Shipping Lane Kings
A regular encounter with tackle busting, line stripping, slab sided summer salmon is just around the corner! I think if you asked the average Lake Ontario fisherman, "When is the best time for Salmon fishing?", the end of August would be the reply.
Outdoor writer Spider Rybaak shows a 21lb King he took on a Black/Purple/White NK28 trolled behind a Silver #1 Dipsey Diver. The diver was 205 ft. back on a #2 setting.
The King broke the waves some 300 ft. behind the boat and never let up until the line counter reel read 750 ft.
While this answer is definitely based in fact, fishermen are missing out on what could potentially be the ultimate fishing experience, a July run of summer silver. There is a spot in the eastern end of Lake Ontario unlike any other piece of structure available anywhere else on the lake. The schools of summer Salmon that are found here make it the chosen destination of anglers frequenting the Henderson Harbor area of Lake Ontario. This deep water expanse is located between Galloo island and the Main Duck island and is shown on area maps to be the Shipping Lane. The Lane, as it is called, is a 180 ft. trench surrounded by shallow water expanses. The structure that it provides attracts a variety of game fish species including the first Chinook Salmon to return to the eastern end. Previous years have seen the Mighty Chinooks arrive by the third full week of June, however, the beginning of July is the typical start date for fast Salmon action. Current flow in the Lane usually moves from the south west to the north east.
Bottom water is bled off as the St. Lawrence River begins to flow just 10 miles to the north east. This continuous flow of water makes for a very specific thermal change that remains constant for most of the summer. This satisfies two parts of what I consider a three part model to great King fishing. The parts are as follows: Thermal Structure, Physical Structure and Bait.
Baitfish in this area consist primarily of the Alewife. This fat rich forage is exactly what summer Chinooks need to grow to the extreme weights that fascinate anglers. When water flows over the surrounding shallow water expanses of the Lane, it stirs up the bio-mass and floats impressive quantities of plankton over the structure that empties into the Lane. Since this is what the Alewives feed on, it is not surprising that huge schools of bait-fish will be located in this area. Fortunately for us, it doesn't take long for the Kings to find the bait!
Typical salmon fishing techniques do not necessarily apply when fishing the Lane for summer Kings. Most anglers have gravitated to dodger/squid combinations as well as flashers and bait harnesses for their salmon fishing success. While these techniques are efficient, the summer Kings are best accessed using high-speed trolling techniques with spoons. A King hooked on a spoon, will give the fisherman a much better fight than those hooked with dodgers or flashers. The big fish do not have to swim with all the extra weight of the angler's terminal tackle. When a big King hits a spoon the fisherman can feel every move that the fish makes and the battle will be intense to say the least. Excellent examples of spoons that will work for high speed trolling would be the Northern King spoon.
Dipsey Divers in the #1 size are best for free-standing Bonus Dipsey Rods. Anglers should run 6 to 8 inch Snubbers to take the shock of a King strike. A #2 counter weight setting works best for high speed.
The author's 5 best colors of NK28 trolling spoons for Summer Kings.
From left to right: Black/Purple/White - Black/Orange/White - Silver/Glo Green - Green/Chartreuse/Orange/Silver - Black/Silver
Typical salmon fishing techniques do not necessarily apply when fishing the Lane for summer Kings. Most anglers have gravitated to dodger/squid combinations as well as flashers and bait harnesses for their salmon fishing success. While these techniques are efficient, the summer Kings are best accessed using high-speed trolling techniques with spoons. A King hooked on a spoon, will give the fisherman a much better fight than those hooked with dodgers or flashers. The big fish do not have to swim with all the extra weight of the angler's terminal tackle. When a big King hits a spoon the fisherman can feel every move that the fish makes and the battle will be intense to say the least. Excellent examples of spoons that will work for high speed trolling would be the Northern King spoon. Pirate spoons, Optimizers and High Speed Attackers are also excellent choices. Black/White, Black/Silver, Black/Purple and Black/Orange are local favorites when overcast conditions prevail.
Hot colors under sunny conditions consist of Silver combinations coupled with Green, Glo Green, Orange and Chartreuse. Most fishing during the month of July will take place between the 50ft. and 80ft. depths. Downriggers and Dipsey Diver combinations seem to work best and trolling speeds can vary from 2.5 to 3.5 knots. I suggest testing the high speed trolling spoons that you are fishing with by watching their action as they are trolled along side the boat. Have the boat driver vary your speed and you should see a minimum of two different spoon actions and possibly three. Increase the boat speed until you see the spoon begin to hop and then dart side to side. This erratic action of the bait is the trolling variable that really seems to trigger King strikes. Trolling the structure edges of the Lane will put the angler in contact with the biggest schools of these summer trophies.
Two summers ago, I recall a day that can be quite typical of what the Shipping Lane has to offer. Lake Ontario had kicked up her heels and many of the charter captains of the eastern end had chosen to cancel their days. The weather was a bit nasty and I hoped to get in a half-day before things really turned sour. After finding the edge of the wall (a 75 ft. edge that drops to 170 ft.), I loaded a four rod downrigger pattern with high-speed spoons. Black/Purple/ White NK28's were loaded at the 60 ft. depth and two Glo Green offerings were set just below at 75 and 80ft. The Dipsey Divers were rigged with Magnum high-speed spoons and were set at a number #2 setting. 180 ft. and 205ft. of line were taking these dipseys down to the 50-60 ft. range. I had set the divers on a #2 setting so that they would not roll over and plane upward at the high rate of speed that we were trolling. Ten minutes into the first pass and we were locked up with what turned out to be a 26 lb. King. The fight of these big fish is impressive even without the 5 ft. seas we were competing against.
A 26lb. Hen King that fell to a Silver/Glogreen NK28 trolled at 2.7 knots in the Shipping Lane. The fish hit 75 feet down over the 125 foot edge.
After making radio contact with two other boats in our fleet, it appeared that the fish were concentrated most heavily 1/4 mile to the east. We reset rods, turned the boat and applied the throttle that would bring us back up to battling speed. A diver rod lit up and a King started streaking towards the surface, trying hard to shake the metal magnum spoon adorning his jaw. The King broke the waves some 300 ft. behind the boat and never let up until the line counter reel read 750 ft. The angler's face had a perplexed look on it and I simply commented that what he was experiencing was a typical salmon fight. With a few words of encouragement he began to let the 10 1/2 ft. dipsey rod do its work. The King muscled angler and tackle for over 20 minutes until the big fish finally succumbed and we were able to slide the nylon under another fantastic fishing memory. This fish tipped the scales at 31 lbs. At the end of the first pass we had encountered 3 of the silver sided behemoths and were well on our way to a great day of fishing. By noon 10 mature salmon had been caught and Lake Ontario was on the verge of gale force winds. We headed the big rig towards Henderson Harbor and the safety of it's calm waters. The chit chat reached frenzied levels as the fishermen recalled the little nuances of each fish battle and what they had gone through to be successful. Those same fishermen still recall that morning as though it happened yesterday. I guess that is testament to the effect Lake Ontario's eastern end can have on unsuspecting fishermen.
While the previous mentioned fishing day featured less than cooperative weather conditions, this is not usually the norm. July is a fairly stable month across Lake Ontario. Temperatures usually fall in the 70 to 80 degree farenheight range. Winds will generally be light and the fish cooperative. The other bonus to fishing the Lane is that other cold water species frequent the area in addition to Salmon. Steelhead and Brown Trout come and go in excellent numbers and the shoals at the western end of the Lane support some of the biggest Lake Trout Lake Ontario has to offer. There is no better time to jump the gun on August Kings than in the month of July. There is no better place than the Shipping Lanes off Henderson Harbor!
