Wayne County Fishing Report
by Christopher Kenyon
Lake Ontario – A busy holiday weekend on the lake. Browns still close to shore although they are scattering. Use the boards in 8 to 10 feet of water and try to find temperature breaks. No mudlines have been along the shoreline.
Steelhead have been in 80 to 100 feet of water and there has been an increase in the Coho catch this year….both are fun fish to catch.
Kings are out in 100 to 150 feet and hitting spoons. Hot colors are chicken wing, die hard, hawg wild, and orange crush.
Bays – Pike are still being caught on the east shoreline of Sodus Bay. Holiday boat traffic was an issue for many anglers.
Pan fish are everywhere in all the bays. Bass season starts the third Saturday in June. Size is 12 inches with a limit of five fish.
Don’t forget the Wayne County 5-Grandslam and Merchants Challenge Youth Derby which is happening right now. Click on Grandslam for more information.
Check out the rest of 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 is producing panfish, pike and some catfish. The cats like the deeper pools. Cast out cut bait or dough balls and prepare for a great fight.
Fair Haven / Cayuga County Fishing Report
by Werner Stenger
Although the brown trout fishing has slowed during all but the first hour of daylight, there are other species to target in the area. Off shore in the 100’depth range there are lakers near bottom. Bottom bouncing or near bottom with cowbells can produce some very nice action. If you come across pods of warmer waters run remaining lines from surface to mid depth for kings and steelies.
June is soon to approach and judging from the small mouth that we have come across during our shoreline trolls it seems to be a good heath population of them in our mix. Please remember as the season opens that water temperatures have been cooler than normal so many of these bass have yet to spawn. If it seems fatter than normal then return it to the spawning beds to produce future generations of these great fish.
Oswego River/Lake Ontario Fishing
This report courtesy of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning.
According to Larry Muroski of Larry’s Oswego Salmon Shop, the water flow has been between 9,000-13,000cfs over the last few days. This morning it is running at 10,600cfs. This flow is still a little too high for much action along the river. Anglers continue to find rock bass behind the hotels and down in front of Breitbeck Park. A minnow on a jig is the suggested bait. 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.
Lake Ontario – According to Capt. Kevin Davis of Catch the Drift, we went from easy fishing to working for them over the last few days. The king bite is real early. If you don’t have them by 8:00 a.m. go fish for something else. Lake trout were good to us on Tuesday after we stopped trying for kings. We even had a few steelhead mixed in.
Salmon River/ Pulaski Area – According to Garrett Brancy of the Douglaston Salmon Run, over the holiday weekend anglers reported a few steelhead being caught along with some of our own DSR stocked brown trout. Remember, if you catch a brown trout, check to see if its adipose fin has been clipped and report back to us at the Welcome Center. We would like to keep a record of catches to help evaluate the success of the stocking. Anglers yesterday reported insect hatches occurring on the upper stretch of the Run which included a good caddisfly hatch and a more sporadic mayfly hatch. Action was a bit slower today with only a few smallmouth bass and one brown trout being reported. Flows remain at 650 cfs through 9 pm Thursday.
According to Whitaker’s Sport Shop and Motel, the few anglers who are fishing the river are focusing on the Upper Fly Zone in hopes of catching an Atlantic, Skamania or brown trout. In the lower end of the river anglers are picking up smallmouth bass in the deep holes such as Papermill, Longbridge and Black Hole.
Pulaski Area – According to Dave Wood of Woody’s Tackle, the brown trout are in transition and once the cold front with all the fog came through the end of last week, the King salmon bite was tough over the weekend. Conditions are expected to be good over the next few days with little rain in the forecast and light winds. Spoons are the bait of choice with Michigan Stingers and Pro Trolls working well.
Oneida Lake – Walleye continue to be active in 10-15 feet of water with jigs tipped with nightcrawlers and trolling worm harnesses working well. There is a reported night bite on jigs and stickbaits. Anglers are finding some panfish and bullhead in the shallow water around the lake.
Sandy Pond – According to Dave Wood of Woody’s Tackle, weeds on the pond are not high making for good fishing conditions. The northern pike bite continues to be very good and anglers are reporting a few walleye. Trolling plugs or spoons is working for the pike. Worm harnesses and jigging with bucktail jigs tipped with a worm are taking the walleye.