Greater Niagara Region
Bill Hilts, Jr.
Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! No white Christmas here in WNY as temperatures hit the 50-degree mark and no white stuff in sight. If you scored on some new fishing gear under the Christmas tree, get out and take advantage of some decent fishing action.
On Monday, lower Niagara River fishing slowed up a bit, but sometimes you must adapt to whatever conditions Mother Nature gives you. Southwest winds pushed boats along as conditions became a bit more stained. Switching over to MagLip and Kwikfish plugs helped turn fish on, fishing them off 3-way rigs according to Lisa Drabczyk of Creek Road Bait and Tackle.
Capt. John Oravec of the Troutman, sends word that he enjoyed a banner day last weekend when everything came together with weather, water clarity and fish cooperation in the lower Niagara River and Niagara Bar. Water conditions were good, finally recovering from the wind earlier in the week. Fishing went from good to excellent for Oravec, using live shiners in 10 to 20 feet of water down river, as well as on the Niagara Bar. He had a trio of anglers on board – Dan Robinson of LeRoy, Wade Rowcliffe and Victor Rowcliffe of Rochester. It was non-stop action for brown trout, steelhead, walleye and lake trout. He also witnessed a few boats fighting king salmon, enjoying the mild weather. Speaking of lake trout and walleye, 2 regulations will be going into effect on Jan. 1, 2020. First, lake trout season will open in New York waters for the lower Niagara River and Lake Ontario. Jan. 1 is also the trigger date that reduces the daily limit for walleye from 3 to 1 fish to help protect the spawning females.
Lake Ontario tributaries offered up mixed reports. Mild and clear weather is forecast through the mid-week with temps in the 40’s. The next chance for precipitation is the end of the week. Any area snowpack has melted for the most part. Temperatures will continue to be warm early next week so look for fresh steelhead moving in and some holdover browns still hanging around. Don’t be afraid to seek out smaller creeks if there is good flow. One creek that won’t is Keg Creek. The mouth of the creek is closed off. Egg sacs or egg imitations are working well, but don’t rule out streamers or white zonkers to entice trout to hit.
Happy New Year!
Oswego County
Mary Ellen Barbeau of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning.
Oswego River Report
According to Oz Angling Tackle:
After running very high for several days, the water flow is down to 11,300 CFS. There hadn’t been much fishing pressure on the Oswego River during the bitter cold temperatures and high flows, but warmer temperatures have moved in and will be with us for the next week. Those who have been fishing are still bringing browns and steelhead to hand. Float fishing marabou jigs is an effective technique for catching trout along Lake Ontario tributaries especially in the winter and spring.
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:
Over the course of the day Sunday we had a total of 49 anglers trickle in until as late as 2:15 pm. Between those anglers leaving early and coming late, we never exceeded our maximum allowable of 30 anglers on the run for this time of year. We had some mixed reports for each group but overall most were successful. One angler went 2/3 for steelhead, one having the top rod with 6/6 fishing beads and a small gold spinner. Another angler went 3/5 on sucker spawn fly patterns in various colors. The fish were decent sized from “cookie cutter” to “pretty large” – the middle and upper sections were tied for productivity. Yesterday although the fishing wasn’t epic by any means, anglers picked away at fish throughout the run. The current water flow is 500 CFS.
According to Whitaker’s Sport Shop & Motel:
With the arrival of warmer weather on Sunday the number of anglers increased and it was good to see everyone getting out on the water and taking advantage of conditions. The majority of anglers we spoke with fished the mid to lower end of the river and reported getting into fish. Anglers who were fly fishing had the most success dead drifting with nymphs or indicator fishing with egg patterns. The most productive patterns were pheasant tails, stoneflies, hare’s ear, copper john, prince nymph, glo-bugs, estaz eggs and sucker spawn. For those anglers who were bottom bouncing or float fishing, blue and pink egg sacs or trout beads produced the best results.
Oneida Lake Report:
There is no new information to report from Oneida Lake.
Sandy Pond Report:
No report of activity as we wait for a stretch of cold weather for ice fishing to begin.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Streams
There is an excellent flow in Maxwell Creek and other streams. You can fish both sides of Maxwell and there has been some trout coming from Bear Creek in Ontario. Bear Creek has very little access, however there has been some action at the mouth.
Steelhead and some browns are being caught in Maxwell. Most of the snow has melted and the shores are clear. The water is moving fast so use your heavier sinkers if you are bouncing the bottom. Egg sacs and beads work. Steelhead are winter spawners, so they are in the stream, often till late February.
Bays
We had the ice making machine working…then the 50-degree temps and rain ended that. Currently, its 35 degrees, however Christmas Day will once again be in the 50’s. There is no safe ice on Wayne County bays, unless its’ the smaller bodies of water like Sodus Center and other little ponds.
We need a few days of cold temps with no wind, and then we will be on the ice, but not yet.
If you need tackle Bay Bridge Sport Shop and Davenports at the south end of Sodus Bay are always opened. They both have live bait if you like fishing with small minnows.
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
The only place you can fish on the canal is from the shore parallel to Route 31, and only if there is open water. ¬¬
Orleans County
Orleans County Tourism and Capt. John Oravec, Tight Lines Charters
Mild and clear weather is forecast through the mid week with temps in the 40’s °F. The next chance for precipitation is for the end of the week. By today, what was a light area snow pack, has melted. Flows are being maintained for now in the Oak at slightly high with about 1 – 2 ft of slightly stained visibility. Real nice drifting chances up and down the river.
Through the past weekend, there were reports of some steelhead and brown trout hook ups and then on Monday some guys reported slower action. The agreeable weather has brought a few more guys out. Look for light fishing pressure probably through Christmas.
After some previous icing up in the smaller waterways everything should be opening back up through this week thanks to the warm weather. Look for flows to likely bump up from the snow melt through the beginning part of this week and retreating through the mid and end of the week before any new precipitation. We’re not expecting anything to blow or get real dirty – flows may go slightly high and stained. There’s a good chance for some fresh fish migrations and to redistribute some of the holdover brown trout. Enjoy the holidays!