Niagara Fishing Report
by Bill Hilts, Jr.
Lake Ontario and tributaries – All weekend long, both Saturday and Sunday, New York’s productive waters are open to fishing and fun with the state’s Free Fishing Weekend. We’ve been telling you about the activities, so hopefully you are enjoying them. Like the Gateway Harbor Hooked on Fishing in the Tonawandas Saturday and Sunday in the Erie Canal; the kids fishing derby at the Town of Newfane Marina in Olcott Saturday morning from 8 am to noon; and the Festival of Fathers event at Hyde Park in Niagara Falls from 1-4 pm. On Lake Ontario, fish are still scattered as the nemesis of east wind continues to hamper salmon and trout action. Not too much has changed from last week meaning there’s been some more east wind to keep things unstable. Finding pockets of warmer water has not been easy. Staying inside of 70 feet has been one approach but action has been spotty. Use spoons or stickbaits in the top 50 feet of water; browns are inside of 40 feet. You can find some warm water pockets out 250 to 350 feet, again targeting the top 50 feet of water, but you have to work for it. Some bigger kings have hit offerings below 80 feet in the colder water. Capt. Bob Cinelli of Olcott did well last weekend on Saturday but struggled again on Sunday – there’s nothing stable out there. The Summer LOC Derby is underway through July 27 and it’s still a wide open leaderboard – a good indicator of how things have been around the lake. Top fish right now is a 23 pound, 13 ounce salmon. Big lake trout comes from the Niagara bar at 22 pound, 6 ounces – by one of the big laker takers, Steve Klejdys of North Tonawanda. Top Rainbow/Steelhead is a 12 pound, 11 ounce fish from Point Breeze and big brown is 15 pounds, 2 ounces from Oswego.
Lower Niagara River – If you are hoping to fish in the lower Niagara River for bass, walleye or anything else that swims in those waters, you better have some patience. The moss seems to be at peak right now, making fishing extremely difficult. A few people we spoke to this past week took their chances with the moss and they did manage to catch a few fish – but only when the fish immediately upon hitting the bottom. If they didn’t hit right away, the moss beat the fish to the punch, covering the baits.
Upper Niagara River – Congrats to Kyle Kraft of Ohio who won the Kelly’s Corners bass contest last weekend while fishing with Capt. Frank Campbell. The weight for two bass was 9.51 pounds. Bass and musky seasons are now open. Don’t forget the Hooked on the Tonawandas event Saturday and Sunday this weekend for the Free Fishing Days. It’s also good practice for a great family event that will be starting up this coming Wednesday – the 24th Annual Erie Canal Fishing Derby set for July 2-13. Once again there will be over $20,000 in prizes, which includes a possible $10,000 in tagged fish that are swimming in the Erie Canal between the Niagara River and Albion. Species categories include seven different divisions, including bass, walleye, northern pike, bullhead, carp, sheepshead and catfish. You can register at any one of eight different locations. Weigh stations are located in seven different convenient spots. Kids can win daily prizes with a chance to win a canal trail bike. Adults will be competing for a boat, motor and trailer package. Check out www.eriecanalderby.com or call 830-8434 for more information. Now that the kids are out of school, there isn’t a better way to get the family back together again enjoying the great outdoors!
Wayne County Fishing Report
by Christopher Kenyon
Lake Ontario – Lake fishing has slowed this week. Temperatures appear to be starting to set a nice thermocline, but nothing yet. Charter boats are catching some steelhead and kings over 300 feet of water.
Kings have been hitting spoons 50 down over 400 feet of water. They are scattered. One week ago it was a “fish fest” with everything happening. This is normal for this time of year.
No bass yet. The surface temps were 56 degrees off of Port Bay on Sunday…way to cold for the smallies.
Don’t forget the Sodus Point Pro-Am coming July 19-20. Big Fish Friday is the 18th and there is a $1000 a day contest during the week. See the web for all the info. www.soduspointproam.com
Bays – The bass boats invaded the bays last Saturday. Open day was very exciting with some nice largemouths coming from Port and Sodus Bays.
Don’t forget the Wayne County 5-Grandslam and Merchants Challenge Youth Derby which is happening right now. Click on Grand slam for more information. The youngsters are starting to catch fish. Don’t miss this great contest.
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 bass are huge in the canal and a nice 7 pound walleye was caught during the GrandSlam Youth Derby. You can launch at Widewaters or the Clyde ramp.
Chautauqua County Fishing Report
by Craig Robbins
Lake Erie and Tribs – Trolling with worm harnesses run near the bottom, or bottom bouncing with worm harnesses has produced limit catches of 18-24 inch walleye, with a some larger “eyes” mixed in. From Dumping Grounds off Dunkirk Harbor to Cattaraugus Creek, walleye are scattered in 35-55 feet of water. Barcelona anglers report good catches in 65-70 feet of water between the harbor and Brocton Shoal. Walleye are hanging just off the bottom and stickbaits have been favored over worm harnesses.
Perch anglers looking for perch schools on the bottom before dropping anchor have done best. Good catch reports have come from various depths between 48 and 63 feet of water. Dunkirk Harbor perch grounds are generally the area off the red harbor buoy in 40-50 feet of water. However, the buoy is not in place at present. Live emerald shiners fished just off the bottom work best for perch. If emeralds are scarce, try other small minnows/shiners or salted minnows.
Lake Erie smallmouth bass are plentiful around reefs, rock piles and drop-offs in 18-35 feet of water. Good Chautauqua County Lake Erie water are Van Buren Bay and Reef and the Dumping Ground. Tube jigs, jigs with twister tails, deep diving stickbaits, live minnows and crayfish are good baits. A drop-shot rig with tubes, plastics or live bait is a top tactic when fishing deeper water.
The smallmouth bass fishing in the tributaries, especially Cattaraugus Creek has been good, with the lower section producing best.
Chautauqua Lake – Anglers are catching decent numbers of walleye along weed edges in the south basin. In the north basin, walleye catches have been reported along weed edges, between Prendergast and the Bell Tower in We Wan Chu Bay. Target walleye by trolling with jointed stickbaits and worm harnesses or by drifting and jigging with blade baits or jigs with nightcrawlers or leeches.
Early in the season working the shallows and docks are anglers best bet and has been producing great numbers. Spinnerbaits, stickbaits, tube jigs and other plastics have worked well. Now that regular bass season is open, anglers can use live baits such as minnows and crayfish. Now is a good time to take a young or new anglers fishing at Chautauqua Lake, as bass, sunfish and smaller perch are readily available from docks and shore. Muskie hunters are doing good casting the northern basin in Warners Bar and in front of the Prendergast Launch.
Cassadaga Lake – Largemouth are being caught in the mid lake off the lilly pads with top water baits such as frogs, floating worms and buzz baits. Jig and pig combinations are well in the well defined weed pockets off Lilly Dale docks and Job Crops.
Fair Haven/Cayuga County Fishing Report
by Werner Stenger
Waters off shore are becoming unpredictable this week. Salmon, steelhead, and lake trout are here one day gone the next. The most consistent bite has been the brown trout which were holding in the 20 – 40′ of water depth over the past weekend. With near shore waters warming quickly expect them to move out with the temp. Bass were tight to shore but as the water warms they will spread out also. Once we establish a stable thermocline the 120 – 160′ of water should load up with fish as it is currently loaded with bait.
Oswego River/Lake Ontario Fishing Report
According to Larry Muroski of Larry’s Oswego Salmon Shop, with the recent rain over the area, the water flow reached nearly 15,000cfs over the last couple of days. It has settled back to 10,800cfs this morning. This is still high for fishing many areas of the river. Suggested spots are the Kiddie Pool, behind Bridie Manor, and behind the hotels. Anglers are finding walleye with nightcrawlers and bass with crayfish, minnows, crankbaits and plastics. There are a good number of sheepshead being taken with crayfish. 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 Larry Muroski of Larry’s Oswego Salmon Shop, the lake fishing has been a little slow this week. Anglers have found some brown trout in about 40 feet of water off of Nine Mile Point early in the morning. A few lake trout were taken and the occasional salmon. There does seem to be a thermocline beginning to set up. If this continues, the fishing should pick up. Flies, flashers and spoons are the suggested applications.
According to Capt. Kevin Davis of Catch the Drift, we switched over to the inshore fishing lately because everything spread out over the deep water. We have had a couple of good days on brown trout.
Salmon River/ Pulaski Area – According to Garrett Brancy of Douglaston Salmon Run, fishing has been quite good over the past three days. Guests visiting us on Sunday from Saturday’s Spey Nation event in Pineville enjoyed some good smallmouth bass and trout action. Just about everyone we spoke with reported catching fish! The action continued with a pair of smallies and a handful of trout, including two of the large browns that were stocked. Many of the fish caught recently have come subsurface, on minnow and crayfish patterns.
Pulaski Area – According to Dave Wood of Woody’s Tackle, conditions have not changed much on the lake. Anglers are finding some fish but it is spotty and not a real active bite. Anglers are taking lake trout, a few brown trout and a salmon or two mixed in. Spoons and flies and flashers are suggested bait to try. The bass season opened over the weekend with shallow water being most productive. Soft shell crabs, bass minnows, nightcrawlers, crankbaits and plastic worms should work well.
Oneida Lake – The walleye fishing has been decent in 15-30 feet of water. Bucktail jigs tipped with a nightcrawler, blade baits, leeches, and worm harnesses are working well. The bass season opener went well with anglers finding some action. The shallow water around the lake continues to produce panfish on worms and small jigs.
Sandy Pond – According to Dave Wood of Woody’s Tackle, there is not a lot of activity to report from the pond. Anglers are finding the occasional walleye and a few northern pike. Plastics or floating a minnow under a bobber are working well.