Greater Niagara Region
Bill Hilts, Jr.
Lake Ontario salmon and trout action has been a little spotty of late and some of it can be blamed on the weather. With Tropical Depression Barry showing up this week, the hottest weather of the season is on our doorstep through the weekend.
One sleeper area could be the Niagara Bar as mature kings have been reported this week. Capt. Frank Campbell of Lewiston had some customers looking for some salmon slammin’ and they were rewarded with some mature kings in 100 to 200 feet of water, pulling magnum spoons in greens and white glow spin doctors with green flies behind dipsy divers 30 to 50 feet down.
Off Wilson, fishing has actually been pretty good, but information was tough to come by with the Lake Ontario Trout and Salmon Association events taking place Friday and Saturday this week. Some bigger fish are available. Robyn Wolf of Wilson came close to the top prize with a 27 pound, 15 ounce king that is currently in second place in the Salmon Division. She was fishing out of her home port with Capt. Mike Johannes of On the Rocks and caught the fish on a magnum spoon. Darker colors have been working.
Capt. Tim Sylvester of Tough Duty was fishing out of Olcott on Monday and hit a 28-plus pound king on a 400 copper line with meat. However, the person that caught the fish was not in the LOC Derby currently going on. He was fishing in 300-plus feet of water. Karen Evarts at The Boat Doctors in Olcott says try fishing a little east of Olcott in 400 to 450 feet of water or a little west off the red barn in 315-375 feet of water. The new Grand Prize leader is 29 pounds, 6 ounces. The derby ends on July 28.
In the Niagara River, bass fishing in the lower river has picked up according to Lisa Drabczyk of Creek Road Bait and Tackle. The moss is still an issue but it does seem to be getting a little better. Worms, crabs and tube jigs have been the bait of choice. A few walleye have been reported, too. Upper river action has been great for bass, as well. According to Capt. Ryan Shea of Brookdog Fishing, his best bass bait has been a Ned rig. That same rig has been producing an amazing number of muskellunge, too. So far this year he has connected with 16 muskies, caught and released with care. Some decent walleye fishing in the river, too, especially in the Emerald Channel.
The 29th Steve Harrington Memorial Erie Canal Fishing Derby is over. We won’t know who will win the boat, motor and trailer, though, until the Awards Ceremony on Sunday, July 21 at the Gasport Fire Hall starting at 3 p.m. There will be a random drawing of first place winners to see who the lucky winner will be. In the bass division, Ed Mort of Lockport was first place with a 5.66-pound fish. Sam Hillman from Lockport was the top walleye catcher at 7.04 pounds, and James Nix, Jr. of Tonawanda topped the pike division with an 11.81-pound fish. The biggest bullhead was a 1.58-pound fish reeled in by Michael Boncore of Buffalo. Biggest catfish is an 8.75-pound fish reeled in by Keegan Walczak of Amherst and Matthew Clark of North Tonawanda was the leading carp with a 26.11-pound fish. Carleen Beback of Buffalo won the sheepshead category with a 12.21-pound fish. Check out eriecanalderby.com for final results.
Oswego County
Mary Ellen Barbeau of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning.
Notice: Due to high water levels, a local state of emergency order for a “No Wake Zone” has been established for boats 1,000 feet from the Lake Ontario shoreline and tributaries. All motorized boats within 1,000 feet of the shoreline and within these waterways must operate at idle speed.
Lake Ontario/Oswego River Report
Notice: Wright’s Landing Marina is reopening today, July 18, after being closed for several weeks due to high water.
The east end of the lake is producing some nice salmon in 100 to 300 feet of water down 50 to 100 feet. Spoons are working along with flashers and flies at times. Brown trout continue to be active in more shallow water.
According to Capt. Andy Bliss of Chasin’ Tail Adventures:
What a day we had on Monday. Someone pushed the easy button. Lots of big fish in the mix as well. Kings on kings on kings!!! A-TOM-MIK meat rigs definitely got their attention.
According to Oz Angling Tackle:
The river flow was 3,000cfs on Monday but after the heavy rains Tuesday night and yesterday it is up to 6,070 cfs this morning. Anglers are finding a mixed bag of fish including sheepshead, smallmouth bass, rockbass, bluegills, and channel cats near the dam. Walleyes seem to be hanging in the lower end of the river along with smallmouth bass, rockbass and bluegills. Night crawlers on the bottom is the go-to method for targeting walleyes during the day. Casting big stickbaits from shore or trolling stickbaits from a boat is still effective at night.
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:
A couple of anglers joined us Tuesday targeting smallmouth bass and taking advantage of the rather mild conditions. These anglers reported getting into a half dozen or so bass in the short time spent down on the run. Quite a bit of rain yesterday but one angler made it onto the run in the early afternoon, taking a hike to try his luck at the bottom end. He reported a pretty good trip overall, landing the largest small mouth of his life! Flows are scheduled to increase to 332 cfs later today. Flows at the Pineville gauge have spiked a bit to 419 CFS with the rain.
Oneida Lake Report:
Walleye activity is continuing both early in the day and later as we go into the evening. Anglers are finding them along the weed beds and out in deeper (20-30 feet) water. Worm harnesses, blade baits and trolling stickbaits are suggested applications. Bass can be found in 5-15 feet of water.
Sandy Pond Report:
Conditions are about the same on the pond. Due to Lake Ontario’s high water level, the DEC North Sandy Pond boat launch is closed. With the high water we have not had many reports from the pond and typically weeds become an issue with the warmer weather.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Lake Ontario
It’s the Sodus Pro-Am week. During the entire week starting July 17 you can fish the IK a day, or Captain Jack’s Big Fish Friday with the main event July 20-21st. For more information check their Facebook page at Sodus Pro-Am.
Yesterday the kings were straight-out from Hughes’ Marina and Sodus Bay. The bite was in water 120 to 150 feet, down 50 to 75. Spoons still dominate; however, the meat rigs are taking some nice kings.
Obviously, the Pro-Am teams are not giving away their secret locations, but the king bite has been lake wide…so go get them.
Remember, the LOC Summer Derby continues through July 28. All the info is at http://www.loc.org/
Currently, a 29-pound king leads the contest.
The largest BT’s on the leaderboard are from Wayne County, with Hughes’ Marina the exciting weigh station.
Bays
Wayne County still has a no-wake condition. The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office declared a State of Emergency on Sodus Bay, East Bay, Port Bay and Blind Sodus Bay effective 12:01 a.m. Saturday May 11.
SODUS BAY – IDLE SPEED ONLY CAUSING NO WAKE WITHIN 1000 FEET of shore.
PORT BAY, EAST BAY and BLIND SODUS BAY – IDLE SPEED ONLY CAUSING NO WAKE.
There has been some excellent bass fishing from Sodus Bay. There was a contest Saturday with the boats launching from the Margaretta Road (Rte. 14) ramp.
The largemouths have been hitting top water bait and plastic rigs. Fish the docks or the weedlines at the south end of the bay.
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
It’s been a catfish bonanza on the canal. The water temps are in the 70’s and the cats are finished spawning. The bite is on. Use cut bait, worms, or shrimp.