Greater Niagara Region
Frank Campbell
Lake Ontario finally had a slowdown from the non-stop action the past month or so. Capt. Mike Johannes of On the Rocks Charters in Wilson, reports that a lake inversion forced him and other skippers to head offshore for more stable water conditions. On Sunday he started at the 24 line north of Wilson around 250 feet of water and trolled north to the 28 line around 400 feet of water to catch his fish – a mix of Chinook and Coho salmon, as well as some steelhead. He ran his riggers from 40 to 80 feet down, using free floating sliders while he trolled. High divers were back 175 and 200; his magnum divers were back 120 and 150 and managed to catch his largest king of the day at 22 pounds. His program offered a mixed bag of kings, Cohos, and steelhead and produced a 6-man limit for the day. Everything was caught on spoons. Dreamweaver’s Game Over, Hulk, and Purple UV Alewife were best, while Moonshine Raspberry Carbon-14 also caught fish. The water was starting to stabilize so action could be moving back closer to port. Capt. Dave Scipione of Lewiston hit the Niagara Bar and he found that the kings moved into shallower water. He fished in 90 to 100 feet of water, placed his spoons 80 feet down where he found 55-degree water. The stars of the show were green alewife, green jeans, and burnt toast spoons.
Good walleye fishing continues in the lower Niagara River according to Capt. Joe Marra of Niagara Rainbow Charters. Worm harnesses were fished off three-way rigs, using his trolling motor to move the baits fast enough to get the blades to spin. He was able to catch fish from Devil’s Hole to Lake Ontario. Capt. Dave Scipione of Lewiston found good success on walleyes along Stella Niagara. His best depth was 35 to 40 feet of water with his custom, pink-beaded work harnesses, catching six keeper fish and two shorts in just over an hour. The fish were hungry. Bigger walleyes were available on the Niagara Bar around the green buoy marker, again with worm harnesses. Bass fishing was a bit slower this week according to Capt. Jeff Draper of Grand Island, but it was still decent. Crawfish on three-way rigs or drop shot rigs with Z-man Trick Shotz in green pumpkin goby were hot baits. He averaged about 2-1/2 pounds per fish. Mike Rzucidlo of Niagara Falls fished from shore and did well on bass this week. He worked the Artpark area in waders and caught double-digit smallmouth bass on jigs. He also lost a gar on a rope fly. No walleyes yet, but he will be giving the night bite a try.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Lake Ontario
The Sodus Pro-Am was held this past weekend. It was a hot hot day; however, the lake was calm on both days of the tournament. There was no “blow off” days this year.
The 2024 Pro-Am had 27 pro and 36 am teams trolling the waters, searching for the king salmon that would bring prize money to the hardy anglers.
The salmon were found both east and west of Sodus Bay. The consistent bite was west near the Ginna Power Plant. The fish were found in 120 to 150 fow down 40 to 80 feet. They were hitting a mix of spoons, flasher flies, and meat rigs.
Results from the Pro-Am are on the link below.
Be careful if you’re on the water. Some serious weather patterns have been moving into our area during the afternoon hours. Use your radar app.
With this fantastic fishing make sure you sign up for the summer LOC Summer Derby. It starts this Saturday, June 29th. Maybe we will see a 40-pounder weighed.
Bays
Some Sodus Bay perch were caught near the northern breach and the channel. You need to get on the water early because of the summer boat traffic.
Bass are hitting everywhere in Sodus Bay. Work near the docks and the weedlines next to the points in the bay. Senko rigs, spinnerbaits, top water, and grubs have all caught bass.
Port Bay also has largemouth bass. Cast out your favorite rig at the south end of the bay. The bluegill catches are slowing down because the bay is turning murky. Some perch were caught off the points in the bay. The drop offs next to these locations are always a great place for perch and bass.
The Wayne County Youth Fishing Derby started June 21st and runs until July 28. Check out the web for more information.
The awards ceremony is August 4th at the Sodus Point Firehall. Stop by…it’s a lot of fun.
Erie Canal
The pedestrian bridge being transported by barge went through Wayne County waters recently. It’s on its way to Ralph Wilson Park in Buffalo. I wonder if the crew had a chance to cast for bass along the route. Probably not!!
Bass in the Widewaters are huge, Catch them by shore, boat, or kayak. Use spinner baits next to the south side of the canal.
Launch sites for Sodus: Bay Bridge Sport Shop. Launch at the Margaretta. 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. The north barrier bar road is very bumpy. Take it slow.
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.
Orleans County
Orleans County Sportfishing Coordinator Ron Bierstine:
Summer is here and the fishing is hot! Really so far it’s a continuation of the good action that started this spring. Nearly all anglers are having good or great outings in the Orleans County waters off the Oak. Hookups are common on hefty kings and now some immature fish are in the mix too. Good looking steelhead are also in the creel. Some anglers are practicing catch and release and where practical for any survivability maybe you too can practice some conservation minded fishing. Immature salmon and trout can be targeted as older and bigger trophies next year and after!
Charters and recs are all out there active on the open Lake Ontario. Since about the start of this month the fishing pressure has picked up. Can’t say though that the increase in boating traffic has put a damper on the action. Even last week’s midweek weather threats and wind didn’t seem to deter the bite all that much. Sure it might have scattered fish and bait some and sent the good temps slightly farther offshore, but on the backside now thru this week guys are mostly back into consistent action again. There was some heavier rains for the beginning part of this week and a forecasted chance of passing storms thru the midweek. After that, things look clearer and slightly cooler, but do head to the local weather and marine forecasts and/or take the good advice of your local charter captain for trip timing.
Most charter captains are busy running their trips but do give them a call to check for any open dates they may have for you.
Here’s some recent intel from the Mike D. family fishing team who enjoys multiple trips to the Orleans County waters. They’re serious about fish and fillet handling and appreciate how much harder a King or steelhead fights compared to a walleye!
“For the weekend our fish came in 200 – 300 fow. For the start of this week 300 – 400 fow was better for us. Bait depth was changeable but we mostly targeted the 70 – 85 ft down range. Magnum spoons and flasher/flies and meat rigs all pulled fish when we kept the trolling speed around 2.4 – 2.8 at the probe. There’s some floating debris probably from the latest weather and the fleas are mild to moderate.”
Here’s hoping you can get in on the Orleans County salmon and trout action soon!
Oswego County
After four or five days of calm weather the fish became a little less aggressive. But the storms that came through this past week have got the fish active again!
Lake Ontario – Oswego
Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
The best salmon fishing has been from 100-250’. Temperatures have been moving up and down with all the storms passing through this past week. We recommend finding 53* and set your rigs below that level.
Overall:
80-120’ has been the best
350-500’ coppers
225-300’ divers
Meat rigs have been taking a lot of fish. But many anglers have just been using spoons with great success!
Lake Ontario – Oswego, Mexico, Port Ontario NY
Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
The brown fishing in Mexico Bay has been nothing short of fantastic! The best bite has been in 70 to 90 feet of water. We recommend fishing 5 to 10 feet off the most active fish.
Standard and stingray sized spoons have been most productive. Darker colors and glows early, with brighter colors, like chartreuse, when the sun comes out.
A few kings have been mixed in with the browns to keep things interesting. Those looking for salmon have been finding the most luck by running west of 9-Mile.
Tight lines everyone!
Free Oswego Fishing Guide
The updated Oswego County Fishing and Hunting Guide is now available online and in print. The guide features a new cover and an expanded listing of fishing guides and charters.
The 67-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.