Greater Niagara Region
Bill Hilts, Jr.
Lake Ontario And Tributaries
Despite more east wind that has kept local waters unstable, some better reports are starting to come in from area charter captains – at a good time when you consider the fact that the Summer Lake Ontario Counties (LOC) Derby is still struggling to produce its first salmon of the contest (something that has been going on since June 13). With a new prize structure in place, the $1,000 for the weekly salmon prize will be rolled over for the following week. Check out www.loc.org for details. Capt. Vince Pierleoni of Newfane has been hitting the lake in search of stable water and he’s finally found some off Wilson between the 25 and 27 line. With cold water still stacked in along the shoreline off Wilson and Olcott, he managed to find some decent water holding fish as water temperatures gradually increased heading north. He found the bait fish first, followed by more active predator fish. While it wasn’t hot and heavy, he did produce 4 or 5 salmon and 8 steelhead. It turned out to be a decent day when compared to how things have been. Spoons are the best bait of choice. The Lake Ontario Trout and Salmon Association has a couple of events coming up for club members, including the Curt Meddaugh Memorial Derby on July 17 and the King Salmon Tournament set for July 18 with the club picnic to follow. Check out www.lotsa.org for details. The next LOTSA meeting is this coming Thursday (July 8) at the 4-H Building of Cornell Cooperative Extension Niagara, 4487 Lake Avenue, Lockport starting at 7 pm. Guest speaker will be Capt. Pete Kelly talking Lake Erie walleye fishing.
Lower Niagara River
Action in the lower river has been decent despite some moss issues that plague anglers every June. Capt. Jake Joseph of Youngstown took contest winner James Findlay of Burlington, Wisconsin out last Saturday before the monsoon hit and timed it perfectly to be off the water by the time the rains hit. Using crayfish and shiners off three-way rigs, they produced 15 fish in quick order – mostly smallmouth bass, but including sheepshead and silver bass. Jim also brought his daughter Anne along and they had a grand time. Most of the fishing took place along the Coast Guard drift along Fort Niagara. According to Joseph, bass are stacking up in the river in 12 to 18 feet of water.
The Fifth Annual Hooked on the Tonawandas Fishing Tournament / The most impressive catch for the weekend was a 15 pound Northern pike caught by Michael Bancore of North Tonawanda
Upper Niagara River/Erie Canal
Action in the upper river has been decent of late. Jim DeSiena and Joe Kushner were tossing tubes and drifting crabs around Strawberry Island to take a fair number of smallmouth and a nice musky. Tubes worked best in the shallow water; crabs in the deeper water out to 20 feet. After getting blown off Lake Erie, this was a great back up plan for them. In addition to bass, you can also catch walleye in the upper river. Case in point was the big walleye in the BassEye contest last Friday. Dick Hill was fishing with Capt. Chris Cinelli when he hooked into a 29.5 inch walleye while drifting the upper river. For bass, Capt. Matt Yablonsky and his team were fishing Donnelly’s Wall for smallmouth to win the contest for the second year in a row. The Fifth Annual Hooked on the Tonawandas Fishing Tournament held last weekend out of Gateway Park in North Tonawanda was marred with recording setting rain and uncomfortable winds. It had competitors feeling more like the fish they were trying to catch! Despite the inclement conditions, some nice fish were caught by the more than 110 anglers that registered for the fun contest. I guess it’s all relative. The most impressive catch for the weekend was a 15 pound Northern pike caught by Michael Bancore of North Tonawanda. Leading the carp division was Charles Young of North Tonawanda with a 17 pound Erie Canal fish. In the bass category, Bobby Knapp of Williamsville weighed in a 3.2 pound largemouth to win that division. A half pound perch also qualified as a first place winner, weighed in by Glenn Krupp of North Tonawanda. In the Channel Catfish class, Matthew Clarke of North Tonawanda weighed in a 5.8 pound fish. More than $2,000 in cash and prizes were handed out to the diehard fishermen and women. Which leads us up to the big one – the 25th Annual Erie Canal Fishing Derby set for July 1-12. Action is already underway and it will go on all week long. With more than $20,000 in cash and prizes up for grabs, there should be plenty of anglers lining the banks of the canal from the Niagara River to Albion. To find out more information contact Steve Harrington at 772-7972 or visit the derby website at www.eriecanalderby.com.
Lake Erie and tributaries
For the second year in a row, Capt. Matt Yablonsky of Youngstown has led the Oneida Concrete team to the BassEye team title in raising money for Cystic Fibrosis. The event, held out of Buffalo last Friday, saw 36 teams ply the waters of Lake Erie in search of bass and walleye – hence the “BassEye” connotation. For bass, Yablonsky and company used three-way rigs to take a total of 25 smallmouth along the “fish market” at Donnelly’s Wall. Golden shiners were the bait of choice. For walleye, the team fished between Seneca Shoal and Myers Reef in 36 to 40 feet of water using 3-D worm harnesses. They managed to take five walleye, giving them the winning combination once again. Team members included Jim Schmit, Mike Keller and Fred Saia. Schmit was deemed Grand Champion of the 14th Annual event. A total of $140,000 was raised this year, bringing their total to more than $1.5 million for CF! Better walleye fishing is being reported by trollers around Barcelona in 70-80 feet of water using worm harnesses or stickbaits. Bass fishing has been consistent all along the lakeshore. Perch fishing has been spotty, but if you find them you can do well.
Chautauqua Lake
Musky action has slowed a bit but you can still pick some fish up by trolling or casting along the weed edges. Good place to start is around Prendergast Point to the Bell Tower. Large body baits or bucktail spinners have been working. For largemouth bass, seek out dock areas or pockets inside of weeds. Some walleye have been reported from the southern basin of the lake on worm harnesses.
Oswego County
Mary Ellen Barbeau
Oswego River/Lake Ontario report
According to Larry Muroski of Larry’s Oswego Salmon Shop:
Due to very heavy rain south of Oswego County on Tuesday, the waterflow is up to 19,600cfs this morning. This makes most areas along the river unfishable. When conditions settle down anglers will find walleye, sheepshead, smallmouth, catfish, rockbass and long-nosed gar up near the powerhouse. The remaining areas of the river are quiet. Bass season opened last Saturday. Minnows, crayfish, worms, and leeches are the baits of choice. Rock bass are in near Wright’s Landing.
Lake Ontario
The weather pattern appears to be settling down for a few days. Look in shallow water for brown trout using stickbaits and spoons. Early morning seems to be the most active. Lakers continue to be active taking cowbells and peanuts. Salmon have been very scattered but hopefully this will change as the lake settles down.
According to Capt. Kevin Davis of Catch the Drift:
The wind and rain have hopefully moved out of the area. Yesterday we had some of the best brown trout fishing of the year. The first pass we boated nine – hopefully it will stay for a little while.
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 loaner life jackets at no charge through its “Loaner For Life” program. For more information contact the fire station, 35 E. Cayuga St., at 315-343-2161.
Pulaski Area
According to Dave Wood of Woody’s Tackle:
The instability of the weather has made for difficult fishing. Anglers have found lakers in about 100 feet of water. There are some salmon in the area but they are very scattered. Look for a good bass bite in 10 feet of water. The weather over the next few days seems to be stabilizing so hopefully a good pattern will develop in the lake.
Salmon River:
According to the Douglaston Salmon Run:
The water flow is running at 350cfs through 9 p.m. tonight and 750cfs through Sunday evening. Reports from earlier this week indicate some smallmouth bass activity along with a brown trout or two and a 22-23” steelhead.
Oneida Lake
The lake is still running high with the heavy rain on Tuesday. Use caution when boating with debris possible in the lake. There is a bass bite in shallow water up to about 10 feet with crankbaits and tube jigs working well. You may also find some in deeper water. Anglers are finding a few walleye on jigs tipped with night crawlers.
Sandy Pond report
According to Dave Wood of Woody’s Tackle:
The weed growth is beginning to become a problem so the activity on the pond is slowing down. Anglers are finding a few walleye and smallmouth bass.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Lake Ontario
Today was a killer day for browns. With the weekend Northeast wind pushing warm water towards the shore and some nice mudlines created by over flowing streams, the browns came close to shore for temp breaks, cover and bait.
Fish close to shore for the early bite and then go deeper for kings. The browns should hang around for a few days.
The kings have been over 200 to 300 feet of water and are hitting flasher flies and spoons. The steelhead are still about 20 to 30 feet over 250 fow.
The Sodus Point Pro–Am is slated for July 18 and 19th however the entire week will feature opportunities to fish and win cash. Check the web; soduspointproam.com or go to their Facebook page for further information.
Bays
Opening day bass fishing found lots of largemouths in Sodus Bay. This past weekend was New York States free fishing event and anglers took advantage of being able to fish without a license.
That was last weekend so make sure you have a license for this holiday weekend.
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.
The Wayne County Youth Fishing Derby is now in full swing with a brand new exciting division for youngsters 4-7 years of age. All the info is on our web page.
Erie Canal
The canal has high water and the current has been very swift. Make sure you don’t take any chance, especially if you are in a kayak or small boat. As soon as the water lever recedes go for the largemouth between Newark and Palmyra.