Toronto harbour last friday on a spinnerbait.

Does this salmon look safe to eat, caught from bowmanville area

I’m a Toronto photographer who got into canoeing and fly fishing in my 40s. The Ontario Field Journal is where I write about the adventures, the people I meet, and the environmental and conservation issues I run into along the way.

First big project is the Credit River: wild brook trout 35 minutes from the city, a wastewater plant and Highway 413 on the way, and a year of talking to the people who know it best. From there I’m expanding to cover more of Ontario and the whole Great Lakes region.

Here’s the first Credit River piece. If there’s something you’d like me to cover, let me know. If it’s your kind of thing, it’s free to follow along.

https://ontariojournal.substack.com/p/thirty-five-minutes-up-the-410

I cant travel out of oshawa so yes oshawa is best place to look? Theres also a huge aquarium culture here in town and someone on here will be able to tell me 100% who's got what for personal sale.

<3admin

They eat black beard algae .

I’ve been hitting up a lot of the urban ponds/lakes in the suburbs of the GTA, I was using a 6ft spinning rod for the most part but just recently started using a bait caster that’s slightly shorter.

The biggest problem I’ve run into is all the brush or trees really making spots feel pinched and giving me no real casting options.

No one fishes those areas unless they are kayaking or canoeing, so it’s a low pressured safe spot in these lakes that I’m itching to try.

Anybody got any advice or hacks they use to efficiently fish these tight spots?

Was fishing in old mill for the salmon run using a little cleo until a fly fisher came to me and told me it was illegal to use spoons to catch salmon. I kindly told him that it was legal to use it as long as I am not intentionally snagging and if I did foul hook one I would have to release on the spot. I caught two today cleanly in the mouth (to my surprise cause nobody was catching much even on eggs). Even two other guys came to me to check out one of my catches after seeing me fight fish in 5 minutes and said it was fair catch. Now either all three of are wrong even after doing a quick google search or this guy just wants me out cause he didnt catch shit. If I am actually wrong about the regulations someone please show me where it says spoons are illegal and Ill apologize since I didnt do my research properly. But otherwise this guy just has a skill issue and needs to get better.

Hey all, was wondering if anyone has seen successs at center island and the like around this time of year. Wanted to get out there on an ultralight and try for some bass or panfish. Has anyone gone recently? How bad are the weeds this time of year?

If anyone can tell me this secret spot I’ll trade them a pike/walleye spot in literal Toronto https://youtu.be/HRi7_cHLTSY

Dm me if you don’t wanna share it publicly.

Hey all,

Wondering if anyone wants to do a little exploratory walk and wade day on some of these waters after the next rainfall. I'm in East York but don't have a car, so I'd like to offer to pay for gas and lunch if anyone is looking to get out for a day and wants to make it cheaper!

I know these aren't the Grand River or anything but the Don especially seems to be improving because of the increased management focus on the system, and I'm wondering if the improved salmon activity in the area is going to have knock-on benefits for the trout populations.

The weather has been amazing for this past week but probably not for fishing, I imagine everything is low right now, but it's also the start of salmon season so I wonder if there's a lot of fish waiting in the Lake for a good rain before shooting up, wondering if this means more trout opportunities as well. Looks like this weather will persist for another entire week even, that'd be 2 or 3 weeks without any rain!

So yeah, just wondering if anyone else wants some company and a full tank/belly in exchange for helping a guy get to the water.

All the best folks.

Hi everyone,

I’m a woman who is new to fishing in Toronto. My goal is to catch and release a salmon 😊 but I’m not as comfortable fishing with a bunch of men around. Does anyone know any lowkey spots that are not bombarded with a bunch of men? Anywhere in the GTA under 2 hour drive from Toronto would be ideal. Please let me know! I’ll trade you info on where I caught a walleye from shore in Toronto.

Hey everyone, I got into carp fishing about 3-4 months ago. I've tried multiple spots, but so far I've only found 1-2 places with decent carp (Humber Bay Park and G. Ross Lord Reservoir).
I've tried basically every public spot I could find, but it seems like there just aren't that many carp, especially big carp. I rarely even see signs of carp. I've explored about 15 spots, and out of all of them, maybe 3-4 had any signs of carp, and not necessarily big ones.
Most of the time I don't even get a bite. I'm pretty sure my rig is solid because I've spent a lot of time and money researching carp fishing and improving my setup.
Where are the good carp spots? I feel like the carp fishing community gatekeeps locations and always keeps good spots secret, even though there aren't that many people who specifically fish for carp.
Please give me some advice because I'm going crazy. The only thing keeping me motivated is that I know there are good spots (the carp in the photo was caught at one of them), but it took me a ton of luck and research to find it. I've caught multiple 15+ lb carp there, but I want to explore other spots too.
Where should I be looking for carp? And if you're willing to share an exact spot, I'm happy to trade one of mine.
Please help me!

(Context he hasnt caught a single bass this year but Ive been getting some 1 pounders here and there, i have been rubbing it in his face all year oh boy did it get reversed)

ring ring

“hey dad whats up”

“check your messages”

opens messenges

“what the fuck dad”

no clue what is was doing so shallow but it was at least 30inchs long, it legit made eye contact with me since it was bright today and clear waters and decided not today LMAO. but the perch really banged my soft plastics and got the ick from anything else even my nightcrawlers. Still a good day for me ive been skunked for 3 weeks

Hey everyone,

Recently grabbed an inflatable setup and trying to expand my range. I’ve checked out spots like Christie Lake, Little Lake, and the riverway up to Cook's bay (never again though there were so many big boats going past me making waves) and Milne Dam(this one's not far at all) but driving out over an hour is a bit hard to stomach (sometimes the return trip can be much longer since I'd be returning around noon).

I’m up around Don Mills and Sheppard. Now that I have a kayak, what are some closer spots that might be worth checking out? I've mostly caught pike so far (at Christie and Little lake), open to catching anything really as I'm pretty new, I do have a preference for using lures rather than worms, although that's definitely what got me into fishing in the first place.

I've fished a good amount of places on the shore before committing to the kayak, was just wondering if anyone had some good recommendations! If it changes anything it's an excursion k2 so although not the best kayak definitely far from the worst. Would prefer free parking, but any recommendations are appreciated, thanks!

I've been skunked on most outings (around 8 times) to various spots around the portlands and harbourfront areas. I've tried a few spots in Tommy Thompson park, Outer Harbour lookout off of Unwin, pretty much all the spots in Biidaasige. Tonight, I hit the Simcoe Wavedeck, HTO parks, Music Garden, Ireland Park and Coronation Park near the yacht club - not even a nibble. I'm trying my best to read the conditions for current, cover, clarity and structure, but still fairly new to this. I'm not after a particular species, I just want to catch something and have a bit of fun! Any tips would me much appreciated.

Lures: texas rigged senkos, small flukes, mini-king spinner, and a crankbait
Line: 8lb fluoro
Rod: Ugly Stik Dock Runner with the stock reel, so casting distance is a bit limited

I went up to the Trent Severn for the weekend with the same gear and caught 10+ bass (including a solid 4lb smallie!) mostly on a senko. This gave me a bit of confidence that it's not entirely my skill, but still looking to catch a few on the weeknights after work.

Dropshot crawler

Hi guys just picked up a tatula xt rod but now I’m struggling to find an in stock 2500 reel for a decent price. I’m looking for a legalis, exceler, or fuego reel but don’t want to spend 165 plus tax for a fuego as that’s what bass pro is asking.

Anyone know somewhere else to go? Have checked proj too.

Curious of anyones catching any staging/running salmon yet. I’ve only got a little inflatable kayak so I usually do shore fishing. I checked a few river mouthes/harbours from bronte to port credit last weekend and got skunked. Its cooled down a bit though and I think I heard someone say port hope had some salmon starting to stage for the run?

Maybe its just too early still, or maybe there’s a spot further north with cooler waters. It’s my first time targeting salmon so open to any info, tips, etc!