Greater Niagara Region
Bill Hilts, Jr.
We hope everyone is always staying safe out there and practicing social distancing! April 1 is the traditional inland trout and salmon opener throughout New York State. This has very little impact on the Niagara Falls USA fishery because the waters of the Niagara River, Lake Ontario and its tributaries all fall under special Great Lakes regulations. Yes, you can fish all year for trout and salmon if you so desire! As we turn the page into April, there are some new developments you should be aware of. First, it was announced this week that charter captains and guides have been deemed non-essential. They will have to wait until this horrible pandemic subsides before they can operate again.
April 1 also kicks in some new fishing regulations for Lake Ontario and the tributaries. For Lake Ontario, the daily limit for steelhead drops from 3 to 2 as part of your fish totals per person. In the tributaries, the daily limit for brown trout drops from 3 to 1 fish per person. Steelhead will remain at 1 fish per person, but the minimum size for that 1 fish (should you decide to keep one), must be at least 25 inches long now. The Niagara River is currently exempt from all these new regulations for the time being.
As far as some other fishing facts, the Town of Newfane Marina will not open for the time being. However, the launch ramp will remain open. In addition, the gas pumps are being converted to pay-at-the-pump and that project should be completed by next week.
Roy Letcher of Newfane reports that the pier action has been good in Wilson and Olcott. Cast Little Cleo spoons and stickbaits for primarily brown trout. You can also drift a float with an egg sac or a minnow to pick up a fish or two. Bullhead are also being caught in Wilson, Olcott and Golden Hill but the water was muddy in some areas. When you can get on the lake for some trolling action, some brown trout are being caught with regularity using stickbaits along the shoreline inside of 20 feet. Some salmon are also being reported by trollers from the Niagara Bar to 30-mile Point. The rain we experienced last weekend gave the creeks a good shot of water flow and some are muddy for right now. It should improve quickly with mild weather in the forecast. All the launch ramps are open in the state parks here, as well as the town launch in Wilson. Streams are still holding trout, but they are on the way out. Suckers and bass are moving in.
Niagara River fishing has been good to very good. It will take a few days for the action to return after the severe storms blew through over the weekend. From shore, casting spoons, jigs or spinners will work. Drifting egg sacs or egg imitations will also produce a trout or two. Remember social distancing. If someone is fishing a spot, say in the lower Niagara River from shore, pay attention to how they are fishing the area, too. If the river current takes their lure downriver and they are working the shoreline back up, make sure you are giving adequate distancing from that individual for more than just the virus. It will be more than 6 feet. In fact, ask them if it’s okay. Common courtesy can go a long way toward a better angling experience for everyone.
Lisa Drabczyk of Creek Road Bait and Tackle reported over the weekend that she will be opening her doors for customers but using social distancing practices with one customer at a time at her Lewiston shop. From a boat, Kwikfish and MagLips will work well when the water is stained, and you have a southwest wind to help. Egg sacs and minnows will both work again as the waters start to clear and they are forecasting some decent weather at the end of the week. Lake trout are on the Niagara Bar.
In the upper Niagara River, Blake Kowaski of Tonawanda was catching some decent yellow perch. Stay safe out there!
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Streams
Tomorrow is April 1st, opening day for trout fishing in New York State waters. In Wayne County the trout season is always open because our tributaries dumped their water into Lake Ontario. All Great Lake tributaries can be fished the entire year.
We still have steelhead action in the streams. Maxwell is small with only 2 miles of fishing access; however, browns and steelhead are being netted.
It won’t be long until they swim to the lake. Matter of fact the browns are currently swimming close to shore in Lake Ontario from Maxwell west to the power plant in Ontario.
Stream anglers are still using bright beads, egg sacs, and red small spoons.
You can fly fish or use your spinning outfit.
Lake Ontario
Browns are hitting stickbaits in 20 to 30 feet of water. The few boats that are fishing the lake are trolling from Sodus Bay to Bear Creek. The water temps from Rochester are currently 42 degrees.
Bays
The perch schools are moving with some fish coming from shallower water. Start in 30 feet and if you don’t find them move.
Perch are still hitting anything white. Rubber baits, like shad color or minnows work. Use 2- inch bait tipped with spikes.
Remember while your fishing from your boat, that you need to wear your pfd until May 1st.
Check out the rest of the Wayne County Tourism web page for the locations and hours of local bait and tackle shops.
Erie Canal
Crappies are being caught near the Port Gibson Bridge. Some bluegills are being caught on the south shoreline of the canal. You can also launch a boat at Widewaters.
Safety Precautions from DEC
While enjoying the outdoors, please continue to follow the CDC/New York State Department of Health guidelines (leaves DEC’s website) for preventing the spread of colds, flu, and COVID-19:
- Try to keep at least six (6) feet of distance between you and others.
- Avoid close contact, such as shaking hands, hugging, and kissing.
- Wash hands often or use a hand sanitizer when soap and water are not available.
- Avoid surfaces that are touched often, such as doorknobs, handrails, and playground equipment.
When fishing, DEC recommends avoiding busy waters and following the guidelines on DEC’s website about fishing responsibly in New York State. If an angler arrives at a parking lot and there are several cars, they should consider going to another parking lot. If an angler is fishing upstream, they should fish downstream of the other angler or consider fishing another day. Anglers fishing from boats should be able to maintain at least six feet of distance between one another. For more information about the benefits of being outdoors safely and responsibly, go to DEC’s website.
Orleans County
Orleans County Tourism and Capt. John Oravec, Tight Lines Charters
A nice shot of precipitation over the past weekend and beginning part of this week has brought the tributary flows back up. Temps are cool, in the 40’s°F, with a gradual warm up forecast through this week. Flows in the Oak are medium and slightly stained with 2 ft or so of visibility consisting of turbine water. I might have guessed that flows would go a little higher or dirtier from the recent precipitation, but alas that’s not what I see. Flows could yet go higher or dirtier with any flow changes at the Waterport hydro.
Fishing pressure is generally light, especially in downstream areas below the dam. Guys are still fishing at the dam and no doubt more and more of those fish will drop back looking for gravel spawning spots. There are steelhead in the downstream fast water gravel spots and staged in adjacent holes. Suckers are more numerous and there could be a smallmouth or two.
The other area smaller tributaries have slightly high and dirty flows. The smallest tributaries, like Marsh Creek, are probably offering up the best last chance at steelhead right now before flows drop back down again and steelhead drop back to the Lake after spawning. Those other smaller tributaries east and west of the Oak are something like a day or two away from productive drifts as the water color clears some and cool-ish waters hang on before the inevitable water temp warm up. We hope everyone is safe and managing OK through these recent times. Fishing is still even recommended by NYSDEC, practiced of course with the social distance recommendations.