Pictured above: Eli Davila of Wheatfield caught this steelhead in the Niagara Gorge while fishing with his father.
Greater Niagara Region
Bill Hilts, Jr.
The NYPA fishing platform is open! April 1 is traditionally the opening of the lower Niagara River’s fishing platform at the NY Power Authority, as well as the reservoir access off Upper Mountain Road and the water intakes area in the upper Niagara River. Icy conditions kept it from opening Monday and Tuesday this week, but the platform’s official opening is April 3! Feel free to check before heading down at 796-0135 Ext. 45 because the platform could be shut down temporarily if we have poor weather conditions. It’s good timing because the lower river trout fishing has been pretty darn good since the weekend. Egg sacs or egg imitations are working well for steelhead and brown trout. Some lake trout are also available. Big minnows or shiners have been working on all three species according to local boat drifters. Shoreline casters are using egg sacs, spoons and spinners to take trout.
Tributary action has picked up off Lake Ontario, even though the water levels are up and the conditions are stained. Jigs and egg sacs or egg imitations are working. Casting the mouths of the creeks is another option, such as off the mouth of 4 Mile Creek in the Town of Porter. Small boats are fishing in the harbors and some are out trolling the shoreline in 6 to 18 feet of water with spoons and small stickbaits. The piers are producing a few trout, too. Cast spoons and spinners off Wilson and Olcott.
We’ve had reports of bullhead being caught in Wilson – perfect timing! The 7th annual Wilson Bullhead Contest will be starting April 5 at 5 p.m. and running through April 7 at 1 p.m. Best total weight of 2 fish earns top prize. For more information call Eric at 628-6078. Weigh in will take place Sunday morning from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Wilson Conservation Club.
Some area waters that receive inland trout stockings include Oppenheim Park Pond in Wheatfield, as well as Hyde Park Lake and Gill Creek in Niagara Falls. The stocking date will be April 11 starting at Oppenheim at 10 a.m. followed at 11 a.m. by the other sites.
The Lake Ontario Trout and Salmon Association will be assembling and floating the net pens for the 2019 project season starting at 9:30 a.m. on April 6. This will take place at the Town of Newfane Marina in Olcott. LOTSA will also be holding its first meeting of the year at a new location. April 11, the group will be meeting at the North Amherst Fire Company, 2200 Tonawanda Creek Road, Amherst starting at 7 p.m. The April meeting will feature Capt. Damian Kuzmin speaking on early spring salmon fishing techniques out of the port of Wilson, where he runs his boat.
Oswego County
Mary Ellen Barbeau of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning.
Oswego River Report
According to Oz Angling Tackle:
The water is at a good level to fish from shore right now. The flow this morning is 6,660 cfs. Browns and steelhead are biting in the Oswego River right now. Browns are showing a preference for jigs and steelhead are responding to egg sacs or beads. As we ended the month of March, we saw a nice mixed bag of post and pre-spawn steelies in the system. April is lining up to be a solid month of trout fishing.
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.
Salmon River Report:
According to the Douglaston Salmon Run:
Yesterday was another day of beautiful weather but the wind threw a wrench in things making fishing a tad more difficult. A few anglers joined us on the run today, indicating a rather successful day despite increased flows and wind. Those anglers were able to bring 1’s and 2’s to hand. The steelhead that were caught were dropbacks. Another angler landed a brown which had yet to begin spawning with a belly full of eggs. Water from the reservoir remains at 1200 cfs and the current flow at the Pineville gauge is 1640 cfs.
Oneida Lake Report:
Over the weekend and yesterday strong winds moved a good deal of the remaining ice. As temperatures reach into the 50s and near 60 degrees over the weekend, we begin to look toward the open water fishing season.
Sandy Pond Report:
There is little to report from the pond at this time.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Lake Ontario
The browns are close to shore in 20 feet of water. Temps were @35 to 37 degrees off Sodus Bay. Remnant ice in the bay has delayed a few charter trips, however this week should see more trout action on the lake. The season has started and already the fishing has been phenomenal.
You can launch smaller boats at the Marquetta Road launch on Route 14. You can also launch at Port Bay at the south and north end of the bay. The Port Bay channel is now open.
Streams
Holdover browns and steelhead are being caught in Maxwell. Josh Black and Matt Simmons fish many of the tribs near Lake Ontario. The two heavy equipment operators are from the Corning area and were fishing Naples Creek on opening day for inland trout. Black caught a nice steelhead in Maxwell last Friday. There is no closed season for trout from Lake Ontario tributaries.
Bays
Most of the ice has left Port Bay and the perch have been hitting in 20 feet of water at the south end of the bay.
There has been some bullhead action at the south end of Sodus Bay, however the water temperatures need be warmer for a good bite. This week’s temperatures are predicted to be in the 50’s so anglers should be catching plenty of bullheads off Bay Bridge.
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
As soon as the ice disappears off the canal anglers can catch early season crappies. Use small bright jigs and fish under the Port Gibson bridge.
Orleans County
Orleans County Tourism and Bierstine of Oak Orchard Tackle and Lodge
Trout season is open today so time to fish for some steelhead. No wait. Oh yeah, there is no closed season!
Thanks to rain through the weekend all the tributary flows are high and dirty. Flows in the Oak are high consisting of lots of turbine water and some overflow water. Water color is one foot or less of visibility. There are some anglers on the water today with unknown success. The other area small tributaries are high and dirty. Through Sunday night there was 2 – 4 inches of wet snow, and 6 inches along the lakeshore. That is melting now and will add to the most recent runoff. Forecast is for warmer temps thru the rest of the week but no unseasonable warm up so no major water temp spikes expected for now.