Greater Niagara Region
by Bill Hilts, Jr.
Lake Ontario and tributaries – Salmon fishing on 18 Mile Creek is starting to pick up from the piers to the dam at Burt. Casting the piers with spoons or deep diving stickbaits in firetiger or chartreuse is working morning and early evening; glow in the dark works at night. Egg skein is another approach that has been getting fish to hit. In addition, brown trout are being caught off the piers at Wilson and Olcott. Some of those browns have been caught at the dam, too. While 12 Mile Creek in Wilson is in need of a good rain, 4 Mile Creek was filled with water from a blockage at the mouth. Thanks to local angler Chuck Booker of Amherst, he was able to open the creek back up so that it is flowing again. There should be fish in the creek this weekend. Boat trollers are hitting the pier heads and a bit deeper with J-plugs and large J13 Rapalas. In the 100 to 200 foot range, target the top 60 feet for a mix of cohos, kings and steelhead. Steelhead are still hitting out deep, too. Tip of the week comes from Sir Glenn Bird of Barkershire who decreed that if you are taking your boat up the creek, be sure to make sure you have petrol in your gas tank – especially if you are attempting to motor up before sunrise. Remember that a new license year started up on Oct. 1 for sporting licenses. Also, the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge is closed until further notice – whenever Washington, D.C. gets their act straight.
Lower Niagara River – Local fishermen will have to suffer the consequences for the actions of a few people when the New York Power Authority announced that the Fishing Platform in the gorge will be closed week days through the remainder of the fall. After a few close calls with construction trucks by fishermen anxious to get to the platform, it was announced that the platform will only be open on weekends for the next month. The stairs to the shoreline is also closed at the South Access Road. Salmon fishing continues to be good in Devil’s Hole and this past week produced some big ones in the 30 pound class. Treated egg skein seems to be the ticket. A mid-day bite was working for some in the 11:30 am to 1:30 pm range, so don’t go in too early if it’s been a slow morning. Bass action continues to be decent at the lower drifts as well as on the Niagara Bar. Perch fishing off the corner of the Lewiston Landing area has been very good the past week. Congratulations to 7 year old Bella Carr of Lewiston who won the kids fishing contest at the Wildlife Festival with a .13 pound bluegill from Bond Lake. She beat out her 2-1/2 year old brother Jackson by .03 pounds. Like she said at the scales: “You have to be in it to win it!”
Upper Niagara River – Bass fishing has been the hottest action for anglers drifting live bait around weed edges in the west river, as well as around Strawberry and Motor islands. Also at the head of the river. Shiners, crayfish or tube jigs work best. A recent electroshocking survey by DEC revealed good numbers of northern pike just east of the southern tip of Grand Island along the weed edges there. Yellow perch have been hitting around Buffalo at places like Ontario Street and off Broderick Park. Musky action should improve as waters start to cool, but the recent nice weather has not contributed much to lowing temperatures. Try using large 8-10 inch tubes to entice a musky to hit.
Wayne County Fishing Report
by Christopher Kenyon
Lake Ontario– If you are still fishing the lake, the steelhead and young salmon are in 250 to 350 feet of water. Try anywhere from 100 to 150 down with spoons.
Closer to shore are the browns which usually follow the salmon into the streams. Most charter boats are out of the water for the season but that’s not because of poor fishing. That is just how their season runs. You can still catch trout and salmon and the water level is still high enough for launching your boat.
Streams– Rain predicted for the weekend should make Maxwell Creek flow a little better. The last two weeks have seen no precipitation. The kings are in Maxwell Bay which is at the mouth of the stream.
Fishing the piers is very productive when the streams are not flowing. Cast out Cleos or go with the egg sacs. Anglers are catching both salmon and steelhead off the Sodus Pier. There are also trout and salmon at the Port Bay pier.
You can also find the kings at Hughes’ Marina. It’s located east of Pultneyville on Lake Road. There is a $5 permit fee to fish the small lagoon which is connected to Lake Ontario
Bays– The bass season in New York State continues until the last day of November and this is the ideal time of year for largemouths. Cast the weedlines near the south end of Sodus Bay. Pike are plentiful in Sodus, Port, and Blind Sodus Bays. They will hit any Zoom bait or you can go with pike minnows.
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. HYPERLINK “www.waynecountytourism.co” 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 bass are always hitting in the canal, however autumn is the best time to fish. Shoreline anglers are catching panfish while the bass boats are cruising the shoreline for the lunkers.
Chautauqua County
by Craig Robbins
Lake Erie – When Lake Erie waters cool in the fall, looking for smallmouth bass in and around the shallow reefs and shoals areas from 15-30 feet of water. Drop-shot rigging with crayfish, shiners, tube jigs or plastics works well. As water temperature fall into the 50 look for smallies to move back into harbor areas as well.
Yellow perch fishing on Lake Erie is generally good but as fall approaches the past couple of weeks has been extraordinary. While anglers catching limits of jumbo perch. Anglers are doing well in many places especially out of Dunkirk Harbor. While the depth of catches vary anglers best bets are between 60 and 70 feet of water. Live minnows are great choicesA and perch haven’t been hitting on anything else.
Steelhead are starting to move up in the Chautauqua and Canadaway Creeks following this past weekend weather. Steelhead are trickling into streams that don’t have impassible gravel bars at the mouth. Another option is always to wade and cast spoons and spinners off creek mouths for steelhead that are staging in those areas.
Chautauqua Lake – Like Lake Erie, Chautauqua Lake anglers have been doing well with yellow perch.
The narrows between the Stow Ferry and the Bridge are been working well with minnows.
Walleye are starting to show up for anglers in the deeper holes off Dewittville Bay and Warners Bar in the Northern Basin of the Lake. Vertical jigging with spoons, jigging Rapalas or medium sizes shiners are good bets.
Good largemouth bass action continues around weed beds on stickbaits and plastics, with smallmouth bass being taken outside weed edges on live bait fished near the bottom.
Fall is generally a good time to target muskellunge on Chautauqua Lake. Some musky catches come along weed edges in 10-16 feet of water, while other suspended musky are caught over depths of 25-35 feet in the Northern Basin. Trolling with large, minnow-type stickbaits are working good best.
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, fishing on the Oswego River continues to be very good. Along with the salmon anglers are finding some trout in the mix. Anglers at the dam are using rubber eggs, egg sacs, skein and flies. A number of them are being taken from the wall behind the shop using hot-n-tots, egg sacs, skein and estez flies. The night wall behind the YMCA is also producing on glow spoons and hot-n-tots. The water level is currently running at 2210cfs. 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.
According to Capt. Kevin Davis of Catch the Drift, on Monday we had a good early morning bite then struggled to get a few more. Very productive first couple of hours of the day but the grind starts as soon as the sun comes up. We had a nice bite Tuesday morning with four to the net in the first 35 minutes. A very impressive skein bite this morning put us in the double digits. I do see some rain in the forecast so I’ll keep my fingers crossed.
Lake Ontario – The lake fishing season is winding down with not a lot of reports coming in.
Pulaski area/Salmon River – According to Dave Wood of Woody’s Tackle, there was a big run of fish up through the Douglaston Salmon Run earlier this week so you can expect them further up the river now. Salmon are still coming into the river with good numbers throughout the estuary. Anglers are also doing well night fishing at the mouth of the river.
According to Garrett Brancy of the Douglaston Salmon Run, action remained steady through the evening in the lower end yesterday. As the fish from the morning worked their way upstream the rest of the run really heated up in the afternoon as well. Movement in the lower end started a little later this morning than yesterday but guests tell us now that they are moving strong again, most of which have been big tackle busting male kings. The rest of the run is also fishing well. Our contacts in the estuary tell us that it is still full of fish getting ready. Looks like things are shaping up well for the next few days. Large streamers like hot shot comets #4 in white/chartreuse and white/pink were the ticket yesterday and so far this morning. E.S.L.’s have remained a staple along with Crystal eggs #6-8 in orange, pink, and purple.
According to Whitaker’s Sport Shop and Motel, the anglers we spoke with that fished RT2A, Papermill, Ball Park, Town Pool, Longbridge/Staircase and Black Hole got into a mix of Kings and Cohos that came through the DSR the previous day. Anglers staying in the motel reported having a good day in the upper section of the river while fishing at Ellis Cove, Bovines and the Lower Fly Zone. Estaz eggs and glo-bugs produced steady results. The water flow is running at 335cfs as of this afternoon.
Oneida Lake – Conditions have not changed much on the lake. Anglers are finding some perch activity in 12-18 feet of water with minnows and worms working well. There has been a little activity with anglers night casting for walleye but nothing too exciting as yet. Expect things to pick up when the weather gets cooler. 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, things are quiet on the pond this time of year.