Greater Niagara Region
Bill Hilts, Jr.
Lake Ontario And Tributaries
Mark Romanack of Michigan reported that his son, Jake Romanack of Fishing 411 and Jarod Higginbotham of Yakima Bait fished the Niagara Bar Tuesday morning while filming an episode of Fishing 411 TV. The much anticipated salmon bite kicked into high gear. The crew boated three kings over 20 pounds, plus three bonus coho and countless lake trout. The Yakima 3.5 Mag Lip plug stole the show producing all the big kings and lakers. The top colors included NFL, gold/orange flame and Pay Day. Most of the fish came in 100 feet of water, east of the Red Can. Riggers 50 to 60 feet down produced well as did 300 foot wire rigs fished with Off Shore boards. A few coho were in the top 20 feet of water. That’s the best piece of information that we can give you with what is happening starting on Friday. If you are looking for lake trout, they seem to be all over the place. Bill Fekete of Ransomville was fishing with his son, Corey, every chance they got and have been doing well on lakers. Fire tiger pattern has been working the best – spoons or sticks. Best depth was 50 down over 70 feet of water on the Niagara Bar for them. Friday, May 6 kicks off the spring Lake Ontario Counties Trout and Salmon Derby – a 10 day contest that focuses much of the angling effort on the waters off Niagara County. This is the spot on the lake that offers the best chance at winning the $15,000 Grand Prize for the biggest salmon. There’s another $25,000 in other prizes, too, with divisions for salmon, brown trout, lake trout and walleye – the latter starting at one minute after midnight on May 7, the opening of walleye season in New York. Check out www.loc.org for details. Also on May 7 is the start of the Wilson Harbor Invitational Tournament. Best six salmon for the day wins the big bucks, based on 10 points per fish and a point per pound. Less than two weeks after that one is the granddaddy of trout and salmon tournaments, the Lake Ontario Pro-Am Salmon Team Tournament, held out of the ports of Wilson and Olcott May 20-22. Deadline to register is May 16 at www.lakeontarioproam.net. With a bigger emphasis on the amateurs, each single day is an event with more than 100 percent return on your registration dollar for the Amateur Open and for the Pro Division. The Don Johannes and Pete DeAngelo Memorial one fish-three fish contest is May 19 this year, another fun event leading up to the Pro-Am. Sign up at the Boat Doctors or the Slippery Sinker in Olcott; Bootleggers Cove Marina or the Gas Shack in Wilson.
Lower Niagara River
Plenty of excitement around town for the Smelt Festival on Friday, May 6. Things kick off at 5 pm at Lewiston Landing. Trout fishing has been holding on, but it hasn’t been easy for sure. Steelhead and lake trout are still available with minnows or egg sacs. At the mouth of the river, the bass are just starting to turn on (catch and release only, no live bait) and Capt. Bruce Blakelock of Lewiston was guiding Mitch Grant and George Thomas of Virginia, co-owners of the Trailer Hook Pal. They were in town for a media event that was going on all week and they had some new products to use. Best baits were tubes and swim baits in a green pumpkin color. The tubes were rigged with Tube Mate Spinners by Trailer Hook Pal, a new added enticement that really seemed to trigger the fish to hit. They were just starting to turn on Tuesday and it will continue to improve as the waters continue to warm. Several fish were over 5 pounds.
Upper Niagara River
The head of the river at the Buffalo Harbor was really starting to turn on for bass fishing Tuesday. Buddy Prause, VP of Sales and Marketing for Yo-Zuri, was in town from the Florida office, along with three factory reps from Japan. They were testing some new baits that really seemed to work wonders on the smallmouth, despite 43 degree water around the breakwalls. All they used were hardbaits – specifically the Hardcore Longbill Series in 90 mm Orange Tiger and Ayu, as well as the Hardcore Spin in several different colors. The blade seemed to mimic the flash of the emerald shiner. Prause caught is two personal best smallmouth on the trip and they were amazed at how good they worked in the cold water. The bite was tough overall, too, and plastics did not seem to be as effective. At least on this day. May 7 is the opening of walleye, northern pike, pickerel and tiger musky seasons throughout the state. However, tiger musky is still closed on the Great Lakes until the regular musky season opener on June 18 this year.
Oswego County
Mary Ellen Barbeau
Lake Ontario report:
According to Capt. Kevin Davis of Catch the Drift:
We had a couple of rainy days earlier in the week but they equaled large fish. We captured our first king of the season and I was impressed with the size for sure. Browns, lakers, and Atlantics were also in the mix.
According to Capt. Tom Burke of Cold Steel Fishing Charters:
We had our first couple of trips on the lake. Crystal clear water inshore made for tough brown trout fishing. We picked at a few smaller ones but we were catching some nice lake trout.
Oswego River Report:
The water flow has been considerably higher the last few days running at 11,300cfs this afternoon. This makes most areas along the river difficult to fish. When conditions settle down anglers may find a few steelhead and brown trout. Walleye season will open on May 7. Look for bullhead at Wright’s Landing with worms and minnows the suggested baits.
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 Fat Nancy’s Tackle Shop:
The lake fishing for browns has improved with some nice catches being taken on Smithwick stickbaits as well as Michigan Stinger and Finger Lakes Tackle spoons. The lake trout action was steady in 120-130 feet of water.
Salmon River report:
According to the Douglaston Salmon Run:
Yesterday was a calm, warmer day with light winds. The water flow is running at 285cfs at the dam and 470cfs at Pineville. Anglers had a great day on the run with a number of “quality” steelhead in the upper area. Those who chose to fish the lower section found some smallmouth bass action.
According to Fat Nancy’s Tackle Shop:
The best fishing has been from the 81 pool down to the Black Hole. The best baits have been blue egg sacs, white egg sacs and pink worms.
Oneida Lake Report
The lake is providing a variety of species for anglers. Bluegills are active in the bays along with some perch although that bite has slowed somewhat. Worms and minnows are working well. Black crappies are being taken along the shoreline along with a few bullheads. Remember walleye season will open May 7.
Sandy Pond report
According to Woody’s Tackle:
The activity on the pond is rather quiet. Anglers are finding some perch and a few crappies with minnows and worms. Just a reminder that walleye and northern pike seasons will open on May 7.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Lake Ontario
The browns were close to shore over the weekend, hitting stickbaits in 8 to 20 fow. Fish the first light of the day, then go 80 to 100 for the lakers. The lake trout are on the bottom.
The browns are not all cookie cutters…there have been some nice 10 pounders coming from Maxwell Creek west to Pultneyville.
Bays
The bullhead fishing has been decent at the Sodus Bay Bridge. That should take-off this weekend with warmer temps predicted. The perch are still in Sodus Bay. You can try near the outlet. They have been some nice catches with 10 to 12 inches the normal. It’s nice they showed-up because during our brief ice season they were not around.
Check out the rest of the Wayne County Tourism web page for the locations and hours of local bait and tackle shops. 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
The canal had a few boats fishing last Sunday, however rainy weather kept most of them home…or it could be the anglers were looking for turkeys on opening day.
Orleans County
Orleans County Tourism
Even with the rain of the past several days the waters along the southern shore of Lake Ontario is clear and cold thanks to the wonderful Northeast winds.
It looks like these winds will continue for another day or two and then Mother Nature may give us a break.
With the conditions that we presently have Lake trout seems to be the fish of choice.
On Lake Alice a green algae bloom has taken over for a few days but this should dissipate hopefully by the weekend.
With only 2 days before the start of the Spring LOC Derby (May 6th) and then a host of tournaments following closely after that, information may be a little tough to get.
Word is that we should be able to keep our pen fish for another week so there’s still time to help out with the feeding and cleaning of the pens.
After that help will be needed to release the fish, haul out the pens, clean the nets and then put everything away for another year so extra help is still needed.
Salmon River
Michael De Rosa – Zero Limit Adventures – Tailwater Lodge
Water release dropped again to 285 cfs but with some run-off from recent rain. Water flow at the lower river is 450 cfs. Water temperature is at the magic 50 degree mark and as a result fishing continues to be good!
Douglaston Salmon run had a good week. Drop-back Steelhead continue to be caught and we had had several good days. Several anglers have reported 20 plus smallmouth bass being caught. Drop-Backs remain the primary target up-river with the major pools but the Fly Zones are almost barren. It’s a great time to make your trip with a great weather forecast and active fish in the river. Expect another week for Drop-back Steelhead, but as the water temps reach the 60’s most will have returned to the lake.