Is fishing season over?

It seems the fishing season is over for this year. We had a full moon last week and the fish were biting. I went to my, these days, favorite fishing spot in Lockport last week. I was there before 8:00 a.m. It is still dark at that time. I didn't get many bites and what I caught was tiny. Then another fisherman came and fished right beside me. He caught a nice sauger with his first cast and another one with his second. When I asked what he was using he showed me a greenish/yellow jig with gold flecks. He gave me one, and, low and behold, I had a good-sized fish with my first cast. After that we were catching fish, sometimes at the same time. I released all of them except for 4. That's the limit. Sauger are not big fish, but they are tasty, frozen or fresh.  Four fish may yield between 450 to 600 grams. Just enough for a nice meal. We eat them and I'm good to try my luck again another day.

My new angler friend told me it's the full moon that makes the fish bite. The gold flecks were another reason. Apparently, the sauger and walleye hate them.

October brings the walleye, or as the seasoned anglers around here call them: Greenbacks. They come up river from Lake Winnipeg and are stopped by the Lockport dam. They congregate below the dam. It is illegal, though, to fish within 23 meters of the fish ladder. Quite a few people do, either because they are not aware of the law (there is a sign there), or they just ignore it. Apparently, last week somebody was fined $500.00 for fishing too close to the fish ladder. Ouch, that hurts. I am fishing quite far from the ladder near a fence. Plenty of fish there also. Somebody told me that  a few anglers were charged for catching and keeping fish over their limit. It costs $100.00 per fish over the limit. That can become costly. You also lose your gear, license, and the fish you caught.

I haven't caught any Greenbacks yet, but I saw a few anglers catch them. A couple of guys caught walleye that were at least 2 feet long. The big fish are there, but to catch them is another story.

I went fishing Monday morning and Wednesday morning of this week. I caught nothing but a tiny sauger on each of those days. There were only a few anglers there in the morning. It was cold and the wind blew from the north. In fact, it was so cold, ice formed on the fishing rod guides. I guess it's time to put away the fishing gear for a while until the ice is thick enough to go ice fishing. Until then we'll have to get our fish from the grocery store. Not as much fun and more expensive.

Ice fishing is okay, but I have never been successful fishing through the ice. I just go to spend some time with my son and grandchildren. We have a tent to keep out the wind. We bbq hot dogs. It is always fun. And sometimes we even catch a fish.