Greater Niagara Region
Bill Hilts, Jr.
Lake Ontario And Tributaries
Conditions were stained earlier this week, but with melting snow by Sunday it should make for some decent conditions in the next few days. Fresh steelhead should be arriving once things settle down. Tyler Morrison of Barker reeled in a 13 pound steelhead that he weighed in for the NYS Winter Classic that ended on Sunday, caught in the creek, but he already had a 16.79 pound lake trout on the board so he didn’t win the special prize in the contest for biggest steelhead. That went to Tyler’s uncle David with a 9.79 pound fish. Back to the creeks, Wes Walker reports that even though the creek is stained, you can still catch fish. Small jigs fished under a float and tipped with a wax worm is a good approach and use bright colors. Conditions were a little clearer at Keg Creek and there were reports of a few trout being caught in other streams like Four Mile Creek. Piers have been hampered by winds so no reports there. The lake is still 37 degrees and with temperatures into the 60s this coming week, we may see some shoreline trolling taking place. The State of Lake Ontario meeting is tonight in Lockport at Cornell Cooperative Extension Niagara on Route 78 starting at 6:30 pm. Don’t forget that the 27th Annual Antique Fishing Tackle Show is set for Saturday, March 5 at the Lockport Elk’s Lodge #41 on North Canal Road. The timing is from 11 am to 2 pm. If you have some old fishing tackle around, bring it out to show the experts and they will be happy to give you an estimate on what it’s worth or even buy it.
Lower Niagara River
Conditions were stained last weekend but a few boaters braved the weather and gave it a go. A few fish were caught. That was until Wednesday when water clarity improved enough to produce a nice mix of fish for Capt. Frank Campbell. His customer Michael Xu from the NYC area managed to catch some nice trout, a musky and a walleye on Wednesday – hitting double digits in the fish department. The secret, according to Campbell, was using the Pautzke’s Fire Brine on his minnows to give the bait a UV glow with a green coloration. Congratulations are in order to Tyler Morrison of Barker who won the Trout Category of the NYS Winter Classic contest with a 16.79 pound lake trout from the Niagara Bar. Some nice fish were weighed in this year. For the final leaderboard check out www.nyswinterclassic.com. It’s not too early to start planning for the future boating season by attending the About Boating Safety session being taught by the US Coast Guard Auxiliary March 12 at Fort Niagara in the Officer’s Club from 9 am to 5 pm. Call Bob Hasse at 954-3453 to preregister. You need this class to operate a jet ski or if you want to operate a boat if you were born after 1996.
Upper Niagara River
With the stained water and the chunks of ice along the shoreline, angling opportunities have been limited. There will be an electronics seminar for boaters at Anchor Marine on Grand Island with expert Lance Valentine on April 2. You must preregister at 773-7063.
Oswego County
Mary Ellen Barbeau
Oswego River Report:
The water level has continued to drop some running at 18,000cfs this morning. Although improving, this level is still difficult to fish along the river. When conditions settle down, look for steelhead and brown trout using egg sacs and beads.
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:
Some snow and a brisk wind kept anglers off the run yesterday. Total snow accumulation was a dusting. The temperature will begin to moderate tomorrow with a decent weekend but next week’s forecast looks like spring is arriving with temperatures in the 50s for much of the week.
According to Whitaker’s Sport Shop & Motel:
Wednesday was a cold and very windy day with scattered lake effect snow showers. The temperature reached into the 20s but with the wind chill factor it felt like single digits. Anglers staying in the motel reported getting into a few fish in the upper end of the river in Altmar as well as some of the smaller local tributaries.
Oneida Lake Report
Conditions on the lake this week have included open water, ice pulled far away from shore, ice piled up on shore. We have had some colder temperatures in the last couple of days but conditions are not safe in most areas across the lake. A real warm stretch of weather is expected to move in for next week with remaining ice likely deteriorating. Be safe and stay off the ice.
Sandy Pond report
According to Woody’s Tackle:
There is still safe ice on the pond but this may be the last chance to enjoy it. Temperatures are forecasted to warm into the 50s and perhaps 60s during much of next week. For this weekend, look for perch with small minnows and small jigs tipped with maggots. Walleye are responding to jigs with Swedish pimples and Rapalas and large shiners are taking perch.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Streams
Hunting for squirrels is over in New York State, so grab a spinning rod and head for Maxwell Creek. The water flow is cranking from the recent rainfall, however it’s not too muddy and stained.
Snow and cold is predicted for tonight, but it’s not supposed to be a lot of the white stuff. The rainbows are hitting and the colors are vivid.
They are taking bright beads and egg sacks and also small red spoons. The north side of Lake Road is the slow water, which currently is the best place to fish.
The other smaller creeks in Wayne County are productive…it’s just they have limited access points. You can fish the small harbor at Bear Creek for steelies.
Sections of the Sodus Bay pier are ice free for channel fishing. The problem has been the relentless wind which coats the pier with ice. And guess what’s coming tonight…40 mph winds.
Bays
There are reports of some 8 inch ice on Sodus Bay, but we don’t call it safe ice. There have been just too many days of warm temps to define ice as safe. Don’t take changes.
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
There is ice on the canal. There are no reports on the thickness. It’s probably a safe bet to stay off, or at least use spuds to test the thickness.
Orleans County
Orleans County Tourism
The colder weather should again slow down water flow in all of the tributaries within Orleans County to a more manageable level.
The warm up of next week should again have water flows on the rise as there is a good supply of water in the Alabama swamp area that has yet to flow thru the system.
This should mean that the closing days of the tributary fishing should be very good with plenty of fresh fish in the system.
One report has a fair catch of Bullhead being taken on Johnson Creek.
On the “Oak” they are still catching both steelhead an some Brown trout mainly in the turbine channel but with the faster moving water this should spread out to the other reaches of water.
I have not had any reports on Sandy Creek as of late but Marsh Creek has been slightly active over the past week.
Lake Alice is still not letting go of any of its fish population but that should change with the warm up next week.
Speaking of Lake Alice, the D.E.C. is proposing a rule change for Walleye on Lake Alice which would increase the size from 15 to 18 inches and drop the limit from 5 to 3. This is due to a 5 year stocking program for Walleye that is attempting to boost the Walleye population in that body of water.
Let the D.E.C. know what you think of this proposal.
Salmon River
Michael De Rosa – Zero Limit Adventures – Tailwater Lodge
Water levels remain high (1750 cfs at the dam today), but it seems the fish are adjusting to it and fishing has picked up some. For this time of year there is just a small snow pack on the Tug Hill so long range, we should have a good water-flow through spring with little chance of flooding.
Numbers of fisherman remains less than normal throughout the watershed. Douglaston Salmon Run has picked-up withsome fresh-run steelhead reported. Reports of fish throughout the upper river have increase and drift boat guides are doing well. The last week’s higher water brought in fresh fish and spawning should start as the weather warms. Watch for any thaw to trigger a bite.