Greater Niagara Region
Bill Hilts, Jr.
Lake Ontario And Tributaries
There is some fishing going on in area tribs with water flow. Greg Schloerb of Amherst shared some information he garnered first hand from Burt Dam and 18 Mile Creek in the Town of Newfane. Water was low and clear, making fishing difficult, but he did manage to catch some nice browns, steelhead and a small Coho salmon fishing the creek the day before and the day after Christmas. Rain and snow melt didn’t help much in the water clarity department and flow was down. The hot bait for Schloerb was a hand tied white jig tipped with a wax worm and fished under a float using his center pin outfit. The highlight Monday morning was a double header fishing with his buddy Saith J. Shine of Niagara Falls. Greg topped the duo with a 10.7 pound brown. Cold temperatures are supposed to be blowing back into Western New York quite literally and we’ll see what the lake effect storm brings us on the weekend. Ice action at Wilson is marginal. Some safe ice still exists, but Scott Brauer of Gasport recently tried it and he had five inches of ice … but he was next to some open water. Be careful out there! Remember the start of the NYS Winter Classic Tournament (nyswinterclassic.com) and the Captain Bob’s Contest is Jan. 1 and 2 respectively.
Niagara River
Fishing on hold right now. Water is stained. Near perfect conditions in the Lower Niagara River earlier in the week will undoubtedly be affected by the high winds and cold front that moved through the region on Monday and Tuesday. In fact, Capt. Frank Campbell of Niagara Region Charters was battling the winds on Tuesday morning and it was a tough drift from a boat. He could also watch the water slowly change color and make it more difficult for the fish to see the bait. With the wind, Kwikfish and MagLips seemed to work best. Young 8 year old Paul Orsi of Youngstown had the hot hand earlier this week, catching both walleye and lake trout. As of Jan. 1, the walleye limit drops from three to one in the lower river. Also remember, lake trout season opens up on Jan. 1 in the lower river; it’s open all year on the upper river and Lake Erie. Once things settle back down – maybe by the weekend – we should see egg patterns showing back up as another option. Shore fishing continues to be a mix of spoons, spinners, eggs and egg imitations. Look for slightly clearer water and brightly colored lures or baits to tip the fishing in your favor. Glenn Strzelczyk of the Town of Niagara reports that upper river action was good for lake trout recently, especially at the foot of Ferry Street and along Broderick Park. Spoons and spinners work there, too.
Oswego County
Mary Ellen Barbeau
Oswego River Report
The water flow has been between 13,000-17,000cfs the last few days. This afternoon it is running at 14,000cfs. Weather conditions will be difficult over the next day or so with lake effect snow and winds between 10-25 mph.
According to Capt. Kevin Davis of Catch the Drift:
The steelhead weather is here. Wind and snow the last couple of days have made fishing a bit challenging but we still have many happy faces.
According to Jake Metcalf of fishoswegoriver.com:
There are a ridiculous amount of gizzard shad in the river right now. The seagulls have been feasting on them in the lower section of the river. You can’t go wrong throwing a white marabou jig or swim-bait, that is unless the trout are already full.
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 Whitaker’s Sport Shop & Motel:
Yesterday was another busy day on the river. We got mixed reports from anglers depending on where they fished. Some of the anglers staying in the motel reported having a decent day in Altmar. Anglers who had success in the Lower fly Zone did well on natural colored patterns. Other anglers who fished the lower end of the river reported landing some steelhead while bottom bouncing or float fishing with blue and pink egg sacs.
According to the Douglaston Salmon Run:
Overall our guests reported it was a tough bite yesterday with those who had success covering lots of water and working hard. Based on our guests’ observations steelhead size was smaller today, mostly in the 3-6 pound class with a few a little larger. Nearly everyone reported that their catch was chrome hopefully a sign that fresh fish are still on the move. Small egg patterns #14-16 in natural colors and spawn bags in pink and blue were the hot items.
Oneida Lake report:
We have had variable conditions with slightly warmer temperatures and the wind has been an issue at times. Winds over the next couple of days are forecasted to be 10 to 25 mph which could impact any ice formation. Please be patient and wait for safe conditions.
Sandy Pond report
Reports are indicating the ice has held up in many areas of the pond. Nighttime temperatures will be in the 20s for the next few days but lake effect snow is also forecasted for tomorrow with windy conditions. Anglers have been finding perch, some walleye and a few northern pike. As always use caution and the check the ice as you go.
Orleans County
Orleans County Tourism
With daytime temperatures above freezing for most of next week conditions should remain good for fishing throughout all of the tributaries within Orleans County.
Unfortunately this means that the ice fishermen will have to wait a little longer before they can ply their trade.
The precipitation that we have received over the past few days should help to maintain decent flows and thereby keep fish moving throughout the system.
The muddy water from the snow melt and rain have just reached the upper section of Lake Alice so flows on the lower portion of the “Oak” are still clear to just slightly stained.
Fishing pressure on all of our waterways is very light due to the holidays but that could change with the more favorable conditions.
There are still steelhead and brown trout moving thru the system and even a rogue salmon every now and then.
With open water at the “Point” it wouldn’t surprise me to find someone with a small boat doing a little last minute open water Perch fishing in the next day or two.