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| Species | Wednesday | Today | Tomorrow | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Night15° | Dawn15° | Mid15° | Eve12° | Night11° | Dawn11° | Mid11° | Eve10° | Night9° | |
| ★Perch | 65 | 83 | 76 | 85 | 72 | 81 | 79 | 81 | 61 |
| ★Pike | 75 | 90 | 85 | 91 | 81 | 88 | 87 | 88 | 72 |
| ★Crappie | 36 | 55 | 35 | 55 | 40 | 42 | 33 | 41 | 20 |
| ★Largemouth | – | 22 | 6 | 24 | – | 5 | – | 5 | – |
Head to the north shoreline, wind push is stacking perch there right now. Falling pressure on a cooling lake pushes fall perch into tighter schools, and that STRONG fetch is piling baitfish and perch against the north bank. Target 15–22ft of water along any hard-bottom transition or weed edge you can find. That depth band is where Cook's Bay perch school up hard before freeze-up.
Small jigging spoons are the highest-percentage play in this depth. Go 1/8–1/4oz, gold or chartreuse in the drizzle/low-light, 2–3" profile. Drop to bottom, snap it up 12–18 inches, let it flutter back on a 2–3 second fall. The flutter triggers a strike. When you mark fish but they're not committing, switch to a 1/8oz round ball jighead with a 2–3" paddle tail in white or perch pattern, slow drag along bottom, 1-second pauses. That finesse follow-up closes the deal.
A small hair jig or tube in 1/8oz tipped with a minnow is a proven second rod. Natural colours, white, olive, yellow, in this 15–22ft zone. Perch season is open, Sports licence S-4, Conservation C-2. These fish are feeding hard going into late fall, this is exactly when locals load the cooler.
Falling barometer means you have a window right now, it won't last. As pressure drops further, perch can go lock-jawed. Fish fast and aggressive first to find the school, then slow down to pick them off. Light drizzle and chop is your friend, it breaks up surface light and keeps the school less spooky. Get on the water early, work that north shore hard.
North shoreline is your first stop. The 22km/h south wind is stacking baitfish and pike against that north shore right now. Work the dying weed edges in 4–12ft, specifically outside weed edges and any point transitions where dying vegetation meets open water. Falling barometer with light drizzle is a green light for aggression; pike feed hard ahead of pressure drops.
Throw big and retrieve fast. Large spoons (3/4–1oz, gold or firetiger in this stained late-fall water) are the highest-percentage play, burn them along weed edges with an erratic snap-pause retrieve, 2-second pause every 4–5 cranks. Magnum spinners with single large blades in gold or orange are equally proven in these conditions. If you want a soft-plastic option, a 5–6" paddle tail on a 3/8oz swimbait head in white or perch pattern, retrieved just fast enough to thump the tail, produces in this water state. Keep the presentation in the 4–10ft window, pike aren't going deep yet.
Speed is your trigger today. Cool water and a falling barometer push pike into a reaction-strike mode. Don't slow-roll anything. If you're not getting hit within 10 casts on one weed edge, move 50 yards and hit the next point. November pike on Cook's Bay are fat from a full season of exceptional forage, when you find one, you'll likely find several stacked on the same feature.
Season is open, handle fish fast. Water is cold enough that pike recover well, but keep them in the water if you're releasing. Single barbless hooks help in heavy vegetation. Big females are prime right now, a released trophy comes back next spring.
Cook's Bay Black Crappie, Nov 5 Briefing
Falling pressure and overcast skies with drizzle are your best friends for crappie, they're feeding right now. The strong south wind is piling bait against the north shoreline. Start there. Target 8–12ft along docks, submerged wood, and weededges. Crappie are schooled tight this time of year, if you mark fish and they go quiet, move 20ft and try again.
Drop a 1/16oz round ball jig head paired with a 1.5–2" tube or paddle tail in white, light chartreuse, or pink. Crappie are keying on small baitfish. Work it vertically, drop to the bottom, lift 6 inches, pause 3 seconds, repeat. Night window (6–15ft) is productive right now given cooling water; don't go shallower than 6ft or deeper than 14ft until you mark fish. Light-stained water from wind chop means a subtle glow or UV white tail can edge out purely natural colours.
Set the hook with a smooth lift, not a snap. Crappie mouths tear. Keep steady tension all the way to the net. Schools this late are condensed, one good spot can produce 20 fish before it shuts off. When it shuts off, move laterally along the same depth contour rather than going deeper.
Daily limit is S-4 C-2. Season is open. Drizzle and low-light will keep this bite going through mid-morning, don't sleep on the first hour of dawn.
North shoreline is your starting point. That 22 km/h wind is pushing bait and warmth against the north bank, largemouth will be stacked shallow, 2–8ft, tucked tight to any remaining weeds, dock edges, or woody structure. Light drizzle kills surface glare and reduces fish wariness. Work parallel to the bank, not into it.
Lead with a lipless crankbait in a shad or chartreuse-gold pattern. That falling 1005 hPa barometer means fish are feeding, moving baits covering water fast is the right call right now. A 1/2oz lipless in the 2–5ft zone, medium-fast retrieve with a rip-and-fall every 8–10ft, will trigger reaction strikes from active fish. If the bite stalls, slow to a 3/4oz finesse jig, a 3–4" dark-bodied craw or creature plastic on a 1/4oz head, 2/0 hook, crawled along the bottom in 6–9ft. Two-second pause between hops. That's the slowdown play when fish lock up tight.
Water temp this late in November is likely borderline or below 10°C. If action is sluggish, it's the water, not you. Downsize immediately, a 3" finesse worm or ned-style bait on a 1/8oz finesse head is your best chance at a cold, lethargic fish. Dead-slow drag retrieve, 4–5 second pauses. Target any dark-bottom pockets that absorb solar heat, those spots run a degree or two warmer and hold the most active fish.
Check your season dates. Largemouth season is open today, but late-fall regulations in FMZ 17 carry a 1-fish limit, confirm your specific zone before you keep anything. Handle fish fast in cold water: lactic acid builds quickly and bass are fragile this late in the season. Wet your hands, minimize air time, and release with care.
| Species | Wednesday | Today | Tomorrow | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Night16° | Dawn15° | Mid15° | Eve12° | Night11° | Dawn10° | Mid10° | Eve9° | Night8° | |
| Smallmouth | 9 | 34 | 27 | 34 | 9 | 9 | 16 | 9 | 1 |
| Perch | 62 | 80 | 78 | 82 | 69 | 73 | 76 | 78 | 66 |
| Pike | 66 | 79 | 78 | 80 | 71 | 74 | 77 | 77 | 66 |
| Species | Wednesday | Today | Tomorrow | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Night15° | Dawn15° | Mid15° | Eve12° | Night11° | Dawn11° | Mid11° | Eve10° | Night9° | |
| ★Smallmouth | 8 | 36 | 19 | 33 | 11 | 25 | 19 | 14 | 4 |
| ★Perch | 65 | 83 | 76 | 83 | 72 | 81 | 79 | 81 | 69 |
| Pike | 66 | 79 | 75 | 79 | 71 | 77 | 77 | 77 | 69 |
| Largemouth | – | 18 | 5 | 16 | – | 4 | – | 4 | – |
North shoreline is your first stop. That 22 km/h wind is pushing baitfish against the north shore right now, smallmouth stack there to feed. Target rocky points and submerged structure in 10–18 ft. The falling barometer will slow the bite, so expect fish to hold tighter to bottom. Don't prospect wide; stay locked on hard structure transitions.
Football-head jig with a craw-style trailer is the highest-percentage play. Use a 1/4 oz head with a 3–4" craw or creature trailer in natural brown, green pumpkin, or goby patterns, clear Simcoe water demands natural colours. Drag it dead-slow across rock rubble, 1–2 ft per 3–4 seconds, with a 2–3 second dead-stop pause. These cold-water fish won't chase, put it on their nose. If the bite stalls, downsize to a 1/8 oz finesse setup with a 3" ned-style bait on a finesse head.
Deep-diving crankbait is your search tool. A wide-wobble crankbait that hits 12–18 ft, in goby, crayfish, or natural shad pattern, cranked slowly through rock transitions will locate active fish fast. Run it at a slow-medium crank, just fast enough to feel the wobble, and kill the retrieve for 1–2 seconds when it deflects off rock. That pause triggers the strike.
Falling pressure in late fall means the best window is narrow. Fish the north shoreline hard for the first 2 hours, then expect activity to taper. Drizzle and low light extend the feeding window slightly, stay in that 10–18 ft zone and don't rush the presentation. Simcoe smallmouth in November are among the hardest-fighting fish of the year, but they're unforgiving of a fast or sloppy retrieve.
North shoreline of Strawberry Island. Right now. Wind-pushed baitfish are stacking on that shore and the perch are right behind them. Fish 15–22ft of water along any hard-bottom transition, gravel to mud edge is gold. Falling pressure and cooling water have these fish schooled tight and feeding hard before ice-up. This is the peak window locals chase all year.
Drop a small jigging spoon, 1/8–1/4oz, gold or chartreuse, to the bottom and rip it 18 inches off the deck, then let it flutter back down on 2–3 seconds of slack. That flash and fall triggers the whole school. Once you mark fish, switch to a 2–3" paddle tail on a 1/8oz round ball jig head in white or perch-pattern. Work it slow, one lift per 3 seconds, right at the 15–20ft mark. Perch in this lake stack at mid-column in fall, not always pinned to bottom.
Falling barometer means they're feeding actively right now, but that window closes as pressure drops further. Light drizzle kills surface glare, good for you, good for the bite. Don't waste time with big presentations. Keep it small, keep it subtle, and stay in the 1/8oz range so you're fishing the right speed at depth. If the school goes quiet, drop a small tungsten teardrop tipped with a waxworm or mealworm, that finesse trigger closes reluctant fish consistently.
Bag limit is S-50 C-25 on Simcoe perch, check your licence class and count your fish. These are some of the best eating perch in Ontario and they're in prime condition right now. Get there early, stay mobile until you find the school, and when you mark them, anchor and work vertically.