March 2, 2015 Oro 9th Line

Left home at 6 AM and arrived at the ramp by 7:20 AM to mostly sunny skies and a moderate west wind. The snow was wind-packed so the walk out was fairly easy.

Got to my first spot on the east side of Oro Reef in 60 fow figuring lakers and whities would be shallower early on. Ha! Not only that, the wind picked up from a modest 28 km/h to 50 km/h and blew steadily for the rest of the day. The Commando took a real beating and only tipped over once -- at least it didn't blow across the lake although it did feel like lift- off was imminent. Didn't really mark anything so moved to 70 fow where I did mark some fish but didn't get any takers. Late in the morning, I headed north past the reef into 94 fow. Again the action was slow; I had tried swimbaits, Bad Boyz, a Williams Wabler, and, finally, an airplane jig. Around 1:30 PM, I let my airplane jig sit on the bottom for a moment while I had a bite of my sandwich and then, lo, IT appeared on the LCD; an instant later, my rod loaded up and the fight was on. Gradually, I worked the fish up the water column; when the fish neared the surface, I could see a massive head -- it was a fine fish for sure. I finally iced the fish -- a ling. I don't know a lot about ling so, when I got home, I did a little research. Burbot can attain lengths of 1 m and weights of 8 kg, but most are 300-600 mm [11.8"-23.6”] with weights of 1-3 kg [2.2-6.6 lb] (McPhail & Paragamian). I didn't have a scale but this one was pretty hefty.

I finally decided to pack it in at 2:25 PM and began the long walk back to the launch; it definitely wasn't as easy as the walk out! About 2/3 of the way back, I was offered a ride by a snowmobiler -- turned out to be a fellow angler, Tom Cook. Nice to meet up and enjoy not only the ride back but the pleasant conversation. Despite the wind, it was great to be out.

That's a size 12 Sorel boot beside the ling and the lure that caught it.

Cool catch! That I do not see often. Nice color on it too!

I've never seen one with those colors before. Is the coloring normal for a Ling?

Forgot to mention that the ling went right back down the hole once I got the photo. Course, he did need a gentle push to get all the way back under the ice before swimming off!

Both are terrific pictures - especially the ling!!!

I've yet to catch one myself. From what I've read here on LSO and elsewhere - somewhat unusual to catch during daytime compared to evening or night.

Hope you kept it to try 'poor man's lobster'?

Amazing colourings on the ling. And good size!!!

Thanks for posting!

What a weird colour!! Spaceling!

Is it just me... But does lings not look similar to a goby? Take away the massive size difference. That is a big fat goby if you asked me!

Here's a pic.

I've never seen one with those colors before. Is the coloring normal for a Ling?

Spawning time is here for ling ..perhaps spawning colors..??

Very cool Michael. Nice report!

if they are spawning fox island shoal will loaded with them a good eating fish
a poor mans lobster

good luck

Beauty fish, good on you for letting that biggie go. Burbot may take several years to become sexually mature. Some studies have shown that a certain proportion of burbot populations fail to mature during each breeding season and may take one or two years to restore nutritional reserves after a spawning event so releasing the big ones and keeping smaller ones might be the smart thing to do if we wanna see some more of these guys in the lake, I know i do!

Awesome pic! Good stuff letting Er go. I've only
Ever caught and released them myself, never in simcoe tho, before I knew they were good eating... Dunno if I could withstand the temptation now...

I'll bet you were asking yourself "what is that ugly thing?"