Hamilton, Ontario

Another tiny one. I only had 10 minutes to fish, and this little guy hit the spinner on my second cast.

Probably my last freshwater drum of the 2026 season. Not only have they become harder and harder to find, but every time I catch one, it seems to be smaller than the last.

2 small pike and 6 bass — not bad for mid-October in this area. Last September was really good. Catching 2–4 pike a day wasn't unusual. This year, though, I just couldn't find them. I don't know if fellow anglers ate them all or if they simply disappeared. After searching six different spots, the sixth one finally paid off with 2 pike and 1 bass. While searching for pike, I also caught 5 small bass. Lures that did the job: Pike: Panther Martin spinners. Bass: The smallest Blue Fox Strobe Teardrop spoons in the Five of Diamonds pattern. By the way, these spoons are absolutely deadly. Both pike and bass seem unable to resist them. This summer, I was even catching walleye on them. If you decide to get some, I recommend picking them up in different sizes. You won't regret it.

King salmon Sunday

This was my last fish from September. I forgot to post it here. Ever since the Lake Ontario water levels dropped for the fall, it seems like all the fish disappeared from shore. The last time I went, the water was down about 4 feet I could literally see the bottom 20 feet out from shore. It was beautiful weather, a full moon, and the lake was like a mirror calm and peaceful. Perfect conditions to be out fishing, but it was absolutely dead. Nothing was biting, not even the mosquitoes.

I was targeting longnose gar my rig practically had LONGNOSE GAR ONLY written all over it, and this sheepshead said, Yeah, I’ll take that.

It hit my cast and retrieve carolina rig with a tiny 2-inch baitfish style soft plastic, the BaitFuel Nano Crappie.

New species unlocked: Logperch