Greater Niagara Region
Bill Hilts, Jr.
After some intense weather over the weekend and cold weather blowing in the end of this week, you will have to pick and choose how and where you want to fish. Niagara Falls USA waters fared better than most in Western New York, just in time for the Veteran’s Day Free Fishing Day on Nov. 11. In honor of our veterans, Nov. 11 is a designated free fishing day in the state. It means you don’t need to purchase a license for that day. However, you still have to abide by the fishing regulations!
In the lower Niagara River, the water turned to mud and chased away the boaters until waters start to clear a little. Capt. John DeLorenzo of Niagara Falls got a jump on the Veteran’s Day celebration by taking out a mother and son through Western New York Heroes, when the weather was decent last Saturday. WNY Heroes is a non-profit veteran’s assistance organization. Along for the ride was Tim Finney of Wheatfield, who was helping DeLorenzo, Danielle Nichols and her 9 year old son Ty. They caught two nice steelhead up to 11 pounds and lake trout up to 40 inches for the morning. Best bait was a chartreuse trout bead fished on a three-way rig. Other captains working the drifts were doing well on MagLips and Kwikfish.
Shoreline anglers have been casting spoons and spinners, as well as drifting eggs or egg imitations, to take a mix of trout and a few salmon. Mike Rzucidlo of Niagara Falls has been hitting the New York Power Authority fishing platform to catch both salmon and steelhead. A No. 4 spinner has been working best for him. Further up the gorge, state parks announced that the lower trail (trail 3) that connects the Schoellkopf site to the Great Gorge Railway Trail has been re-opened. Anglers will be able to use improved access to the water via a new set of stairs. Take the elevator adjacent to the Discovery Center for easy access.
In the upper Niagara River, musky action should improve as waters clear. Last Sunday’s annual Tim Wittek Memorial Musky Tournament hosted by the Niagara Musky Association was cancelled due to weather. It has been rescheduled on Nov. 12 from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Cost is $25 to enter this catch-and-release event. Call Scott McKee at 225-3816 for more information.
The Lake Ontario tributaries like 18 Mile Creek are muddy but not high. Some salmon are still struggling to swim around as the browns and steelhead are starting to move in. Larger numbers can be found according to Karen Evarts at The Boat Doctors in Olcott. Orange and blue were hot colors for eggs, poppers and wooly buggers. Keg Creek was too low for fish passage. Twelvemile Creek in Wilson was stained. If you are wondering why you haven’t seen more water flow there, blame it on the beavers. They have dammed some of the upper stretches and it’s been impacting the flow.
Orleans County Fishing Report
More seasonal weather has finally arrived along with an abundance of rain. Here in Western New York we are well on the way to setting new records for the amount or precipitation in 2017.
Let’s start with the lower stretches of the Oak. Perch fishing is good to very good, Bass are active and Northern pike are being caught occasionally. On the upper stretches of the “Oak” it’s brown trout time. Brown trout in the upper teens are being caught and numbers are very good. Fresh salmon are still entering the system along with the very start of the steelhead/rainbow trout run.
Water levels on all of the tributaries within Orleans County are slightly high to high and with all of the rain we have experienced over the past few days should go higher and go from stained to muddy for a day or two.
On Lake Alice some crappie are starting to show up and bass fishing remains as good as ever.
Please remember that this coming weekend will be the last weekend for the Archers Club to be serving meals. Speaking of the Archers Club here are the winners of their Catch and Release Derby.
In the Adult division Mia Stone had a 26.555 pound salmon, Nat Smith had a 11.115 Pound brown trout and Paul Davidson had a 6.12 pound steelhead.
In the Youth Division Ben Smith had a 16.630 Pound salmon.
Next year’s Archers Club Catch and Release Fly Fishing Derby will be held on October 17, 18 and 19,2018
From Point Breeze on Lake Ontario, the World Fishing Network’s Ultimate Fishing Town USA and the rest of Orleans County, let’s make everyday a great fishing day
right here in Orleans County.
Oswego County
by Mary Ellen Barbeau
Oswego River report
The river flow has remained high running between 17,000 and 20,000cfs over the last several days. This morning it is flowing at 19,400cfs. This level makes it difficult to fish along the river so there is not much to report. Along with the high water we have some cold daytime temperatures coming up for the end of the week. Steelhead, rainbows and brown trout will be active this time of year.
Notice: The bridge to Leto Island is closed, and there are mandatory personal flotation device (PFD) zones on the river. For more information, visit our website at www.visitoswegocounty.com and click on the Fishing Report along the top bar on the home page.
Salmon River report:
According to Whitaker’s Sport Shop & Motel:
The water level is still high but has come down considerably from where it was. Some colder weather is in the forecast as we go through the remainder of the week but dry conditions are expected. Anglers who made the trip have been making the most of tough conditions. The majority of bank anglers have been fishing the upper end of the river between Altmar and Pineville or some of the smaller local tributaries. Now that the water level has come down and the runoff has slowed up the mid to lower end of the river is an option for anglers. For those fly fishing, egg patterns, egg sucking leeches and flesh flies would be a good choice. For those who are bottom bouncing or float fishing, pink and blue egg sacs or beads have been most productive.
According to the Douglaston Salmon Run:
About a dozen anglers fished the run Tuesday and those anglers that exited from the parking lot reported that there are good numbers of fish on the run. Some anglers had success hooking steelhead but less luck being able to land them. Strong fish in fast water create a challenge. The angler reports yesterday indicated that some had better luck than others but most were able to get into a fish or two. Again bringing them in was another story. Spin anglers seemed to have the most success followed by those floating egg sacs. The change in water levels and temperatures will require a couple of days before the fish settle down. Water remains at 1650 cfs through midnight tonight and the current flow at Pineville is 2010cfs.
Oneida Lake report:
Anglers are taking a few walleye at night. The suggested application this time of year is casting stickbaits from shore just before and after dark as the walleye move in closer to the shoreline. Definitely cooler temperatures are in the forecast for this week which should spark some action.
Sandy Pond report:
There is very little activity to report at this time.