Greater Niagara Region
Bill Hilts, Jr.
Lake Ontario And Tributaries
Fishing action was put on hold for most of the week because of the extremely cold weather that blew in last weekend, followed by another storm of snow, ice or rain depending on where you were in Western New York. If you were in an area that received some of that rain, streams will probably be high and muddy. Snow areas received as much as 18 inches of the white stuff. Best bet is 18 Mile Creek and Burt Dam at this end of the lake. Fish a small jig under a float. Tip the jig with a wax worm and you should be able to catch some fish. It will be dependent upon water conditions. There will be some melting going on as we head into the weekend after we received almost a foot of snow on Tuesday. That should draw some more fish in – steelhead and brown trout. No other reports were available. Dates for the Lake Ontario Pro-Am Tournament have been set for May 20-22. Early information and entry form has been posted on www.lakeontarioproam.net. Save the dates! Don’t forget to mark March 3 on your calendar for the State of Lake Ontario meeting at Cornell Cooperative Extension in Lockport. While the starting time has not been finalized, the inside word is that it will be 6:30 pm.
Lower Niagara River
The Niagara River continues to be very susceptible to high winds on Lake Erie and conditions can change overnight. If that water is too muddy, look for the shoreline to clear first. However, the river had 18 inches of visibility and a nice green color on Monday and if the winds aren’t too bad with the incoming storm at mid-week, you should be able to catch fish when things warm up this weekend … if the launch ramps aren’t an issue. There were some problems earlier this week in Lewiston. The only other unknown will be the run-off from melting snow that could create some clarity problems. Shore casters can do well with spinners or spoons. Eggs or egg imitations like beads will also work for you. If the water is stained, use brightly-colored baits. From boats, minnows or Kwikfish/mag lips will work off three-way rigs. It’s still not too late to catch a big fish in the New York State Winter Classic contest which runs through Feb. 28. Check out www.nyswinterclassic.com. Leading trout is from the Niagara River, but first place is easily attainable sitting in at 16.67 pounds – a laker from the Niagara Bar reeled in by Tyler Morrison of Barker. Bigger fish are caught there all of the time. Weigh in stations include The Slippery Sinker in Olcott and Creek Road Bait and Tackle in Lewiston.
Upper Niagara River
Slush and ice was hampering casting consistency. Nothing new to report.
Oswego County
Mary Ellen Barbeau
Oswego River Report:
With the heavy rain on Tuesday, the water level has increased to 12,400cfs as of this morning. This makes most areas along the river difficult to fish. As conditions settle down, look for steelhead and brown trout activity throughout the river.
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:
Another handful of anglers fished the run yesterday and reported slow fishing throughout the day. Water flows were on the increase throughout the day (1,250cfs) due to the amount of rain/runoff we received on Tuesday. Temperatures dipped into the single digits last night with the high near 20 degrees today with no snow. We currently have around 4-5 inches of snow on the ground. Shelf ice was reported to be an issue in the Meadow and further downstream.
Oneida Lake Report
After the heavy rain we had on Tuesday, slush was an issue on the ice. Cold temperatures last night, today and again tonight will hopefully freeze this up. Some areas along the shoreline did deteriorate with the warmer temperatures earlier this week. The wind is expected to be out of the southeast at up to 30 mph tomorrow. With these varying weather conditions, use caution as you venture out.
Sandy Pond report
According to Dave Wood of Woody’s Tackle:
There is ice on the pond. Yesterday anglers found slush on the ice due to the rain we had on Tuesday but last night’s temperatures along with today’s highs only near 20 degrees should firm that up nicely. The bite has been decent with a number of small perch but there are some good ones mixed in and anglers are finding a few walleye. Live minnows and small jigs tipped with a maggot are working well.
According to Greene Point Marina:
It has been a mixed bag of weather this week. We had very cold temperatures last weekend and some good ice conditions. By Tuesday it had warmed up, the snow changed to rain and up to two inches fell in the area. Yesterday there was slush on the ice and the water level had risen. The cold temperatures last night and today should help freeze the slush. As conditions may vary across the pond, please use caution.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Streams
Earlier this week there was too much snow and ice pack at Maxwell Creek; however with warming temps coming in a few days, you should be able to fish the stream.
The other streams in Wayne County are closed-up with ice shelves. Bear Creek in Ontario has some open water.
Again if it warms up to the mid 40’s this weekend the streams will be open.
If they are open go for the steelies using anything bright. If you have to throw out some small spoons, go ahead… otherwise use bright beads or egg sacks.
Bays
The NYS Ice Pro-Am at Sodus had to be cancelled. This is unfortunate, however the right decision was made by the promoters. There has been open water and now with the heavy snow pack…it’s just too dangerous for ice anglers.
There really is no safe ice on any of the bays unless you know the area and we advise ice anglers not too take chances. No safe ice has really set-up for this season.
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
Just like the bays the canal situation is not very safe. There could be safe ice at Widewaters, but you need to take a spud and test the thickness.
Orleans County
Orleans County Tourism
With the present weather conditions, this will be a short report.
The snow of the past few days has left quite an impact on our tributaries within Orleans County.
As this melts, along with the rain that is in the forecast for the next day or so, flows should greatly improve and we should get stained water.
All of the tributaries should start having fish move thru out the entire system.
Presently most tributaries have low flow and some are snow covered and iced over.
The “Oak” is still producing some steelhead, a few brown trout and surprisingly an occasional Coho.
Lake Alice is iced over again but it’s not thick enough to do any ice fishing.