In 1615 the French explorer Samuel de Champlain noted, in his journal, the massive size and quantity of fish captured by his Huron allies as they stockpiled food for the harsh winter to come. Making camp between skirmishes with the Iroquois, Champlain was en route between what is known today as Lake Simcoe and upstate New York. The exact location of this ancient campsite has never been discovered, but many historians agree that it was somewhere along the shores of the Bay of Quinte. In the nearly 400 years since this fishery’s first known written account, nearly everything has changed. Everything that is, except the fishing.
Adolphus Reach Meets Long Reach
Bay Of Quinte Makeup:
Less than an hour from the GTA, and running parallel to highway 401 for 60kms, the Bay of Quinte attracts recreational and tournament anglers from across North America all year long. From the waterfall at Napanee’s Springside Park in the east, to the Murray Canal passage to Lake Ontario in Quinte West near the city of Trenton, the ‘Big Q’ is massive. More Z-shaped than Q-like,
Quinte branches southwest away from the Napanee River at the town of Deseronto for 16kms to Picton by way of a section known as the Long Reach. From there, in the heart of Prince Edward County, the Bay stretches east for 23kms along Adolphus Reach to the Upper Gap. This gap is the eastern gateway to Lake Ontario between Amherst Island and Cressy Point. Her total length is about 100km. Her girth, not often more than two km at her widest spots. Sizable branches off of the Z-shaped main navigational route add to the incredible expanse and fishable area of Quinte.
Hay Bay, a finger like extension, stretches westward from Long Reach for about 10 km south of Napanee. Near Belleville, Muscote Bay reaches about 5km southward into the County, bringing Quinte’s total surface area to approximately 254 square kms. With such a massive area of water to fish, tournament anglers can sometimes fish for hours without seeing another competitor. Approaching the Upper Gap, her bottom falls away quickly to nearly 180 feet but for the most part, Quinte averages 15-50 feet in her well marked channel.
Structure Fishing Galore:
Sandbars, rip rap, rock shoals, deep weed lines, current, fallen trees, undercut banks, you name it, Quinte has all the natural bass habitat one could hope to find. Not so natural, but just as intriguing, is the human made habitat. A Sidewheeler, the Bay’s namesake, once carried passengers from town to town around the Bay. Remnants of the ship now shelter bass and other game fish in the modest depths of Mohawk Bay. One of at least three little known local wrecks, the passenger ferry Quinte burned to the waterline and sank in 1889, claiming several lives. .
A Multi Species Fishery Where Walleye Reign Supreme: Summer, Fall, and Winter
Rip jigging bucktails, like the locally made Clemco jig, adjacent to spawning areas can be particularly effective for a few short weeks following opening day. Using a long spinning rod helps reduce muscle fatigue when deploying this very active vertical presentation for any length of time. Snap your jig three or four feet off of the bottom. Then let it fall back naturally, keeping your line just taught enough to maintain contact with your bait. You don’t want it falling on a completely slack line as most reaction strikes come on the fall, not the snap.
Quinte has four main tributaries; the Napanee, Salmon, Moira, and Trent Rivers. Each hosts seasonal spawning runs of trout, salmon, and walleye. While many anglers in waders ply the head waters of these rivers drifting roe bags and similar offerings each year, trolling and jigging for walleye in open water remains more popular. Slow dragging a worm harness or trolling a long bodied crankbait are favoured techniques all season long. Natural baitfish colours, chartreuse, and various shades of purple are popular.
Long casting crankbaits on shallow flats at dusk or dawn can produce incredible action mid season. The eastern most flats of Hay Bay, where several creeks feed into it, teems with baitfish for about a two week window every August. During low light conditions the walleye move in with gusto to gorge themselves and you can actually get bored of pulling in 4-6 pounders. Match the hatch with shad imitation cranks like a Koppers Live Target Shad and hold on! Minnow tipped jigs and spoons are hard to beat in the fall, and of course are the first choice of most hard water anglers.
With late fall and winter fish in the 15lb class not being uncommon, and the Quinte record walleye sitting at over 20 lbs, it’s not surprising that the Bay of Quinte is considered one of the greatest walleye fisheries on the planet.
Koppers Live Target Shad
Bass Magnet Goby
The Bass Magnet drop shot goby has become standard issue to serious local bassers and the tournament crowd alike. Goby imitations are not just for Lake Ontario smallies either, but sizeable resident Quinte bronzebacks and largemouth as well. For early season Quinte pigs, the value of slow rolling a white spinnerbait around emerging weed growth can’t be overstated. Cover as much water as possible with trolling motor on constant, super long casts, and a low stretch line. Don’t be afraid to look shallow either. I’ve got a Fish Belly Samurai Twin Spin tied onto my favourite Powell stick just itching for opening morning. For mid season, throwing a natural colour quiver stick into gaps in weed cover is a very popular trick. Probe deeper waters in the fall by using a weighted hook. The classic black-blue jig and pig is a late season standby as well. With 20lbs bags and 6lb, even 7lb plus largemouth and smallmouth, seemingly coming to the scales every summer, no wonder Quinte has seen such an increase in fishing tournament action.
The ancient fishing hole described in Champlain’s journal lies somewhere on Quinte, likely at the river mouth of the Trent, Salmon, or Napanee. Wherever it is, we will likely never know. What we do know is what the people who have lived on her shores have always known; Bay of Quinte fishing is world class. Only now, anyone can hitch up their boat, hop on the highway, and see for themselves.... I wonder if those Huron guides had a big fish pool?
.... Before your next trip to Quinte, no matter what time of year, or species you are after, check the information and message board at www.quintefishing.com . You can always find the latest hot bite story there.
By Kevin Dorey - President, Quinte Bassmasters
Clemco Jig
Oh ... And there’s Bass Too:
With a world class walleye fishery in the limelight, bass angling opportunities have received less publicity ... until recently that is. Changes in the fishery in recent years have greatly increased bass angling success. Reports from the Ministry of Natural Resources suggest that an increase from about 24 competitive fishing events held in 2004 on the Bay, to around 35 events in 2008, was entirely the result of more bass tournaments. Invasion by filter feeding zebra mussels has improved water clarity to the benefit of sight feeding fish species such as bass. Round Goby - a prolific new forage fish now found in copious supply in Quinte, has helped make our bass big and fat. They have become a favoured snack for several Quinte game fish however their long term implications are still unknown. We do know adult gobies can completely wipe out bass nests, but only time will tell what this will mean for future bass generations. What we do know is that Quinte bass love gobies and this fact helped spark a locally developed bait resembling this invasive species.
Also sunken and all but forgotten are several ancient dry docks, cribs, barges, and the subsurface remnants of shipyards. Connecting Quinte Isle, also known as Prince Edward County, or just ‘The County’ to locals, are two immense bridges. Belleville’s Bay Bridge and the Skyway Bridge in Deseronto are massive structures that can at times hold many species of fish. Also connecting The County to the mainland is the Glenora - Aldophustown Ferry. The ferry docks and nearby deep weed edges are favoured big bass haunts. Marinas, docks, boathouses, cottages and homes also line most of the Quinte shoreline catering nicely to diehard flipping and skipping fanatics
Fish Belly Sam Twin Spin
