Greater Niagara Fishing Report

by Bill Hilts, Jr.

Lake Ontario and tributaries – Shoreline trolling is working for trout and Coho salmon with stickbaits being the most popular lure. Tributary action can be good, but most will have to wait until the streams settle down after the rain earlier this week. Bob Fronczak of Ransomville was out earlier this week to do some shoreline trolling for trout and salmon on either side of Wilson. Using small stickbaits off planer boards (the Storm baits with ultraviolet paint worked best), he managed to boat 26 Coho salmon and brown trout for the morning. A variety of colors were all working. Browns ranged in size from 5 to 8 pounds; the Cohos around 4 to 5 pounds. Greg Stanley at All in the Same Boat Tackle Shop in Newfane reports that some trollers were also working a Super UV Johnny Buster stinger spoon to take some fish off Olcott in 10 to 40 feet of water. Challenger’s junior minnow sticks in silver-black were also catching fish. Cast the piers in Wilson and Olcott for salmon and trout – spoons or spinners. Wes Walker at The Slippery Sinker reports that the first kings were caught this week – off the short pier in Wilson by fishermen casting spoons. In the creeks, some trout are still available according to Stanley. Burt Dam and 18 Mile Creek is holding steelhead and a few browns. Keith Webster of Olcott scored on a double digit steelie earlier this week on a black jig tipped with a warm worm. Some of the other fish are starting to turn on, too.

Remember that northern pike, pickerel, and walleye seasons don’t open until May 3. Get ready to cash in on over a quarter million dollars of fishing prize money as Lake Ontario derbies and tournaments start up on May 2. If you enjoy fishing in derbies and tournaments, then this May is setting up to be one of the biggest ever in the history of salmon and trout fishing on Lake Ontario. To kick things off, May 2 is the start of the 10-day Spring Lake Ontario Counties Trout and Salmon Derby – a lake-wide event that traditionally is won off the shores of Niagara County. Since 2001, 11 Grand Prize winning fish have been caught in this spring contest. It’s not uncommon for more than 60 percent of all the winning fish to be weighed in right here in Niagara. The Grand prize is $15,000. Check out www.loc.org for details. The next events are the Wilson Salmon Slam and $1,000 a Day competitions that will run from May 3 through 9, a precursor to the Wilson Harbor Invitational Tournament on May 10. Grand Prize for the big one-day contest is $25,000. Check out www.wilsonharborinvitational.com for details on all three.

Which takes us to the 30th annual Lake Ontario Pro-Am Salmon Team Tournaments – two in Niagara this year. The first one is set for May 24-25 and the second is May 31-June 1. A total of $130,000 in cash and prizes will be up for grabs in both events. Check out www.lakeontarioproam.net for details. If you just want to get in on some of the fun, then take a gander at the Recreational Open Division of the Pro-Am. No strict rules to follow and no observer. Your best three fish for the day determines the winners – and each day is treated as a separate event.

Lower Niagara River – As far as fishing, the ice boom is still in place in Lake Erie, which means the Niagara River trout fishery is still moving along under cold water conditions. Last report was there was less than 400 square miles of ice still and there needs to be less than 250 square miles. Regular updates are tough to come by. This was as of Wednesday. Water temperatures are still hovering around 33-34 degrees and anglers can catch steelhead, brown trout or lake trout – either in the river or on the bar. Minnows, egg sacs or Kwikfish are the way to go from boat; casting spoons or spinners from shore is another approach. However, fishing was tougher this week and that could mean an influx of live bait – like emerald shiners or smelt. It’s more likely that steelhead are going into their normal spawning funk this time of year. You have to be on the fish and stay on them until they hit. That happened Tuesday when a few boats stayed in Devil’s Hole to wait for the fish to turn on. When they did, they capitalized. No word on anyone doing anything with smelt yet, but there have been some fires burning along the shoreline at night to help greet them when they do arrive. The Niagara River Anglers will be frying up smelt on May 2 at Lewiston Landing during Lewiston’s annual Smelt Festival starting around 6 pm. Word from state parks is that the Artpark stairs project is now slated to be completed by June 1 due to the severe winter conditions.

Upper Niagara River – Seek out any place where water can be warmer like the Erie Canal and toward Tonawanda Creek; the bays around Grand Island or the creek mouths after a rain. You will find bait fish and the predators like panfish. Some trout off the Bird Island Pier and Broderick Park are being reported. Egg sacs, minnows or spoons and spinners are the best baits to use. The Erie Canal is starting to fill up with some water and should be back to normal by May 3.

Wayne County Fishing Report

by Chris Kenyon

Lake Ontario – One charter captain called it the best spring fishing in 28 years. “It’s mayhem,” he said.

This spring brown trout fishing is non-stop with browns, cohos and some Atlantic salmon. When asked what to use the captain told me… “Everything.” Stickbaits close to shore are working with every color catching browns. The temps are running 39 to 42 degrees. If you have never experienced big browns from Lake Ontario this is the time to book the trip.

Streams – Browns are being caught at the outlet of Maxwell Creek. Cast out into the lake. Most of the steelhead have left the area streams, however there have been a few hold-overs.

Bays – Bay fishing has picked-up since last week. The water is starting to warm after a very deep freeze winter. Crappies and perch are at the south end of Sodus Bay.
Bullheads are hitting off of Bay Bridge (Sodus) but we need a spike in the temperatures for some serious bullhead fishing.

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 – Crappies are still hitting at the Port Gibson Bridge. Sections of the canal have been flooded and the waterway will be open for boats on May 3, 2014

Chautauqua County Fishing Report

by Craig Robbins

Lake Erie, Lake Erie Harbors and Tribs – All of the Lake Erie tributaries, except Cattaraugus Creek are in good shape. The medium sizes streams have moderate flows with clearing conditions. Cattaraugus Creek is running a bit high and will be dropping the end of the week. Anglers have been catching mostly darker steelhead with a few fresh fish mixed in. Brown trout have also shown in the Chautauqua County tributaries. Spring run steelhead hit a variety of baits including egg sacs, egg pattern flies, trout beads, jigs with grubs (fished under a float), minnows, nightcrawlers, streamer patterns and bugger patterns.

Anglers are still catching steelhead and brown trout at Dunkirk Harbor, from the city pier, fishing platform and from boats. There has also been some great action for brown trout at Barcelona Harbor. Minnows or jigs with grubs fished under a float and casted spoons and spinners are good offerings for harbor trout.

Chautauqua Lake – Good places to target crappie include Rock and Grass Islands, Lakewood Bar, Ashville Bay, along the narrows between the bridge and ferry, Mayville flats and in the canals. Jig heads (1/32 and 1/64 ounce) with one inch tubes in hot colors and tipped with a minnow, are good bets. Search around to find the tight crappie schools. Perch and bluegills are being picked up in narrows between the Bridge and Ferry on the Stow side in 6-10 feet under a bobber, tipped off with a nightcrawler. Bullhead are hitting well in the canals and shoreline areas. Worms, leeches or chicken livers fished on the bottom at night, work well for bullhead.

Oswego County Fishing Report

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

A reminder that from November 1st – May 1st, all persons aboard a pleasure vessel less than 21 feet regardless of age must wear a Personal Flotation Device while underway.

Oswego River/Lake Ontario – According to Larry Muroski of Larry’s Oswego Salmon Shop, the water level continues to drop running at 15,900cfs this morning. We are not yet at a fishable level for much of the river but anglers behind the hotels are finding a good bite. Brown trout and steelhead are taking egg sacs, spoons, minnows and deep-diving stickbaits. The bullhead bite at Wright’s Landing has been decent with nightcrawlers the suggested bait.

According to Kevin Davis of Catch the Drift, early in the week we did very well brown trout fishing on the lake. With rough water the last couple of days we returned to the river for some of the best steelhead fishing I have seen this late in the season. Usually they have spawned and left the river by now but every spot in the river was holding fish.

Lake Ontario – According to Larry Muroski of Larry’s Oswego Salmon Shop, although the wind has been a problem a couple of days this week, the brown trout fishing has been very good all along the shoreline. Suggested baits are shallow-diving stickbaits such as Smithwicks and light spoons.

Salmon River/ Pulaski Area – According to Dave Wood of Woody’s Tackle, although we have been dealing with high water in the river, there is a large number of steelhead throughout the river.

According to Whitaker’s Sport Shop and Motel, the water level is running at 3,000cfs and is expected to remain at that level through tonight. Over the last couple of days the driftboats are mostly fishing the mid to upper section of river. Some groups are bottom bouncing or float fishing but the majority of action has been pulling plugs. With the river running high and dirty, the few bank anglers who are in town have been fishing some of the smaller local tributaries.

According to Garrett Brancy of the Douglaston Salmon Run, the DSR will remain closed for fishing due to high water. As soon as the posted flows drop below 2000cfs we will be open for fishing.

According to Dave Wood of Woody’s Tackle, when the wind isn’t a factor, the brown trout fishing along the Lake Ontario shoreline has been very good. Anglers are finding a good bite in 6-8 feet of water trolling at 1.5-1.7 mph. Straight stickbaits, thundersticks and rebels are working well. Light spoons are also working and will be a good choice of bait as the fish begin to work their way out to the deeper 10-20 ft. depths over the next few weeks.

Oneida Lake – As we get into the early season open water fishing, the activity has been light. Now that the ice is gone, anglers and area residents are dealing with high water and debris in the water. Some anglers have been working the bay areas for perch and panfish.

Sandy Pond – According to Dave Wood of Woody’s Tackle, the pond has been active this week with an excellent crappie bite. Live minnows under a float and small light jigs under a casting bobber are working well.