Fish On

By Rod Davis

My darling wife, Julie, a.k.a. “The Warden”, had never been fishing before. Oh, sure, she had spent some time growing up angling crappies from sunken brush piles with her Dad, Marshal P. White, on Strom Thurmond Lake in Modoc, South Carolina.

But she had never been on a big-game, big-time, trip with the boys to catch some really nice fish. Now considering, I don’t like to go anywhere without The Warden, when a trip was proposed by myself and my long-time fishing partner, Dr. Charles Smith, I naturally asked the wife along, fully expecting a “No Way!”

To my surprise, she readily agreed to go, providing that Chuck’s warden, Vanessa would travel along as well. Now Vanessa likes to fish, so that was a no-brainer.

Dr. Chuck (a noted dentist from Charleston, West Virginia) and I had done some fishing before on a local basis. We had spent many, many evenings at the local chapter banquets of Ducks Unlimited and the National Wild Turkey Federation. We had not gone on a big game fishing trip together at that point in time.

In January that year, went to the Sports Show at the Charleston Civic Center. This event is sponsored by the West Virginia Trophy Hunters Association and attracts about 20,000 local hunters and fisherman each year.

We talked to several fishing guides and charter captains, but kept coming back to a strange little man from upstate New York. He was a charter captain on Lake Ontario, specializing in big King salmon, coho, and steelhead. Frankly, he also seemed to be just about half a bubble off level. That attracted us to him immediately! However, he was sporting an earring. This immediately causes a Hillbilly to pause, but then we decided he probably was pirate, so that was okay! In a few minutes, a deal was struck, a date was reserved, and a deposit was tendered.

The pirate’s name was Captain Chris Efing (pronounced “ EEF ing) of Chrysalis Charters in Point Breeze, NY. We found out that Chrysalis was a play on words using his name and that of his wife, Alice. (Chrys- alis)

This was January, so we had a long wait until time to make the trip north in August. As usual, as the day approached, our preparations were mighty.

Dr. Chuck and I loaded ourselves in the Ford pickup I owned, which was lashed to 1 30’ Prowler travel trailer and took off that hot August morning on a 500 miles trip to Point Breeze. Vanessa and The Warden were following along in Chuck’s car. The trip was going great until somewhere north of Pittsburgh, on I-79, a huge outlet mall was spotted and the ladies insisted on a lunch stop.

A little later, we drug them out of there and got back on the road, because any true sportsman will tell you it’s all about making good time.

We were able to make it, late that afternoon to Niagara Falls, a place neither The Warden nor I had visited before. Like everyone who sees the falls for the first time, we were very impressed. Other than a slight altercation between a Japanese tourist and one of the hot-tempered members of our party, the side-trip was very pleasant.

We decided to head on eastward across up-state New York, before Japanese-American relations were damaged beyond any hope of repair. About half way between Buffalo and Rochester, we turned off the interstate and headed North through some lovely little farm communities for about 40 miles until we spotted a seagull or two and realized we were nearing Lake Ontario.

I had never fished Lake Ontario and did not know what to expect. It is a large, beautiful lake, deep with clear water. Many years before, we had fished for salmon in Lake Michigan and caught lots of walleyes in Lake Erie. While no expert, it seems each Great Lake I have been on has a little different character than the others.

We located the campground that we had made a reservation at and pulled the Prowler into a spot next to some other fisherman. It seemed everyone was fishing there that weekend. After setting up, we found our way down to the marina and located the Chrysalis’ slip and there we spotted the pirate, Captain Chris, cleaning up the boat. We agreed to meet there the next morning at 6:00 am and got a recommendation on a local eatery from the good Captain and left.

Breakfast came early at the Four C’s Marina that Sunday morning. A tiny sandwich shop there caters to fishermen. Four C’s and Captain Chris are located on Oak Orchard Creek, about a mile upstream from the lake itself. After loading our lunch, cameras and some rain gear, the boat departed the dock, precisely at 6:00 a.m. Captain Chris is the proud owner of a 38’ Penn Yan, a wonderful boat, manufactured in Penn Yan, Pennsylvania. This boat, like most all Great Lakes salmon boats, is outfitted with the latest in GPS navigational equipment, color sonar fish finders and the all-important downriggers.

I was first introduced to downrigger fishing in the early eighties fishing in Lake Michigan with Captain Mike Peel out of Saugatuck. Downriggers are nifty devices that allow for “controlled depth fishing”. In other word, it will allow you to drop a lure to a predetermined depth and maintain it there until a fish strikes. At that time the downrigger weight is automatically released from the fishing line, allowing you to fight the fish freely. I was so impressed, I put two on a 17’ aluminum bass boat I owned at the time and was often seen trolling for Crappies in Burnsville Lake in West Virginia. Successfully so, I might add.

Late in the summer, Captain Chris will often travel 15-20 miles due north, to roughly where the Canadian border transverses the lake. Sadly there is no visible line on the water’s surface, so you need to know where you are. We were informed that Canadian Game Wardens had little sense of humor and loved writing citations to the ugly Americans.

Julie and Vanessa were having a high old time on this early morning boat ride. They both experienced some mild seasickness and after a short barfing spell, were back in good spirits.

Captain Chris started trolling the big spoons common in the Great Lakes. These lures are normally chromed spoons, 3-4 inches long, with various reflective designs in assorted colors. Also some crank baits designed for trolling were used. These lures had names like Northport Nailer, Southport Slammer and Wigglewarts. In the right color, they proved deadly.

The four of us drew straws to establish an order concerning who would take turns landing fish that we hoped would strike. We then took up positions, scattered around the aft fishing deck, waiting for the fish to bite. We did not have long to wait.

The bite was on after 30 minutes or so. Captain Chris shrieked “Fish on!” and Vanessa, who was up first, leaped for a bouncing rod. The trolling rods we used were 7’ and 8’ models, designed for downrigger fishing. After 15 minutes, Vanessa landed a 21 lb. Steelhead on the deck. This was a NICE Steelhead. For those not “in the know”, a Steelhead is actually a Rainbow Trout that is born (hatched) in a tributary stream, migrates to a large lake, lives a couple of years, then returns upstream to its birthplace to spawn. This is very similar to salmon life cycles.

Julie hooked and landed a 19 lb. Steelhead. Chuck and I did our part with some smaller fish in the 15-lb. range.

Over the next several hours we sporadically caught several nice fish, including a pair of 25 +lb. King Salmon that Chuck and Vanessa dropped in the boat. The fishing petered out in late morning as the water became flat calm and the air temperature steadily rose.

Our limit was 3 fish per day each, or 12 total. That first day, we boated 8, I think. After an hour’s boat ride back to harbor, we retired to our RV for a shower and a trip to one of the local spots that Captain Chris recommended to enjoy a “Fried Platter” This consisted of a plate full of deep fried “stuff”. I say stuff because we were never quite sure what some of these things were, but since they were fried, it was of course, good.

The alarm in the RV made its announcement at 4:00 am the next morning, signaling a new day and a new chance to fill our coolers. We putted out of 4C’s Marina shortly after 6:00 and headed out again in to a 2-foot chop, which Captain Chris assured us, would improve the fishing. He was right. That day we did not get our limit, but did boat 10 fish that averaged 25 lbs. or better. That was over 250 lbs. of meat! I lost a huge King, probably 35 lbs. or better after a long fight. Chuck, Vanessa, and then Julie each boated a King in excess of 30 lbs. Julie’s, actually weighed 34 lbs. on the dock, and took 45 minutes to land.

While I did not land that big King that trip, I had the pleasure of seeing my child bride land two huge fish, and then had the pleasure of paying the local taxidermist $500.00 to mount them. In the ensuing years, this has proved to be a mistake as she is quick to point out to visitors in my office where they hang, that I did not, indeed catch these fish, but she did. This is why you never, ever, take your wife hunting or fishing. They will always show you up. Always….

We had dinner that night with Captain Chris and his wife Alice at a local establishment that served a great prime rib dinner. As usual, these kinds of experiences generate lasting friendships and this was no exception. We have been back several times to fish with the good Captain and always had a great time. We have stayed there in RV’s, Bed & Breakfasts and the local motels and were always pleased. Of note, we stayed once at a Bed & Breakfast that belonged to an older gentleman and his wife. She was hospitalized with terminal cancer and later passed away. A year later we got word the old fellow had sold out. It was sad for many reasons, but this guy had a great set-up for fishermen. He had walk-in coolers, outdoor grilles, a picnic shelter with TV, in the back yard and a keg was usually in the icehouse. The rooms were spotless and each bed was a featherbed.

I recommend the “ Over The Ridge Campground”, which caters almost exclusively to fishermen and hunters.

Boys and Girls, for a very reasonable amount of money, you and your friends, spouse, kids, etc., can have a great day fishing on beautiful Lake Ontario with a better than average chance of yanking in a wall-hanger and most certainly loading your freezer with delicious salmon and trout fillets. Kent /Point Breeze, NY are less than a day’s drive from virtually anywhere in the Northeast.

Chrysalis Charters is a link you can click on to see Captain Chris and his success stories. All contact information is included and the web site and Captain Chris can direct you to lodging, etc.

See you out there!