Greater Niagara Region
Bill Hilts, Jr.
Mature king salmon are moving closer to their natal streams and are starting to darken up in Lake O. Crazy winds have riled things up a bit making fishing a bit more difficult. The Niagara Bar finally turned on for big fish as a 32 pounder was caught, as well as a 29-pound, 7 ounce king. Flasher-fly and flasher with cut bait top the list of enticements on the drop off near the red can. Olcott reports have some fish in close but hit it early, before the sun comes up. One of the better areas has been 250 to 350 feet of water out in front of Olcott. The microwave tower and the power plant are both good landmarks for fall fishing, too. Fish 70 to 90 feet down. Out a bit deeper, 400 to 500 feet of water, steelhead have been hitting spoons. Just ask Gabby Hovak of North Tonawanda and Tom Milleville of Sanborn, a couple of winners in the Fish Odyssey this past week. Speaking of the Odyssey, the 42nd Annual Greater Niagara Fish Odyssey Derby concluded last Sunday and plenty of big fish and last minute heroics came to the scales by both young and old alike. For the adults, Robert Geiger of Lackawanna won the bass division with a 5-1/2 pound Lake Erie smallmouth bass and then proceeded to win the $3,000 Grand Prize in a special drawing of all first place winners. Chris Taylor of Grand Island caught the biggest salmon on the final day of the derby, a 29 pound, 7 ounce Niagara Bar king that is currently first place in the LOC Derby. It also won a special $700 LOTSA prize for the biggest salmon caught by a member. Milleville of Sanborn caught the big steelhead, a 12 pound, 7 ounce fish reeled in off Olcott. Top lake trout came from Lake Erie when Jerry Bielicki of Akron hauled in a 22 pound, 14 ounce fish. Jason Henning of Machias was first in the carp division with a 23 pound, 4 ounce Lake Alice carp and Eric Majka of Niagara Falls took top honors in the walleye division with an 11 pound, 1 ounce lower river ‘eye. He also took a special $500 for the largest walleye caught by a Southtowns Walleye Assn. member. Grand prize in the Junior Division went to Ethan Bronschidle of Newfane, earning the right to be in the drawing by catching a 35 pound, 3 ounce carp. Wow! Top salmon was caught in the last hour of the derby, a 22 pound, 10 ounce Olcott king weighed in by Alex Heath of Sanborn. That’s 2 years in a row! Gabby Hovak of North Tonawanda had the big trout at 13 pounds, 7 ounces, a fish that’s also leading the Steelhead Division of the LOC Derby. Gabriella Geiger, Robert’s daughter, was top bass catcher with a 5 pound, 1 ounce Lake Erie fish and Abigail McGrath of Niagara Falls took top panfish with a 10 ounce rock bass from Lake Erie. The walleye division winner was Ethan Brolinski with a 10 pound, 6 ounce lower Niagara River fish. He was dragging a Berkley Flicker Shad on the bottom when the fish hit. He also won the drawing for a bike from the Primate Sanctuary. The LOC Derby ends on Monday, Sept. 3. If you are going fishing, get in the derby. One unlucky angler caught a 32 pound salmon last weekend, only to find out one person wasn’t in. He could have won $25,000.
Niagara River action has been good for walleye and bass with no confirmed reports of salmon in the gorge yet. They should be there very soon. Good luck and good fishing!Michael and Alyssa Cardamone of Lewiston had a banner bass day earlier this week when they caught more than 15 bass in just a couple hours of fishing. They were caught on crabs.
Oswego County
Mary Ellen Barbeau
Lake Ontario Report
The lake fishing continues to be very good. The wind has been an issue at times again this week. Yesterday’s cold front has brought in some refreshing cooler temperatures. The best concentration of salmon has been in 250-500 feet of water recently with some nice ones taken in 300-350 feet of water. Flies/flashers, spoons and meat rigs are working well. Brown trout are active in 40-80 feet of water.
Oswego River Report
The river flow has been between 3,000-4,000cfs for a few days. It did drop this morning to 2,290cfs. After very warm temperatures early this week, temperatures are in the 70s today. Anglers are finding bass, sheepshead and catfish with crayfish and nightcrawlers suggested bait. There has been no significant salmon activity reported as yet but the cooler temperatures may push a few our way.
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 again been an issue at times 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.
According to the Douglaston Salmon Run:
A little over a dozen anglers fished the run yesterday, however reported no kings brought to hand. After a couple of days of decent activity, it was bound to slow down with the heat wave we have been experiencing again. Temperatures cooled down after the brief torrential downpour late Tuesday but not enough to bring fish in. The release at the dam will remain at 185 cfs until today at 9 p.m.; 350cfs from 9 p.m. today until 9 p.m. Friday; 750cfs from 9 p.m. tomorrow until 6 p.m. Sunday and then dropping back to 350cfs. Much cooler temperatures and a drop in humidity moved in with last night’s rain. With a mix of cooler night temperatures and a boost in water flow over the next couple of days, we may see some greater numbers begin to enter the system here.
Oneida Lake Report:
Anglers are continuing to find some walleye in 10-30 feet of water with early and late in the day providing the best opportunity. Worm harnesses, jigs and blade baits are working well. Bass are active along the weed beds. Watch for bird activity and you will likely find some bass.
Sandy Pond report:
The pond is typically quiet this time of year.
Orleans County
Orleans County Tourism and Capt. John Oravec of Tightlines Charters
Alert! The big sows are in!!! After a long day on Monday 8/27/18, guiding 2 separate veteran groups to a bunch of mature kings 80 down and over 120 on cutbait, I switched programs. Troll moved to rough structure in 60′ of water and got more 15 to 22 pound Kings! The Oak Orchard River is running from heavy rains and the sharks are whiffing river scent already! There is no need to fly around 5 to 10 miles out. You may be leaving big fish action!
On that subject, everyone in the Orleans County area mourns the loss of Mr. Carl Hazel from Barre Center, NY. Carl and a fishing partner were trolling a 20 ft rig and went down in extremely choppy water many miles out. We all appreciate the big efforts by the Orleans County Sheriff, USCG, Canadian Coast Guard, civilian anglers and a skilled Canadian Freighter Pilot in the recovery efforts in tough conditions. Please use every possible source of weather and lake condition information. Be prepared with USCG survival gear, anchor, rope, signaling kit, cell phone and distress flag. Make part of your strategy on big water to leave a float plan. Stay with the pack, watch the weather and keep your speed reasonable.
The LOC Derby runs to Labor Day. The winner lurks off the Orleans County coastline and this angler is fishing in close!