Bay of Quinte - The Old Days

Superdad · **Posted:** Sat Feb 01, 2014 9:18 am

I was thumbing thru my collection of 'The Angler & Hunter' magazines, trying to find a good home for them and I came across the results of the 1977 "Molsen's" Big Fish contest.

For Maskinonge it was very interesting:

1. 54lbs 8.5oz Mark Kontianinen Moon River

2. 43lb 5 oz John Bongard BAY OF QUINTE

We sure don't see them that big anymore (unless someone is playingtheir cards close to their vests????)

There were no big walleyes from Quinte in the winning fish, I believe this was before the BIG spawn in the early 80's which triggered the revival of the walleye in Quinte.

Just a note to pass the snow and ice away.

David aka Superdad

Trent River Fishin' · **Posted:** Sat Feb 01, 2014 9:35 am

I believe the walleye had a tremendous spawn in the spring of 1978 and that is the year class still producing trophies to this day. I've heard that the mnr have netted 20 lbrs from the '78 spawn just a few years ago. Its an amazing fishery and its just steps away for most.of us.

BryanG · **Posted:** Sat Feb 01, 2014 10:12 am

One fish thats not around in lake O anymore is the smelt thats when the rainbows boomed in the 80's

dustycraven · **Joined:** Thu Nov 25, 2010 11:59 am **Posts:** 145

Very interesting post Superdad. I really enjoy learning about the history of the Bay of Quinte. I think it would be GREAT if we could get some old pictures of the BOQ and its anglers up here and maybe some short stories? Maybe someone has an uncle or grandfather who was a BOQ legend?

pickerel killer · **Joined:** Wed Oct 24, 2012 6:28 pm **Posts:** 648

That's funny I met a John bongard yesterday. Down there fishing.

northof7 · **Joined:** Wed Jan 15, 2014 8:07 pm **Posts:** 25

I was lucky enough to fish the BOQ in the early 80's ( 83 if I remember correctly ) and it was much different than it is now , not a lot better but different in that there was really one year class of fish which at the time was around 3 to 4 pound fish and lots of them . My first trip out produced 34 fish between 3 of us in under 2 hours and Big Bay looked like a small village from all the permanent huts out there !

Parksy · **Posted:** Sat Feb 01, 2014 1:46 pm

In my work at the Picton Gazette, I was responsible for the Looking Back Through feature that offers snippets of news from the 20's, 40's, 60's and 80's. Its amazing to look through papers from the 40's and 50's and see the racks of dozens and dozens of Muskies that were photographed by local cottage operators and submitted for print. Commonly, two anglers would go out into Picton Bay and come back with a dozen or two dozen muskies, several over 35 pounds and return with them all for filleting.

walleyed assassin · **Posted:** Sat Feb 01, 2014 3:50 pm

I've been talking to a few of the older icefishermen in the area, the old boys love to reminisce. When we get to the topic of pictures not one of them has any. Seems that the Bay has always been there and nobody thought it would ever change. They didn't take pictures because they never thought it was a big deal to see a thousand icehuts out there. It was normal to them.
The way they tell the story is, if you lived in this area you were expected to duck hunt in the fall and icefish in the winter, and if you didn't....they'd be keeping an eye on you. GL

Musky793 · **Joined:** Wed Aug 29, 2012 6:31 pm **Posts:** 184

It's a shame that so many skies were slaughtered back in the day. Just catching one in a day is a big deal to me couldn't imagine 2 dozen.

Gold Rush · **Joined:** Mon Jan 13, 2014 12:30 pm **Posts:** 24

I hear lots of stories from my dad about the late 80's early 90's on the hay bay side of the Quinte where he fished and I wish I got to experience that. Never used flashers and had to switch up lures constantly just an orange Swedish pimple with 3 minnows and hammered tons of walleye.

TintWizard · **Joined:** Sun Jan 17, 2010 9:33 am **Posts:** 359

I remember when I was a teenager , I had an old rental wood hut that was only 4x4 with a wood stove in it . I could get it so warm in there on the coldest of days, you could only wear a t shirt. I use to keep it out off George st . It was hard to find because of all the huts out there . Felt like there were 1000 huts out. Dad use to drive us out in the station wagon Ford LTD along with everyone else parking along thier huts.

Trent River Fishin' · **Posted:** Sun Feb 02, 2014 8:40 am

My grandfather and dad used to fish hay bay down into the start of Adolph's reach back in the 70's and 80's when there was good ice on some of the shoals that we haven't been able to fish for years. I have an old map with some shoals and bars on it. It would have been crazy to try and get there on the ice we've had in recent years but this year I got to drive my truck out once ice that hasn't been safe for years

dustycraven · **Joined:** Thu Nov 25, 2010 11:59 am **Posts:** 145

These stories are great keep em coming! I know there are some lost photographs out there somewhere. Maybe there are some non-fishing related ones? Plowing "the ice road" from Mill St. to River Road?

It is true that the Bay and its resources have been taken for granted in the past, and by some even today. I have heard that in the old days muskies used to come up the creek right in my back yard to spawn. They were then speared and pickled. Not to say there was anything wrong with that at the time, I mean they were plentiful and a man and his family needed to eat! That being said, Muskies are awfully few and far between in the bay now. Now with Walleye being the Bays greatest resource, maybe a word of caution and conservations is in order? Unless she's going on the wall, PUT THE BIG GIRLS BACK so the Walleye does not one day become a thing of BOQ mystery and lore as the Muskie is now.

Here is a pic of the Belleville Bridge c. 1910

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Bay of Quinte - The Old Days

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