Greater Niagara Region
Bill Hilts, Jr.
Fishing and Outdoor Expo is Here!
The Greater Niagara Fishing and Outdoor Expo is finally here, running from Friday through Sunday this weekend! It’s hard to believe how much they have under one roof at the Conference and Event Center Niagara Falls. There are so many things going on, you may have attend more than one day. Buy the weekend pass for just $16 to solve that problem! And kids under 10 years of age are free. There are over 120 educational seminars on a wide variety of topics and fish species. Listen to the experts giving tips on fishing for salmon, trout, bass, walleye, musky and perch. Some of the names headlining the WNY Fishing Academy include Dave Genz – the Godfather of ice fishing – and Mark Romanack with the Fishing 411 TV show.
Charlie Alsheimer, Mr. Whitetail, will be giving three talks on Saturday – two on deer and one on photography. Learn how to rig a boat and use your electronics. The Lake Ontario Marketplace is Sunday morning and if you are looking for used tackle, that’s a great place to be. Over 150 booth spaces are occupied with show-stopping vendors and great show specials. And for the kids, there’s a fishing pond and air rifle trailer to keep the youngsters busy, as well as a simulated ice fishing experience and an entire Fun Zone. Lots of animals, too, from birds of pretty to monkeys. Check out www.niagarafishingexpo.com for all of the details, including the list of seminars, speakers and vendors. It’s the largest freshwater fishing show in the state and one of the biggest on the Great Lakes. You won’t be disappointed.
Lake Ontario And Tributaries
The big news has to be that the hard water is supporting some anglers in the back bay at Wilson. Perfect timing for the Outdoor Expo’s focus on ice fishing thanks to the Ice Team and Dave Genz! Reports of perch, pike and the occasional trout have been reported and the best baits have been minnows, spikes, wax worms and a variety of Maki plastics. All the smaller streams are frozen up but there is some open water at Burt Dam and 18 Mile Creek according to Wes Walker at The Slippery Sinker. Small jigs tipped with a wax worm and fished under a float has been one of the most popular approaches, but don’t rule out using one of the Lazy Larry’s beads that imitate a trout egg. Check out the Expo to see how they work. The water has come down a bit and it’s not as stained as it was. Steelhead and the occasional brown is being caught.
Lower Niagara River
Nothing since last Friday when water color turned to mud. Last Friday Capt. Frank Campbell was doing some experimenting with some of the Pautzke UV Fire Brine in a new green color and actually changing the color of his minnows as he fished the Devil’s Hole area of the lower river. Conditions weren’t the best but they were fishable. Fishing alongside a couple of other boats, Campbell’s green minnows out-produced the other boats 3 or 4 to one. Stop in and see Frank at the Expo and ask him about it or listen to one of his seminars. Capt. Matt Yablonsky will also be on the seminar stage talking Niagara Bar fishing and he reported that when the waters clear, the Bar should continue with some excellent action if the conditions allow for it. Not too much from the shore fishing guys the past week. Spoons, spinners and beads will all catch fish when it starts to clear up but water clarity has been tough for a week. Go to the Expo this weekend and learn some new techniques! Remember that the Roger Tobey Memorial Steelhead contest is set for Feb. 6 in the lower river. Contact 998-8910 for more info or stop in at Creek Road Bait and Tackle in Lewiston.
Upper Niagara River
The water has been muddy and limited fishing conditions. When it clears, look for the trout action to pick back up around Broderick Park and around Ferry Street.
Oswego County
Mary Ellen Barbeau
Oswego River Report:
After having been below 10,000cfs for a couple of days, the water flow is up to 11,300cfs this morning. Most of the snow this week missed the Oswego area. The weekend is expected to be partly sunny with temperatures in the 20s. When anglers have ventured out this week they have found some nice steelhead and brown trout.
According to Capt. Kevin Davis of Catch the Drift:
We are still earning double-digit days. They are not coming easily. Switch baits, switch colors, change depths and finally you get a bite. Nice day on the water as usual. All released to fight another day.
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.
Salmon River Report:
According to the Douglaston Salmon Run:
Although it took most of the day for the slush to clear, one angler spent a few hours on the run yesterday and reported catching two dark steelies between the Spring Hole and the Glide. Anchor ice proved to be a problem throughout the run. The next three days look mostly snow free with temperatures in the mid 20s and lows in the teens and single digits. Early morning slush is likely to be an issue. The water flow is currently running at 750cfs.
According to Whitaker’s Sport Shop and Motel:
Tuesday a few anglers who were on the water fished the upper end of the river between Altmar and Pineville. Anglers who were checking out of the motel reported landing a couple steelhead in the Schoolhouse and another group reported having a few hook ups in the Lower Fly Zone.
Oneida Lake Report
The snow we were receiving early in the week has ended and through the weekend looks clear with cold temperatures. Daytime highs will be in the 20s but the nighttime lows will be single digits with Saturday night close to 0. The ice thickness is varying greatly with no reports of substantial ice in any area. Hopefully with the temperatures over the next few days, we will get some solid ice and safe conditions.
Sandy Pond report
According to Dave Wood of Woody’s Tackle:
Conditions on the pond vary at this point. The south shore (near the Wigwam) the ice is spotty ranging from 2-3 inches up to 7-8 inches so use extreme caution in this area. On the north end (near the Elm’s) there is about 6-10 inches everywhere so we have good ice in this area. Green Point Marina has opened up the access to Renshaw Bay. Baits to try are spikes and mousies for panfish, small minnows for perch and large minnows for pike.
Orleans County
Orleans County Tourism
The deep freeze over the past several days has turned on the ice producing machine.
The only open water on the “Oak” is at the Waterport Dam area to just north of the Archers Club and then at the Point from the launch ramps on the east side to the lake.
On Lake Alice there is very little open water but in both cases the ice is not yet at a thickness that it is safe to be on it.
On Johnson Creek there is open water at the dam in Lyndonville and then some where it goes into Lake Ontario, also possibly in the fast moving water areas around Blood Road.
With all that being said the only action seems to be on the “Oak” from the dam downstream to an area just north of the Archers Club.
Steelhead are the most common fish being taken in that area.
The approaches to those areas and the edges are iced over so take your time and be prepared for those conditions.
This Sunday I will be at the Greater Niagara Fishing & Outdoor Expo manning the Lake Ontario Sportfishing Promotions Council Booth so if you’re in the area stop by and say hi.
Salmon River
Michael De Rosa – Zero Limit Adventures – Tailwater Lodge
Winter intensified this week with several bouts of “Lake Effect” snow and high time temps down to the single digits. Water levels remained up all week as water temps dropped to the mid-30! Both weather and water conditions made fishing difficult and numbers of fishermen on the river were low as a result. Douglaston Salmon Run had a few fish reported but chunk ice was a problem.
Upriver fishing has been slow in the major pools with very little fishing pressure. There has been some activity in the Lower Fly Zone but 750 plus cfs made fishing difficult. Drift Boat Captains continue to report some steelhead from Altmar through Pineville to the 2A Bridge. Noted about a half-dozen boats making this run daily.