Chautauqua County Fishing Report
by Craig Robbins
Lake Erie and Tribs – Windy weather and rough waters have affected boats on and off Lake Erie this past week. Perch catches have been excellent this past week with limits being caught off Cattaraugus Creek in 60-70 feet of water. Try to locate perch schools on the bottom with electronics before dropping anchor. Also, the right perch rig and bait can be the difference between a cooler full of fish in one boat and only a few caught in a boat just yards away. Many successful Lake Erie perch anglers employ a fluorocarbon rig, as opposed to flashier offerings like a spreader rig. Live emerald shiners are easily the top perch bait. Even salted emerald shiners will outperform live fathead minnows or other small minnows.
Cattaraugus Creek remains the best steelhead option this week. Steelhead are spread throughout the creek, up to the dam. Rains brought Catt Creek levels up at mid-week, and likely drew more fish into the system. The creek is now back to good fishing shape with flow just below 200 cubic feet per second. Tributaries in Chautauqua Counties also had a bump in flow at mid-week. However, conditions quickly dropped back to low and clear, with only a few scattered steelhead around but with rain forecasted this week most the tribs will be fishable by weekend. Tributary steelhead commonly hit natural baits like egg sacs or worms, flies such as egg imitations, streamers and bugger patters, and lures like minnow-type stick baits and in-line spinners.
Chautauqua Lake – It has been a season for the record books in regards to quantity of muskie fishing on Chautauqua Lake. Trolling outside weed edges with large perch-pattern stick baits is a good bet. Drifting and casting around weed beds has also produced musky catches. Anglers were recently catching some walleye in the deeper holes of the north basin off Chautauqua Institution Belle Tower and Upper Dewittville Bay. Vertical jigging with spoons, jigging Rapalas or medium sized shiners are good tactics. Some walleye have also been caught along weed edges, by drifting with shiners. Smallmouth bass fishing is picking up along points, with catches reported at Warner Bar, Maple Springs and Long Point. Some smallmouth action has also been reported around the Lakewood Bar.
Anglers are starting to pick up good walleye catches in the deep holes of the north basin, off Long Point State and Upper Dewittville Bay. Vertical jigging programs with spoons, jigging Rapalas or medium sized shiners are good bets for walleye. Chautauqua anglers are still catching some muskellunge. Better catches have been in shallow zones along weed edges, but some suspended musky have been caught over depths of 25-35 feet. Trolling with large, 51/2 to 8 inch minnow-type stick baits is a good bet.
With the water temperatures continuing to drop, smallmouth bass have moved into the areas like deep rocky points with shallow rocky shoreline structure close by.
Shallow areas and around docks are still top spots for largemouth bass. Try live shiners, tube jigs, power worms, senkos or topwater lures. Slightly deeper areas of 10-15 feet off weedlines are better for smallmouth bass. A drop-shot rig with a minnow or crayfish is a good bet. Weedy areas in Bemus and Ashville Bays in 6-10 feet of water are good spots for bluegill.
Greater Niagara Fishing Forecast
by Bill Hilts, Jr.
Lake Ontario and tributaries – As far as the salmon run in the tributaries, there’s been some improvement over last week. A modest increase was realized in 18 Mile Creek and other tribs are starting to see some more fish with the influx of fall weather. The best fishing has been for brown trout at Burt Dam with a few salmon and steelhead mixed in. Better fishing for salmon has not been at the dam but down the creek in the lower sections from boat or off the piers at night. Some night fishing has also been taking place out in the lake by anglers casting glow in the dark spoons or rattlebaits – anything that can get their attention. Trolling large J-13 Rapalas in the harbor early morning or just before dark is another good approach, as is drifting treated egg skein in some of the deeper holes. Smaller egg sacks or egg imitations will work on the trout, too.
Lower Niagara River – The lower river run seems to be slowing down a little but some good fishing still exists. Options are available from boat and shore for salmon, with a few trout also being reported. From shore, hiking into the gorge at the Whirlpool or Devil’s Hole are great options for those that like to rough it. The New York Power Authority fishing platform is another easier option to deal with thanks to a shuttle service that runs daily from 7 am to 5 pm from Lot C at the Visitor’s Center up above off Lewiston Road adjacent to Niagara University. Access is also available along Artpark, but most of that area is best for trout. Boaters can work the Devil’s Hole area for the best salmon options, drifting treated egg skein from three-way rigs. Just ask 16 year old Ben Bailey of Youngstown who was fishing with his dad Stephen last Sunday. Using some “magic eggs” from Creek Road Bait and Tackle, the young angler reeled in his first salmon – a 20-something pound king. With fishing pressure down from boats in Devil’s Hole, action has actually improved in the past week. Downriver, some bass action is still an option – especially around Fort Niagara and the Coast Guard station. Live bait, spinnerbaits or tubes will all catch fish this time of year.
Upper Niagara River – Bass fishing is still going strong in the upper river and musky action is starting to pick up a notch, too. For bass, live bait like shiners, crayfish and worm harnesses will all catch fish. Tubes, spinnerbaits, crankbaits and plastics will all catch fish as well. Local fly fishing expert Rick Kustich has been picking up a few musky up to 42 inches long on the fly by targeting the outside weed edges where the bottom drops off. Large tubes or body baits can also produce some fish this time of year.
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 area received a good amount of rain overnight and the water level is showing that. From about 1500cfs yesterday we are up over 6,000cfs this afternoon. The dam is loaded with salmon and steelhead with skein, egg sacs, smack beads, and flies working well. If you are fishing from the wall use hot’n tot’s, deep thundersticks, smack beads, egg sacs, skein under a float and wooly buggers.
According to Capt. Kevin Davis of Catch the Drift, yesterday was a good day on the river – the first double digit day of this season. The water level quickly rose to 6,490 overnight and through this morning which should help with many more DDDs for Catch the Drift.
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. The Oswego Fire Department offers a Loaner for Life program, offering loaner life jackets at no cost at the east side fire station, 35 E. Cayuga St., Oswego. For more information call 315-343-2161.
Salmon River – According to Dave Wood of Woody’s Tackle, there remains a good concentration of salmon in the upper half of the river. The lower end of the river is seeing a very good number of steelhead. Egg sacs, egg pattern flies are working well along with beads under a float for steelhead. With the heavy rain we had this morning it is likely the area streams will see some good action.
According to Garrett Brancy of the Douglaston Salmon Run, anglers reported excellent fishing yesterday for kings, cohos, steelhead and brown trout. Fishing was good throughout the run in the morning and when the rain started fresh fish moved through the run from the estuary and provided excellent fishing. Trout beads in blue, orange, cerise worked well for center pin fishermen while estaz eggs, stoneflies, and intruders worked well for fly fishermen. Egg sacs worked well for those using them and with the overcast conditions darker colors were successful. Just a note, the water temperature has come up 10 degrees from 52 to 62 degrees so please use care when fishing fish. Use as much time as needed to revive them as well.
Oneida Lake – As the cooler weather settles back in over the next few days, look for the nighttime walleye bite to pick up. Stickbaits and crankbaits cast from shore just before and after dark are suggested applications. When you can access the deeper water, look for yellow perch to respond to minnows in 12-15 feet of water and some bass activity in both shallow and deeper water.
Sandy Pond – According to Dave Wood of Woody’s Tackle, the activity on the pond is quiet this time of year.
Wayne County Fishing Report
Lake Ontario – A few boats are still trolling Lake Ontario for kings, although the trout and salmon season in the lake is just about over.
The staging kings are in 100 feet of water near Maxwell Creek and the chute at Sodus Bay. Some browns are at the mouth of Maxwell Creek. Throw some spoons at them or you can try stickbaits for the trout.
Streams -The creeks in Wayne County need water to start any kind of stream fishing. The browns have been at the north end of Maxwell which is actually a small bay.
Because of a lack of water in the streams, anglers can fish the piers to the bays. Sodus and Port Bay have channels. Port Bay is small, however it still has fish.
Cast chartreuse Cleo’s or other heavy spoons across the Sodus channel. It works!
Another option is Hughes’ Marina on Lake Road just east of Pultneyville. There is a $5 permit fee and you can fish the small lagoons which connect to the lake.
Bays – The perch has picked-up in Sodus Bay, however the reports from Port Bay are not very good.
You can also catch pike in Sodus Bay. Just fish the weedlines. Sodus is a very large body of water, so the options are unlimited for catching anything with fins.
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 on the bite in the canal. It’s the best time of the year for fishing this waterway.