Greater Niagara Region
Frank Campbell
Brown trout action is starting to pick up along the Lake Ontario shoreline according to several trollers. From the Niagara Bar to Olcott, there has been some pretty good brown trout fishing this year according to Capt. Matt Yablonsky of Wet Net Charters. Most of the fish have been “cookie cutter” browns in the 2–4-pound range. Best baits for Yablonsky have been 3-inch stickbaits and Dream Weaver Super Slim spoons. Goby patterns have been best. Focus your efforts in 8-12 feet of water. Best lead lengths have been 30-60 feet back for spoons on riggers down 5 feet. When running boards, put your lures 100-150 feet back for sticks. Best lures have been the Junior Challengers in Ladybug and Brown trout.
Some trout have been hitting offshore in the Niagara gorge according to Mike Ziehm of Niagara Falls. He has been doing decent on his homemade jigs and No. 5 white and chartreuse spinners. He nailed two steelhead and six lake trout and caught two out-of-season walleyes that were immediately released before the weekend and a couple steelies on Monday. He reports that there was still a bit of ice in the river. Take note that there is still a large ice bridge below Niagara Falls. When it goes, look out. Water visibility was around three feet on Monday. Capt. Chris Cinelli of Grand Island reports that most of the river ice has cleared up for now. There is still some ice on Erie off Hamburg Beach, but we may not see that in the river. River water was very dirty this past weekend but cleared up nicely by Sunday. Local guides will start fishing mid-week again unless the ice bridge goes. Guys are getting perch around the marinas on Grand Island, as well as along River Road, in the upper river. There is quite a bit of floating debris throughout the system. Remember that the NYPA fishing facilities are now open. Call 286-6662 for updates.
A sure sign of spring is the Annual Niagara County Bullhead Tournament, slated to be held from 5 p.m. on April 8 to 1 p.m. on April 10. Entry fee is $10 for age 13 and older for a 100 percent cash payout. Junior anglers ages 12 and under are free with merchandise prizes. The tournament is based on the weight of an angler’s best two bullhead and it is open to any Niagara County waters. The tiebreaker will be the length of those two fish. The official weigh-in will take place on Sunday morning from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Wilson Conservation Club in Wilson. Register for the contest at CMC Auto, on Lake Street, in Wilson. No boats. For more info, contact Eric at 628-6078. Hyde Park Lake, Gill Creek and Oppenheim Park Pond are now stocked with trout. Members of LOTSA will be holding their first meeting of the year on April 14 at the North Amherst Fire Hall, 2200 Tonawanda Creek Road, Amherst. A fishing flea market will kick things off from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., followed by a panel of speakers on spring king salmon fishing tips.
Oswego County
Report is Courtesy of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning
Lake Ontario Report
Courtesy of Captain Andy Bliss, of Chasin’ Tail Adventures
Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
The browns are here and lake conditions have been favorable this week making for some great fishing!
The best technique this time of year is running planer boards with shallow diving stickbaits and spoons. Bright colored baits have been working well in the dirty water, with naturals producing in the clearer patches.
We’ve heard that stickbaits in Baby bass, Citric Shad , and Firetiger are doing well. Our standard stinger recommendations have been: Artic Ice, Doctor, Circus Freak, Frog and Lances-2-Face.
We recommend trolling at speeds of 2.2-2.7 mph.
Salmon River Report:
Courtesy of Captain Zach Eason of Blue Line Adventures Guide Service
Click Here to see the CFS at Pineville
The flow had been holding steady this week but the water has gone up. Water temperatures have been in the mid to high 30s.
The fishing on the Salmon River has been up and down. We have worked hard for our bites and have been able to find fish every trip. Our go to setups while float fishing have been bigger baits. With the river being a bit stained, we have been fishing 12 mm beads in brighter colors such as chartreuse and brighter natural colors. Spawn sacs tied in white, pink, and chartreuse have also been producing well. With the occasional plug bite helping produce a few fish.
The key to success has been to cover water and target areas such as known steelhead spawning grounds. We also recommend to keep changing your baits and colors throughout the day.
Oswego River Report
Courtesy of Captain Stephen Ernye of Lake Run Fly & Guide Service
Click Here to see the CFS at Oswego River
Water levels and weather have been fluctuating quite a bit this past week and the bite on the river has been no different. Some days much better than others, but it’s hard to predict. With rain in the forecast today, we expect the flows to increase, so plan accordingly and stay safe. The upper river is holding mainly steelhead with a few smallmouth bass starting to show up. Anglers fishing the lower end are seeing brown trout, bass, and steelhead.
Beads, eggs sacs, and jigs under floats are all taking fish. For those fly fishing, streamers and egg patterns are also doing well.
Year-Round Notice: There are mandatory personal flotation device zones on the river. Visit visitoswegocounty.com for more information. The Oswego Fire Department offers loaner life jackets at no charge through its “Loaner for Life” program. For more information contact the east fire station by calling 315-343-2161 or Click here for the Brookfield Varick Fish Safely brochure.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Lake Ontario
Wayne County charters have started their season and the good news is that the browns are more abundant than last year.
The relentless wind has created havoc with Lake Ontario, however Sunday and Monday the waves diminished for the early spring trollers.
Fish the mudlines both east and west of Sodus Bay. The bt’s were in 10 to 15 fow. Use Bay Rat SS (short shallow) stickbaits or if you go with spoons try anything that glows.
Some kings have been in the mix, fishing waters near Pultneyville.
The Coast Guard Station launch is open at Sodus Point. The Bear Creek launch will not be opened until Memorial Day.
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 Port Bay fishing has been slow. Wintry weather has kept water temps in the high 30’s. Some perch were caught at the south end of the bay. The West Port Road (DEC) launch is the best place to put-in.
Sodus Bay perch have been caught near the northwest side near Martin’s Tidesides Marina (Arneys old Marina)
Perch have been caught with glow jigs tipped with spikes.
The limit on perch is 50 fish with no minimum length.
Remember you need to be wearing your PFD until May 1st.
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
Anglers were fishing the Widewaters section of the canal. You can launch at the county park west of Newark.
Crappies were caught near the Port Gibson bridge fishing from the shore. New DEC regulations (effective April 1st) for crappies is now a 10-inch minimum length.
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:
Here we go on a nice warm up again for more seasonal spring like temps this week. Then the forecast is cooler again in the 40’s° for the upcoming weekend. Warmer temps are tempered some by cooling lake breezes. Chance of rain showers are hit and miss thru the end part of the week. Some rain now on the frontside of this latest warm up wouldn’t be a bad thing to bring the trib flows back up and add some color to the water. The next spate of water could bring in the fresh spring steelhead looking for warmer water. One warm water 40-50°F hook-up is worth a half dozen 32 point something F hook-ups!
For now flows in the Oak are something like a notch less then medium and going clear. No big concentration of fish in any one spot that we know of, except for the stranded for now overflow fish. Those fish deserve a chance to immigrate back out to the Lake if caught and released back into the turbine channel. Through the past weekend and beginning part of this week, guys reported a few hook-ups by either working the holes, the dam, or swinging spawning staging spots. Look for more fish going to gravel on the no doubt water temp warm up this week. Look for some hook-ups by covering that different water and putting in a few hours. A brown or two mixed in.
Other area smaller tribs are dropping back toward low and clear and warming thru this week. A spate of water there too might drop back fish to downstream spots where guys are drifting and also bring on the last of the fresh run fish. Suckers here and there will entertain you, depending upon your pouty lips perspective and more and more bass will be in the mix too. Look for calmer winds on the backside of choppy Lakeshore conditions that leave that semi stained water in range of the pier head and land lubber caster. Small boat civilian trollers can now launch at the open NYS launch on the west side of the rivermouth!
Pen Rearing Project 2022: Fish Delivery
We received 10,000 steelhead and 113,500 salmon today from the DEC as part of the Pen Rearing Project to keep the lake stocked. Thank you to the DEC, the volunteers who assembled the pens, coordinators and Ernst’s Lake Breeze Marina for the use of their boat slips/docks this Spring.