A co-worker decided that he wanted to head to Port Hope for salmon and I was coming down with a “24-hr fishing flu” so the timing was perfect. When we arrived at the ramp the river was full of fish and the shore fisherman were hooked up everywhere. We quickly launched the boat and headed straight to the lake to start our search.
The fish in the river section of Port Hope are a little easier to catch, as they are confined to a smaller area. The fish in the lake, on the other hand, are a little harder to entice, especially with the warmer water. The other issue with these fish is that their mouths become extremely hard as they transition for the spawn and it’s harder to get a solid hook in them.
All that being said, our spirits were high. The morning consisted of several hooked and lost fish and lots of frustration, as they were jumping EVERYWHERE. It didn’t help that every time we looked at the pier there was someone hooked up.
Just after lunch, with no fish in the boat, we decided to move into the outer harbour area and it paid off immediately. A slow retrieval was key in this area, and the Rapala J-9 was the ticket. It's unbelievable how hard this fish fought on “light” gear. My setup is a BPS Carbonlight 7’ spinning rod in Medium Moderate action, paired with a BPS Pro qualifier size 30 spinning reel. I have it spooled with 30Lb suffix 832 braid and a 15 floro leader. The leader is really only for abrasion resistance.
With a few salmon landed and our fishing time running out, we decided to end the day there. It’s really cool seeing this many fish in one small area and I wish I could get back there again this season, but it’s on to other adventures!
- Randaller
