Eastern Finger Lakes / Central New York Fishing Report
Mike Crawford of upstateguideservice.com
Prior to the abrupt arrival of winter this week here in Central New York the lake fishing has been very good!
Warmwater species like walleye, perch and bass have been feeding hard and aggressive! Severe cold, with highs in the upper teens accompanied by heavy snow, spell the end of the open water angling for most however.
Hardcore anglers on Oneida Lake are having excellent catches of perch, walleye and bass in 22 to 26 FOW on blade baits.
Tributaries of the eastern Finger Lakes and Lake Ontario are holding plenty of trout and Atlantic salmon if you know where to look!
A killer ice fishing season is shaping up! While most folks want for mild and warm temps…I pray for COLD!
Bring on the hardwater!
Greater Niagara Region
Bill Hilts, Jr.
This week it was a 10-plus inch snow and cold temperatures that are impacting local angling action. There are a few bright spots though. Trout action on the lower Niagara River was good as waters cleared up and fish became a bit more aggressive, especially for steelhead. Lisa Drabczyk of Creek Road Bait and Tackle in Lewiston reports good action for trout throughout the gorge on beads and sacs. Brown trout have been staging at the mouth of the river, too. Glow spoons were working for shoreline casters around the Fort. Mike Rzucidlo of Niagara Falls reports he’s been getting some trout on eggs, jigs, and spinners. He even caught a salmon on a jig. He noted that the NYPA plant has had the No. 1 pump off all week. It’s been slow in there, but trout are jumping. The NYPA fishing platform was closed on Tuesday and today due to icy conditions and it wasn’t getting any warmer until the weekend. Call 796-0135 Ext. 45 (twice) to find out if it’s open. In the Tim Wittek Memorial Musky Tournament last Sunday, Josh Kane was the winner with a 46-1/2-inch Buffalo Harbor fish. Runner ups were Dave Gorski and Jay Decarolis with 42-inch Buffalo Harbor muskellunge. Capt. Chris Cinelli of Grand Island reports he’s been taking two muskies on average each trip out when the weather conditions allow for it.
There was some decent flow in some of the bigger Lake Ontario tributaries and eggs and beads were producing some fish at places like Burt Dam according to Jim Evarts at The Boat Doctors in Olcott. Jigs, Wooly Buggers and other egg imitations are catching fish, too. Remember that there will be a meeting hosted by DEC to discuss the Lake Ontario forage base on Wednesday, Nov. 13 starting at 6:30 p.m. That’s tonight. The meeting will take place at Cornell Cooperative Extension Niagara, 4487 Lake Avenue, Lockport and it is free and open to the public. If you can’t make the DEC meeting, there will be an online/phone call presentation on Nov. 14 from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Visit the DEC website at dec.ny.gov to find out details.
There are a few changes on the leaderboard according to Steve Hawkins at Capt. Bob’s Outdoors in Clarence for the store’s fall derby. California Joe Pavalonis of Buffalo is back, taking over the lead with a 17-1/8-inch rudd from the upper Niagara River that weighed in at 2.61 pounds. Ethan Bronschidle of Newfane took over second place in the Brown Trout division with a 27-1/2-inch Lake Ontario tributary fish. The new leader in the Yellow Perch category is Barry Ball of Alden with a 14-1/4-inch fish.
Oswego County
Mary Ellen Barbeau of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning.
Oswego River Report
According to Oz Angling Tackle:
Despite the high water conditions on the Oswego River over the past few weeks, anglers are still catching kings, steelhead, and brown trout on a daily basis. In fact, the trout and salmon become more predictable when the water is high on the river because the fish get pushed up along the banks where there is slow enough water they can hold in. Egg sacs and beads under a float are producing a lot of trout right now in the upper half of the river because there are still king salmon spawning. Marabou jigs are starting to produce some trout also, but eggs remain the hot ticket until the kings and browns are finished spawning. Besides fishing the upper half of the river (Utica Bridge to the Varick Dam)for trout and salmon right now, the lower half of the river (Utica Bridge to the mouth) is underutilized for how many fish can hold there. Downstream of the Rte. 104 bridge on both sides of the river can be very good fishing when the water is high for trout from now through the spring. In addition to using egg sacs or beads, anglers do well with stickbaits, lipless cranks, swimbaits, and hair jigs in the lower section of the river. The flow is currently 12,900 cfs.
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:
Steelhead were found throughout the run today with plenty of fresh, feisty fish being reported. A couple of regular anglers reported hooking into double digits of fish, and one first timer landed his first steelhead! Other reports varied and some anglers had trouble getting a fish on the line. Beads and egg sacs proved successful and a variety of colors were reported. Water flows bumped to 750 cfs at the dam and 1,040 cfs at Pineville.
According to Whitaker’s Sport Shop & Motel:
The upper end of the river between Altmar and Pineville has been getting the most fishing pressure on a daily basis but anglers have been getting into fresh chrome that came in with the higher water. The water level was down over the weekend and the lower end of the river saw increased fishing pressure and was also producing fresh chrome. Mid river was a good choice for anglers who were willing to walk and looking for some solitude. Anglers who were fly fishing had the most success dead drifting or indicator fishing with single egg patterns. For those anglers who are bottom bouncing with spinning gear or float fishing, blue, pink and chartreuse egg sacs, trout beads and pink worms have all produced results.
Oneida Lake Report:
There is not much new to report from the lake. Anglers are still finding a night bite casting stickbaits from shore just before and after dark.
Sandy Pond Report:
No new report.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Streams
This is an early report because Veterans Day is Monday November 11th, a very important holiday honoring our Veterans.
The browns are still in Maxwell Creek, and there is a decent flow of water. You can fish either side of Lake Road. The south side has some nice pools considering Maxwell is one of the smaller streams.
You can spin cast, fly rod, or center-pin for browns. Some steelhead have also been caught in Maxwell. The bait is the usual mix, nothing elaborate.
You can drop shot some egg sacs under a torpedo bobber. Throw it out and let if drift down the stream.
Bright green beads are also working.
There are parking areas on both sides of Lake Road.
Bays
Bass fishing in New York State ends November 30th. There are still anglers casting in Sodus Bay waters. They launch their boats at the Margaretta Street launch.
Remember…if you are on a boat during late autumn, you always need to wear your PFD. That regulation started the last day of October and is in effect until May1st.
If you need tackle Bay Bridge Sport Shop and Davenports at the south end of Sodus Bay are always opened.
The Port Bay perch are starting to school with some nice 12-inch fish hitting off the two points in the middle of the bay.
They are also catching some nice bluegills and crappies at the south end of the bay. Just use small jigs with spikes. For the perch use 2-inch Power Bait…shad or minnow colors.
There has been light snow falling in Wayne County, however all launch sites are open and safe.
Three to five inches is predicted for Monday night, however that should not stop the hardy angler.
Erie Canal
Anglers were fishing next to the locks between Newark and Lyons. There are many locations along Route 31 to pull-off and fish the canal.
The Widewaters area will not be drained, so you can fish that area. The boat ramp is at the county park, which is a couple of miles west of Newark.
Orleans County
Orleans County Tourism and Capt. John Oravec, Tight Lines Charters
There’s been an abrupt change in the weather with snow on Veterans Day and through the night with a drop in temperature. Something like 6 – 8+ inches of area-wide snow and forecast temps in the 20’s °F for the mid week. Some uncommon Lake Effect Snow from NW winds may add some additional accumulations today here on the WNY Niagara Frontier. Temps are expected to slowly moderate through the upcoming weekend and through next week. That resultant snow melt should be good for maintenance flows.
For now, the fishing pressure has fallen off dramatically, more like what you would expect for the end of the month. With few guys out, reports are few. This past weekend’s action sounded pretty good and, not surprising with the change in the weather yesterday, guys had a tougher time. A mixed bag action was still the common report with a few browns, steelhead, Atlantics and a King here and there.
Final Erie Canal wintertime drainage is slated to commence today. That will place a slug of water reaching Waterport in about a day. Look for higher and slightly off color flows from whats been medium-ish and dropping and clearing. That spate of water from the Canal is historically a good trigger for fresh fish migrations and with this year’s MO of slow and drawn out “runs” that started with the Kings, it should be all the better for brown trout and steelhead and Atlantic salmon migrations. For now, the other area smaller tributaries is at moderate and clearing flows where scattered fish, no doubt, felt the abrupt change in the weather more so then say the Oak. Look for future rising flows there with any snow melt or the chance for Erie Canal winter time drainage releases. What do we know? Any rise in flows can mean the chance for fresh fish migrations from Lake waters or upstream movements of fish from downstream spots!