Niagara Region
By Bill Hilts, Jr.
Lake Ontario and tributaries – The Lake Ontario Counties Trout and Salmon Derby kicks off on May 3, offering competitive anglers 10 days of action for salmon and trout, as well as walleye – once the season opens on Saturday May 4. Timing should be perfect for the lake action to be taking off. In the St. Catharines King of the Lake tournament last weekend, the winner produced eight king salmon over two days to take the top prize. Lake trout are turning on at the Niagara Bar off the mouth of the river and conditions are near perfect from the green buoy marker out for more than a mile. Along the shorelines at Wilson and Olcott, brown trout and coho salmon lead the way for anglers inside of 40 foot depths, but lake trout are also available along with the occasional king salmon out to 60 feet according to Wes Walker at The Slippery Sinker. Most of the king fishing is taking place west of Wilson. Wilson Harbor is holding a mix of perch, pike and panfish (Pike opens on Saturday), and off the piers you can cast for browns or cohos in either Wilson or Olcott. Spoons, spinners, worms or minnows will all catch fish.
Eighteenmile Creek is still holding fish but now it’s a mix of warm and cold water species. The Lake Ontario Trout and Salmon Association will be holding its next meeting May 9 at Cornell Cooperative Extension Niagara in Lockport starting at 7 p.m. Guest speaker will be Capt. Paul Czarnecki of Free Spirit Charters talking about spring fishing out of Point Breeze and the Oak. And speaking of Point Breeze, local support is being tossed their way for the Ultimate Fishing Town contest that was won by Olcott Beach last year. Be sure to start voting!
Lower Niagara River – In the Niagara River, action has been good for trout like steelhead and lake trout, with the occasional brown trout thrown in. The surprise catch last week was a 24 pound salmon taken from Devil’s Hole by a South Carolina angler on an egg sac treated with Pautzke cure. The smelt run is starting to dissipate. And speaking of smelt, the Lewiston Smelt Festival kicks off with the Smelt Dip and Fry at Lewiston Landing on Friday, May 3 starting at 6 p.m. courtesy of the Niagara River Anglers Association. For the spring LOC Derby, remember that shore anglers cannot catch a legal fish above the Lewiston-Queenston bridge. Boaters can fish up to Devil’s Hole. Check out www.loc.org for details. Catch of the week was a 28-pound lake trout hauled in by Jon Gwara while fishing with Capt. Jeff Draper of Grand Island.
Upper Niagara River – Perch fishing off Ontario Street has been hot of late according to Larry Balch of Ransomville. They were catching good numbers of fish as well as good size. Pike season opens on Saturday which means that places like the marinas around Grand Island, Woods Creek, and the Erie Canal up around creek mouths like Tonawanda and Ransom may be good spots to target. Walleye season opens, too. Panfish should be snapping in many of the marinas and bays around Grand Island and along River Road.
Chautauqua County
by Craig Robbins
Lake Erie and Tributaries – Most of the Lake Erie tributaries have good fishing conditions, notwithstanding Cattaraugus Creek, which is running high and muddy at about 980 cubic feet per second. There are still a decent number of steelhead scattered in the creeks. Anglers are catching mostly post-spawn dropbacks with the occasional fresh steelhead. Spawning suckers have moved up into the creeks and smallmouth bass are starting to show in the lower sections and off creek mouths. Warming water temperatures and the arrival of suckers and bass signals the beginning of the end of the steelhead run. The steelhead run on Cattaraugus Creek can last until mid-May, but the run is usually over in the other tributaries by the end of April. Spring run steelhead hit a variety of baits/lures including egg sacs, egg pattern flies, trout beads, jigs with grubs (fished under a float), minnows, nightcrawlers, stoneflies, streamer patterns and bugger patterns.
The Lake Erie tributaries were recently stocked with thousands of yearling steelhead. If you catch these delicate 5-7 inch steelhead, they should be handled carefully and returned to the water quickly. These annual stockings support future runs of large steelhead in the Lake Erie tributaries.
Chautauqua Lake – Good number of crappie are still being caught in the channels in Lakewood, Ashville and Burtis Bay. The better quality of crappie are being picked up in open water in Mayville and Bemus Bays in 6-10 feet on 1/32 or 1/64 ounce jig head with either one inch tubes or grubs dipped off with a minnow.
Beginning on Saturday May 4, Chautauqua Lake walleye season kicks off. Anglers will find trolling the weed edges in Warner and Dewittville Bays works great during the early season. Worm harness and stick baits in perch colors- which matches prey for walleye on Chautauqua Lake-are angler go to baits for early season walleye. With an 18” length and three fish per day limit, walleye fishing on Chautauqua Lake is coming back strong.
For area fishing and travel information, visit http://tourchautauqua.com/Fishing.aspx
Wayne County
By Christopher Kenyon
Lake Ontario – Browns, cohos, and lakers were the catches this past weekend. Browns are close to shore hitting stickbaits like Jr Thunderstiks and Rapalas. Fish close to shore and fish early. You should be on the water at 5:30 am.
Lakers are in the mix and in 120 to 150 feet of water… on the bottom. Lakers will hit cow bells with NK spoons.
The LOC Spring Derby starts Friday and will continue through May 12th. All the important information is on the web at www.locderby.org
All the weigh stations in Wayne County will open for this exciting annual trout and salmon event.
Streams – Stream fishing for steelhead is just about over for the season. Most of the steelies are in Lake Ontario.
Bays – Bullheads and crappies are hitting in Sodus Bay. The rising water temps have made the bite very active. Pike and walleye will be in season Saturday, May 4th and the pike will be roaming the waters in Sodus near the islands and the south end.
The pike will be hanging out near the edge of the weedlines.
Walleye will be in deeper water over gravel bottoms and drop-offs. Fish the walleye with blades (Spoons) or dark buck tail jigs.
The bait shops in Wayne County have very consistent hours. If you need egg sacs, flies, jigs or spikes you’ll find everything you need. Check out the Wayne County Tourism web page for their locations at www.waynecountytourism.com
We have a brand new Wayne County Fishing Brochure. This publication features where to go, what to use, and what to catch. Call our office for a free fishing packet, including the new brochure. 1-800-527-6510.
Erie Canal – The canal has been the hot spot for panfish, and with the walleye opener this Saturday, anglers will be fishing the deeper pools.
Oswego County
Courtesy of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning.
Oswego River – According to Larry Muroski of Larry’s Oswego Salmon Shop, the water level took a nosedive early in the week and has been running between 2,000-3,500cfs the last few days. This morning it is flowing at 2,330cfs. Anglers had been fishing along the East River Walk using bucktail jigs, crankbaits and cleos. On the south side of the powerhouse, anglers were using stickbaits, nightcrawlers and pink worms. This water level, however, makes more areas along the river accessible. Remember the bridge to Leto Island is closed, and there are Mandatory Personal Flotation Device (PFD) zones on the Oswego River below the Varick Dam. For more information, view the Oswego County web site at www.visitoswegocounty.com and look for the fishing report under fishing and hunting.
Lake Ontario – According to Capt. Kevin Davis of Catch the Drift Fishing Charters, the brown trout bite was very spotty the last few days but a few nice size ones were caught. A good northwest wind would be helpful. Anglers have been finding a good number of lake trout with many weighing between 12 and 16 pounds. Stickbaits and small spoons have been working well.
Salmon River/Port Ontario – According to Whitaker’s Sport Shop and Motel, the water level has dropped to 750cfs as of this morning. Anglers have reported good numbers of fish holding around the gravel areas in the upper end of the river between Altmar and Pineville, as well as the Upper & Lower Fly Zone. We have dropbacks scattered from top to bottom and anglers reported getting into them in the Schoolhouse, Trestle, Pineville, Sportsman, RT2A, Papermill, Town Pool, Longbridge, Staircase, Black Hole and DSR. Anglers who are fly fishing have done well on woolly buggers, egg sucking leeches and egg patterns. For those anglers who are bottom bouncing or float fishing, chartreuse egg sacs and pink worms have been working well.
According to Dave Wood of Woody’s Tackle, the lake fishing has been tough. With east winds, sunshine and a water temperature not as favorable as we would like, the brown trout fishing has been very slow. Anglers are finding some good bullhead action in the estuaries with worms and leeches fished on the bottom working well. Some of the estuaries are also producing perch with minnows, jigs and small pieces of worm suggested bait.
Oneida Lake – The fishing conditions on the lake are expected to be good the next few days with light winds and very little precipitation. Anglers are finding crappie and bullhead in the Big Bay area along with bullhead being taken along the shoreline. Minnows are the suggested bait. Walleye season opens this Saturday with beautiful weather expected so far in the forecast.
Sandy Pond – According to Dave Wood of Woody’s Tackle, anglers are finding a decent panfish bite, including crappies, bluegills and perch. Minnows, worms and spikes along with small hair jigs under a float are working well. A reminder that the walleye and northern pike seasons open on Saturday. Anglers are finding bullhead and perch in the estuaries with minnows and worms the choice of bait.