Greater Niagara Region
Bill Hilts, Jr.
Lake Ontario And Tributaries
A call from Chuck Booker of Amherst reported that there were a few fish caught off the Olcott piers the last couple of nights on the lake side of the piers. While spoons are normal hardware for casting there, it was Rattletraps that made the difference and it produced two kings and a steelhead for Ricardo Davila! A few slugs of salmon made it up into the harbor but no further than that according to reports. A few browns at the dam. Hopefully this rain that is in the forecast will trigger some sort of a run in the creek at 18 Mile. Don’t forget that the King of the Creek salmon contest is being run by All in the Same Boat Tackle will run to Nov. 6. There is a boat and a shore category. Call 638-4158 for more info. Over in Wilson Harbor, there has been a good bite on northern pike according to Pastors Dave Emmons and Nate Hlad of Newfane. Try casting spinnerbaits. Wilson Pier is a good spot for browns, too. If you want to make it out into the lake for some trolling action, the better bite has been out deep for a mix of immature kings and some trout. Spoons are the way to go. Anchoring up at the pier heads in Olcott is another option to try and cast for kings. Lake trout season ends tomorrow until the end of the year.
Lower Niagara River
Anxious anglers are waiting in force to try and catch king salmon. Capt. Steve Drabczyk reports that he caught three kings Tuesday in Devil’s Hole – the best we’ve heard so far from boaters. Then some Facebook posts went up and Capt. Ernie Calandrelli reported a five for nine day on kings on Wednesday, so it appears to be picking up a little bit. The rain is certainly helping. Treated egg skein off three way rigs is best for the boaters. The NYPA Fishing Platform is still one of the hotspots for your best chance for a king salmon. Casting spoons, spinners or rattlebaits can catch fish, but the best is yet to come. Other shore anglers have been using spoons, spinners and jigs to take a mix of fish, including bass and walleye. River water was down to the 60’s. Bass fishing continues to be spotty. Some days are better than others. Look for the active fish by moving around the river and the green can at the mouth. Live bait like shiners or crabs will work; tubes, too.
Upper Niagara River
Bass action should start to pick up as water temps start to cool down. Ditto for musky action. The next Niagara Musky Assn. meeting is Tuesday, Oct. 4 at the Eldridge Club, 17 Broad St., Tonawanda starting at 7 pm. In addition to some reports on the local fishing action, guest speaker will be Jonah Withers with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service talking about the acoustic telemetry project involving lake sturgeon in Buffalo Harbor.
Oswego County
Mary Ellen Barbeau
Oswego River Report
According to Capt. Kevin Davis of Catch the Drift:
Well, my rain dance has not been working as normal but hopefully that is about to change. The bite has been tough so far but still catching some fish. Low, warm water continues to haunt me in the fall. There is still a bunch of fish in the lake ready to come. Rain is in the forecast so we will see what happens.
According to Larry Muroski of Larry’s Oswego Salmon Shop:
The water flow has remained fairly consistent between 1,000-2,000cfs the past few days. It is flowing at 1,070cfs this morning. Rain is in the forecast over the next few days so hopefully that will bring some more salmon in. Anglers are fishing off the wall using thunder sticks, hot-n-tots, and mag lips. Early in the morning and in the evening are best as the activity slows down during the day. The action at the dam is decent at best using skein, estaz flies and rubber eggs.
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
Salmon River Public Notice: Due to lower than normal reservoir water levels, Brookfield Renewable, in coordination with New York State DEC has announced the water base flow on the Salmon River will be reduced starting Thursday, September 29th at 7:00AM. The base flow will be decreased from 335 cfs to 185 cfs. The decision to lower water flows is to assist in the recovery of the reservoir to sustain base flow. We will continue to maintain the lower base flows until water conditions improve.
According to Fat Nancy’s Tackle Shop:
There is a good amount of fish in the river especially from the Sportsman’s Pool downstream. There is also a decent pod of fish in the estuary which we hope will move into the river over the next couple of days. Hopefully we will get a lot of the rain that is forecasted over the next week to add some much needed water to the system.
According to Whitaker’s Sport Shop and Motel:
The anglers we have staying in the motel and stopping into the shop reported having a good day yesterday in the lower end of the river. Anglers said the fish movement was steady with a mix of kings and cohos and at times mostly cohos.
According to the Douglaston Salmon Run:
Reports from the River Patrol late last night were that all three channels of the lower part of the DSR property were “filled” with salmon. The South channel was somewhat less than the other two. Reports so far this morning are that the lower section remains full of salmon, however movement is minimal. There are enough moving to provide good action in the lower and middle sections of the river.
Oneida Lake Report
The cooler weather along with some rain in the forecast will hopefully trigger an active walleye bite.
According to Bartel Road Bait and Tackle:
It seems Mother Nature has taken enough out on us and is letting up a little. With the cooler temperatures the activity is picking up. There have been multiple people with limit catches of perch over the last few days and folks are starting to fish again.
Sandy Pond report
There has not been much activity on the pond. Anglers are getting a few bass using jigs and plastics.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Lake Ontario
It’s the last week in September…the time for stream fishing. However, we need water. Maxwell (the little stream famous for browns) is dry. There a few pools in the north end. What you can do is fish near the mouth, casting out Cleos from the shore.
There are salmon in 90 to 150 feet of water, but they’re not hitting with a vengeance. Try flasher flies or go with green spoons. There are lakers on the bottom in 100 feet of water straight out from Sodus. Use cowbells and peanuts.
A few fish are coming from the Sodus Pier, however that should be better in a couple of weeks. Pier fishing might be the answer if we don’t get water. It’s suppose rain Thursday…a significant amount. If so Maxwell and the other streams will have a run of trout and salmon from the lake.
Bays
Largemouth bass are hitting in Sodus and Port Bay. The Port Bay catch was only bass. The perch would not take anything. There appeared to be a lot of bait fish, so that could be the answer.
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
Two anglers fish the canal every Sunday near Widewaters. They are kayak anglers and are catching crappies, bluegills and sunfish.
Orleans County
Orleans County Tourism
The cool down continues for the rest of this week and well into next week.
Rain is in the forecast throughout the end of the week and into Monday of next week, which should spur movement of salmon towards their spawning locations.
Fishermen are reporting more hookups around the tributary mouths of Johnson and Sandy Creeks as well as at the mouth of the Oak.
The weather conditions are moving these fish up to at least the mid pools and some all the way up to the dam on the Oak.
On Lake Alice the Bluegill fishing is starting to drop off slightly but the bass fishing is on the rise.
Right now the flows on the tributaries within Orleans County are at moderate levels to slightly below moderate levels but the rain over the next few days should improve those conditions.
Right now fishing pressure is light but with conditions improving that should be on the increase.
Please remember that if you are utilizing fishing opportunities on Brookfield Power property to take the time to familiarize their guidelines concerning safety procedures.