Above: Matt Yonkin with a bomber brown trout taken out of the Niagara River on Monday.
Orleans County
This report is by Ron Bierstine from Oak Orchard Tackle & Lodge:
There’s no sense breaking the up and down winter weather and water flow pattern at this point! After a couple of warm days near 50°F, flows in the Oak and other area smaller tributaries have come up from a little bit of the remaining snow and ice melt off. There’s been some rain showers this morning. Flows in the Oak are between medium and slightly high with slightly stained water color. Fishing pressure is lite. Look for flows to hang in about through this end of the week with probably not much change in the water color. Through the past weekend, flows were dropping and clearing and the action was getting tougher, so this is a nice change toward better drifting chances and a chance for some fresh fish again.
This week’s weather ahead looks colder and snowy and it wouldn’t be a bad thing to see a bunch of snow or wetter weather ahead for the chance at higher flows through March and April and the chance for fresh fish and another spawning push. In the near term though, like by this end of week or so, I’d look for a lowering of flows as this new batch of colder weather and snow catches up with the water levels. The other area smaller tributaries are mostly open and flows are medium and stained with 1 – 2 ft of visibility. Steelhead and browns are spread out and, if anglers drift or swing the holding slots and pools, they’ll be rewarded with some hook ups. Ahead, after this latest cold and snow through this week takes effect, flows are likely to drop and clear and there could be some renewed icing conditions. At this point in the season, though, its not likely that anything will lock completely back up unfishable. Sun angle and day length are working toward warming up.
Wayne County
Streams
Lake effect snow dumped 8 to 12 inches along different areas in northern Wayne County on Friday night. Temps were in the 50’s Sunday and Monday, so most snow has melted.
Maxwell Creek has open water, especially on the south side of Lake Road. Steelhead are still hitting eggs sacs and bright green and red beads. Fishing has been spotty; however, the trout are still in the creeks.
Bay Bridge Sport Shop at the south end of Sodus Bay has everything you need for stream angling.
Bays
The ice is 6 to 8 inches straight out from Shaker Heights Road, however with above freezing temps and rain, things could go from safe to dangerous quickly. Rain is the real enemy of ice. It will make the top porous and eat away any safe ice with air pockets.
The perch are in the bays, however this season for ice anglers doesn’t look so good. Following the crowds is probably the safest practice.
The season for pike runs through March 15th. Length is 22 inches and the creel limit is five a day in Lake Ontario embayments.
The pike have been caught on the north east shores of Sodus. Use tip-ups with pike minnows.
Because this is a weekly report, ice conditions can change in a day. Always use caution, especially with the mild winter we are experiencing. Safe ice today is no guarantee for tomorrow.
Make sure you know where the creeks are that flow into the bay. That’s where the ice is never solid.
If you need tackle and bait 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.
They also have plenty of fresh spikes.
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
No one was on Widewaters this past weekend. There is little snow on the frozen water so it’s an easy set-up for drilling holes. Perch, crappies and bluegills can be caught in the canal.
Greater Niagara Region
by Bill Hilts, Jr.
February in Western NY is not supposed to be balmy weather. That’s exactly what we saw this week with today being forecast with a record temperature of 68 degrees. On Saturday, temperatures will plummet some 30 degrees in the afternoon, but it will probably be still above average and that trend should continue into March. It’s hard to believe spring is almost here! In the Niagara River below Niagara Falls, the water conditions were near perfect since Tuesday. Mixed reports on people catching fish from boats. Some of the guys have been doing pretty good picking away at them, using whatever baits the fish want or what the conditions allow for. For example, a strong SW wind was blowing boats down the river so switching your minnows or egg sacs over to Kwikfish or MagLip lures seemed like the logical solution. While some fish were caught that way, it was still slower than what most anglers would have liked. Boat control is critical. It wasn’t until afternoon that the steelhead turned on in the afternoon and it was egg sacs that worked for Capt. Frank Campbell. He had a couple veteran anglers on board – Buffalo Sabres coach Dan Bylsma and Jim Hanley. Using egg sacs that had been treated with Pautzke Fire Dye. Six nice steelhead were boated between noon and 2 p.m. including several over 12 pounds by Bylsma. See the full story next week in the Buffalo News on the Thursday Outdoors Page or online at BuffaloNews.com. Shore fishermen were struggling a bit for some reason and it was probably because of the weather. Casting spoons, spinners, egg sacs or egg imitations should produce some trout from Artpark to the Whirlpool. Take advantage of the nice weather!
Lake Ontario and tributaries
With the mild weather, boats were trolling the shoreline and picking up a few browns on stickbaits in the 6 to 20 foot depth range. Stained water was coming out of 18 Mile Creek at Olcott and trollers were sticking around close to the mouth on either side, using in-line planers to get their baits away from the boat. In addition to the browns, quite a few northern pike are also showing up for a fight. On the piers in Wilson and Olcott, casters are tossing spoons and spinners or drifting eggs under a float. Burt Dam has been producing some steelhead and browns, along with the occasional salmon. Perch have been everywhere, actually a nuisance for the trout guys. Keg Creek is wide open and clear. Bob Rustowicz of Cheektowaga reported banner days the last three days in various tribs he worked egg sacs and jig in. The Niagara Bar has been a little show this week, but it was good last weekend. It might be because there is a ton of bait around. Remember that the State of Lake Ontario will be held in Lockport on March 7th at the 4-H Building of Cornell Cooperative Extension Niagara, 4487 Lake Avenue, Lockport starting at 6:30 p.m. All in the Same Boat Tackle in Newfane is running a catch and release steelhead contest that starts today and runs through March 25. Stop down to the shop to register and pick up a copy of the rules.