Chautauqua County

by Craig Robbins

Lake Erie – Lake Erie Harbors and Tribs – Anglers are reporting good winter fishing off the pier in Dunkirk Harbor by the power plant with steelhead and brown trout being caught in the harbor. Anglers are doing well with egg sacks minnows and spinners for harbor fishing.

Lake Erie tributaries are still pretty much iced up but with a warmer weather forecasted later this coming week there should be some open trib water for steelhead. 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 – With walleye season closing on March 15th, Chautauqua Lake anglers are do well in deeper holes off Long Point, Upper Dewittville Bay and Prendergast. Fishing just off the bottom in 20 plus feet seem to be producing best in the early morning and evening hours. With spawning approaching, targeting walleye off other traditional spawning areas is working well. Anglers are catching good numbers of perch throughout the lake. Catches consist mostly of smaller fish with a handful of 8 inch fish mixed in. Some have found better schools of larger perch but there hasn’t been any one area producing better than another.

Ashville Bay has been producing good numbers of bluegill with a few crappie mixed in.

Wayne County Fishing Report

by Christopher Kenyon

Streams – Nothing happening on the streams. Western NY is in a blizzard condition today and we are not happy!

Bays – After this latest episode of winter we can again drill holes. Ice thickness is over 20 inches on all bays.

Perch are scattered, possibly setting-up for the spring spawn. They are hitting at different locations on Sodus and Port Bays. Try 26 feet of water.

Some crappies were being caught near the south end of Sodus Bay. Use small jigs tipped with spikes.

A nice 15 pound pike was caught under Port Bay ice last week. It hit a minnow. Remember walleye and pike closes March 15th and reopens in May.

Everyone is looking forward to the Lake Ontario brown trout season. We need some warm weather. It’s time to uncover the charter boats.

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 – Some anglers were fishing on the canal last Sunday. Not much happening…just some small stuff.

Oswego County Fishing Report

This report courtesy of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning.

Oswego River – After having blizzard warnings up yesterday with the snow and wind, the sun is out this morning. Although we have very cold temperatures today, we should rebound to near 40 degrees tomorrow and Saturday. The river is up to 8,550cfs this morning. This will make fishing more difficult along some areas of the river. Anglers are finding a steelhead bite along the river along with a few brown trout. 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.

Pulaski area/Salmon River – According to the Douglaston Salmon Run, we weathered the latest snow storm with several inches of snow. The gusty wind created deep snow drifts in some areas. We are excited to see some more seasonable temperatures over the next couple days. The sunny skies and mild temperatures brought several anglers out to the Run to get some steelhead fishing in on Tuesday. The bite was slow as the brilliant sunshine may have turned the fish a little lethargic. Anglers reported good action over the weekend, with blue egg sacs and single egg patterns in natural colors taking the most hits. The flow still remains at 285cfs through tomorrow night.

Oneida Lake – The storm that was predicted yesterday came to fruition with several inches of snow and a good stiff wind. Temperatures dropped rapidly yesterday hitting single digits last night. A warm up to near 40 degrees is expected tomorrow and Saturday. With the up and down temperatures and the snow on the lake, use caution as there are gas pockets in the ice. The walleye bite has been slow and the season ends on Saturday, March 15, until May 4. Even the perch have been less cooperative this week. Expect to move around some to find the activity. A reminder that ice fishing shanties must be removed from the ice by March 15.

Sandy Pond – We have plenty of ice along with some snow cover from yesterday’s storm. Temperatures are expected to warm up some for the next two days but back into the 20s for Sunday and Monday. Perch are taking small jigs tipped with grubs along with minnows. Northern pike are responding to tip ups with large shiners for pike. Greene Point is producing some crappies on small green and red jigs tipped with minnows. A reminder that ice fishing shanties must be removed from the ice by March 15.