Upstate New York Fishing Report for September 3, 2015

Greater Niagara Region

Bill Hilts, Jr.

Lake Ontario And Tributaries

Fishing action continues to be one of those situations where being in the right place at the right time can really pay off for you. An excellent case in point is Glenn Bird of Barker who went out fishing last Friday morning out of Wilson. He had been fishing previous days to the east off Olcott but this time he headed west a few miles. Pulling an 8-inch e-chip flasher with an A-Tom-Mik hammer fly in 70 feet of water, Bird hooked up with a 30 pound, 11 ounce king salmon to take over the lead in the LOC Derby and the Greater Niagara Fish Odyssey. The Odyssey ended last Sunday and he won the $500 first place Salmon Division prize as well as the $500 LOTSA Prize for the biggest salmon caught by a member in the Oydssey, as well as the $500 daily prize for the LOC and the $100 daily prize for the Niagara Fish Odyssey. If it can only hold on until Labor Day for the LOC Grand Prize. Time will tell. The LOC Derby ends on Labor Day.

Check out www.loc.org for details. Just as good as Bird’s fishing heroics was the one for 15 year old Nick Perry of Newfane. Fishing with Capt. Bob Cinelli aboard the White Mule, the young angler grabbed the rod and reeled in a personal best 14 pound brown trout to win the Brown/Rainbow Trout category in the Odyssey and take second place so far in the LOC Derby. He was fishing 60 feet down with a Northern King spoon over 120 feet of water in front of Olcott to take his prize. In the Grand Prize Classic Challenge Drawing at the Odyssey Awards in Newfane, Perry’s name was selected to receive the $2,500 Grand Prize for the Odyssey. According to Karen Evarts at The Boat Doctors in Olcott, deep water fishing action has been good for a mix of kings and steelhead in the 26 to 32 GPS bars heading north. Another hot spot has been on the Niagara Bar at the drop-off where there’s a bit of a traffic jam with boat. She noted that the two largest kings on the lake caught during the LOC Derby yesterday were caught on N&D Herring Strips – one from the Niagara Bar that was over 29 pounds. In addition to cut bait rigs, flasher and fly are taking fish as are magnum spoons. Meanwhile back at Olcott, fishing inside of 100 feet of water should still produce some kings and the occasional brown trout. The first kings were caught off the piers at Olcott last weekend. Some trout were reeled in, too. Casting spoons are the way to go. In the harbor, some carp are still available. Tip of the week comes from Roy Letcher of Olcott who offers up a great remedy should you encounter a tooth ache while fishing. “A tea bag between your cheek and gums will offer you some relief until you can get to a dentist,” he says. Earl Grey is a favorite, but other brands offer different levels of relief.

Lower Niagara River

Bass fishing has been hot and cold, as it has been all season long – despite recent electro shocking surveys that show off excellent numbers of fish in the lower river system. Live bait like crabs and shiners will catch fish, but so will tubes. Walleye fishing has been good and the Niagara Bar was where the winning walleye was caught during the Fish Odyssey. Scott Ludwig of Grand Island was fishing with Pat Foote when he hit a 12 pound ‘eye near the green can at the mouth of the river. It was a worm harnesses fished off a three-way rig that did the trick. The first salmon should be making their way up the river, too, but no reports yet of whether or not any have shown up yet.

Upper Niagara River

Bass and walleye are still the favorite fish being caught above Niagara Falls, but you just might end up with a surprise – like Nick Dougherty did. The Lockport angler was fishing with Lyndon Hilts of Gasport at the head of the river near the round house when he hooked into a 32 pound carp that won the division in the Fish Odyssey contest. He caught it on a tube jig. They also caught sheepshead and smallmouth bass.

Oswego County

Mary Ellen Barbeau

Oswego River/Lake Ontario report:

According to Larry Muroski of Larry’s Oswego Salmon Shop:
The river flow was up over 3,000cfs yesterday but has taken a sharp drop this morning currently running at 953cfs at about noon today. There is no real salmon activity in the river as yet. Anglers are finding some walleye from the high wall. Bass, sheepshead and catfish can be found along the river with crayfish and nightcrawlers working well.

Lake Ontario report:

According to Capt. Andy Bliss of Chasin’ Tail Adventures:
Fishing remains up and down but the numbers of fish around has been increasing. The 90-200 foot water depth has been the best. Successful applications have been meat rigs in white, green and silver with flasher/flies in chrome, green and white combinations also getting the job done. We are catching salmon anywhere from 42-64 degree water. Conditions look good for the weekend and the bite should pick up.

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 along the top bar on the home page. 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/Salmon River report

According to Dave Wood of Woody’s Tackle:
There has been a good salmon bite off the Salmon River in about 80 feet of water down 70 feet from the surface. Cut bait/flasher, flasher/fly combinations have been working well along with J-plugs. There are a few early stragglers in the estuary with floating sacs and light line working well.

According to Whitaker’s Sport Shop and Motel:
Late yesterday afternoon we were back on the lake and it was flat as glass. We fished in 100 feet of water off the Salmon River. We didn’t mark a ton of fish where we were but enough to set up. We worked hard and managed to land two nice kings, one of which was 26 pounds, our biggest so far. One fish came on a Stinger Spoon and the other was on a Pro-Troll flasher with an A-Tom-Mik fly.

Salmon River:
According to the Douglaston Salmon Run:
Most anglers on the run reported seeing fish here and there but no concentrations of fish. They also found that it was difficult to connect with those they saw. The water flow at the reservoir remains at 335 cfs with the future flow to go up to 750cfs at 9 p.m. on Friday and remain at that level until 6 p.m. Sunday night.

Oneida Lake

Conditions have not changed on Oneida Lake. There continues to be a few walleye taken in about 30-40 feet of water. Look for smallmouth bass along the shoals or where there is evidence of schooling bait fish in the deeper water. Tube jigs and stickbaits are working well.

Sandy Pond report

According to Dave Wood of Woody’s Tackle:
There is no activity to report on the pond.

Wayne County Fishing Update

Chris Kenyon

Lake Ontario

The staging king bite is on, however it’s not consistent on the location….fish do move around!

So far they have been roaming the 90 to 130 foot depth straight out from Sodus. Cut bait (Meat rigs) have been the dominate bait. Spoons are Mag silver and green glow.

A few 20 plus pounders came out in front of Hughes’ Marina.

Charters are also using copper back 500 feet from the boat and down 90 feet. It’s a tough reel-in experience but it works.

Don’t forget the LOC Fall Derby which runs through Labor Day. Awards ceremony will be at 4pm Monday at Captain Jacks, Sodus Point.

Some smallmouth bass were caught deep in 50 feet of water straight out from Hughes’

Bays

Bay fishing has been excellent with largemouths coming from ay weedlines around the bays. Fish during the week because Labor Day is a recreational boat day…tough on the fishing adventures.

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

A bass tourney on the canal has produced some hefty 5 pound largemouths near Widewaters. They are also catching some nice cats near Palmyra using cut bait.

Fair Haven / Cayuga county

Captain Werner Stenger

Salmon River

Michael De Rosa – Zero Limit Adventures – Tailwater Lodge
Salmon are on the move with small numbers entering the river system every day. The river is now at its minimum fall flow as of September 1st and is expected to jump up to 750 CFS for Labor Day weekend.

We are seeing Kings and a few Coho entering the Douglaston Salmon Run mainly in the morning then tapering off until early evening for an occasional push. Good reports of fish being caught in town this week as well. The fish we have had on have put up an awesome fight so adjust your rigs accordingly and be prepared for some fresh fish to battle.

Some anglers are still reporting catching brown trout on dry flies below the Pineville bridge.