Greater Niagara Region
Frank Campbell
Cool weather and rain are just what the doctor ordered for local salmon and trout fishermen. Karen Evarts with the Boat Doctors and Tackle Barn in Olcott reports that salmon that were stacked up off the mouth of 18 Mile Creek have started to make the run to Burt Dam and fish were snapping Tuesday morning to the delight of anglers. Treated egg skein or egg imitations under a float are working for drifters at the dam and casters off the pier are using spoons, spinners, and rattlebaits. In the harbor and up the creek, try drifting some treated salmon eggs under a float from your kayak or small boat to find deeper fishing holes that harbor salmon.
Out in the lake, there are salmon and trout still available, but weather will dictate whether you can make it out or not. Capt. Joe Oakes of Salmonboy Charters ended his lake fishing season this past week and found a good bite for steelhead on spoons in the top 60 feet over 400 plus feet of water. However, salmon – both mature and immature fish – seem to be missing in action.
In the Niagara River, Capt. Jim Gordon of Appleton has been working hard for salmon in Devil’s Hole and it has paid off with 3 or 4 fish a day for customers. Treated egg skein fished off three-way rigs is the way to go. Shore casters are using spinners and spoons to catch some salmon, trout, walleye and smallmouth bass.
Tommy Holycross of Wheatfield reports that fishing off the NYPA fishing platform has been slow. Jigging spoons in silver/blue seem to be working best, but that is no guarantee. Power Authority turbines aren’t helping the usual flow either. There are very few center pinners this year. With the weather change, that could help matters this week.
Capt. Dave Scipione of Lewiston reports catching a few salmon in Devil’s Hole early and then switching gears to head down river for walleye and bass. He did manage to catch several nice smallmouth using crayfish and shiners in Devil’s Hole, as well as in Stella and Joe Davis drifts. However, bass fishing has been tough. Bass and walleye fishing has been hit or miss according to Capt. Joe Srouji of Angler Edge Outdoors. Winds have been a huge factor this past week. Big south winds made drifting difficult as the river was just too fast. On the other hand, big north winds and your boat is crawling. Search for manageable water with some form of wind block. There are fish everywhere in the system. Choose drifts where you can use wind to your advantage. Boat control is key. Use your trolling motor to increase your speed or slow you down whenever needed.
Matt Wilson of Lewiston was catching some big bass over the weekend in both the upper and lower rivers. Swim baits at first light was the ticket in the upper river. Find the areas where the weeds are dying and use your Sidescan. That’s most important where the hard bottom is showing. He was tossing a 3/8-ounce football jig head hand painted Bass Pro max action swimbait in shad colors and used that heavier head to slow roll that bait on bottom. When the sun rises high, those fish go deeper to 18-20-foot and run drop shots tipped with a Maxscent flatnose minnow. In the lower river, casting a Rat-L-Trap on the weed edges produced smallies to 6 pounds.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Lake Ontario and Streams
The cold front that blew into Wayne County plummeted the temperatures, however only dropped a ¼ inch of rain. That’s not enough to push Maxwell Creek into the lake…It’s close. We need rain!
Out in the lake anglers are catching some perch in 8 feet of water. Use 2-inch grubs or perch eyes on a small hook. The tasty fish are now entering the bays where they will stay over the winter months.
Bays
Perch are being caught near the Sodus Bay channel and Port Bay. Not sure if they are eating shad, however if they are “Match the Hatch” and tie on some 2-inch white shad rubber. Hook your rig with a sinker 12 inches below bait.
Let’s hope we can have an ice fishing season and catch the 12 to 14 inch “thumpers”. The last two years have seen no safe ice.
Largemouths are hitting in Port and Sodus Bays. Bass anglers are using Senko rigs, top water bait, and spinner baits. This is the time of year for catching largemouth bass. And there are no recreational boats creating large waves making it difficult to fish.
Erie Canal
Widewaters was calm over the weekend. There were the usual kayakers casting the shore for panfish. The largemouths were hitting along the southern edge of the Erie.
They are catching some channel cats near Palmyra; however, they are finicky eaters. Use raw shrimp or worms. Fish the bottom and be prepared to enjoy a nice noble fight.
All the locks on the canal are open and will tentatively close October 16th.
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.
Oswego County
Fishing has finally picked up in Oswego County. Kings have started to head up river at a better pace than the last few weeks. Between the waves if fish are rain and strong westerly winds.
Salmon River, Pulaski NY
• Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
• Click Here for the Current CFS at Pineville
Fishing has been good from the Black Hole to 2A. But these fish are still on the move. Reports coming in say that the fish are scattered throughout the whole river, so if you don’t find fish at first, just keep moving.
Another big development this week is that fish have been moving on to gravel to spawn. So, concentrate on the fast water below gravel to find fish moving up.
Invasive Species Alert: Fanwort
Community members and anglers who visit Black Creek and Little Salmon River can help stop the spread of fanwort by looking for and reporting observations, and always practicing Clean-Drain-Dry protocols with all boating and fishing equipment.
Oswego River, City of Oswego
Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
If you’re looking for the largest numbers of fish, head upriver.
The water flow has dropped this week, leading to the water coming over the dam and not out of the powerhouse. This has caused most of the kings to make their way up to the dam. Leaving some room for them to move into the channel.
Please Consider the Following Year-Round Notice: There are mandatory personal flotation device (PFD) 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 fire station at 35 E. Cayuga St. by calling (315) 343.2161.
• Check the current water flow
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.