Greater Niagara Region

by Bill Hilts, Jr.

Lake Ontario and tributaries – Lake Ontario fishing action is starting to pick back up again. Capt. Matt Yablonsky of Youngstown reports that he had Jerry Dilsaver and his wife, Donna from North Carolina out on Tuesday and they boated a limit of trout and salmon. However, they did have to work for them. They first ran out deep to 400-450 feet of water, seeking out bait pods and stacking spoons and flasher-fly combos to take steelhead up to 12 pounds, kings up to 10 pounds and a nice 12 pound coho. Then they ran into the Niagara Bar drop-off to take four mature kings between 20 and 25 pounds on spin doctor and fly, as well as with a NBK magnum Stinger spoon. Off Wilson and Olcott, the most consistent fishing has been out deep for a mixed bag of salmon and trout. Some impressive catches came out of Lake Ontario during the Summer Lake Ontario Counties Trout and Salmon Derby held June 15-July 28 – and a few of the top catches came during the last weekend of action for some last-minute angling heroics. At the top of the list was Patrick Comerford of East Aurora reeling in the $10,000 Grand Prize catch from the lake , a 36 pound, five ounce Chinook salmon. First Place in the Salmon Division was Jesse Beach of Sackets Harbor with a 35 pound, one ounce king salmon hauled in from Jefferson County. It was interesting to note that the 20th place salmon weighed in at 30 pounds, nine ounces this year – pretty impressive to say the least. In the highly-competitive Lake Trout Division, the father-son fishing duo of Ed and Steve Klejdys of North Tonawanda came up with two fish over 30 pounds for the first time in their lives. On June 24, Steve came up with a personal best of 30 pounds, seven ounces to crack the 30 pound mark and end up in third place overall. Ed did one better on July 7 by reeling in a 32 pound, four ounce lake trout for another personal best and another first place fish for the fishing team. They were fishing on the Niagara Bar off the mouth of the Niagara River with some fishing tackle that they had traded the Wet Net fishing team for. Eric Burger, from Baldwinsville, held the coveted first place in the Brown Trout Division since July 18th with a 20 pound, one ounce fish, only to see Philip Marsh of Berkshire come to the scales during the final hour of the derby to weigh a 20 pound four ounce football-sized fish. In the Steelhead Division, Pennsylvania angler Thomas Schwenk caught his 16 pound 12 ounce silver fish on Saturday, July 27th near Point Breeze in Orleans County. It bumped out Carol Comerford’s first place fish that held on for a while from Wilson, weighing in at 15 pounds, 9 ounces. The complete leader board for the summer LOC is on the web at www.loc.org. LOC autumn derby action starts August 16th and ends September 2, 2013. The Orleans County Rotary Derby starts on Saturday, August 3. Stop in at the Slippery Sinker in Olcott for details. Don’t forget that the Fall LOC Derby starts on Aug. 16 and the Greater Niagara Fall Classic Derby kicks off on Aug. 17. Check out www.fishodyssey.net. The “Kick in the Pants” Award went to Mark Buttone of Ohio. While fishing out of Olcott, his boat landed a 36 pound, 14 ounce king salmon on the final weekend of the LOC Derby – but they weren’t entered into the contest. How does that NY State Lottery slogan go? You have to be in it to win it!

Lower Niagara River – The Niagara River Anglers Association held its Smallmouth Bass Classic last Saturday and in the end it was Mike Heylek of Niagara Falls with a two fish weight of 7.98 pounds to take the $1,000 check. He caught his biggest fish on the Coast Guard drift with a crayfish. His kicker fish came directly across the river with a “baby bass” colored tube jig. Big fish for the contest was Lloyd Schrack’s 4.41 pound bass he caught trolling a silver Kwikfish in front of 4 Mile Creek in the lake in 30 feet of water. Lots of fish were reported by competing anglers, especially at the Coast Guard drift and at the mouth of the river around the green buoy. After a lake roll-over brought in cold water, bass stacked up in the warmer river current. Since last week, action has slowed considerably. Fishermen do have to work for them now with live bait or tube jigs the best way to take bass. Walleye are also available with worm harnesses fished off three-way rigs, but you will have to fish in deeper waters outside of 40-foot depths.

Upper Niagara River – Tony Scime of Scime’s Tackle in Buffalo reports some decent bass fishing along the bike path along River Road. Some pike have been taken at the head of Strawberry Island, too. Bass are still hitting around the West River, between Strawberry and Beaver Island, and at the head of the river. Crabs, worms, shiners or tube jigs will all catch fish right now. Looks for the edges of weed beds. Use large tubes in those same areas for musky.

Chautauqua County Fishing Report

by Craig Robbins

Lake Erie – Walleye trollers are working depths 50 plus feet, stickbaits and/or worm harnesses keeping offerings close to the bottom. Anglers fishing out of Barcelona Harbor are catching larger walleye, with few limits. Targeting suspended walleye at depths over 70 feet is a good bet for keepers. The Dunkirk area has generally been slow, however the off Van Buren has been starting to pick up around 60 feet of water.

Smallmouth bass catches with warmer surface temperatures, targeting smallmouth bass in deeper water is a better bet. Key on structure areas around reefs, rock piles and drop-offs in 25-45 feet of water. Drop-shot rigs combined with crayfish, minnows, tube jigs or other plastic baits works well.

August is traditionally the best months to target lake trout in Lake Erie. Head for prime depths of over 90 feet deep, northwest of Dunkirk to the PA border. Downriggers with spoons run near the bottom is a very productive method, although lakers may also be suspended in the water column.

Chautauqua Lake – Chautauqua Lake trollers have been seeing great walleye action along weed edges with worm harnesses and pointed number 13 stickbaits in perch color around 15 feet of water from Ashville Bay to Cheney Point in the southern basin.

The largemouth bite for bass fishing been very good inside 10 feet to the shallows. Keeping it simple with top water baits, weedless rigged power worms and wacky rigged worms have worked well. Live minnows, crayfish and night crawlers baits are producing decent smallmouth bites in the deep water just outside weed edges.

Muskellunge fishing is starting to pick up with casters working the weed edges by casting large stickbaits and bucktail jigs around the narrows between the bridge and ferry in Stow and Bemus Point.

Cassadaga Lake – Cassadaga Lake bass anglers are still have been finding success in and around the shore line structure, like lily pads and fallen logs in the middle basin of Cassadaga. Early day finding top water baits such as buzz bait, floating plastic worms and bucktails. During mid-day hours, jig and pig or weighted 4″ plastic worms Texas rigged in and around the lily pads in the northern basin off Lily Dale working good.

Fair Haven / Cayuga County

by Captain Werner Stenger

Salmon fishing in Fair Haven is getting better by the day. The past weekend was a little tough with East winds on Friday and a strong south on Saturday that was moving the thermocline around, but a soon as that wind switched west on Sunday the fish came to life. Westerly winds forcast for the next two weeks should set the ideal stage for salmon to move in. They should be putting the final feed bag on before staging for the fall spawn. Flasher flies and cut bait were the best producers.