Chautauqua County
by Craig Robbins
Lake Erie and Tribs – The lake trout action has been good for those that have been targeting them. August is a great time to fish for lake trout in Lake Erie. Head for prime depths of 90-130 feet of water, straight out of Barcelona or northwest of Dunkirk. Downriggers with spoons run near the bottom are productive, but “lakers” may also be suspended off the bottom.
Walleye trollers saw some good action this past week from Sunset Bay to the PA line. Anglers have been targeting deeper water out of Barcelona and Dunkirk Harbors on suspended walleye starting in 80 -120 feet of water, out to the international line. Off Cattaraugus Creek, trollers have done well in 65-85 feet of water on worm harnesses and stickbaits run 50-60 feet down. Bottom bouncing with worm harnesses also produced some decent catches off the “Catt” in 60 feet of water. The best action has been on lures run between 60-70 feet down.
In addition to walleye, Dunkirk/Barcelona anglers are also catching some lake trout, brown trout and steelhead, especially when running spoons.
Yellow perch fishing has started to pick up, and will continue to get better as August progresses. Anglers reported some recent perch catches in 60-62 feet of water west of Cattaraugus Creek.
Chautauqua Lake – One would have to travel far to find better muskie fishing than what has been experienced on Chautauqua Lake this season. Basic trolling along weed edges with large stickbaits has been very productive. Trollers also report good action on suspended musky in 25-35 feet of water, 15-20 feet down in the northern basin from the Bell Tower to Long Point. Good largemouth bass action remains in shallower areas around docks and weed beds. Live shiners, tube jigs, wacky rigged senkos and topwater lures will produce.
Niagara County
by Bill Hilts Jr.
Lake Ontario and tributaries – The Greater Niagara Fish Odyssey and the Lake Ontario Counties fall derbies are still going on with the Fish Odyssey ending August 24 and the LOC ending on Labor Day. The early leader in the salmon division for both is a 31 pound, two ounce fish weighed in by Richard Acer of Appleton while fishing out off 30 Mile Point – the same general area that was a hot spot this past spring. He was using a tried and true bass lure to take his big fish – a Zara Spook in black and silver. It does give an erratic action, similar to a J-plug, when trolling. Some mature kings are being caught while staging off creek mouths in as shallow as 40 feet of water first thing according to Wes Walker at The Slippery Sinker. Fish can be caught out as deep as 100 foot depths or deeper for mature kings. Karen Evarts of The Boat Doctors suggests a new cut bait that has really caught on fire, a Pacific-based herring that is both appealing and hearty. Meat is also producing its share of fish. The 350 to 450 foot depth contour is another good stretch of lake that is producing a mix of steelhead and kings. Spoons up high; flasher-fly down deer. For the Fish Odyssey, other early leaders are Roger Turton with an 22 pound, 4 ounce lake trout; Scott Mrzygut with a 18 pound, 14 ounce carp; Dave Muir with a 5 pound 9 ounce smallmouth bass; Paul Hovis with a 12 pound, 13 ounce steelhead; and Kevin Flaherty with a 9 pound 7 ounce walleye. It’s still anyone’s game and it’s not too late to enter any of these fishing contests – even if you are only fishing for the day. Special one day passes are available. For the Fish Odyssey, check out www.fishodyssey.net. For the LOC it’s www.loc.org. Kid can fish for free in the Odyssey.The Orleans County Fishing Derby is now history and winner of the Grand Prize was Debbie Murphy of New Albany, Pennsylvania with a 27 pound, 7 ounce salmon caught out of Point Breeze. First place in the Salmon Division was Bill Magee of Northwood, Ohio with a 26 pound, 13 ounce fish. Top brown trout was an 18 pound 11 ounce slob reeled in by Destiny Bickel of Burt while fishing out of Olcott. Top lake trout was a 17 pound, 6 ounce fish weighed in by David Johnson of Rochester and first place rainbow checked in at 14 pounds, 1 ounce – hauled in by Mike Schaeffer of Sligo, Pennsylvania.
Lower Niagara River – Fishing has been hot and cold in the lower river – kind of like the weather recently. Bass action can be good one day; spotty the next. Best bass bait has been crabs; tubes are a close second. Walleye action has also been spotty. The Niagara River Anglers will hold its annual Lower River Walleye Contest on August 23. Check out www.niagarariveranglers.com for details.
Upper Niagara River – Bass are starting to go on their fall feed so look for good action to continue in all the traditional bass areas. Live bait like shiners, crabs and worms will catch a mix of fish; tubes will focus in on bass and sometimes produce bigger fish. Focus your efforts in the 10-20 foot areas for numbers of fish; deeper holes for larger fish. Large tubes will work for bigger fish like muskellunge. The northern tip of Squaw Island has been producing some walleye from shore. Try casting spoons in the late afternoon or early morning. Bass and a mix of other fish are also available by using live bait or jigs. Ditto for other shore fishing spots like the foot of Ferry or Ontario streets.
Fair Haven / Cayuga County
by Werner Stenger
They’re here! That’s right last weeks big blow pushed the kings back across the lake and they are here to play. The majority of our bites were deep on flasher fly combos behind mag dipseys that were 240-300′ out. Riggers from 100 to 160 down were firing also. Keep one rod with spoons just above the break and cohos have been in the mix also.
Oswego County
This report courtesy of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning
Oswego River/Lake Ontario – According to Larry Muroski of Larry’s Oswego Salmon Shop, the water level has been below 4,000cfs for the last three days. This morning it is flowing at 7,350cfs. There are no salmon reported in the river at this time. Due to the weather pattern we have had we will likely be waiting a bit longer for their arrival. Anglers are finding some bass, catfish and sheepshead using crayfish and minnows. 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 www.visitoswegocounty.com and look for the fishing report under fishing and hunting.
Lake Ontario – According to Capt. Andy Bliss of Chasin Tail Adventures, the salmon activity has improved after the wind last week. The last three days it has been on fire in 350-600 feet of water down 120-175 feet. Flies and spoons are working well. We reached our three-man limit yesterday morning with fish weighing in up to 22 pounds.
According to Capt. Ed Monette of Cannonball Runner Charters, we saw some good action this morning. We had a nice box of nine by 9:30 a.m.
Salmon River/ Pulaski Area – According to Garrett Brancy of the Douglaston Salmon Run, a handful of season pass holders did make their way down to the run on Tuesday. Most just wanted to check things out and a few were itching to test out new spey gear. No salmon were spotted in the river even though the water had cleared since Monday. Apparently, a few salmon were watched jumping in the estuary above the Route 3 bridge. The water flow will continue at 1,500 cfs through tonight and water temperatures increased slightly to 66 degrees. Rain is in the forecast again today; how much we receive will likely determine the water flow for the rest of the week.
Pulaski Area – According to Dave Wood of Woody’s Tackle, reports are indicating there are salmon in the area but the activity it is spotty and deep. Anglers are fishing 180 feet below the surface in deep water using flies and flashers and spoons.
According to Whitaker’s Sport Shop & Motel, over the last couple of days we’ve had calm conditions on the lake and the boats have been able to get out. The salmon fishing has started to pick up on the lake and yesterday fish were caught on a mix of spoons, flasher/fly and cut bait rigs.
Oneida Lake – The wind has been less of a factor this week and anglers have been able to get on the water. Some walleye continue to be taken in about 30 feet of water. Suggested applications are stickbaits, blade baits and bucktail jigs tipped with a nightcrawlers. Areas around the shoals and the shallow waters along the shoreline are producing some bass.
Sandy Pond – According to Dave Wood of Woody’s Tackle, there is very little activity on the pond at this time.
Wayne County Fishing
Lake Ontario – Kings are still deep. Here’s a brief report from our friends at Lake Ontario United. This angler was fishing straight out from Sodus Bay.
“We dropped 3 downriggers 2 wires with dipseys/flies and a 350 copper. Spoons on everything but the dipsys. Temp was 43-45 degrees about 100- 115 down. After about an hour and a half we had downrigger release at 115 over 383 ft and out went the drag and we knew who was there stripped out some line and then the usual stuff and landed a 12-15 lb king.
Trolled north and a bit west Marking very few fish and no bait pods….couple hours later in about 540 ft the 100 ft.downrigger fires and quickly the steelie on the other end with an orange spoon on slider in his mouth surfaces and does several jumps showing off and it turns out to be a decent steelie.
Don’t forget the LOC Fall Derby. Info and leaderboards are at locderby.org.
Bays – Bay fishing continues to be hot with largemouth bass. Sodus-the big bay- has everything hitting, however don’t forget Port Bay and the little one on the east side of the county, Blind Sodus Bay.
The GrandSlam Youth awards ceremony will take place at the Sodus Point Fire hall on Saturday, August 23rd at 11:00 am.
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 – There is plenty of action on the canal. You can fish by boat or from the shoreline. Five and six pound bass have come from canal waters.