. The top of its head was above the water and it cam at us like a torpedo, it dove when it was inches from the canoe. I've since seen them come to the surface near my canoe in spring, kinda seem like there curious and having a look.

**Posted by Chuck Enwinde** 3/08/2018 3:54 am

I saw a school of big specks going nuts on a shoal one time. I was paddling over and one after the next would roll exposing its flank - there were some real bruisers mixed in. I was literally shaking with excitement. Finally, I get close enough to cast into the chaos, the anticipation is killing me, it's like a dream come true. First cast, nothing? Next cast, more nothing. WTH? More casts, more nothing. Tried spoons, spinners and plastics (tipped with a piece of worm), crankbaits. There are still fish exploding all over and I can't buy a bite. Finally, I decided to move right in to the middle of it all and throw out a worm under a float. Bad move, spooked all of the fish off the shoal. I backed out a bit and waited a while and they came back. They were now rolling within a few feet of the boat. They ignored everything I tried and eventually I just left them. I ended up getting a couple of nice ones from a nearby shoreline but those fish on the shoal have puzzled me ever since.

**Posted by Was Hardcore** 3/08/2018 7:49 am

Nothing incredibly crazy but have seen schools of brook trout chasing my lures where I would try to pick and choose which trout I would let grab the lure. I have also had brookies grab my fly as it dangled above the water. Once on a shoal every time we would troll over it if your lure was tipped with a salted chub tail you would get a laker.No chub tail -no fish.

**Posted by vanslyke** 3/13/2018 6:51 am

Nothing too too crazy but a buddy and I once found a small creek on ragged stocked full of spawning suckers. And not small suckers, 12"-20" every one of em, maybe 200-300 of them all spawning up in inches of water. Then hundreds more swimming around the shallows at the mouth of the creek waiting their turn.
It was a sight!

Another time while smallmouth fishing we came upon a school in some timber. Once one was hooked the rest would start frenzying trying to take the the bait from his mouth. Whichever angler wasn't hooked to the lead fish just had to drop his bait into the frenzy and it was double header after double header for about 20-30 minutes. All catch and release of course but we probably caught about 15-16 bass in that time.

**Posted by Lenny** 3/13/2018 12:41 pm

A few years ago I was trolling through Smith Lake. After a few drinks and some funky fungi I had a huge hit on my 12 inch plug that I knew was a monster muskie or a trophy walleye. I fought it for a few minutes and brought it to the surface and it turned out to be an absolutely huge catfish around 8-10 pounds, by far the biggest I've ever seen. What a disappointment.

**Posted by Rob** 3/13/2018 1:23 pm

Lenny had something similar happen a couple of years ago on the same lake.
Out after dinner for an evening paddle floating/paddleing down the lake trolling 2 lines. It was stupid hot and the bass were just not biting.
Something hit the 1 line and started dragging me across the lake. Fought it for about 20 minutes and finally got it to the boat to realize my "trophy" was a 15 to 18" catfish.
All sorts of fun.

**Posted by boknows** 3/13/2018 6:52 pm

Rob wrote:
Lenny had something similar happen a couple of years ago on the same lake.
Out after dinner for an evening paddle floating/paddleing down the lake trolling 2 lines. It was stupid hot and the bass were just not biting.
Something hit the 1 line and started dragging me across the lake. Fought it for about 20 minutes and finally got it to the boat to realize my "trophy" was a 15 to 18" catfish.
All sorts of fun.

FYI on future fishing trips in Algonquin Park and most of Ontario, one person trolling two lines or more is illegal! I know when fishing the Great Lakes you can troll with 2 lines, but there are exceptions.

Last edited by boknows (3/13/2018 7:13 pm)

**Posted by Kurt** 3/15/2018 1:49 pm

Some great stories here, although I'd be fit to be tied if I saw a laker take a run at my canoe...

I witnessed a muskie take out a gosling on the Petawawa years ago; 3 goslings following their mother against the current, the muskie was so close to the surface it was leaving a wake, like a shark, anyways KER-SPLASH... and then there were 2 goslings and a few feathers....

**Posted by Guest99** 3/18/2018 11:10 am

boknows wrote:
Rob wrote:
Lenny had something similar happen a couple of years ago on the same lake.
Out after dinner for an evening paddle floating/paddleing down the lake trolling 2 lines. It was stupid hot and the bass were just not biting.
Something hit the 1 line and started dragging me across the lake. Fought it for about 20 minutes and finally got it to the boat to realize my "trophy" was a 15 to 18" catfish.
All sorts of fun.
FYI on future fishing trips in Algonquin Park and most of Ontario, one person trolling two lines or more is illegal! I know when fishing the Great Lakes you can troll with 2 lines, but there are exceptions.

Hmm 2 people out for an evening paddle, 2 lines in the water. We did not see a problem.

**Posted by nvm** 3/20/2018 7:12 am

To be fair, nowhere in that first message does it clarify there were 2 fishermen; just references to 'me' and 'my.' Nothing wrong with reminding forum members and internet users in general about the regulations in that case.

**Posted by Dead_Weight (DW)** 3/20/2018 12:12 pm

I once had a situation that frustrated the hell out of me ... it was mayfly hatch (I think it was mayflies) and the trout would not even look at a lure or worm ... they were literally coming to the surface all around the canoe to eat the flies and all we could do was watch .. .and curse.

Since then I never go trout fishing without a small case of flies ...

**Posted by boknows** 3/21/2018 11:57 am

On Sec Lake about 10 years ago, I had arranged a small gathering of AAers for a weekend of camping and fishing. Present were Jeff McMurtrie, Stainless (Mark Steele), myself and two other Americans that I forgot the names of. It rained the entire weekend. Anyways, we were camped on the big island near portage to Wet Lake. Jeff and Mark went fishing to the other end of the lake near the cliff. Upon their return, Jeff told me that Mark had caught a small bass and before he landed it a huge bass around 4 lbs. engulfed the small bass and ended up in the canoe. A nice bass dinner was had! The two Americans had to leave early but unfortunately due to all the rain, the road out was washed out and they had to spend a night at Grand Lake as the road was being fixed that night.

**Posted by kenny** 3/30/2018 2:03 pm

Have told this story before but this happened to my son and I about 10 years ago, bushwhacked into a lake we had fished in the past and trolling up the left shore line and nothing, turned to come down the middle and probably over 70' - 80' of water get a L T on, very windy and as fighting it we are drifting, get it landed, cast out to troll again and be both get hits, back us up and cast out and hits again, these L T for whatever reason where up feeding on top and we had a few hours of fun. Tried other spots next day but no luck so decided to make our way back, did manage to catch some in pretty much the same spot but not as fast and furious action. Another time we had run into a party of 2 anglers who had tremendous success jigging for L T, Something we didn't do to much of at the time. I decided to go out after supper and give it a go , got parallel to shore and cast as far as I could and let jig hit bottom and a very slow retreive, very successful and lost a lot and caught a lot, easy to release as well as all fish are hooked in top of the jaw.

**Posted by Kurt** 6/09/2018 5:05 pm

-The infamous "double hit" hey Bo? Heard of it with pike but not Bass.... I've also caught huge bass in Sec using pike spoons.

-I've had a few instances of lake trout hitting jigs at the surface Kenny but I've never had the patience to actually jig for them at the bottom, will have to try that later in the year

-On another lake I was making a trolling pass between two points of a bay, each time I passed from west to east, I landed a LT. Each time I went back along the same line east to west, not even a nibble.... Went back to shore and got another lad into the canoe, he threw on the same rig I had (big spoon with a worm harness) and dropped it to the same depth, trolled on the other side of the canoe and didn't get so much as a touch, while I continued to land his share of LT, always heading west to east.... just ridiculous!