Greater Niagara Region
Frank Campbell
Bob Redfern’s Outdoor Magazine came to town this week and they put a show in the can brown trout fishing on the Niagara Bar in short order. When the salmon fishing is a bit finicky during this transition time of year, brown trout can be a great second choice when you need to catch fish. Capt. Frank Campbell of Lewiston took Redfern to 50-to-60-foot depths and tried a different tactic. He used a three-way rig with a drop sinker to bounce bottom. His lure was a MagLip plug as they chugged along with a bow-mount trolling motor – just enough to give the lure some great action. It was enough to produce double digit browns on Monday of this week. Capt. Justin Warriner of North Tonawanda has been having some success by fishing at night off creek mouths like 18 Mile Creek at Olcott and casting spoons. So far, he has been averaging around six salmon hookups a night, and it’s still early in the run. We will see what happens once water is released from the Erie Canal into four different tributaries on Sept. 19. One of those creeks is 18 Mile Creek. Karen Evarts at the Boat Doctors and Tackle Barn in Olcott reports that some mature salmon are being caught by trollers using J-plugs, but you must work for them. Out deep are more stable conditions for a mix of salmon and trout. Off the piers, the occasional salmon is being reported but mostly it’s been 5 to 10-pound brown trout on spoons, spinners, and eggs under a float. Perch are being caught in both Wilson and Olcott harbors on minnows and crawlers.
In the Niagara River, Mike Ziehm of Niagara Falls was 2 for 5 on mature kings over the weekend casting spinners in deeper water in the gorge from shore. He also caught walleyes and smallmouth bass. Matt Wilson of Lewiston reports weeds are finally letting loose in the lower river and he found bass are hugging shorelines where weeds let up a bit. He was casting a Strike King red eye shad lipless crankbait, sitting his boat in 18 feet to 22 feet casting into that weed edge. He did see some salmon jumping, too. In the upper river, Wilson ran into a tough fall transition bite. However, after a couple of the bass spit out crayfish after boating them, he switched his presentation to bottom baits like tubes, Ned rigs, and jigs with Great Lakes finesse crab baits. He managed to hit a couple dozen bass after that move. Normally, a drop shot is one of his best tactics above Niagara Falls.
Orleans County
Orleans County Sportfishing Coordinator Ron Bierstine:
Courtesy Capt. John Oravec
Wow, what a stretch of warm and dry weather lately. Its maybe the driest period we’ve had all summer. High pressure is in control with calm or light onshore winds, warm if not hot temps and mostly clear and sunny. The near term forecast is pretty much more of the same! Trollers are primarily looking for staging Kings but are up against the calm and clear water conditions. Tributary action is starting off with a few fish in the Oak, but no great concentrations yet in any one spot. Pier head action is starting out slowly. A few fish are crashing around like at the Bridges, especially in the low light. There are likely a few fish at the Waterport dam with most of the early running fish moving through the downstream fast water stretches and going straight to the dam.
According to Mike Grager of Get Hooked Charters “fish are in 50 – 70 fow. They are biting best the last hour of dusk and the first hour of dawn. J-plugs and flasher flies and some spoons have all produced. The water is clear thanks to no real chop or wave action for days.”
Capt. John Oravec of Tightlines Charters says “there are mature salmon bound for the Oak. The staging hawgs are in 45 – 70 fow. Light winds are keeping the fish at depths of 40 – 50 ft. Best rigs are paddle/flies and spinny fly combos off riggers. There are bonus lakers and browns coming off the bottom too. We recently boated a 6 fish catch including two 24 lb Kings. Outlook is stable weather with steady action!”
New Rules at the Waterport Dam
For anglers who will be fishing at the dam this fall, Brookfield Renewable Power will be enforcing some new rules at the Waterport site. See the new signage posted at the dam below. One main take-away is that there will be no overnight access. Anglers therefore can no longer camp on site or claim spots along the fence by camping out in chairs. Brookfield wants to clean up some of the unruly behavior sometimes exhibited there and make it an inviting and fun place for all anglers. We know the majority of folks fishing at the dam want to do the right thing for the private property access for fishing. Lets all treat the opportunity to fish there with respect so that we can all enjoy it for the future! We anticipate some changes as well at the NYSDEC parking area. Stay tuned for more info on that to follow.
Oswego County
Lake fishing is wrapping up, but there are still a couple good weeks ahead. The river has been tough going lately with the high temperatures, sunny weather and lack of rain. Hopefully the weather pattern changes soon.
Lake Ontario – Mexico
Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
Kings and cohos can be found from 60-120’ of water, from Oswego all the way north of the Salmon River
Flasher flies and J-plugs have been the best offerings.
Tight lines everyone!
Salmon River, Pulaski NY
• Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
• Click Here for the Current CFS at Pineville
The lower stretches have been underwhelming as of late, considering the current conditions. The best bet has been heading upriver to the Sportsman’s Pool through the Trestle area. The rally runs seem to have settled in this area.
Oswego River, City of Oswego
Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
Fishing on the Oswego has been on the slower side. Water temperatures in the low 70’s don’t lead to good fish movement. The salmon that do enter the river system will migrate as far up river as possible. So, make your way to the dam to find the most fish.
And be sure to read the recent news release about fishing access on the West Riverwalk.
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.