Greater Niagara Region
Bill Hilts, Jr.
Lake Ontario And Tributaries
Some more fresh king salmon arrived on the scene this week in 18 Mile Creek and Burt Dam, thanks to a little more water flow from the dewatering of the Erie Canal. With the salmon, brown trout and steelhead are both in the mix, giving anglers several options to choose from. For the salmon, eggs or egg imitations top the list, but with the low, clear water conditions, be sure to downsize your baits. Single eggs, smaller hooks and you may need to go with lighter line … but that will mean you will probably lose some fish, too. Some jigs fished under floats and tipped with waxies is starting to work. Egg pattern flies, nymphs, wooly buggers and the like will work for the trout. With the water clear, more natural colors seem to work better. Getting out on the piers hasn’t been easy with northerly winds posing a problem. When you can cast a lure, use spoons or spinners to entice fish to hit. Perch have been in the harbors, especially in Olcott all the way up to the dam.
Lower Niagara River
Steelhead are finally hitting with more regularity after the waters cleared up after last week of wind and rain up on Lake Erie. Devil’s Hole and Artpark are both producing some nice chromers up to about 10 pounds. Small chartreuse or pink yarn flies or minnows – both fished off three-way rigs – is the way to go for steelhead. When the winds are right out of the south or southwest, throw on a Kwikfish or MagLip lure – again off a three-way set-up. No matter what you are using – from boat or shore – you will probably catch a lake trout or three. While the season is open on the Canadian side of the river, it is closed in New York until January 1. Handle those fish with care and release them back into the water. Where else in the world can you catch lake trout of this quality from shore in a river system? It’s time to request an exemption for lake trout fishing in the lower river – allowing for catch and release with artificial baits only. Some big bass are also in the river right now and best enticements have been swim baits and jigging spoons. Bass is catch and release only right now and you must use artificial lures. For musky fishermen, remember that the season will close on Dec. 15. In the Niagara Musky Association’s John Henning Memorial Lower River Tournament held Dec. 4, Andrew Lacko of Kenmore won the contest with a 38-inch muskie casting a rubber creature bait in some turbid conditions. The NYPA fishing platform will close down on Dec. 8. This also includes the Upper Mountain Road access for the reservoir.
Upper Niagara River
Bass, walleye and trout should all be available for anglers. Knowing where to go is the trick. Bass are on their fall feed; trout are staging off creek and river mouths and can be found in creeks off the upper river; and walleye have been reported around Broderick Park, Thompson’s Hole and at the Huntley Power Station. The only waterfowl hunting going on right now is the goose season and that will remain open until Dec. 17. The late season opens on Dec. 31. Keep that in mind when fishing the river.
Oswego County
Mary Ellen Barbeau
Oswego River Report
According to Jake Metcalf of fishoswegoriver.com:
Oswego River has been running high over the past week. Water level is currently at 12,600cfs, water temperature 40 degrees and turbidity 7. Turbidity plays a big role in how good the bite is. Now that the water has cleared up a bit the fishing should improve. I’d suggest fishing the east side behind the hotels with this high water. Otherwise, trout can be caught along the bank on the west side. Fishing off the wall could be difficult at 12K but it’s fishable for bottom bouncers. Jigs, beads, and sacs will all produce fish. White jigs are my favorite choice this time of year.
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:
Colder weather conditions along with lake effect snow are expected over the next day or so. Anglers staying in the motel reported landing some steelhead while floating the river with driftboat guides on Wednesday. Other anglers reported getting into steelhead on some of the smaller local tributaries. My dad and I fished the DSR and we landed several fresh steelhead while float fishing with egg sacs. We covered lots of water but the majority of spots produced action. Most of the fish we landed were caught in the softer water along the edges or in the inside seams.
According to the Douglaston Salmon Run:
Overall our guests reported a decent uptick in the action yesterday. A handful of our guests struggled for a bite but there were a few groups that seemed to have done quite well. Two season pass holders reported having their best day of the year so far for steelhead as they landed 10 fresh chromers between them. Another pass holder reported hooking into six steelies. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come especially with the anticipated drop in water. The river level is expected to drop to 750cfs tomorrow evening and down to 500cfs on Saturday.
Oneida Lake Report
The weather forecast is calling for some lake effect snow to move in over the north shore of Oneida Lake later tonight with 4-8 inches expected by later tomorrow. There has not been much action from the walleye night bite to report. Stickbaits cast from shore just before and after dark is the suggested application.
Sandy Pond report
There is not much activity on the pond at this time as we await colder temperatures and ice formation.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Streams
Maxwell Creek has a great flow of water, however the fishing has been a hit or miss affair this past week. Some days the steelies will bite and some days they are on vacation.
The anglers who have reported their fishing experiences are using egg sacs and bright colored beads. They are catching the rainbows but it’s not a great run. That can change from day to day.
The Sodus Pier is another place to throw out spoons and you can try the other smaller tribs in the county.
Bays
Sodus Bay fishing has been excellent for perch, which is a good thing for our up-coming ice fishing season. The perch are in 20 feet of water by the channel and near any of points that extend out in the bay.
They are hitting minnows, however small jigs tipped with spikes will catch this delicious fish.
The docks next to the ramps on all Wayne County bays have been pulled. You can still launch a boat just use caution on the ramps. Some of them can be very slippery. Fishing in pairs is the smart way to go.
Remember…you need to wear your PFD from November 1st until April. It must be worn or you’ll be ticketed.
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 Widewaters ramp is the best place to launch a boat and this large section of the canal has a wide variety of fish. The water is always calm so you don’t have to worry about using a smaller boat.
Orleans County
Orleans County Tourism
Colder weather is finally upon us but not cold enough to start producing solid water.
Wet snow and rain is in the forecast for the rest of this week and into the weekend.
Could it be that winter has found its way back home again?
Fishing pressure is somewhat lower than normal but there are still good fishing conditions.
Higher water flows are being seen on all of the tributaries within Orleans County which means that the once concentrations of both Brown trout and Steelhead have spread out over a much larger area.
These conditions should continue until water flow drops back to more seasonal conditions when the Erie Canal completes its de-watering schedule.
Right now Lake Ontario is the only one of the Great Lakes that is below the long term December average, all of the rest are above average.
Lake Alice has become quiet for the time being until that Ice forms and then action should return.
On the lower stretches of the “Oak” Perch fishing has also dropped off for the time being but should pick up again shortly.
The time has come for all tributary fishermen to review their winter safety practices and keep them at the forefront of their minds.