Greater Niagara Region
Frank Campbell
Despite some cloudy conditions, the full eclipse was still a sight to behold earlier this week. Except for the total eclipse between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m., fishing was good in the Niagara River and Lake Ontario.
Capt. Ryan Shea of Brookdog Fishing Company hit the upper river for the eclipse, and he did well with customers Steven and Ethan Mosher of Ossipee, NH, catching about 5 dozen smallmouth bass using drop shot tactics rigged with a 3-inch white flat worm. However, fishing shut down during the blackout. Meanwhile, in the lower river, Capt. Joe Srouji of Angler Edge Outdoors caught steelhead, lake trout, and smallmouth bass with his wife Crista on the day of the eclipse, using Kwikfish and minnows for trout; paddletails for bass. They drifted in awe during the total darkness as it became serene and quiet. Capt. Dave Scipione of Lewiston reported some great action for steelhead and brown trout with Justin Coulman of Derby and his 9-year-old son Jaxon. On the Niagara Bar, it was all brown trout with emerald shiners as the enticement off 3-way rigs. All the browns were full of smelt and shiners. In Devil’s Hole, it was all steelhead, using gold or chrome/chartreuse MagLips to get fish to hit. In the Niagara Gorge, Mike Ziehm of Niagara Falls hooked up with several steelhead using ¼-ounce white bucktail jigs up in the whirlpool section of the river. With the summertime river water levels now in place, water was faster and more turbulent. The water visibility was about 7 feet. Mike Rzucidlo of Niagara Falls caught steelhead off the NYPA Fishing Platform in the Devil’s Hole area casting jigs and spinners.
Out in Lake Ontario, Capt. Matt Yablonsky of Wet Net Sportfishing reports that the shoreline bite is as good as it can get right now. He enjoyed a great brown trout bite, king salmon bite AND lake trout bite earlier this week. Anywhere from 10 to 40 feet of water was good, all along the whole south shore was good. They also caught their first Coho salmon of the year. Kings came on Dreamweaver Super Slim spoons on riggers 5 to 10 feet down. Trout came off Rapala J-9 and J-11 sticks off the boards with firetiger being the best color pattern. Capt. Joe Oakes of Salmonboy Charters out of Wilson reports that fishing remains extremely good for him, too. He found fish – salmon, brown trout, and lake trout – from the shoreline to 100 feet of water. Spoons, sticks, and flasher-fly are all taking fish.
The Tenth Annual Niagara County Bullhead Tournament is underway this weekend, kicking off at 5 p.m. on Friday, April 12 and running through to 1 p.m. on April 14. Anglers 13 years of age and older must pay $10 to participate; kids 12 and under are free. The best two fish in total weight will win cash prizes for the adults. It is open to all Niagara County waters. The weigh station will be open Sunday only from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Wilson Conservation Club on Route 425 in Wilson. Call Eric at 628-6078 for more info.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Lake Ontario
The kings arrive this Thursday @ 10:30 behind Krenzer Marine for the net pen rearing project. Wayne County will receive 90,000 fish.
Currently, it’s brown trout time in Wayne County with some silver fish in the mix.
For browns head west from Sodus towards Hughes’ Marina. The browns are also hitting east towards Port Bay.
Fish in 10 to 15 fow for browns using Smithwick stickbaits. Fire Tiger color has work. If you go deeper try Michigan Stinger UV spoons. Some of the browns weighed 7 to 8 pounds.
The winds are calm today with a 70-degree air temperature predicted. The water temps in Rochester today is 43 degrees.
Bays
The perch are scattered, and some have spawned. It might be slow this week, however they will still be in the bays “chowing down” on shad.
Match the bait with some rubber white 2-to-3-inch Berkley PowerBait.
Fish the points in Sodus and Port Bays. The northside of Sodus near the breach has been productive. The Port Bay channel has a mix of panfish,
Docks for the launch sites will be scheduled to arrive sometime in April and before the May 1st walleye and pike opener.
Launch sites for Sodus: Next to the Coast Guard Station (till Memorial Day) and Bay Bridge Sport Shop. The water level in Sodus might make the Margarita dock an easier launch site. Check it out. It’s on your right on Route 14 just past Martin’s Marina.
Launch sites for Port Bay: Barrier bar road at the north end of West Port Bay Road and the south end DEC site.
Use caution at the Port Bay ramps because the docks have not arrived yet.
Erie Canal
Widewaters had some kayak anglers probably going after the tasty crappies on Sunday. Use bright small jigs and remember crappies are always suspended in the water column.
You can fish from a boat or the shoreline trails on the north side of the canal.
The bass season starts June 15th if you wish to keep your catch. Make sure the fish are 12 inches and the limit is five fish.
The official opening of the canal is May 17. 2024.
Anyone underway in a boat less than 21 feet in length anytime between November 1 and May 1 must wear a securely fastened life jacket.
Bait for fishing is available on the south end of Sodus at Davenports and Bay Bridge Sport Shop.
On Port Bay Jarvis Bait Farm is open on Brown Road. The signs are on East Port Bay Road at the junction of Brown Road.
Toadz Bait is near the end of West Port Bay Road.
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.
Oswego County
Fishing this week will be tough with big winds forecasted over the weekend and low water and heavy rains on the river. But hopefully this will lead to a water bump.
Salmon River, Pulaski NY
• Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
• Click Here for the Current CFS at Pineville
Fishing on the Salmon River really dropped off this week with the high temperatures.
Don’t be afraid to cover water! Overall the fish are really dropped out from the top of the system. The best areas are from 2a to the lake.
The best baits this week have been egg sacs in blue white and peach. Beads have been the most effective in sizes 8,10,12 mm. And the classic pink worm has been a dependable option as well.
Beads with a yellow base are working best, examples are “Lorax,” “No Name,” “Tangerine,” and “Steelhead Snot.”
Oswego River, Oswego NY
• Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
• Click Here for the Current CFS
We have finished with the Oswego River as of April 4th. We will resume reports again in late August.
Throughout the spring and summer, the Oswego River offers a variety of fishing opportunities, including panfish, bass, carp and walleye.
Year-Round Notice: There are mandatory personal flotation device zones on the river. 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 check out page 50 and 51 in our “Fishing and Hunting Guide” for safety information related to the Varick Dam, provided by Brookfield power.
Lake Ontario – Oswego, Mexico, Port Ontario NY
Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
Another week and another blast of high winds. This has led to tougher than average fishing conditions. At the time of writing this report we are getting gusts up to 50mph with high winds forecasted throughout the weekend. This will create some colored water to get the brown trout feeding.
There have been plenty of 2& 3yr old browns around. Stick baits in natural colors and patterns work great in the clear water and bright baits in the dirty water. Spoons on short cores are also a great way to target shallow trout. Stickbaits in black silver are consistent producers. And you can’t go wrong with a spoon that has a combination of black, green, glow and silver!
Free Oswego Fishing Guide
Click Here to Order a Free Guide
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.
Welcome to Oswego County – Watch the Video
Discover more at visitoswegocounty.com