Greater Niagara Region
Bill Hilts, Jr.
More snow and cold arrived on the local fishing scene, but that hasn’t stopped boaters from hitting the lower Niagara River for walleye and trout. Action was hot just prior to the big blow last weekend that filled the river with ice.
However, some boaters were planning on hitting the water today to check to see if the fish are just as hungry. Egg sacs, emerald shiners, minnows and lures like Kwikfish and MagLips were all catching fish off three-way rigs. I may be cold out, but the fishing has been hot! Perfect timing, too. Saturday, March 2 is the Niagara River Anglers rescheduled Roger Tobey Memorial Steelhead contest for the lower Niagara River and Lake Ontario tributaries. The hours are sunrise to 2 p.m. with awards to follow at Lewiston No. 1 Fire Hall. Call Paul Jackson at 998-8910 for more info. You can sign up at the Lewiston Launch Ramp, Creek Road Bait and Tackle in Lewiston or The Slippery Sinker in Olcott. There has been some open water below Burt Dam on 18 Mile Creek and a few steelhead have been reported. Ice fishing in Wilson Harbor is producing some perch, panfish, pike and the occasional trout.
March 2nd is also the 30th Annual Antique Fishing Tackle Ice Breaker show at the Elks Lodge on North Canal Road in Lockport from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Bring your old fishing tackle in or just see the amazing history through tackle here in WNY.
The State of Lake Ontario meeting will be held on March 7 at Cornell Cooperative Extension Niagara, 4487 Lake Avenue (Route 78), Lockport starting at 6:30 p.m.
The WNY Sport and Travel Expo is just around the corner, set for March 7 to 10 at the Erie County Fairgrounds in Hamburg. Admission is $10. Kids 10 and under are free. Check out www.eriepromotions.com for more details. One popular speaker returning will be Bass pro Mike DelVisco. He will once again be hosting a coloring contest for kids 6 years old to 12 years of age March 5 and March 6 at area Texas Roadhouse Restaurants from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. March 5 is in Tonawanda and March 6 is in Cheektowaga. The top four kids from each location will be invited to a private fishing contest at the fishing pond in the Expo on Saturday morning, March 9 at 9:30 a.m.
Orleans County
Orleans County Tourism and Bierstine of Oak Orchard Tackle and Lodge
The high winds have finally let up and cold weather has returned. The forecast is for cold temperatures through the beginning of next week. Long range forecast hints at a change in the pattern for warmer weather through March. Area wide civilian snow is expected tomorrow of 3 – 5 inches and then a chance of snow again at the beginning part of the weekend.
Flows in the Oak are slightly high or maybe one notch less then high. There’s a good head of turbine water but it doesn’t look wide open. Water color is dirty with about a foot of visibility. Look for flows to stay up in the short term and likely drop and clear some through the end of the week toward medium to slightly high.
The other area smaller tributaries have medium to slightly high flows with dirty water color. Those smaller waterways are currently back on the drop and clearing and mostly open in the fast water stretches. There could be some icing conditions especially in slow water or downstream spots as the cold or snow hangs in.
There are a handful of guys back out on the Oak with so far unknown hook up chances. With the good flows that we have now, there is the chance for fresh steelhead anytime and especially as water color might clear a touch or the weather moderates a touch and we head toward March. If it’s going to be cold, it may as well snow so that could mean good flows for steelhead migrations later on.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Streams
Maxwell Creek is open with a great flow. There are sections with ice on the shore, however most of the creek is flowing. That of course can change very quickly.
Salmon Creek in Pultneyville is also open as of today.
The steelhead are hitting egg sacs both imitation and real. Just use caution as the banks are slippery.
Bays
The weekend blow was a doozy…with winds gusting at 60 mph. Lake Ontario had 15-foot waves, and the wind naturally kept every one off the bays for ice fishing.
Today it is calm and there is no snow build-up on most of Port and Sodus Bays. Ice thickness varies on Sodus Bay. There are locations with 12 inches and others with four to six. March ice thickness is never consistent, so always use caution.
The perch are schooling by size and are hitting jigs with spikes or perch eyes. They are in 20 feet of water off the points and near the south end of Port Bay.
The Sodus action seems to be near Shaker Heights Road near Third Creek. You need to start out about a half-a-mile. There is also action on east side of the bay near Skipper’s Landing Restaurant.
If we can keep the ice… this year will be as exciting as last year’s phenomenal season.
If you need bait or equipment go to B-E Fishing Tackle in Ontario or Bay Bridge Sport Shop and Davenports at the south end of Sodus.
Check out the rest of the Wayne County Tourism web page for the locations and hours of local bait and tackle shops. www.waynecountytourism.com.
Erie Canal
There is plenty of solid ice on canal waters where the waterway was not drained. Widewaters, west of Newark, is the best place for ice fishing.
Oswego River report:
According to Oz Angling Tackle:
After being up to 13,000cfs yesterday, the river flow has dropped to 11,000cfs this afternoon. There has been no activity to report in the last couple of days with the intense wind that hammered the area Sunday and yesterday. With improving conditions, look for a steelhead, brown trout and walleye bite. Anglers using jigs and soft plastic swimbaits have been producing walleye and brown trout in the lower river. Jigs, pink worms, wax worms and egg sacs have been taking steelhead throughout the entire river.
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 the Douglaston Salmon Run:
About a half dozen anglers fished the run Sunday with limited success. A fish here and a fish there but that was about it. Strong winds and some snow have made for difficult conditions this week so there has not been much activity. Slush ice is a factor in the morning. The water flow is 1200cfs through Thursday evening. Conditions are expected to improve tomorrow and Saturday.
According to Whitaker’s Sport Shop & Motel:
On Tuesday we had windy conditions and despite plenty of sunshine the temperature was only in the teens and felt like single digits with the windchill factor. Slush ice was a factor in the lower end of the river in the morning but cleared later in the afternoon. With the water back up the majority of bank anglers are focusing on the upper end of the river between Altmar and Pineville.
Oneida Lake report:
The activity on the lake was quiet early in the week with the very strong winds that were blowing throughout the region. Tuesday night the area received several inches of very light snow with 4-6 inches reported over some areas of the lake. Another system went through last night with an additional 3-6 inches by this morning. The good news is the high temperatures will be in the 20s to low 30s for the seven day forecast.
Sandy Pond report:
According to Greene Point Marina:
The very strong winds on Monday did push some ice around. Yesterday we had 4-6 inches of snow which is covering many areas of the pond at this point. We do have a handful of anglers out this afternoon but have not had reports back from them as yet. The low temperature is expected to be in the single digits tonight with highs near 30 into the weekend. Use caution if you venture out and assess the conditions as you go.