Greater Niagara Fishing Report
by Bill Hilts, Jr.
Lake Ontario and tributaries – Lake trollers are finding the fish to be a bit more finicky as mature kings get ready to make their spawning runs. Shoreline trollers can pick fish up off the pier heads. Others are anchoring in prime spots and casting with spoons or stickbaits. Salmon are also being reported off the piers in Olcott which has been leading to conflicts among boat and shoreline anglers. Show some common courtesy out there. If someone is fighting a fish, give them some room. No one owns a particular path or channel. Kings and a mix of fish have been caught out to 200 feet, as well as out deep in the 450 to 550 foot area – targeting the top 60-70 feet of water. Browns are also available in tight with some coming off the piers on spoons. In the Cystic Fibrosis event, Capt. Matt Yablonsky played his cards right by targeting salmon and trout off the mouth of the river at the drop off on the Niagara Bar. He went north seeking out active fish – heading out deep to the corner first and then settling in at the 250 to 300 foot line in the top 75 feet of water. He caught a mix of salmon and trout on spoons and flasher-fly to take his fish that combined well with the bass he caught the day before. He was the top captain in the event, fishing with the Washington Mills team. In the harbors, warm water action has been good for a mix of pike, bass and panfish right now. Capt. John Gifford of Ransomville was hitting Wilson Harbor hard with a white spinnerbait in the mid-morning timeframe and doing very well on pike. Over in Olcott, Dr. John Syracuse convinced new pastor Nate Hlad that even a broken fishing rod can catch fish and he proved that by reeling in a nice pike in the harbor.
Lower Niagara River – Salmon are starting to show up a bit more frequently in the Lower Niagara River based on some of the action that was reported in the Cystic Fibrosis Sportfishing Challenge held Monday and Tuesday out of Lewiston this week. Several boats hooked into salmon in the Devil’s Hole area while drifting K-11 Kwikfish off of three way rigs. Right now the afternoon bite seems to be better than the morning bite, but it won’t be long before that switches around and the use of treated egg skein becomes the staple approach for targeting king salmon. Capt. Ernie Calandrelli of Lewiston managed to produce two salmon on Monday afternoon on silver Kwikies; Capt. Jeff Draper of Grand Island did the same thing on Tuesday with John Lignos of Orchard Park catching the biggest in the CF event, a 32 female, drifting with Draper. Brad Hall of Angola had the biggest warm water fish at 23-1/2 inches, a nice walleye – also fishing with Draper. At the same time some pretty decent smallmouth bass action was going on at the Niagara Bar on shiners and crayfish. Capt. Steve Drabczyk and Capt. Matt Yablonsky both led fishing teams to fish in the five pound class on several occasions. Drabczyk even hit a nice king while drifting the Coast Guard drift! In the end it was Yablonsky leading Team Washington Mills in the win for the overall fishing titles. Grand Champion Angler was Thomas Miloszewski of Chicago, Illinois and runnerup was Mark Gonas of North Tonawanda – both under the guiding instruction of Yablonsky. Shoreline action for kings is starting, too, but with a caveat for those who like to fish off the Fishing Platform and the shoreline nearby. The New York Power Authority has announced that it is beginning construction on a pathway down the access road for safety reasons and half of the parking spots in the lower lot will be closed off. In addition, the stairs leading to the shoreline will also be closed off soon. You will have to gain access to the shoreline via Devil’s Hole or Whirlpool State Parks. The fishing platform will be open, but if the generator next to the platform is down, it will make things a bit more difficult.
Upper Niagara River – Bass action continues to be good around Strawberry Island and at the head of the river for drifters using crayfish and shiners or casters using tube jigs or jerk baits. Walleye are also being taken at the head of the river using worm harnesses. Shoreline action along Buffalo has been good for a mix of white perch, yellow perch, white bass and rock bass with the occasional smallmouth. As water temperatures start to cool, look for musky action to increase for casters and trollers. Large tubes are a preferred bait for many casting and drifting; large body baits for trollers.
Wayne County Fishing Report
by Christopher Kenyon
Lake Ontario – The copper lines are taking the kings, although it was a slow weekend. Try dragging copper back 300 to 400 feet. The kings have been in 200 to 250 feet of water. Flasher flies and cut bait have been working. Not too much has been showing on the screens for staging kings. Give it another week. Many anglers have to pull their boats for the season; however charters will stay on the water through September. Lakers, browns and a few salmon were caught straight out from Sodus Bay and west of the channel.
Bays – Bay fishing has been excellent. Autumn fishing has always produced lunker bass, feeding pike and plenty of panfish. And most of the recreational boat traffic is gone after Labor Day. You will have the bays all to yourself. Fish the pike close to the islands in Sodus Bay. Troll or cast the weedlines. Port Bay, the smaller embayment east of Sodus, has bass and pike. 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. 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 waters remain high and the fall fishing has been excellent. Most boats launch at the Widewaters Park and fish west towards Palmyra. You can also fish from shore. There are pull-off locations along Route 31.
Fair Haven/Cayuga County
by Captain Werner Stenger
Lake Ontario continues to provide some great salmon fishing as many cohos are moving through the area to get to their spawning grounds. Kings will also be staging in the short water. Temperature is not of much concern to these staging salmon so don’t over run them looking for temp. It’s a good time of the year to check the hole outside the chute less than 1/2-mile on a NW heading. Also keep in mind that we do have mature returns from the net pen program in Fair Haven so fishing inside the bay for them is also an option.
Pier anglers it’s your time to shine. Cleos, plugs even drifting spawn can produce some great catches off the pier heads or at the Park Pond Bridge.
No reports to date of perch entering the bay in numbers but could happen any day with these cooler temperatures.
Oswego County Fishing Report
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 salmon are here! The dam is loaded with salmon with a few browns in the mix. Crazy eggs, beads, skein and estez flies are working well. The water level is running just under 5,000cfs this morning. The 90 degree temperatures are gone and temperature is expected to stay in the 50s today with 60s for the weekend. 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 Tourism web site at www.visitoswegocounty.com and look for the fishing report under fishing and hunting.
Lake Ontario – Once again this morning the wind is a factor and the lake is rough. It has been a mixed bag of weather this week with wind, rain, very warm temperatures and a drop in the mercury to 56 degrees this morning. With some salmon moving into the river, several boats were seen during the week not too far out from the harbor. Earlier in the week white paddles with cutbait and flashers and flies were working mostly on riggers for one charter.
Pulaski Area/Salmon River – According to Dave Wood of Woody’s Tackle,
fish, fish and more fish! There are a good number of fish working their way through the river and the lake is holding up well too. Yesterday anglers were finding fish in 20 feet of water in the lake out to 120 feet in front of the Salmon River. A real cool down in the temperature from the 90 degrees on Tuesday and Wednesday should keep them moving. Daytime highs for Friday will only be in the 50s with 60s expected for the weekend.
According to Garrett Brancy of the Douglaston Salmon Run, Thursday morning started off slow but action picked up around 9-10 o’clock when a new batch of “freshies” started moving out of the estuary. Guests in the lower end had good action from there on out with more big fresh Kings, a few Cohos, and a handful of trout. Fishermen in the mid-section of the run saw movement of 1’s and 2’s until mid-afternoon when the fresh fish from down stream reached them; they too were all smiles at the end of the day. A much welcome change in the weather cooled things off overnight with a high in the 50’s today should keep things going.
According to Whitaker’s Sport Shop and Motel, Yesterday, anglers stopping into the shop who fished between RT2A and the Black Hole reported that the fish were spread out with not much movement. We’re not getting many reports from the upper end of the river, but anglers have reported fish holding in some of the deeper holes. The water flow is running at 335cfs this morning.
Oneida Lake Report – Walleye fishing has slowed down although some are still being taken in 25-30 feet of water. There has been a yellow perch bite with Big Bay, Dunham and Frenchman’s Island being suggested spots to try. Bucktail jigs tipped with a worm are working for walleye with minnows and worms working well for perch. Smallmouth bass are active in various areas across the lake. For the new downloadable Oneida Lake Association boating safety map, visit their web site at www.oneidalakeassociation.org.
Sandy Pond – According to Dave Wood of Woody’s Tackle, there is very little activity to report on the pond which is typical for this time of year.