Tales of the Tape

Lake Simcoe Update

After fishin' all day on Friday and Saturday and shooting some video as well, we returned to the US border with 4 two-day limits of perch. Fishing with two walleye pros, Denny Lantzy and Steve Vandemark, we got on fish each day although condtions couldn't have been tougher. Bright sunshine might be nice weather to be on the ice but it makes for tough fishing. If there had been patches of snow cover, fish would've at least been concentrated on broken up ice and under patches of snow for cover. But, the whole lake was covered with snow and fish were very scattered. Nonetheless, the guys used there GPS's to drill holes adjacent to bottom contours and by hopping around throughout the day, we picked away at the fish until we had our limits.

If you are fishing Simcoe, leave your minnow bucket behind. Yes, that's what I said, no bait. The guys said that since they've been using jigging spoons, they've really had much better success and there's no fussing with aerorators and minnow buckets. The key to catching them for us was using McGathy Hooks. They are built by Darin McGathy out of Bay Port, Michigan and they work fantastic! With a fluttering action on the fall, even though some of the perch were quite finicky, they'd eventually hit it. I used a 3" Stainless Round Jumbo with a chartreuse bead the whole trip. Steve had nicknamed it the "Ford Fender" and it did feel a little odd using a walleye sized spoon for perch. But, it seemed to be the ticket for averaging bigger fish. The rest of the guys were typically using various shapes and colors of 2" spoons.

With lots of ice, Simcoe is sure to get better as the season progresses with jumbos becoming easier to find towards the end of February and early March. If you are planning a trip, don't forget, you'll need an Enhanced Driver's License or a Passport to travel between Canada and the U.S. Also, Ontario has a weird law that requires you have insurance on your ATV so don't forget your proof of insurance. I've been told it's a hefty fine if you don't.

Be sure to check out the video channel to see all the action later this week. Good luck out there and check ice conditions before your next trip. It's way too early in the year to be taking a swim!

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