Pictured above: Mike Rzucidlo of Niagara Falls with a northern pike he caught in 4 Mile Creek on a spinner.
Greater Niagara Region
Bill Hilts, Jr.
Today is the final day of the NYS Winter Classic competition. That doesn’t mean the fishing will stop though. Lower river action has been good to very good for boaters bouncing bottom with three-way rigs. When the wind is out of the south or southwest – like it is today – go with MagLips and Kwikfish lures in silver and green or chartreuse. Silver and pink will also work. When the wind isn’t there to help you, switch over to minnows or egg sacs. Use the same three-way set-up if you are fishing from a boat. If you are fishing from shore, tossing jigs or fishing a jig under a float and tipped with a small worm is very effective. If the water is clear, you may have to get your bet out a bit deeper. Anthony Henley of Buffalo was using a slip bobber to get his offering as deep as 14 feet with his jig under a float. You can also cast spinners or spoons to get your bait out and into the fish zone. Steelhead, brown trout, lake trout and walleye are all available in the system. If you venture into Canadian waters, make sure you have a current license. The new license year started on January 1. And know your seasons. Walleye season closes Feb. 28 on the Canadian side of the river but closes March 15 in New York.
Tributary action has been good for the most part. Four Mile Creek, 12 Mile Creek, 18 Mile Creek and Keg Creek all had fish in them the past week. Mostly it’s been trout but there have been some pike around, too. Pike season closes on March 15 as well. In the streams, trying using a jig under a float and tipped with a worm. Egg sacs will also work. For Taven Lukehart of Pennsylvania, he was finding success with Lick-em-lure eggs, catching his first ever steelhead at 13 years old.
Speaking of kids, don’t forget that the WNY Sport and Travel Expo will be held March 8-11 at the Erie County Fairgrounds. The first 100 kids through the doors on Saturday, March 10 will receive a fully-rigged cane pole. Bass Pro Mike DelVisco will also be giving a seminar on getting kids started in fishing and he is also running a special coloring contest promotion through Texas Roadhouse March 5 and 6 locally. Check out eriepromotions.com for details.
Bill will be at the World Fishing and Outdoor Expo in Suffern, NY. Stop in and say hi if you are going to be in the area.
Oswego County
Mary Ellen Barbeau
Oswego River Report
The river flow has been running between 15,000 and 17,000cfs for the last few days. This morning it is flowing at 16,700cfs. This is very high and fishing along the river is very difficult under these conditions. There is very little activity to report.
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 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:
Wednesday was another mild day with the temperature reaching into the mid 50’s. No question the water level is high, but some anglers are still fishing. Some of the drift boat guides are taking advantage of the high water conditions and floating the river on a daily basis. The few bank anglers we spoke with have been fishing the upper end of the river between Altmar and Pineville. Dead drifting with nymphs has been most productive for those anglers who are fly fishing. For those anglers who are bottom bouncing or float fishing, egg sacs and pink worms has produced the best results.
According to the Douglaston Salmon Run:
The cfs at the dam for the Salmon River Reservoir is currently at 2200 and will remain so until midnight tonight. Per DSR policy we are closed for fishing until the flow drops below 2000cfs.
Oneida Lake Report:
Although some anglers were on the lake this past weekend, conditions are deteriorating. Anglers are reporting the ice is getting soft and there are no really cold temperatures in the forecast. A winter storm warning has been posted for the area with about 6-10 inches of snow expected through tomorrow. Please be safe and stay off the ice.
Sandy Pond report:
With recent warmer temperatures and rain, conditions are varying around the pond. Shoreline ice and large holes are showing deteriorating conditions. We have had temperatures above normal and no real cold temperatures are expected over the next several days. Several inches of snow are also forecasted through tomorrow.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Streams
The steelhead are in Maxwell Creek and hitting egg sacs. The water flow today is perfect, and you can fish both sides of Lake Road.
Hughes’ Marina is another place to try and catch some hold-over browns.
Currently you can cast Cleos off the Sodus Pier. The pier will ice over quickly if the temps drop and the wind picks-up. If there is no ice (like today) you can catch steelies in the channel.
Bays
The ice cometh and the ice goeth away. This season goes on record for the best perch fishing in decades, however it’s over.
None of the bays have safe ice, so don’t even think about dragging a shanty on what ice there is…it will be slush tomorrow.
If temps can drop to the teens and remain, there might be hope for more ice fishing. However, we are looking at March and to make solid ice this late will be a miracle.
Sodus and Port Bay are almost open and when that happens you can launch a boat and still go after perch.
DEC won’t have docks near their ramps so launching will be an effort. You’ll need to wear a PFD and remember if you are dressing for cold weather, you’ll be extra heavy. Don’t take chances because hypothermia is quick and deadly.
Wayne County has an ice fishing guide which gives you the basics of fishing on our bays. Contact the tourism office if you wish the brochure.
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
There were anglers fishing open water west of the Lyon’s locks. Widewaters is close to having open water and you can launch a boat at the Wayne County park. You can catch bluegills, sunnies, and crappies.
Orleans County
Orleans County Tourism and Ron Bierstine at Oak Orchard Tackle & Lodge
Weather forecast has been changeable so far this week. The forecasted storm for tonight and tomorrow is expected to bring more snow then rain. The beginning of the storm is expected for rain south of here and then the overspread on the WNY big Lake Ontario Plain could start as rain or a mix and then go quickly to snow with the chance of a foot or so of wet accumulations thru Friday morning. Temps are forecast highs near 40°F today and then 30ish°F for the weekend and dropping back down below freezing at night.
For now, water levels in the Oak are still on a slow retreat thanks mostly to diminishing overflow levels. Turbine flows are still humping along for something like slightly high to high flows and visibility of 1-2 feet. By springtime standards, that’s pretty good for steelhead chances.
The other area smaller tributaries for now have medium flows and just slightly stained flows going toward clear. If most of the precipitation is realized as snow, then flows in all the tributaries should be more or less maintained with a slower to recharge scenario from future snow melt instead of a quick and dirty runoff scenario from rain. Any significant rain immediately south of the area could still impact flows in the Oak.
For now, pressure on the Oak is pretty light. There’s been good action at the dam and anglers covering some different water in the downstream fast water stretches have been into more steelhead as the drifting has improved on the retreating and clearing flows.