Pictured above: Mike Rzucidlo of Niagara Falls with a nice steelhead
Eastern Finger Lakes / Central New York Fishing Report
Mike Crawford of upstateguideservice.com
Ice anglers in the Central New York region watched the ice come and then watched it go, frustrating to so many anglers. But the ice is back! Fingers are crossed that it remains. The famous walleye waters of Chaumont Bay and Oneida Lake are covered with a thin but growing layer of ice as of this writing. With the forecast calling for more cold and overnight temps well below freezing, the hardwater should be soon safe and available.
Needless to say, extreme caution is required and a spud bar should be employed.
To the north in the St. Lawrence River Valley and the Adirondacks, the bays and lakes have set up tight and anglers are out fishing in most locations with six to ten inches of ice. More in some spots.
The internet is not a reliable source for ice conditions. Contact local bait shops.
Soon local bait shops will be unreliable sources. They are disappearing due to the ridiculous rules NYS has governing live bait and the ensuing associated costs!
For information on Oneida Lake ice contact Lakeshore Outfitters at 315.633.6030
For information on Chaumont Bay ice contact Chaumont Hardware at 315.649.2959
Maine lobster is way cheaper by the pound then live minnows these days and many hardcore ice anglers have turned to artificial baits because of it.
Blue and silver #7 perch Rapalas are tough to beat for the waldos! Good luck out there and stay on top!
Greater Niagara Region
Bill Hilts, Jr.
If you missed the 7th Annual Greater Niagara Fishing and Outdoor Expo last weekend, you missed a great one!
After another round of windstorms, it looks like things are going to take off again in the river in a good way. There were plenty of fish around the last time the water was decent, especially in the lower Niagara River – steelhead and walleye with an occasional lake trout and brown trout. Egg sacs in pink or chartreuse, Kwikfish or MagLips for plugs, minnows for live bait – all fished off 3-way rigs. Shore casters should be starting to pick up steelies with spinners, jigs, flies and sacs. The water along the shoreline should offer anglers clearer opportunities a bit quicker. With favorable weather Thursday and Friday, that will be your best bet until the weekend. Next week looks pretty good, too. Upper river options should also include some trout including lake trout, and walleyes.
The Niagara River Anglers Association will be holding its Roger Tobey Memorial Steelhead Contest on Saturday, Feb. 22. This date has been moved from its traditional time slot, set for the lower Niagara River and Lake Ontario tributaries starting at sunrise. Cost is $20 for the contest plus an option $5 for the best brown trout. In addition, you must be a member of the NRAA. Membership cost is $20, a $5 savings from the normal membership cost.
In the tributaries of Lake Ontario, the conditions right now offer medium flows and about 2 feet of visibility. There are reports of steelhead hookups, a few each outing by good drifters or swingers. Some hens are already showing loose eggs. Smaller tributaries are challenging with the cold weather. Things are slushing and icing up. The next forecasted warmup will only give us more of the same with conditions and fish. Roy Letcher of Newfane reports that 18 Mile Creek is running well right now with a fair number of trout. Everything else is mainly frozen. Scott Feltrinelli with Ontario Fly Outfitters reports that many of the smaller streams are frozen up right now. We have some warmer weather coming the end of the week and that could open some areas. Later in the day might be better.
Oswego County
Mary Ellen Barbeau of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning.
Oswego River Report
The water flow has been running from 13,000 CFS down to 10,000 CFS yesterday morning. This afternoon it is flowing at 11,500 CFS. This flow still makes many areas along the river are difficult to fish. Trout and walleye fishing should be productive in the lower river. Bottom bouncing a night crawler in this area has caught their attention.
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:
With temperatures broaching the 40 degree mark today, anglers steadily trickled in, but definitely less rods on the water today than most would have anticipated given the reduced flows. Those anglers who took advantage of some pretty awesome mid-winter conditions reported a successful day overall. It seemed from reports, the morning still remained the most productive, tapering off gradually as the day went on. Of the fish reported most were bright, fresh steelhead. The estuary and lower end of the run has started to break open allowing for some more opportunities down low. Shelf ice didn’t seem to be too much of a hurdle today, but some slush reported very early this morning. The current water flow is 350 CFS and 536 CFS at Pineville.
Over the next couple of days the temperature is expected to warm up along with dry and quiet conditions. Rain and some snow is expected over the weekend. Anglers have reported getting into fish in the upper end of the river between Altmar and Pineville. Anglers who were fly fishing had the most success dead drifting with nymphs and egg patterns. The most productive patterns have been stoneflies, hare’s ear, steelhead hammer, wiggles stones, rusher nymphs, steak-n-eggs, estaz eggs and small woolly buggers. For those anglers who are bottom bouncing with spinning gear or float fishing, pink and blue egg sacs have produced the best results.
Oneida Lake Report:
Although we have had some cold temperatures, the thermometer is going back up into the upper 30s for the next few days. Rain is expected on Saturday with a couple of inches of snow likely on Sunday. The colder weather was not long enough to provide safe ice conditions on much of the lake.
Sandy Pond Report:
According to Greene Point Marina:
After the recent cold temperatures there is ice on Sandy Pond. Anglers are reporting approximately 5+ inches in many areas. Anglers are finding a couple of inches of crusty snow which may become slushy during the day as temperatures are expected to be in the upper 30s through the weekend. Anglers are finding some perch although you may be sorting through several to find a keeper. Rain is in the forecast for tomorrow with a couple of inches of snow expected Sunday. As always, check the ice as you go and be safe.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Streams
Just returned from the Niagara Fishing Expo. Talked to many anglers that concentrate their efforts on the streams.
The word from anglers fishing the southern Lake Ontario tributaries is that fishing has pick-up from earlier hit-or-miss catches.
It’s been the same for our smaller tribs, and Maxwell Creek has seen more steelhead catches this past week.
The muddy water has cleared, and the trout have been going after eggs. Use anything bright, whether it’s beads, eggs sacs, or casting out small spoons.
Some browns have also come form the north side of Lake Road. Today, the temps are in the 20’s with snow build-up on some of the streams, however currently you have access to the water.
Bay Bridge Sport Shop at the south end of Sodus Bay has everything you need for stream angling.
Bays
I wish I could say safe ice…. or any icy. But there is nothing on the bays. Because of colder temperatures and some snow there is slush, however no ice.
The perch are in Sodus and Port Bays and they are not going anywhere. We just need a cold front that hangs around for a week.
If you do launch a boat, make sure you use caution. The ramps are slippery, and the water temps are in the high 30’s. Do not take any chances.
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.
Erie Canal
No one is fishing the canal.
NYS Sportsmen’s Expo
The NYS Sportsmen’s Expo is this weekend at the Fairgrounds. Wayne County will be there.
Orleans County
Orleans County Tourism and Capt. John Oravec, Tight Lines Charters
A nice round of mostly clear weather is expected for this mid-week period. Things are slowly warming up toward 40°F-ish for the end of the week with a chance for snow again this upcoming weekend. All the tributary flows, for now, are dropping back and clearing up. Smaller tributaries beside the Oak are slushing and icing back up with most productive drifts becoming challenging with flows dropping back to moderate or lower. Flows in the Oak are medium or maybe one tick less toward moderate — nice, slightly stained water color probably just better than 2 ft of visibility. All the drifts are open, even the downstream frog water is open although there may be some bank ice. Fishing pressure is really light but the guys braving the past colder temperatures are getting some steelhead hookups. There’s some fresh fish around and even some hens that are loose. That’s probably a result of the up and down weather and the water temperature warm-up of a couple of weeks or so ago. Flows are likely to ebb and flow as snow comes and goes and as the weather warms up on and off. With any bump inflows there could be fresh steelhead, especially in the more traditional period coming up of February to March.