"Aggressive"?
Dr. Piton would applaud both your enthusiasm,
and your use of bold text!
Targa2 wrote:
Quote:
"The true diehards are the ones who drive 1.5 hours to Picton just to see if the water is open without taking a boat with them. All this in hopes that we may go out on Sunday.
Pshaw.
Voice of
Welshman in
Monty Python sketch:
"...we used to
dreeeeeeam of only driving
1.5 hours..."
My dad and I left Oakville around 9 a.m. on Thursday, and after the
requisite breakfast stop at Mr. Burger in Oshawa for western sandwhiches [served among Marilyn and Elvis memorabilia] we arrived in Picton to view the Bay frozen all the way out past of McFarlane's!
Uh-oh......
So we drove down to the Glenora Ferry where there was plenty of open water, and took it across to check out the launch ramp on the NE side.
No go - while the shoreline was free of ice, the little alcove in which the launch ramp is located was too iced to consider.
Frig.
Back across the ferry to our
last option - the Glenora Marine, which is a half-mile west of the ferry.
Success! We were able to launch, though the rather steep icy "wall" at the foot of the ramp gave us pause for concern for when we exited later. No matter - this was yet another
Pete & Ron Adventure - and it wouldn't be an adventure were the outcome certain, now would it?
It wouldn't be half as much
fun, either.
When we entered the water, the ice line was about 150 m west of the marina. But the ice was thin, and we started trolling west towards McFarlane's as the ice receded. At the height of the melting, the ice line was a half-mile west of McFarlane's. The ramp at McFarlane's looked
MUCH better than the one at the marina, though. I would recommend using this one given the choice. It did not come equipped with the little "wall" of ice at its base.
At any rate, as for the
fishing - we caught two - "nothing," and "bugger all."
Sorry, mates. There were a few "hooks" to be seen on the screen, but nothing like a few weeks ago.
We fished from 1:30 pm til nearly 7 pm without so much as a
single tap. I do not understand this! Wind conditions were perfect - out of the west with a slight chop, overcast and not sunny. In some areas of my life, I am something of a
wanker, but fishing the Bay of Quinte in the fall of the year is not one of these areas.
I don't "get it"......
Oh yeah, and when it came time to pull out the boat? We couldn't lift it on the trailer over the little wall of ice with our 2WD van. Larry at Glenora Marine pulled it out for us with his tractor.
THANKS, Larry!
At any rate,
WATCH THE FORECAST! The NE wind is no good, that's for sure.
It's forecast to be quite
cold on Monday and Tuesday, then
ridiculously warm on Thursday and Friday next week.
Notes:
- You could try phoning Larry Wagner at Glenora Marina. His phone number is 613-476-2377, and he has a first-hand view of ice conditions.
- The phone number of the ferry office is 613-476-2641. Tony was particularly helpful.
- Please phone those two numbers only if you are planning to go fishing! Use my name as a reference - remind them that my dad and I were fishing there Thursday in the grey Tracker boat.
- Please do not deluge these guys with calls, and if anyone does call, please report here so we all know, and don't have to bug them any more often! I am sure you "get it". [If you don't "get it," you sure as hell shouldn't be out fishing this time of year or you will probably end up dead. Ending up dead is not recommended.]
- It's my dad's turn to go down south, so I am looking for one or two FISHING PARTNERS for next week if the mild weather persists, and the Bay is still fishable.
- Please keep me posted. Feel free to contact me by email for further info, or for anything you don't want to publish!
- The fishing SHOULD be absolutely awesome this time of year, and I would highly recommend you get out and try it if you can! I am not ready to give up yet......
Cheers,
Pete
"Pistons"?!
Sheesh.