FISHING REPORT UPDATE - AUG 18

So as the dog days of summer roll into mid August the transition begins into what has become known as the "staging" period. 

What that means is the large mature Salmon begin to migrate back to their Port (or tributary ) to where they either were stocked or hatched in the wild. They do this in preparation of running back up in the rivers/harbours to go through the spawning cycle. 

As such, we see the physical changes happening as they take on darker appearances & their bodies toughen up. 

The staging aspect is the period of time where they hang out in close proximity to the river mouths before running. This whole period generally starts in early/mid August through October. 
It's an odd time as we constantly get different groups of matures moving in. They don't all move in at once.  Some are pretty dark, and some are bright silver still. Some are still actively feeding & chasing bait all over the water column & some are fairly negative with their bellies on bottom.  

Locations & timing around the lake will always vary. Generally the east end ( Port Hope, Newcastle,  Bowmanville  etc) usually sees stagers setting up before other spots. Followed by the West/SW spots like Credit / Bronte / Dalhousie / Niagara.  Locations that having good spawning habitat & lend themselves to good natural reproduction or those that recieve high numbers of stocking and have pen imprinting projects will definetly see the better numbers of fish. For that reason it's why areas like Hamilton-Grimsby often see the larger fish disappearing as the days go on. Many factors contribute to the fish coming & going from the good spots. Usually from mid August & on, a good period of rain will contribute to an increased flow from the rivers/harbours and will draw matures in closer and even may encourage a push of fish up into those systems. As the river/harbour water temperature cool down, more fish will begin running. 

There is a myth that as salmon get darker, they stop feeding.  Not entirely true. There are different ways to target these fish. You can still use the same baits & "programs " as you did all summer & catch some of these fish. Again, some of these fish will still be relatively fresh & actively feeding. Sometimes though, anglers need to trigger a reaction bite from the negative fish. 

This is when switching things up to bright/gawdy color patterns can be effective. Plugs like Lymans or J Plugs, and mag spoons can work well. Flies & Meat rigs still definitely should be in your arsenal. 

Riggers, Divers, & short lead cores/copper/weighted steel will deliver the baits where you need them to be. Make sure your gear is ready, sharp strong hooks & fresh leaders at all times. Fishing for staging Salmon can be very fun & challenging. They can often turn on & off at any time so as they, sometimes you just gotta keep on grinding! 

In closing, a note of caution & courtesy, as generally this time of year  there will be many boats "battling" in small sections of water. Have navigation lights on during low light periods  & proceed with caution when passing out of the pier heads of small boats. Be mindful if your running planer boards or if other boats are too, especially in low light conditions. Sometimes its best just to fish with riggers and divers with heavy traffic in shallow. As well when other anglers are hooked up , try to make room for each whenever possible.