Greater Niagara Region
Frank Campbell
The waters off Wilson and Olcott are finally starting to stabilize. Capt. Tim Sylvester of Tough Duty Charters reports that he had a nice king salmon bite over the weekend and into Monday of this week, 70-85 feet down over 450 feet of water. Spoons on the riggers, meat rigs on the divers and long lines off the back of the boat. He was using 300- and 400-foot coppers with flasher-flies and meat rigs, with both working well. Steelhead, coho salmon and kings were hitting Sunday with a more mature king bite on Monday. He was fishing out deep off Olcott in 450-foot depths and beyond. According to Karen Evarts at the Boat Doctors, greens and chartreuse color patterns for bait heads, flies and spoons were hot so far this week. Ray Mahtook of Youngstown was fishing out of Wilson over the weekend with some friends from New Jersey, including their two grandsons Nick and Tom Destefano at 12 and 15 years of age. They had a blast catching a mixed back of Chinook and Coho salmon, as well as steelhead from 325 to 400 feet of water.
To show how much things are messed up this year, some early king salmon were caught in the Niagara River the last week or 2 off the NYPA fishing platform in the gorge, unusually early and probably due to a recent cold-water surge after a wind event on Lake Erie. As far as other action in the lower river, Mike Rzucidlo of Niagara Falls reports it has been the same bite for the last 3 weeks. He has been catching 1 to 3 walleyes and 5-6 smallmouth bass casting jigs or spinners. The water has a bit of color to it with about 4-5 feet of visibility. Lisa Drabczyk with Creek Road Bait and Tackle in Lewiston says that the crab bite is picking up for bass this week, from Lewiston to the Niagara Bar. A few walleyes are also being caught by boaters in the river targeting them. The Niagara River Anglers still have a few openings for a kid fishing contest age 12 and under on August 14 at the club’s nature preserve in Porter. If you are interested, call Paul Jackson at 998-8910.
August 20 is a big trigger date for Niagara Falls USA. In Lake Ontario, the Fall Lake Ontario Counties Trout and Salmon Derby will kick off on August 20 and run through Labor Day. Check out www.loc.org. The Reelin’ for a Cure ladies’ salmon and trout tournament is slated for August 20 out of Wilson and Olcott. The website is www.reelinforacure.com. And finally, get ready for an all-new Greater Niagara Fish Odyssey Derby to be held in Orleans, Niagara, and Erie counties August 20 to Sept. 5. It’s nearly double the days of fishing action and the new Fish Chaos app will take care of the leaderboard and the registrations. Check out www.fishodyssey.net or the Fish Odyssey Facebook page.
Oswego County
Report is Courtesy of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning
Lake conditions have been very windy over the last week, with lots of changing wind directions. The last few days have been calmer. We look forward to more favorable conditions in the next few days.
The following report is courtesy of Captain Andy Bliss of Cold Steel Sportfishing.
Fishing out of the port of Oswego has started to really heat up for Salmon within the last week.
After a weekend of unstable winds, we were unsure how our fishing conditions would be. Fortunately for Oswego, 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.
A distinct thermocline has finally developed but it has been moving 10-20’ every day.
Keys to our success can be credited to ATOMMIK meat rigs behind Stinger Flasher and spin doctors. Specifically, lance 2 face, white green dot & kryptonite. With davis destroyer and warship meat rigs.
We have been catching fish from 70-120 down.
Brown trout fishing has been tougher this week but with the influx of salmon, nobody has minded.
Mexico bay has seen an invasion of salmon. Unfortunately, they aren’t interested in biting. But the time is coming. Over the next few week things will be heating up!
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Lake Ontario
It’s salmon time in Wayne County. Try waters straight out from Sodus Bay trolling west to Bear Creek.
Temperature breaks have been changing all last week. Try 90 to 200fow with breaks from 60 to 90 feet.
Meat rigs are working and green glow UV spoons. Divers are out 300 with #2 setting. Look for the temp breaks and the bait.
No windy weather patterns are predicted this week so now is the time to catch 30-pound kings.
Bays
Bass tourneys have been taking place on Sodus and Port Bays. The largemouth are hitting Senko rigs. Whatever you use make sure it’s weedless, especially in Sodus Bay where the weeds are everywhere.
Northern pike are hitting between the islands in Sodus Bay. Pike will stay under weed cover and then strike out for bait. Fish 10 to 15 feet deep.
Perch are still in Port Bay near the channel and in 10 feet deep in Lake Ontario. Fish drop-offs and rocky bottoms using perch eyes and spikes tipped on 2-inch white minnows. Fish off the bottom because the gobies are great bait stealers.
For Port Bay anglers, launch on the north barrier bar off West Port Bay Road. The road is bumpy so trailer your boat slowly. The south DEC ramp is closed.
The Wayne County Youth Derby is over, and the final leaderboard has all the information and fish caught by the young anglers.
The 2021 New York State fishing guide can be found at https://www.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.
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 canal water is lower than last week making launching easier. From the shore, fish near the locks where the water is stirred-up from boat traffic.
Bass, crappies, bluegills, perch and sunnies can be caught in the canal. In the deeper pools you can also hook large catfish. Use shrimp bait for the cats.
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.
I often fish from shore along the wall upstream of Lock 8 of the Mohawk River in Rotterdam, NY. It seems that every weekend there are many bass boat operators that come racing down river at very high speeds, creating huge waves which are often coming over the top of the wall. Then the anglers in the boat start throwing their lines right in front of where I am fishing. A few times these guys have tangled my line from their boats and cut it off. Exchanging words with them is pointless. While they’re waiting to get through the lock, they fish with their gas motors running, spewing fumes into the air. I have even witnessed more than one person dumping trash overboard. Not all of the fisherman are like this, but there are enough that are disrespectful of the waterway and other people who use it.