Niagara Region Fishing Forecast

Lake Ontario and tributaries – With the Roger Tobey Memorial Steelhead Contest only a week away (Feb. 15), area fishermen should know that Lake Ontario tributaries are eligible waters for the Niagara River Anglers Association’s annual contest. One of the sleeper spots is Burt Dam and 18 Mile Creek. Some open water is available there according to Greg Stanley at All in the Same Boat Tackle Shop in Newfane, but getting the big ones to hit is another story. He did well on steelhead and browns earlier in the week, but recent weather problems put a damper on fishing action lately. Open water was located near the dam and down towards the trestle, but that could change with cold temperatures arriving back on the scene. Clear water could be a problem and you may have to change your presentation. For instance, using lighter line and longer leads are two suggestions. Using a smaller hook size is another. It could be a problem, at least until we get some melting action to stain the water up a bit. Egg sacs or jigs tipped with a wax worm are two approaches that have been working. Ice fishing should be available in both Wilson and Olcott. Live minnows, salted minnows or ice jigs clean or tipped with bait should catch panfish. Try a jigging spoon for a chance at a trout.

Lower Niagara River – The ice is spotty in the lower river and action has been decent according to Capt. Steve Drabczyk of Lewiston. Water clarity has been good – not too clear; not too cloudy. The steelhead bite has been good on the Artpark drift, as well as up in Devil’s Hole. Pink egg sacs were doing the trick. Drabczyk recommends tying your egg sacs loosely as the mesh was allowing for a better hook set when the trout grabbed hold of the bait. Walleye and the occasional northern pike were being reported north of the Lewiston Landing area. He was using a three-way rig to slow troll a single blade inline silver spinner with a No. 2 hook tipped with a golden shiner in 17 to 20 feet of water. Remember that there is a one fish limit on walleye in the river until March 15. If you hook into a musky, it must be released immediately as they are out of season. The Niagara River Anglers Association’s Roger Tobey Memorial Steelhead Contest is set for next weekend, Feb. 15th on the lower Niagara River and in area tributaries. To find out more information about the event, either check out the website at www.niagarariveranglers.com or call contest organizer Steve Drabczyk at (716) 807-6248. You can fish from either boat or from shore to compete. In fact, shore fishermen have done extremely well in the past for this contest.

Upper Niagara River – Ice fishing is being reported around Grand Island at places like the Holiday Inn and Beaver Island. Ditto at the Buffalo Boat Harbor where up to a foot of ice was being reported. Action there has slowed a bit, but a few northern pike and some perch are being caught.

Chautauqua County Fishing Report

Lake Erie and Tribs– “As of the Monday all the tributaries are total frozen over rock solid,” according to Bills Hooks in Dunkirk New York. With a little warmer temperatures some of the small tribs should start to break up. When that happens great wintertime steelhead baits offers can include egg sacs, trout beads and hair jigs tipped with a waxworm fished under a float. In cold water conditions, it is best to keep drifted offerings slow and deep, has 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 – Chautauqua has thick ice of 10 inches or more throughout the lake. Anglers fishing the flats in 8-15 feet off Mayville, report non-stop action for bluegill and yellow perch. However, expect to catch many smaller throwbacks for every keeper. This is a great place to take young anglers with short attention spans. Inside of Warner Bar has been producing good numbers of sunfish and perch. Crappie have shown well at times during low light periods off Mayville and Burtis Bay. Anglers take crappie in shallow zones on jigs with grubs, small jig heads with a minnow or by dead sticking a minnow. When fishing for crappie it is wise to jig at various depths as crappie are often suspended. Walleye fishing improved this week with catches reported along deeper drops off Prendergast and Dewittville. Good numbers of walleye with a few keeper sized mixed in were caught in 20-28 feet of water off Long Point. Anglers generally target walleye during low light periods with jigging Rapalas, jigging spoons or shiners on a tip-up.

Wayne County Fishing Report

Streams – Bear Creek and a few sections of Maxwell Creek are open for stream fishing. The cold temperatures from last week have kept most parts iced-over.

Steelhead fishing is fantastic if you have sections open. Use egg sacs or flies and make sure you have Korkers on your boots.

Bays – We have the best ice conditions in years. There has been solid ice since the beginning of January. We now are running 10 to 15 inches on the bays. There are some weaker spots near the loop on Sodus Bay, however most ice is safe for man and machine.

The perch seem to be scattered. After you find the school stay put and jig with small teardrop jigs. Tip them with 5 spikes.

They are catching nice pike on the east side of Sodus Bay. Use pike minnows under tip-ups.

Port Bay has perch action at the north end. Park at the end of West Port Bay road and walk on the ice. Just follow the shanties. Perch are 12 plus inches…big time stuff for this area.

The NYS Ice Fishing Pro-Am comes to Sodus Bay February 22-23, 2014. All the information is on the web at www.nysiceproam.com

The Thomas brothers just finished the Chautauqua event and the winners are posted on their web page. Next up is Tupper Lake and then Sodus Bay.

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

Erie Canal – Lots of action on the canal, especially near Widewaters in Newark. Panfish are the targeted fish, however you can catch some pike in the canal.