Luvevolution Posted June 13, 2010 Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 I had a good day at Port D channel the other day. my wife and I were down there walking the dog and I decided to throw a 4" bronze williams spoon into the water for some casting practice. wasn't really fishing for anything, just wanted the practice with the bait caster. well, I started throwing this brand new spoon and the action didn't seem very good, so I bent the end slightly with a pair of pliers. the action was greatly improved but the fishing action that followed was what was more amazing and extremely funny......... so here I am tossing my williams bronze spoon and I'm getting kinda good with the bait caster, so I decide to whip it out a little further, but closer to the wall and downstream. as I'm reeling it in, I feel a small hit and a little bit of a fight. I bring it up and I've caught an Alewife............yeah, no kidding! LOL. the fish was barely bigger than the spoon itself. well ok, maybe a few inches bigger. I look down into the water and there's literally hundreds of them swimming around. I'm thinking this is a fluke and I snagged it, but after further investigation at close range, these suckers are actually chasing the spoon and biting it. I couldn't believe this was happening, so I start chucking the spoon out and I'm reeling em in, one after another. every two or three casts and I've got another Alewife on the spoon. not a great fight, but a little bit, but I couldn't resist catching these little guys this way. gonna deffinitely go down there and have a blast again tomorrow (later today). despite lack of size, it was a lot of fun. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Chopin Posted June 13, 2010 Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 Tommy made the assumption that they were snagging themselves but it sounds to me like they were hitting the spoon or LR wouldn't have made his post. A fish fitting a spoon or jerkbait or any lure and getting itself hooked in the side is a legally caught fish. the only place I've heard differently is California where the fish has to be hooked on the inside of the mouth. A post was deleted just before mine that my response was to...would make more sense if it was there.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik.T. Posted June 13, 2010 Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 Alewives do hit lures I've heard of it many times before. One web page states that while they mainly feed off plankton they do also consume small fish and fish eggs....................so why would one assume he was snagging? On another note thats pretty cool! nice story! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hacknslash Posted June 13, 2010 Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 Those little guys come into the liftbridge in Hamilton also..usually followed by schools of browns!! I have also caught them ..in the mouth...while casting 2/3 oz cleos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spottedGARRR Posted June 13, 2010 Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 who in thier right mind (assuming we're all sane ) would TRY and snag alewife? that's just silly. Good story, i've also seen alewife try and hit spoons, not bump up and mingle, they we're attacking it. I've always thought it was a predatory behavior, or maybe defensive . either way this lil guy got snagged in the same way. darting after the spoon and got hooked on the treble one time i was chuckin spoons in the glen during the fall, and i caught a rock bass by it's lips that was smaller than my 4 inch spoon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkEdge Posted June 13, 2010 Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 Stranger things have happened. I was bass fishing in OK once, and just as my crankbait got to shore, a rockie with a mouth smaller than the treble nailed it. I pulled him out, pointed and laughed, then tossed him back in. Maybe it's aggressive, maybe it's defensive, but sometimes little fish do some crazy things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted June 13, 2010 Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 Theres a good chance you will accidently hook alewives when they are schooled up and I have seen them breaking the surface as they swim in a fast circular formation . Some anglers will keep them for cutbait & freeze some for pike fishing etc. We used live ones for bait under a float many years ago for large pike at Ivy Lee (1000 Islands) on the St.Lawrence . And we paid $1 per dozen way back then when we made about $2 per hr. That was very pricey compared to minnows ! And the pike gobbled them up like candy ! We hooked the alewives in the back at the dorsal fin & they would pull the floats all over the place ......Fun , wow ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marth11 Posted June 13, 2010 Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 Theres a good chance you will accidently hook alewives when they are schooled up and I have seen them breaking the surface as they swim in a fast circular formation . Some anglers will keep them for cutbait & freeze some for pike fishing etc. We used live ones for bait under a float many years ago for large pike at Ivy Lee (1000 Islands) on the St.Lawrence . And we paid $1 per dozen way back then when we made about $2 per hr. That was very pricey compared to minnows ! And the pike gobbled them up like candy ! We hooked the alewives in the back at the dorsal fin & they would pull the floats all over the place ......Fun , wow ! Bill Dip nets? Im stilling trying to catch a pike but I should check and make sure they are still legal bait Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rockfish Posted June 13, 2010 Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 Up until a couple yrs ago, alewives were allowed as bait in the Great Lakes but they changed that. Schools of them go into the Hammy harbour to spawn and they do "hit" spoons and spinners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marth11 Posted June 13, 2010 Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 Up until a couple yrs ago, alewives were allowed as bait in the Great Lakes but they changed that. Schools of them go into the Hammy harbour to spawn and they do "hit" spoons and spinners. alright I see that your not allowed as cutbait what about dead bait cant find it anywere in the bait section that you cant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rockfish Posted June 13, 2010 Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/LetsF...age/198684.html " Anglers may not use live yellow perch and alewife as bait anywhere in Ontario. " I would have thought that cutbait is "dead" bait ? Ya, I haven't found anything about not using it dead which goes the same for dead smelt and gizzard shad (which is popular cut bait in the Grand). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marth11 Posted June 13, 2010 Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/LetsF...age/198684.html" Anglers may not use live yellow perch and alewife as bait anywhere in Ontario. " I would have thought that cutbait is "dead" bait ? Ya, I haven't found anything about not using it dead which goes the same for dead smelt and gizzard shad (which is popular cut bait in the Grand). alright than that clears alot but thats going to be alot of beheading this week Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Andrews Posted June 13, 2010 Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 I don't get why we can't use them as cut bait. I understand they don't want them transported alive because they are another invasive like smelt but why not dead? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riverfisher22 Posted June 13, 2010 Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 I don't get why we can't use them as cut bait. I understand they don't want them transported alive because they are another invasive like smelt but why not dead? maybe something with diseases? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvevolution Posted June 13, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 wow. I got a lot of response from my story. LOL. sorry I never got to see the post by Tommy, but I welcome all response, whether it be good or bad. the bottom line is................I thought I had snagged the first one I caught on the spoon and that is was just a complete fluke. being one to experiment, I wanted to see if it was a fluke and/or a snag, or if this was a repeatable and clean hit. so I basically dropped the spoon into the water within 10 feet of the wall, so that I could see the spoon and how it was working. those Alewives were not being snagged in the remotest sense of the word. they were chasing the lure and biting hard on it. the other thing is, if I were snagging them, I would be hooking them on random parts of their body, since that's what snagging is................random hook up by dragging through the water. these were clean hook ups in the mouth. just thought I'de clear that up and also re-state that it was a lot of fun. LOL. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basskicker09 Posted June 13, 2010 Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 i started the thing about snagging its not FAIR to jump to conclusions and ruin someones report am im sorry i did so so what im getting from this is that you can use them as bait but not cut bait or alive so only dead and whole? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokin Joe Posted June 13, 2010 Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 When fish are schooling I've caught them many different ways. I've caught them on shiney bare hooks or with a wad of paper that produces air bubbles. My point is that when fish are in a large school they will hit what they are after being it a flash of color or a vibration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkEdge Posted June 14, 2010 Report Share Posted June 14, 2010 Fish are weird like that. Down south, in May, the catfish will go for anything yellow. Doesn't matter what it is, corn, yellow grasshopper, I've even caught them on a piece of yellow yarn tied to a hook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rockfish Posted June 14, 2010 Report Share Posted June 14, 2010 alright I see that your not allowed as cutbait what about dead bait cant find it anywere in the bait section that you cant Some confusion here and BM12 made a mistake with the cut bait when he meant "live bait". I haven't found anything in the summary regs about cut bait which would then be "dead bait" so then it should be allowed seeing as it is not a gamefish. Found this MNR microsoft word document about bait usage but it's only recommendations. http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=ca...WRBvkI8IOgV_3Jw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marth11 Posted June 14, 2010 Report Share Posted June 14, 2010 I think there is one way to find out too call or ask a CO next time you see one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigugli Posted June 14, 2010 Report Share Posted June 14, 2010 I think there is one way to find out too call or ask a CO next time you see one You will not get a consistent answer. Guidelines and definitions pertaining to baitfish are still under review. There are dozens of PDF's covering this very debate at the ministry level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammercarp Posted June 15, 2010 Report Share Posted June 15, 2010 Look for big sheephead under those alewives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvevolution Posted June 16, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2010 will sheephead take a lure, or is bait better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rockfish Posted June 16, 2010 Report Share Posted June 16, 2010 will sheephead take a lure, or is bait better? Yep, they'll hit spoons, spinners and crankbaits. Here's my 10 lber I caught on a 3/4 oz green cleo in the Hammy harbour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvevolution Posted June 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 very nice fish. I'm gonna have to try that out next time I'm down there. are they down at a certain depth, or any depth? just wondering how long to count down my lure drop. thanks. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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