Pictured above: Nick Glosser holds up an 11 pound Atlantic caught with this West Virginia angler aboard Thrillseeker II.
Greater Niagara Region
Bill Hilts, Jr.
Lower Niagara River
Trout action continues to be spotty from both boat and shore following the storms that came through last week. The big news is that the smelt have started running in the Lewiston area and dippers have been going out every night. It hasn’t been a strong run so far but they are getting some. The Lewiston smelt festival is set for May 5. For more details on that, watch the Outdoor Beat this week on Time Warner Cable/Spectrum or On Demand on the website at www.lctv.net. Getting back to the fishing, shoreline casters are tossing spoons and spinners and picking up a few trout. Boaters are doing a little better because they can move around to look for active fish. But with so much bait in the river right now, it’s tough to get the trout to hit. Some boaters have opted to turn the corner at the fort and troll the shoreline for browns, Cohos, lakers and steelies. One boat Tuesday caught all four, including a nice 29 inch brown using Thundersticks. No reports on kings on the Niagara Bar yet. The LOC Derby opener is May 5 to 14. Go to www.loc.org to find out details including registration points and weigh stations.
Burt Dam and 18 Mile Creek
Levels are finally coming down and the water is slowly starting to clear.Last report was that the water was at 380 cfs and the some fresh steelhead have shown up ready to drop eggs. Of course, eggs or egg imitations will be the preferred bait, but you can still catch them on jigs or crawlers. Keg and Hopkins creeks should also be holding fish. The Wilson Conservation Club bullhead contest was a success last weekend despite poor conditions for the most part. Most of the winning fish were caught Sunday morning. Leading the way was Joel Feagin of Wilson with two fish weighing in at 4 pounds, 5 ounces. He was using shrimp in the east branch of 12 mile creek. Pier action is picking up for casters in Wilson and Olcott using spoons and spinners. Browns are the primary target. Out in Lake Ontario, it’s been a mixed bag for trollers. Stickbaits or spoons in tight to shore off boards or riggers in 12 to 25 feet of water for browns, Coho salmon and the occasional Atlantic. Head out to 40 to 60 foot depths for lake trout. The Lake Ontario Pro-Am Salmon Team Tournament is set for May 19-21 out of Wilson and Olcott. The registration link is now live for registering. Go to www.lakeontarioproam.net. The Wilson Harbor Invitational Tournament is May 13.
If you want to learn more about spring salmon fishing, attend the next LOTSA meeting on April 13 at Cornell Cooperative Extension Niagara on Route 78 in Lockport. At 7 p.m., local angler Matt Dunn will pass along some of his secrets on how he won several Lake Ontario contests including the Greater Niagara Fish Odyssey last year. Some Daiwa representatives will also be in attendance to talk about their new Great Lakes rods and reels. For more information on LOTSA, check their new website out at www.lotsa1.org.
Eastern Finger Lakes / Central New York Fishing Report
Mike Crawford of upstateguideservice.com
Moderate to heavy rains late last week brought water levels up again just as creeks were beginning to clear. Fishing on the creeks in the Central New York and Syracuse area remained difficult until mid-week.
Carpenters Brook Fish Hatchery in Onondaga County, one of the few remaining County sponsored hatcheries in New York State, was able to continue to deliver thousands of healthy fish to area streams and ponds regardless of difficult conditions thanks to the hard work of staff and volunteers.
Please visit http://www.onondagacountyparks.com/parks/carpenters-brook-fish-hatchery/
to learn more about this unique hatchery.
Trollers found turbid conditions along a large portion of the southern shore of Lake Ontario this weekend. Finding clear water shallow was tough. Reports from trollers I talked to Sunday in Fair Haven were poor.
But by Monday conditions had improved. Pictured here is a world class Brown brought to net by first mate, Stephen Shen of STSFISHGUIDE.COM on board The Bandito III with Tony Buffa’s Fishing Charters out of Oswego Marina. The 20 pound plus monster was one of several fish caught that morning and is the largest brown ever brought to net for Tony in over three decades of his legendary professional Lake Ontario fishing career!
Around here, on the small water of the Eastern Finger Lakes, fishing is also heating up, as water temperatures begin to climb with warm days in the forecast ahead. Big roaming Lakers can be found shallow.
Oswego County
Mary Ellen Barbeau
Oswego River Report
The water flow has been slowly dropping over the last couple of days. It is running at 23,900cfs as of this morning. We have had very little precipitation and have a couple of dry days before showers will return on Saturday. However, it will take a while for this high water to get back to a fishable level.
Lake Ontario report:
When the wind has not been an issue, anglers are beginning to fish the shallow waters along the shoreline for brown trout.
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 the Douglaston Salmon Run:
A few guests were on the run today and despite the still less than ideal water flow (1,650cfs through midnight tonight) a few fish managed to be hooked and one was brought to hand. Guests reported blue or white egg sacs and large stone flies worked well. The water still has a stain to it from last week’s flood but guests tell us it doesn’t seem to be severe enough to turn the bite off.
Oneida Lake and Sandy Pond Report:
Anglers are reporting a yellow perch bite on minnows and a few bullheads are being reported. Just a reminder that walleye season is closed and will reopen on May 6. Use caution when boating as there will likely be debris in the water with the high water level.
Sandy Pond report:
We have no new report from Sandy Pond as yet. Just a reminder that walleye season is closed and will reopen on May 6.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Lake Ontario
Currently the mudlines are out about 200 yards, however that can change in a few hours. The spring fishing for browns has been exciting with fish coming west of Sodus Bay and east of Port Bay.
The Port Bay channel is open with water pushing out into the lake, so that’s a good place to troll for trout. The usual stickbaits are working, especially the Rapalas.
Yesterday the air temps hit 80 degrees with water temperatures around 42 degrees. Look for the temp breaks and fish the stained water. Browns west of Sodus are between 5 and 10 pounds.
Streams
There are hold-over browns in Maxwell Creek, however they will be heading out in the lake very shortly. The water flow is still good if you enjoy stream fishing. No word on the steelies, but they are probably heading for the lake.
Bays
Perch are hitting in 10 to 15 feet of water over by Arney’s Marina on the south shoreline. They are hitting spikes.
Bullhead and crappies are being caught at Bay Bridge, on the south end of Sodus. You can also safely launch a boat at Bay Bridge Sport Shop.
Spring is here, however remember you need to wear your PFD while in a boat. The water temperature in the bays is in the 40’s so don’t take any changes.
There is a decent launch site at the south end of Port Bay. The DEC docks are not in yet, so be careful. The anglers I have talked to are fishing up the creek for bullheads, however the crappies are also hitting on the south-east part of the bay. Crappies are suspended and will hit bright small jigs.
Check out the rest of the Wayne County Tourism web page for the locations and hours of local bait and tackle shops. waynecountytourism.com.
Erie Canal
The bass boats were fishing the Widewaters on Sunday morning. They were probably targeting pan fish.
Orleans County
Orleans County Tourism
Winter, summer and spring all in one week, this must be a new record.
Depending on which weather forecast you listen to, this weekend will either be summerlike and dry or spring like and wet.
After all of the rain/snow that we have had over the last several days, all of the tributaries within Orleans County are high and muddy.
Lake Alice is still very stained as is the mouth of the “Oak” and out into Lake Ontario for several hundred feet.
As you get away from the mouths of the tributaries you will find some of that nice “Lake Erie” green water to enjoy.
In the “Oak” both fresh and spawned steelhead are up for the taking and with the higher waterflows are on the move.
Lake Alice is offering a great mixed bag of fish including Bluegill, Crappie, Perch, Bass, suckers and Bullhead.
On Lake Ontario, some very good brown trout fishing is being enjoyed when the wind cooperates for that near shore fishery.
Action around our marinas are entering their all-out phase getting boats ready to launch for another great season.
The pens for the pen rearing project are ready to go and just waiting for the delivery of fish.
With under a month until the opening of the spring LOC Derby it’s time for that shakedown cruise to make sure all of the work that was done this winter is working properly.