One of the un-sung HEROES of Lake Ontario Sport Fishing is the Northern Pike! The Eastern Basin of Lake Ontario is home to some of the BEST Pike fishing in the Great Lakes System! Each year in the spring and again in the fall, we assault the Back Bays in pursuit of this great sport fish. Pike are extremely good table fare and any angler that has sampled on of our “Shore Dinners” prepared from Pike, can attest its excellent flavor. Some anglers release Pike because they don’t know how to fillet them in a “Bone Free” state. Our docks in Henderson Harbor are manned by proficient fish cleaners that know how to get the “Y” bones out of a Pike fillet!
The Back Bays of Lake Ontario are full of a variety of warm water species. In addition to Northern Pike, anglers can expect to encounter Walleye, Pickerel and Small Mouth Bass! The accessibility of these other species keeps “Action” on the rods throughout the day. Most examples of Northern Pike will be in the 5-15lb. range with occasional examples breaking the 20 lb. mark. We employ Planer Board techniques to present an 8 to 10 rod pattern across the known haunts of these big fish.
Here are my old friends Paul and Casey Gibbons with a big “Tanker Pike” that Casey took during the last week of May. We caught several big Pike on this day as we trolled the broken shelf rock of Pillar Point. This is a big Pike and we lost two that were even bigger! We tangle with these big fish all throughout the spring until the weed growth makes it too difficult to fish for them.
In the fall of the year, the weed lines begin to die off and anglers can once again target the Pike that reside along them. Once this occurs, we go to work fishing our spring “Hot Spots” plus some new edges that the Pike like to frequent in the fall. Last year, my buddy Mickey Novak (Central New York Wildfowlers) joined me for an October 30th outing. Here is the Jumbo Pike that Mickey took on the last day that we fished!
Mickey is an avid duck and goose hunter that also likes fishing. I mention the duck and goose hunting because September and October are great times to enjoy one of BSO’s “Cast and Blast’s”. This is the perfect time of year to experience great Puddle duck hunting or Canada Goose hunting and take in some fishing at the same time. At BSO, we are a “Year Round” operation that serves the needs of the travelling sportsman during every season. Take a look at the Bill Saiff Outdoors website and get a feel for all the things that we have to offer. Remember: when you come to fish with us, the WESTVIEW LODGE will be your base of operations. We have a 178 seat restaurant, bar and 12 hotel rooms for your convenience. The best part is that you simply walk across the street to get on the boat each morning! Everything you could possibly want is in one location! Call us to reserve dates for your next adventure! 315-771-3514… See you on the water. Capt. Bill Saiff III