Greater Niagara Region
Bill Hilts, Jr.
Lake Ontario And Tributaries
Lake Ontario Pro-Am Salmon Team Tournament Week is upon us, with the main event starting on Friday out of Wilson and Olcott. A total of 50 teams will be competing for some great cash prizes based on a unique scoring system. East wind continues to be a problem, but action finally turned on for some decent spring salmon fishing on Tuesday for many of the boats. Exact details are sparse because of the tournament, but many boats were catching fish between Wilson and the Niagara Bar, as well as east of Olcott. Decent kings, too, in the 20 pound class. A 31 pound king was caught off St. Catharines last weekend as the catch was flying around social media circles. In the Buffalo Sabres Alumni Charity Fishing Outing last Wednesday, a total of 24 boats hit the waters around Olcott. The captain guiding the crew to the biggest fish was Capt. Mark Vilardo with Kingfisher. His 19 pound, 3 ounce king took the top prize with numerous in the 18 pound class on other boats. It was a fun time had by all as the local fishery was showcased. Look for a mixed bag this weekend at the tournament weigh in at Krull Park at 2 pm each day. Check out lakeontarioproam.net for details. Marty Polovick of Lockport won the Grand Prize in the Lake Ontario Counties (LOC) Trout and Salmon Derby held May 6-15, reeling in a 26 pound, four ounce king salmon to take the $15,000 top prize. He also earned an extra $500 for big fish of the day and a check for $1,000 by catching the largest salmon by a Lake Ontario Trout and Salmon Assn. member. On the final weekend of the derby, the crew of Doug Parker of Lockport; Matt Dunn of Newfane; and Matt’s father, Marc Dunn of Lockport along with Polovick used an 8-inch Dreamweaver Spindoctor rigged with a white John King Baithead with a piece of Crowes Cut Bait (aka N&D Bait) to take the winning fish. They put their downrigger on the bottom in 100 feet of water. The lucky Laker Taker was Patrick Barber of Niagara Falls while fishing with his brother Richard (also from Niagara Falls) on Friday the 13th. They were trolling the Niagara Bar off the mouth of the Niagara River in 25 feet of water on the bottom when the 27 pound, 8 ounce fork tail hit their chartreuse holographic Kwikfish rigged with Hammerhead cowbells on the rigger. Big brown trout came from Oswego when Ryan Massey of Oriskany Falls reeled in a 16 pound, 2 ounce fish east of the harbor. First place walleye was weighed in by Tim Farmer of Dexter, an 11 pound, 14 ounce fish from Chaumont Bay.
Lower Niagara River
Devil’s Hole is the place to be for a mixed bag of fish, but with the closure of the gorge early in the week because of the transmission line removal, it forced guides down river to try and target other areas and other fish species. Kwikfish and minnows are the best baits to use. Mitch Grant of Virginia was showing off some of him new Rapid Fishing Solutions gear while fishing with Capt. Bruce Blakelock on Tuesday and they reeled in some nice smallmouth on tubes and swim baits. It won’t be long before the hard baits will be working on the smallies as those water temps were just starting to hit 50 degrees. We told you about the green can area working for the Killer B’s at the mouth of the river on lake trout. During the derby they reeled in over 100 lakers.
Upper Niagara River
There will be a Teach Me to Fish Clinic at Bison City Rod and Gun Club in Buffalo on Sunday, May 22 starting at 2 pm. Get there a little early for registration. Fish the harbors, inlets and creeks for a mixed bag of panfish and bass around Grand Island and along River Road. The Erie Canal is open for fishing now, too.
Oswego County
Mary Ellen Barbeau
Lake Ontario report
According to Capt. Andy Bliss of Chasin’ Tail Adventures:
After the big winds brown trout fishing has been very good the last few days with fast paced action. A big boy coming aboard first thing this morning! It doesn’t get much better than your first bite of the morning being a 13+lbs brown! Anglers are finding some salmon in deeper water, 150-350 feet. Most of the salmon are taking spoons in more natural patterns. A few are eating A-TOM-MIK flies in green glo and hammer patterns.
Oswego River Report
With the rain over the weekend the water was up to 5,380cfs earlier in the week. This morning it is flowing at 3,750cfs. This is a fishable level all along the river. Walleye season is open but the bite has been slow although an occasional one is being taken. 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:
The lake fishing has been pretty good with brown trout being caught in 10-15 feet of water on stick baits and spoons. The salmon fishing has been good in deeper water with fish being caught with Michigan Stinger stingray spoons and Finger Lakes Tackle spoons.
Salmon River report
According to the Douglaston Salmon Run:
A beautiful day to be on the water, 60F and sunny with a slight breeze! One guest reported catching a steelhead on the swing and the balance of our guests reported decent bass fishing. Most got into a handful of our bronze friends, with a few in the 3-4 lb. range. A good caddis hatch was also reported -we can’t wait to stock brown trout today!
According to Whitaker’s Sport Shop:
Over the last couple of days very few anglers have been on the water. The few anglers who stopped into the shop reported getting into some smallmouth bass and some small trout in the mid to lower end of the river. The river flow is running at 185cfs.
Oneida Lake Report
Walleye fishing has been most productive in the early morning hours or late afternoon. Blue gills are active in the bays and anglers are finding smallmouth bass in 5-10 feet of water.
According to Capt. Troy Creasy of High Adventure Sportfishing:
The walleye action on Oneida Lake is up and down right now. Fish are being taken in shallow and deep water. North of Messenger Reef jigging with black/purple 1/2 to 5/8 oz. jigs tipped with a nightcrawler is taking a fair share of fish.
Sandy Pond report
According to Woody’s Tackle:
Walleye season is underway and reports indicate the action has been very good on the pond over the last few days. Stickbaits and jigs are working well.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Lake Ontario
Two weeks ago the kings were roaming the shores with some rainbows out in 150 FOW down 20 feet. Then….it stopped.
Right now the browns are hitting straight out from Port Bay. You need to be on the water at 5 am and fish right on shore in 5 to 10 feet. Work the shoreline to Fair Haven and back looking for any mudlines.
The browns are a mixed bag five to ten pounds.
Lakers are on the bottom in 150 FOW. Use cowbells and bounce the bottom.
The LOC Spring awards was last Sunday and the second place brown was caught in Irondequoit Bay. The lake had 8 to 10 footers so the winner trolled in the bay for that brown.
They are probably in Sodus Bay, or if it’s rough in the lake… fish the channel.
Bays
It’s been a tough week fishing the bays. The water is cold, not even hitting 60 degrees. The bullhead fishing has been a struggle; however, you can catch some crappies at Bay Bridge.
No boats have been out in Port Bay, so I guess the fishing is tough. We need some moderating temps to warm the water.
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 water is high but that really doesn’t affect boaters fishing the Erie. They are still catching crappies at port Gibson and some cats were coming from Swifts Landing in Palmyra.
Orleans County
Orleans County Tourism
The weather forecast for the rest of this week and next looks more like spring than previous forecasts.
Light and variable winds are called for with a mixture of directions including our old friend, northeast.
Action at the Niagara Bar is finally turning on which means that it shouldn’t be that long before our waters really turn on.
Right now the bite still seems to be mainly Lake trout with some Coho and Steelhead action thrown in.
This weekend, May 20-22, is the 32nd Annual Niagara County Pro Am Tournament so many of the top charters will not be sharing much information in preparation for this great event.
Speaking of Tournaments and Derbies, congratulations to all of the winners of the spring LOC Derby.
On Lake Alice conditions with the green algae bloom continue to improve as does the fishing.
Good catches of Bluegill, Crappie, Rock bass and Perch are being reported.
I have not had any reports from the waters of the Erie Canal yet but those waters should be providing a great warm water fishery very soon.