Greater Niagara Region
Frank Campbell
The Roger Tobey Memorial Steelhead Contest, hosted by the Niagara River Anglers Association, is set to hit the water on Saturday, Feb. 26 from sunrise to 2 p.m. Eligible waters include the Lower Niagara River and Lake Ontario, as well as the tributaries of Lake Ontario. Cash awards will be handed out for the top three steelhead, as well as the largest brown trout. You must be a member of the NRAA. Entry fee is $20 for the contest plus $5 for the biggest brown trout. NRAA membership is $20. Remember that everyone on board a boat must all be entered in the contest. Sign up the morning on the derby at Lewiston Landing adjacent to the launch ramp, where the fish will be weighed in. Sign up in advance at Creek Road Bait and Tackle in Lewiston to be eligible for an early bird prize. For more information contact Ken Jackson at 946-6810.
What the conditions of the lower Niagara River and area tributaries will be this weekend is anyone’s guess. If you want to get on the water in the lower Niagara River, your best bet is to fish upriver of the NYPA power plant for the cleanest water – either from shore or boat. Mike Ziehm of Niagara Falls hit the shoreline on Monday and Tuesday and did decent with steelhead and lake trout using orange and white jigs, as well as his homemade No. 5 spinners. Capt. Chris Cinelli of Grand Island reports that the waters are still stained below the plants. Devil’s Hole is running clear and the best bet for fishing from a boat. He was getting some lakers on big emeralds and Kwikfish, fished off 3-way rigs. Cinelli was also catching some steelhead on pink egg sacs and minnows, again off 3-way set-ups. More rain and wind are expected this week and we will have to see what Mother Nature dishes out. Last week, before the storms hit Western New York, Mark Romanack of the Fishing 411 TV Show met up with Capt. Frank Campbell of Lewiston to film a show for the World Fishing Network. They were the first boat into Devil’s Hole and found that the gorge shielded them from the wind. The first drift was a 10-pound chrome steelhead, followed by a 12-pound steelie that was colored up. The next 6-plus hours of fishing produced a mix of lake trout and steelhead. They caught lakers up to 15 pounds. Minnows were by far the top bait, with a No. 6 Eagle Claw hook. They used the “match the hatch” approach because of the large number of small smelt in the system. The trip was cut short, but it was a quality show.
The only report on the upper Niagara River comes from Tommy Ortolano of Lake Effect Bait and Tackle in Tonawanda. Lake trout and walleye are still cooperating at the foot of Ferry Street.
Streams for the most part are high and muddy off Lake Ontario. Since we received more rain today, that isn’t going to change any time soon. Up to 5 inches of snow is in the forecast for Friday.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Streams
Currently, it’s 50 degrees and rain is on its way. There are breaks in Maxwell Creek, and some stream anglers were out Friday and Saturday, however, we haven’t heard of many steelhead being caught.
Lake Ontario tributary regulations
Three fish in combination and not to include more than one Rainbow Trout (or Steelhead) and One Brown Trout.
Bays
The ice on all the bays has been at least 12 inches, however, with 50 degrees days and rain predicted solid ice will start to melt.
With our constant wind gusting at 35 to 40 mph shoreline ice has been breaking up. Always use caution, especially close to the shore and next to incoming tribs to the bays. Flooding streams will undermine ice.
The good news is the perch bite was strong over the weekend. Larger “thumpers” were coming through the ice near Third Creek. (Shaker Road) Use glow jigs tipped with a few spikes. The fish have been in 20 to 25 feet of water.
Port Bay has the same situation with sections of shore ice being melted by warmer temperatures and gusty winds.
During ice-out, the perch will be spawning because of warmer bay temperatures. Get your boats ready.
The limit on perch is 50 fish with no minimum length. Remember not to leave anything on the ice when you leave.
All persons on board a recreational vessel less than 21 feet in length (including canoes, kayaks, and rowboats) must wear a USCG–approved PFD from November 1 to May 1.
Erie Canal
The current on the canal has created open areas. Be careful ice fishing. Widewaters had solid ice over the weekend, but that can disappear rapidly with our fluctuating temperatures.
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.
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 report is from Ron Bierstine from Oak Orchard Tackle & Lodge:
The area has been in a bit of a warmup since the end of the past weekend. The forecast is continued warm thru today and tonight with rain likely today/tonight. Rainfall could amount to 0.5 inch or more. After that for end of week and weekend, the forecast is back to cold temps and another round of measurable snow. There is still plenty of snow to melt like in the woods and protected spots and some ice and flooded fields. Thanks to this forecast, flows in the Oak and other areas smaller tribs will be (again) on the way to high, blown and dirty. Flows in the Oak are already on the rise today thanks to increasing overflow water. Any rainfall is really going to get things cranking and water color this time is likely to get dirty. Thanks to the flash freeze after the end of last week’s high water, even with the overflow cranking, flows did retreat quickly and never really got too dirty to fish in the Oak. Guys kept fishing, especially in the turbine channel (flows can only get so high). The rest of the Oak, like after the confluence, were high water fishable by at least this past Sunday thru about yesterday as the overflow levels diminished. There would have been a similar few-day high/stained fishable water window in the smaller area tribs too. So if you’re following this the moral of the story is that the weather is up and down and therefore so are the water levels and fishable conditions. For now in the near term low and clear flows are not in the cards. So when even a reasonable high and stained water window presents itself, that may be the best time to fish. All the water, at least in the fishable mile or so stretch below the dam on the Oak, is open and ice free.
Other areas smaller tribs should be open and ice free in the upstream reaches with some lower river ice cover or jams. That may well all blow out after this latest round of precipitation. Its not likely to freeze back up significantly even with cold temps. On the Oak thru the so far not too dirty turbine flows of today, guys have been scoring some fresher steelhead mostly nearer the dam. There could be some fresh fish migrations in the rest of the downstream river course and the other area smaller tribs anytime now thru the spring on these high water events. Try to anticipate dropping and clearing flows and be on the water when reasonable conditions come together!