Greater Niagara Region
Frank Campbell
The Summer Lake Ontario Counties Trout and Salmon Derby is underway through July 25. The current leader is a 26-pound, 3-ounce salmon reeled in by Kim Snover of Ogdensburg. Top brown trout is a 12-pound, 11-ounce fish caught by Bill Weber of Palmyra and the lake trout leader is a 12-pound, 6-ounce fish weighed in by Dan Lahr of Geneva. The trout probably will not even be on the board at the end of July, but they are currently in contention for some nice weekly cash prizes. Check out the board at loc.org.
Capt. Joe Oakes of Salmon Boy Charters reports that trout and salmon seem scattered from 90 to 350 feet of water, 50 to 120 feet down. Spoons, flasher-flies, and meat are all working from Olcott to Wilson right now. WLVL (1340 AM) and the “Lake” Up Niagara team, a play with its morning Wake-Up Niagara program, had a successful venture Tuesday morning out of Olcott. All 3 boats involved with the unique promotion caught fish for the participants and the largest fish of the morning was a 36-inch king salmon reeled in by Dale Shank of Ransomville caught on board the Tough Duty 2 with Capt. Tim Sylvester of Wilson. Capt. Alan Sauerland and the Instigator boat caught the most fish for the morning and he focused his efforts off Olcott in 140 to 165 feet of water with divers back 185 and 220 on a No. 2 setting with flasher-fly. The riggers were set at 55-65-75-85 with spoons and he also had 300- and 400-foot coppers out with flasher-fly. Sauerland runs two temperature probes and identifies the upper and lower ends of the thermocline. He looks for bait with active fish around it and works the area from different angles. Karen Evarts with The Boat Doctors in Olcott reports that the kids had a blast last weekend at the kid’s derby and Logan Noon of Newfane won the contest with a 27-inch bowfin. Other fish being caught in the harbor included crappie, rock bass, perch, bluegill, and black bass.
In the lower river, chubs, minnows, and crayfish are taking bass off Fort Niagara according to Lisa Drabczyk with Creek Road Bait and Tackle. Ned rigs and swimbaits are also working on smallmouth. In the upper Niagara River, congrats go to Louis Long of Buffalo who caught a 50-1/2-inch muskellunge on opening day, fishing with Tony Scime of Buffalo and casting a Red October tube. It was a personal best. It was also his first musky. The bass post-spawn bite is starting to pick up according to Capt. Ryan Shea, both above and below Niagara Falls. Ned rigs were the ticket for Shea, a favorite offering during the post-spawn bite. Neds imitate crawfish and goby very well and they are fairly moss resistant according to Shea. Yes, moss is problematic as it is always this time of year. Some days are better than others.
With July 4th taking place this weekend and with more than 415,000 new, first-time registered boat owners now on the water since last year, the Water Sports Foundation is stressing the importance of boating safety, whether you are fishing, skiing, kayaking, canoeing, and more. Plan ahead and be prepared. Check all of your safety equipment, including your personal floatation devices. Check the weather before heading out and bring along sunscreen and a first aid kit. File a float plan with the family and the marina you will be operating out of. Do not drink and drive on the water. Designate a sober skipper. Make sure you have a designated observer for all water sports activities. Many people will be heading to the water to watch the fireworks. Check to make sure your running lights are operating properly, keep your distance from where the fireworks will be launched from, and never ignite fireworks from your boat. Stay safe out there. The next LOTSA monthly meeting will be on July 8 at the Town of Newfane Marina starting at 7 p.m. Featured speaker will be Chris Petrucci talking about LOC Derby winning techniques.
Oswego County
Report is Courtesy of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning
Lake Ontario Report:
Lake conditions have been very windy over last weekend, with lots of south wind. However, we expect clam conditions the next few days.
Oswego:
The following report is courtesy of Captain Zack Rayno of Hat Trick Charters and Rayno’s Fishing Excursions Guide Service.
Fishing out of the port of Oswego has started to really heat up for Salmon within the last week.
After a weekend of heavy south winds, we were unsure how stable our fishing conditions would remain. Fortunately for Oswego, the salmon fishing has only improved by the day. Plenty of Kings have been anywhere from 120 feet of water to beyond 500 feet of water right out front of the harbor. Although we endured days of heavy south winds, our cool water has stayed fairly deep, improving the fishing throughout the day.
With multiple days over 90 degrees, the lake’s surface temperature rose to 72 degrees on June 30th. A thermocline has developed somewhere between 90-105 feet below the surface. Which is prime!
Keys to our success on board the Hat Trick have been heavily credited to ATOMMIK flies and meat rigs behind Michigan Stinger E-chips and spin doctors. Specifically, Hammertime with a stud fly behind it, white green dot with warship glow meat rig behind in the low light hours, followed by chartreuse Mountain Dew E-chip with a UV 190 fly. Also consider a Two Face spin doctor with a Shenster meat rig behind it, when the light level increases. As a side note, there are plenty of steelhead hanging around. Keeping a few spoons high, above the cold water, can produce a few extra bites throughout the day.
Mexico:
This following report is courtesy of Captain Mark Ledden , of Driftwater Guide Service.
The salmon fish has become very steady the last week. We have seen more targets with lots of steelhead mixed in.
We have been fishing 200-350’, mostly off of None-Mile Point.
Our go to setups this week are…spoon, spoons and more spoons. Stingray sized stingers in NBK, Diehard, angry bird, uv grn tux early Uv yellow tux, can’t afford it, and yellow killer when the sun come up. 300-450 coppers, divers from 150-270’, and riggers 70-100’ down have been the ticket.
Oswego River Report
Summer means a mixed bag on the Oswego River. Anglers can target bass, carp, walleye, and pan fish. Occasionally a summer run steelhead or Atlantic salmon is spotted in the mix too.
Our recommendation for walleye is to fish on the west side, between the two bridges, especially at night. Most walleye setups will get the job done.
Please Consider the Following Year-Round Notice: 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 at 35 E. Cayuga St. by calling 315-343-2161.
Click here for the Brookfield Varick Fish Safely brochure
Click here for the current water flow
Year-Round Notice: 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 at 35 E. Cayuga St. by calling 315-343-2161.
• Click here for the Brookfield Varick Fish Safely brochure.
• Click here for the current water flow.
Salmon River Report:
This time of year usually means bass on the Salmon River. Smallmouth can be very aggressive, so our biggest recommendation is to try a lot of pockets and keep moving throughout the day. They will hit anything from a juicy fly to a crank bait.
Northern pike are also caught at the mouth around port Ontario.
There are lots of boat launches and marinas on the Salmon River, but we recommend calling ahead to make sure the water is high enough to launch. Please check our website for the river CFS, and check back in late-August for the fall salmon report.
Oneida Lake Report:
Walleye season opened the second weekend of May, and with an average depth of 22’ bass can be caught throughout most of the lake. We recommend first-timers who are targeting bass to try the mouth of the Oneida River as well, since it’s easy to identify where the cover is.
Check out our website for more information on charters.
Check out our website for more information on charters.
Sandy Pond Report:
The main points of access for Sandy Pond are: Greenpoint, “The Elms,” Wigwam, and the new DEC launch at Stanley Drive.
Popular species throughout the summer include bullhead, crappie, pan fish, northerns, bass, walleye, and the occasional pickerel.
Check back with us in January for our ice fishing report.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Lake Ontario
Spoons and flasher-flies are catching the salmon. Straight out from Sodus Bay and west towards Bear Creek has been the best trolling area. Of course, that can change in a few hours.
Bait has been down 60 fow over 200 to 150 fow. The temp breaks this past weekend were in an exceptionally large column of water making it difficult to target fish.
Currently Wayne County has an impressive standing on the LOC leaderboard. Four out of nine kings, first place brown and one out of four on Lake Trout Division. That is an excellent showing for the beginning of the derby.
The LOC Summer Derby started Saturday, June 26th and runs until Sunday July 25th.
Bays
The bass fishing in Port and Sodus Bays has been great. There are plenty of weeds along the shoreline. Not good for recreational boats, however great cover for largemouth bass.
Throw-out Senko rigs or any weedless lure.
There has been some perch action along the north shore of Port Bay adjacent to the channel. Most perch have entered the lake; however, some remain in the bays.
Wayne County Soil and Water Conservation District and the Federation of Sportsmen Clubs are pleased to announce the 22nd Wayne County Youth Fishing Derby for anglers ages 4-16. The event runs June 19th-July 31st, 2021and covers the waters in Wayne County.
The 2021 New York State fishing guide can be found at dec.ny.gov/outdoor/7917.html for downloading and printing at home. Production of hard copies is finished and have been delivered to License Issuing Agents. Hard copies can be requested by emailing FWFish@dec.ny.gov.
Erie Canal
The kayak anglers were fishing Widewaters on Sunday. They were out early to beat the heat. Panfish was their targeted species. The largemouth bass typically go 5 pounds plus in the canal. The water levels are perfect for launch sites in Macedon, Newark, Lyons, and Clyde.
Keep informed from the NYS Canal web for changes and restrictions with canal waters. Keep informed about 2021 canal hours. (There will be no fees for the 2021 canal boating season.) May 21st is the scheduling for the canal opening. Hours are 7 am till 5pm. Stay informed with the below web page.
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.
New York State is open for fishing and DEC encourages anglers to recreate locally at a nearby waterbody. New York’s lakes and streams offer great opportunities for fishing in a wide array of settings across the state. Even during the current COVID-19 public health crisis, getting outdoors and connecting with nature while angling in New York’s waters is a great way to help maintain mental and physical health.
Orleans County
This week’s fishing report provided by Capt. Bob Songin, Reel Excitement Charters
This weekend, we had some pretty good fishing despite getting beat up by the rough seas. Sunday, we caught a decent variety: a couple of big salmon, 2 year olds, matures, a steelhead and couple of cohoes. Monday was much better with a slight breeze on the lake. Started in fairly shallow 80-120 FOW and got some nice kings first thing in the morning but things slowed. So, we moved out to 250-300 FOW and things got better. We went past 300′ but found the 250-300 was better. Rigger: 65-95 down. Divers: 220-240, 400 coppers. We found meat was the best bait. Our best set up was a 10″ white double crush glow Spindoctor with A-TOM-MIK glow warship twinkie head. (I highly recommend it!) Spoons used were Gold 42 during overcast and Silver 42 when the sun was out.
