Quinte Fishing

I'm thinking of making a trip there end of June. I've never been before and we have a 16' bass boat. Is it generally pretty rough there? Or only when really bad weather?.. Any particular areas that are better than others? (for weather/roughness and also fishing)?

And then, in terms of the fishing - I know it's "fishing" - but is it generally fairly easy to get on fish if you know what you're doing? Being one of the bigger bodies of water I've fished, not sure what to expect!

Any tips, suggestions, insights appreciated.

Edit: is it also safe to eat walleye from the bay?

Thanks!

Little king,

A 16 foot bassboat with very little freeboard would be safe on only the calmest days. An average day could easily have three foot waves and your boat would not be very safe on Lake Ontario.

Sorry about the bad news, better safe than sorry.

BATMAN

Really depends on where in the bay your fishing? Lots of people fish in 12 ft car toppers! Most use 14 -16 foot utility boats. 16 ft bass boat will be fine almost anywhere in the bay 90% of the days in my opinion. Hell I use to use a 14 ft utility in the fall and troll almost to the false ducks (not recommended BTW) Probably some of the safest boats out there....
Lots of different facing shorelines so you can always find something out of the wind.

Fishing is never a guarantee anywhere. The bay is no different.

The fish are great to eat!


Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

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"I know exactly where the fish are. I marked it on the bottom of me boat!"

I had a 17 foot skeeter for probably 10 years, never a issue just go slow. You will find lots of 12 and 14 foot aluminums out fishing.
Umm is walleye from the bay safe to eat... umm.. well health canada answer is something like 1, 20inch fish a week.. obviously the bigger fish shouldn't be consumed at all as far as they are concerned, but those are what you will find at the native fish and chip shops in the area. Theres guys on here that will tell you they have eatten a limit a week or two for the last 50 years and they dont glow in the dark..

You should be more than fine in your boat if you use some common sense. I have a 16.5 foot lund and other than when I may wish to travel a distance, might I wish for a larger boat. Truth is if your 16 or 17 foot boat is finding it too rough just about any size boat will not be enjoying the fishing, If I were a first timer I would fish either big bay or Hay Bay and the Mouth of Hay Bay in June. I mention Big Bay as the fish are pretty much scattered across it and I find it is pretty easy to catch fish from one section to another so no need to find the spot on the spot. Simple tactic is to look for the new weeds coming up and focus on them and the edge. In June I find most walleye along the new weed growth. Depending on wind I would suggest to modify where you fish to stay out of any big waves. If winds out of west fish west side by rush bar, if out of north fish northside etc. The depth is pretty consistent in Big Bay as well and I would focus on humps in the 10-15 foot range and the main basin around 18-20. My go to when on a new body for Walleye is bottom bouncers (2 oz weight with spinner with float) however you will need an electric motor to get down to speeds in the 1-1.5 mph. Standard Trolling and jigging also work so go with what you know. Hay Bay is also very nice and one of the more protected bodies of water. Fishing seems to be getting better over the last few years and June is my favourite time of year to fish on Quinte in a boat and usually get the biggest numbers at this time. ( Ice fishing on the Bay is still my favourite )

Good Luck.
Shawn

Little King,

Yes it is all about common sense. Hay Bay would be best for your type of boat. You can have great success with Walleye, pike and Bass.

Good luck

BATMAN

I have a 16'5 boat and find on any body of water 20 km/h wind is my cutoff. Also watch the gusts and wind direction. Direction of the wind will determine where I'm going to launch to avoid travel on water.

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There's something wrong with that rod.
It has a bend in it!!!

You will be fine in a 16' boat. In June concentrate on weed edges in 10-13' of water. I like to troll eerie deeries with leeches or worms a foot or two off bottom at about 1.5mph or slower, faster than that seems to decrease productivity. Green and Gold colors for the eerie deeries. Do that and you will get some fish. Have fun.

You can fish pretty much anywhere 'Inside' the Bay with your boat.

Just make sure you're aware of Wind Direction for coming back home.

This is particularly true around Noon hour, when what we call 'The Kingston Thermal' kicks in, coming harder from the West. It usually blows for about 3-4 hours, then mellows out around Dinner Time.

Rgds, Wordpecker

Growing up we used to fish out of a 16' tinner with a 15' on the back, been out in some pretty wicked weather. Now I fish out of a SOT kayak, my preferred method of fishing and there again, have been caught in some nasty weather. It's all just how you look at it and use common sense. Lots of great fishing spots, and lots of fish. I would suggest if you haven't yet, download the navionics app, so very useful.

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Cheers,



"I would never lie. I willfully participate in a campaign of misinformation"

I kayak fish in all of BOQ waters. Your boat is more then adequate. Fish to the conditions. If you get caught far from your launch and the weather blows up, idle back. So your 10 min ride back to the launch turns into 30 mins. People don't flip 16 foot boats doing 3 mph in almost any conditions.