Greater Niagara Region
Frank Campbell
Salmon fishing in the lower Niagara River is probably as good as it’s going to get for this year. Charter boats are averaging 3 to 5 fish per day, with some exceeding those numbers. However, there are only a limited number of charters taking advantage of the salmon action. Treated egg skein fishing along the bottom on three-way rigs is the best approach.
Lisa Drabczyk with Creek Road Bait and Tackle in Lewiston reports that Chuck Booker spinners are working from shore in the gorge and off the NYPA platform. Size No. 4’s weighing a half ounce did well this week, with hot colors being green, chartreuse, and purple. Glow with dots was also catching a few fish. Drabczyk noted that eggs are working, too, maybe even better than spinners. Sacs and skein are both producing fish from the shore along Devil’s Hole, as well as the NYPA fishing platform. Artpark action is picking up, for both salmon and some trout. Mike Rzucidlo of Niagara Falls has been using his own No. 4 and No. 5 homemade spinners to take king salmon, steelhead, and lake trout. Yes, the lake trout have started to move in but the season is closed through Nov. 30. Please release them swiftly and safely. Winds up on Lake Erie this week have started to affect the visibility of the water. Rzucidlo noted about 4-5 feet of visibility earlier this week. With rain in the forecast for Thursday, look for a bit more turbid water. Pete Wrobel of Niagara Falls had a surprise catch in the lower Niagara River this past week, reeling in a pink salmon while fishing from shore with a 10 mm bead. It was released to fight another day. He credits his buddy Reuben with a great net job to get the fish in for the photo.
Drabczyk also noted that bass are still available downriver, but not too many people have been fishing there. Matt Wilson of Wheatfield was in the upper Niagara River over the weekend, and he caught a surprise 14-pound channel catfish on a drop shot. Bass were found from Strawberry Island to Beaver Island in the flats. He found that slow rolling a single swimbait and tossing the A-rig produced the best fish. Emerald shiners are back and heavy in the river. When you see them on your graph, Wilson says it’s time to pitch single swimbaits – the smaller the better.
Karen Evarts at The Boat Doctors in Olcott reports that browns came into Burt Dam on Monday, but they were gone on Tuesday. Salmon are not in yet in any numbers yet, but some are being taken in the creek and the harbor under low light conditions and at night. They are leaping all over the creek and harbor in Olcott, and small boaters seem to be doing the best, even catching some fresh silvers. The piers are okay, but not phenomenal, says Evarts. Hopefully the rain will pull some fresh fish in. A few boats are working the lake off the piers for staging fish and catching a few salmon. Some browns and steelhead are staging, too. Wilson pier action has been slow. Some pike are being caught in the harbors for those targeting them.
Oswego County
- Salmon, season is well underway! We have been seeing a trickle of fish into the SR the last week. Hopefully the big rain coming will draw in the next big run.
- The Oswego levels have dropped leading to some great fishing opportunities the past week. We expect further changes to come soon.
- We interviewed RTB Bait & Tackle owner, Ritchie Batchelor. See his statement below.
- Watch “The Voice of the Salmon River” on Facebook or YouTube.
Salmon River
Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
Fish have been entering the river at a better pace than the last week. This really helps the salmon spread throughout the entire river. But the upper river has the highest concentrations.
The water is starting to cool down and fish have been starting to set up in their spawning area. Therefore, concentrate on the holes and gravel.
The best baits have been egg imitations in a variety of colors. Red, orange, chart and blue. Jensen eggs, Fire Balls, and soft beads.
Popular flies include: glo bugs, comets and Eztaz. Cheese, orange, magenta and red all being popular.
Another popular technique that is starting to catch on is running plugs from shore. If you want to try, remember the regulations, including one single hook only.
Oswego River
Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
Fishing on the Oswego has been great this week! Many anglers have been having great success from the lock to the Dam. Anglers swinging flies in the flats have been having incredible success. Those heading back from the Dam have had steady action. Wall anglers have been catching fish, at a slower pace this week.
The flows are at a low level, but we are expecting big rain this week so flows should be coming up.
Popular baits are the same as used on the salmon river when fishing the shallow waters.
When casting from the wall the best baits include deep diving Thundersticks and Bay Rat in bright colors such as Fire Tiger, uv Tiger and Glow Green.
Free Fishing Guide
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The 68-page guide includes a detailed overview of fishing opportunities on eastern Lake Ontario, Oneida Lake, the Oswego and Salmon rivers and a variety of other tributaries, as well as the more than 40,000 acres of public lands available for hunting.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Streams
Maxwell still has only a trickle. We need rainfall to move the current. It’s the same for all the other smaller tribs in the county.
If we can increase the flow the browns and steelhead will enter. Of course, the other problem is the low levels of Lake Ontario. Higher levels could help smaller streams open to the lake.
Remember pier fishing because those channels of water will bring in trout and late kings. Consider them large streams.
Currently, cast out Cleo’s and Kastmasters at the Sodus Bay pier. The browns will hit red spoons. The kings are not feeding and will also hit spoons. It aggravates them.
Lake Ontario tributary regulations:
Three fish in combination and not to include more than one Rainbow Trout (or Steelhead) and One Brown Trout.
Bays
Some perch are starting to feed near the north end of Sodus Bay. Look for them near the islands and the breach at the north of the bay. Use white rubber…2-inch and search for the schools of larger fish.
The bass are at the south end of Sodus Bay and near the weeds at the south end of Port Bay. Launch at Bay Bridge Sport Shop for Sodus and the north end of Port Bay at the DEC ramp.
Erie Canal
Widewaters continues to be the hot spot for bass fishing on the canal. Launch at the county park west of Newark and fish both east and west between the locks.
Kayak fishing the canal has become popular with anglers. There is a canoe-kayak launch at the Widewaters Park.
More Info: canals.ny.gov/boating/hours.html
• Keep informed from the NYS Canal web for changes and restrictions with canal waters.
• Keep informed about 2022 canal hours.
• There are no tolls or fees for recreational use of the Canal system this year.
Notable Freshwater Fishing Regulation Changes
The following list offers a summary of the most notable fishing regulation changes resulting from the adopted rulemakings described above.
- New statewide regulation for rainbow trout, brown trout, and splake in lakes and ponds. The season will now be open year-round, with a five-fish daily limit, any size, with a “no more than two longer than 12 inches” harvest rule.
- Statewide Atlantic salmon regulations will now allow for a year-round open season.
- Ice fishing is permitted on all waters in New York unless specifically prohibited with the exception of Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Lewis, St. Lawrence, Warren, and Washington counties where previous rules remain.
- New specific dates replaced floating dates for statewide season openers to include:
- May 1 – Walleye, Northern Pike, Pickerel, and Tiger Muskellunge.
- June 1 – Muskellunge. (Note that in 2022, DEC will allow for the fishing of muskellunge beginning the last Saturday in May to accommodate previously planned fishing trips);and
- June 15 – Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass.
- A five-fish daily walleye limit in Oneida Lake.
- A new regulation to limit the growth of the walleye population in Skaneateles Lake. No daily possession limit; 12-inch minimum size limit, open year-round.
- The statewide sunfish daily harvest limit has been reduced from 50 to 25 fish: and
- The statewide minimum size limit for crappie has been increased from nine inches to ten inches.
Orleans County
Ron Bierstine from Oak Orchard Tackle & Lodge brings us this Stream Fishing report:
A nice mid week weather period now after the holiday weekend with clear and warm days forecast today and tomorrow. Fishing pressure picking up some at the dam with downstream guys pretty well spread out. Good chance of rain on Thursday carrying over with gloom on Friday and possibility of 0.5 – 1 inch of precipitation. That amount of rain would definitely be a good thing. It won’t break the drought conditions but it may just perk up the action in the area smaller tribs. I would doubt we are heading toward any kind of blow out, but a little stain to the water would sure be a good thing too.
A fair number of Kings are loitering in downstream areas on the Oak with skein drifters still into them up at least until yesterday. More fish are holding and staging now in fast water areas below the dam. So anglers can mix it up with that turbine tunnel action at the dam or they can work their way downstream for more traditional drifts thru holes and runs. Nice to see some chances spread thru the watercourse now with fish that are all mostly in good shape. A decent pair of polarized glasses should reveal pods of fish holding around gravel spots. Look for the loitering downstream fish to continue to move up making for better upstream action. Other hook ups we’ve heard about in the Oak include a few browns, some smallish Atlantics and a good sized steelhead or two. Any big steelhead this time of the year in relatively warm water are going to be a challenge to land!