Niagara Fishing Forecast

Important note: The Department of Environmental Conservation has announced that a new vendor has been hired to handling sporting license transactions in the state and that a black out period for selling licenses will be put into place starting Dec. 26 across the state. In other words, if you are looking to fish or hunt from Dec. 26 into early January, 2014 you better purchase a license in advance because no other option will exist. So charter captains looking to service customers coming in from out of state will need to be thinking ahead and then hope that the weather stays decent. If you have relatives coming home for the holidays and they want to wet a line or chasing some waterfowl, you better have them make arrangements before Dec. 26. And just because licenses aren’t available doesn’t mean that the conservation laws won’t be enforced – they will be according to the DEC press office in Albany.

Lake Ontario and tributaries – Good news and bad news for ice fishermen. Wilson Harbor was reporting decent ice in the back bay of the harbor with 5 to 7 inches of ice holding up hard water anglers. According to Greg Stanley of All in the Same Boat Tackle Shop in Newfane, ice fishermen have been pulling a mix of panfish, perch and some small trout through the holes in Wilson. The new shop (which also carries ice fishing gear and baits) can be contacted for updates at 435-5012 on stream action and ice fishing. In the tributaries, Stanley reported good success on Wednesday for brown trout at Burt Dam and 18 Mile Creek using charteuse jigs tipped with meal worms. Some steelhead are also available. Water was low and slightly stained in the creek and the power plant was generating power at the dam. The bad news is that the forecast is calling for 1-2 inches of rain, which will probably mess up the streams and maybe even the ice. Once that rain turns back to snow, though, the cold weather could set the ice back up for more manageable conditions. For example, to the east at Irondequoit Bay, more than a foot of snow sits on the ice. The rain could melt that snow and another cold freeze would be perfect for moving around on the hard stuff.

Lower Niagara River – Fishing was slowly getting back on track for lower river drifters and casters as water conditions improved. However, warmer temperatures, rain and wind could have an impact on fishing going into the weekend. On Wednesday, charter guys were doing well on steelhead in the river with minnows being the most consistent bait. Kwikfish lures were also working, all fished off three-way rigs. A few walleye have also been caught. Shore fishermen can also pick fish up along Artpark and Devil’s Hole but caution is advised. Remember that the stairs at Artpark off the main lot and the NYPA access road stairs are both closed for the winter. Remember that lake trout season opens on Jan. 1, 2014.
Upper Niagara River – Shore anglers can still catch perch or trout around Broderick Park. Emerald shiners can work for just about anything, but egg sacs and spoons will allow you to target trout specifically.

Chautauqua County Fishing Report

Lake Erie – Water levels have been falling the past few days making the smaller streams being your best bet. All creeks except Cattaraugus should be good to go by mid week, with ideal water conditions likely. Cattaraugus Creek is running high at about 1,700 cubic feet per second and should be down by weeks end. Anglers continue to report good steelhead action on many creeks. Chautauqua, South Branch Cattaraugus, Eighteenmile are good choices.

Lake Erie steelhead commonly hit natural baits like egg sacs and worms, flies such as egg imitations, streamers and bugger patterns, and artificial lures like trout beads, minnow-type stickbaits and in-line spinners. In cold water conditions, it is best to keep drifted offerings slow and deep, as steelhead are more lethargic and hugging the bottom. It is also good to concentrate efforts during the warmest part of the day when chasing winter steelhead.

Chautauqua Lake – Parts of the lake iced over during the last cold snap. Some thin ice remains in the sheltered bays of the south basin, which are not safe and parts of northern basin remains open to boating. Anglers can find yellow perch and sunfish action in the shallow areas. Small minnows, worms and small ice fishing jigs tipped with waxworms work well. Boaters can target walleye below 20-25 feet in the deep holes of the north basin. Vertical jigging just off the bottom with Swedish pimples, jigging Rapalas and hair jigs tipped with worms or minnows are good bets for walleye. Anglers may still target bass by catch and release only, artificial lures only.

The special bass season runs from December 1 till June 20th, and allows bass anglers to use artificial baits and immediately release bass back into the Chautauqua Lake.

Wayne County Fishing Report

Streams – Two to three feet of snow fell on Wayne County creeks earlier this week. This is typical for Lake Ontario shoreline streams. Maxwell Creek was buried; however the thaw has melted a lot of the fluffy stuff. Maxwell and other streams are open but the flow is of course fast. It is still fishable if you use some heavy spit shots. There are some nice steelhead in the stream.

Bays– The bays have a hard surface, however not safe enough for any ice fishing. Today and Saturday are predicted to reach the 50’s for temps……not a good thing.
There are some exciting ice fishing contests planned and we’ll talk about them next week.
Let’s just hope for cold, consistent temperatures because right now all you can do is just look at the bays.

Don’t forget the New York State law that requires a PFD from November 1st until May 1st on any New York State waters. This is one of the better regulations.

Check out the Wayne County Tourism web page for the locations and hours of local bait and tackle shops. 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. We also have a new publication on Great Lakes fishing.

Erie Canal – The canal has the same ice conditions. It is frozen but not safe.