Upstate New York Fishing Report – August 23, 2018

Niagara River walleye action has been good the past week and mature Kings up to 22-pound are staging along 20 miles off Orleans County's coast.

Pictured above: Greater Niagara Fish Odyssey Derby contestant Scott Rohe with his leading 22-pound, 14-ounce king!

Greater Niagara Region

Bill Hilts, Jr.

We’re at the half-way point of the Greater Niagara Fish Odyssey Derby, ending on Sunday, August 26 at 1 p.m. It’s still not too late to enter, especially for the kids who can fish for free in a special Junior Division. There is over $1,000 in kids prizes up for grabs. Check out www.fishodyssey.net for details. Some nice fish have already come to the scales, like the 10 pound, 6 ounce walleyes weighed in by Charles Hoy of Niagara Falls in the adult division AND by Ethan Brolinski of Lewiston in the Junior Division! Both were caught on the Niagara Bar at the mouth of the Niagara River. Biggest salmon so far is a 22-pound, 14-ounce king hauled in by Scott Rohe of Cheektowaga, caught out in front of Olcott on a spin doctor and cut bait. Steve Olay of Ransomville has first place rainbow/brown so far with a 11 pound, 1 ounce steelie. Richard Barber of Niagara Falls is the top laker taker with a 19 pound, 2 ounce Niagara Bar fish. Dave Stahura, Jr. of Lackawanna has the big bass so far, a 5 pound, 7 ounce smallmouth from Lake Erie. Michael Boncore of Buffalo is leading the carp division with an 18 pound, 6 ounce Lake Ontario fish. For the kids, Gabby Hovak of North Tonawanda is leading the trout division in the Odyssey. She is also leading the entire field in the Fall LOC Derby with her 13 pound, 7 ounce steelhead caught east of Olcott on a Finn Tackle spoon over 400 feet of water. Taven Lukehart of Reynoldsville, Pa. has the top salmon at 21 pounds, 5 ounces out of Olcott on a spoon. Gabriella Geiger of Lackawanna is current leader in the bass division with a 4 pound 8 ounce Lake Erie smallmouth caught on a tube. Jacob Velesko of Middleport is leading carp catcher with an 18 pound, 15 ounce fish from the Oak and Abigail McGrath of Niagara Falls is leading the panfish division with a 10 ounce perch. Get out there and catch some fish! Congratulations are in order for the Reelin’ for a Cure tournament held last Friday out of Wilson and Olcott. Top ladies team in the 3rd annual event was the Legacy Ladies captained by Rob Wescott of Hamlin. They scored 166.30 points for their best 6 fish based on 10 points per fish and a point per pound to best 20 other boats in the fun contest. They also raised funds for “Look Good, Feel Better” as a support for ladies suffering from cancer.

Gabby Hovak
Gabby Hovak of North Tonawanda caught this 13 pound, 7 ounce steelhead east of Olcott to take over the trout division of the kids in the Fish Odyssey AND the Steelhead Division for the Fall LOC Derby! She caught it on a Finn Tackle spoon.

Niagara River walleye action has been good the past week with worm harnesses or yellow sally-spinner-worm rigs catching fish. Bass action has been good in the river, too, with crabs and shiners at the top of the list for getting fish to hit according to Lisa Drabczyk at Creek Road Bait and Tackle.

Taven Lukehart - kids fishing derby at Widewaters Marina
Don’t forget the kids fishing derby at Widewaters Marina on the Erie Canal in Lockport August 25 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Registration starts at 8 a.m.

In the lake, the salmon and trout fishing has been hampered a bit the last few days from an east wind that has brought in cold waters. Head out deep to 350 to 450 foot depths in the top 100 feet to target a mix of salmon and trout. There were some trollers working the waters from 180 to 220 feet picking up some matures on Tuesday, but it’s a blow day today again so we don’t know what’s happening inside right now. Best baits for mature kings have been spin doctors and flies, flashers with cut bait (Karen Evarts at The Boat Doctors in Olcott says the N & D Cut Bait has been flying out the doors) and J-plugs first thing in the morning. Spoons are also catching fish. Hot colors have been white, black and green.  The LOC Derby runs through Labor Day and the leading fish right now is a 28 pound, 6 ounce fish for the $25,000 Grand Prize. It ends on Labor Day. Check out the leaderboard at www.loc.org.

Don’t forget the kids fishing derby at Widewaters Marina on the Erie Canal in Lockport August 25 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Registration starts at 8 a.m.

Oswego County

Mary Ellen Barbeau

Lake Ontario Report

The lake fishing continues to be very good. We did have some wind this week but we are experiencing some cooler temperatures for a few days. With the change in temperatures, we have had reports of salmon starting to stage as they begin their journey to the tributaries. The best concentration of salmon has been in 250-500 feet of water recently. A-TOM-MIK flies and meat rigs are working well. Brown trout are active in 40-80 feet of water.

Oswego River Report

The river flow has dropped over the last few days. This morning it is running at 4,080cfs. We are experiencing a couple of cooler days this week and although we have no reports of salmon in the river as yet, this may help push a few our way. Anglers are finding bass, sheepshead and catfish with behind the hotels the suggested areas to try with this flow.

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. 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.

Pulaski Area and Salmon River Report:

Pulaski Area:

According to the Woody’s Tackle:

The wind has been a bit of an issue this week but the good fishing continues on the lake. Look for an active brown trout bite in 20-60 feet of water. Anglers are finding some salmon in 100+ feet of water with a good concentration still out in the 350-500 foot water depth. Flies/flashers, spoons, and cut bait are all working well. Although a couple of salmon have been caught in the river, there is very little activity as yet.

According to the Douglaston Salmon Run:

A small amount of rain the past two days and perfect wind has continued to cool things down here in Pulaski. We have had no reports of salmon the past two days, however….. this may leave some in disbelief, one of our anglers landed a beautiful steelhead late yesterday afternoon in the middle section of the Run. Yes, I said steelhead! Definitely making a long drive all the way from West Virginia well worth it. The release at the dam remains at 185cfs with a reported flow of 302cfs at the Pineville gauge.

Oneida Lake Report:

There continues to be a walleye bite on the lake although a bit slower as typically happens this time of year. Trolling seems to be the best application as there does not seem to be as much action jigging. It is likely that fish are beginning to feed on gizzard shad. Look for a bass bite along the shoals and weed beds.

Sandy Pond report:

The pond is typically quiet this time of year.

Wayne County Fishing Update

Chris Kenyon

Lake Ontario

The Wayne County Tourism office fished the Boy Scouts “Casting for Character” out of the Port of Rochester yesterday. The fundraiser featured 23 charter boats with 170 folks fishing for the scouts.

The kings were in 325 to 500 fow which is ten miles from shore…a little further out then Wayne County’s 500 fow.

Out of Sodus, the kings were hitting between 350 and 500, down 65 to 90 off the riggers. Spoons have really been working, with black and green dots especially attractive to the king bite.

Cut bait and flasher flies are also working. The fishing has been fantastic, with a few slow days because of the south wind blowing the temperatures around.

Today, the wind is at south-east and the next couple of days doesn’t look good for Lake Ontario fishing. This afternoon it’s suppose to start cranking with 15 to 20 mph and Wednesday is a definite blow-off day.

Don’t forget the LOC Derby which runs until Monday, September 3rd. Prize structure and information is at loc.org If you are fishing during that time frame, make sure you register.

Bays

The largemouth bass fishing has been excellent on Sodus Bay. The weeds are heavy which is great cover for bass.

There have been some walleyes caught near the islands in Sodus Bay. Use buck tail jigs or cut bait and fish in 15 to 20 fow near the drop-offs. Look for the structure…that’s where they hang-out.

Late August bullhead fishing has been good at the south end of Port Bay. Throw-out worms.

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

Fishing the Barge-Erie Canal waterways is consistently a productive angling trip. You can catch anything; from cats, to bass, to panfish and pike. The best launch site is Widewaters, west of Newark.

Orleans County

Orleans County Tourism and Capt. John Oravec of Tightlines Charters

Long days + heavy catches + loads of high quality silver fish = the “High Season” for anglers that are visiting and fishing the Trout and Salmon Grounds of Orleans County! Longtime known as “Home of the King”, the ongoing migration offers all year classes of Chinook plus a “mambo” brown trout ledge fishery.

Right now, mature Kings 15 to 22 pound average (yes, the Sharks!) are staging along 20 miles off Orleans County’s coast. Search the 45 to 100 foot drop offs. Take advantage of boat launch access at Bald Eagle, Golden Hill and of course the “Oak”, public as well as the Ernst Lake Breeze ramp.

Tactically, try mixing a flasher, fly rig or flasher – cut bait set up on wire Dipsies, keeping spoons on the riggers for big Browns. Try bright glow, chartreuse, frog patterns that local merchants like Narby’s carry along with the fresh herring, aka “meat”.

The offshore at 250 -500 feet is again a consistent band for medium Kings, coho and steelhead. Please try to release steelhead for breeding. Everything is hitting 40 to 70 down. A Long Island boat, Total Chaos, reported big coho over 600 ft.

The LOC Derby is underway so make sure to support and enter. Follow minimum weigh-in sizes, release a few and have fun.

The On The Water staff is made up of experienced anglers from across the Northeast who fish local waters year-round. The team brings firsthand, on-the-water experience and regional knowledge to coverage of Northeast fisheries, techniques, seasonal patterns, regulations, and conservation.

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