Greater Niagara Region
Frank Campbell
Salmon action is continuing to increase off the Olcott piers, as well as up the creek near Burt Dam. Fishing treated salmon egg skein under a float will all work for you from shore, off the pier, or from a small boat in the harbor and creek. Karen Evarts at The Boat Doctors and Tackle Barn at Olcott also reported a big school of brown trout made it into the harbor and up to the dam this past week. The combination of cool rain and an infusion of Erie Canal water from Lockport helped to trigger better fish runs. Chase Reed of Maryland caught the fish of a lifetime this week when he out-fought a 36-pound king salmon while fishing with Capt. Taz Morrison with West End Charters. He managed to catch a limit of kings in the process, but that huge salmon was Reed’s personal best salmon. It looks like a good weekend for fishing, too. Weather should cooperate with milder temperatures. Action off the piers at Olcott has also been producing some salmon and brown trout, says Evarts.
In the lower Niagara River, the crew from In-Fishermen came in on Monday to do some filming for bass and walleye for a few days. After recent winds, there was some nice stain to the water. However, Capt. Frank Campbell of Lewiston, who was assisting in the filming effort, noted that winds were still a problem in the fish-catching department. They managed to catch a dozen smallmouth bass using spinnerbaits and crankbaits. The NYPA fishing platform and the shoreline from Devil’s Hole to the Whirlpool are still good places for salmon and trout.
Salmon wasn’t the only fishing Mike Ziehm of Niagara Falls caught this week. He also caught this nice steelhead (right) in the gorge.
Mike Ziehm of Niagara Falls did well over the weekend using his homemade No. 4 white and chartreuse spinners. He landed double digit kings and lost at least that many if not more. He was also one for three on steelhead and caught a big bonus smallmouth bass. The water had a slight stain to it from the heavy southwest wind, which helped Ziehm’s cause. Other baits that will work for you include salmon skein, egg sacs, spoons, jigs, and rattlebaits. There have been reports of quite a few brown trout in the river as well. Remember that lake trout season is closed until Dec. 1, 2024.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Lake Ontario and Streams
Yesterday’s blow was typical current conditions for anyone living next to Lake Ontario. Lake effect weather does not always mean snow.
The few boats that have been targeting perch in the lake haven’t been out in a week. And there hasn’t been enough rain to make Maxwell Creek bust through to the lake.
This week’s weather predicts less wind, so Pier anglers can try for browns and steelhead at the Sodus Bay channel. Make sure you bring a long-handled net as the lake level is low. Cast out “Little Cleos” or other heavy spoons.
You can also fish the Port Bay pier. It’s small, however if the channel stays open…throw out your favorite spoon.
Bays
Wind has created havoc with bay fishing. No one has been out in a week. It is predicted to calm down, so go after the largemouth bass or try your luck on perch.
When water temperatures drop the perch will be easier to locate. Currently it is a search mission to find them. Try the channel at Port Bay or between the islands at Sodus Bay.
This is a typical transition time for fishing. Wait a few weeks and we will have the normal set-up for autumn fishing. While you’re waiting… go searching for Wayne County bucks.
Erie Canal
The canal has been the best place to fish. The water is calmer and the largemouths are still hitting at Widewaters. You can also catch panfish along the shoreline.
All the locks on the canal are open and will tentatively close this week, however the Widewaters region is usually not drained.
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
There was about an inch of rain through the end of the past weekend for the area. Points south and east of here may have gotten additional accumulations. The Oak and other area smaller waterways bumped up just a touch in flows and the smaller area waterways are back on the retreat with just slightly stained flows. Flows in the Oak are close to medium and more on the clearer side.
The change in flows coupled with the cool down has perked up the action and seems to have put more Kings on the move upstream. There’s favorable stiff westerly winds on Lake Ontario, probably pushing more fish into the tribs too. Another cool, if not seasonably cold night, is in the forecast tonight with another day or two of cool weather. Then the forecast is for warm and clear by the end of the week and weekend.
King migrations should remain good and upstream numbers of fish, like on the Oak and even the area smaller waterways, is building. More Kings are holding in water besides right at the dam for example.
Fishing pressure was pretty sporty through the past holiday weekend and seems a little less intense so far this week. Salmon are the main target but we are definitely hearing of some brown trout, steelhead, Atlantics and Coho hookups too. King action is underway with lots of good chances ahead and trout action seems to be coming on making for nice mixed bag chances. Lots of Kings to drift through and around for those trout chances though!
Oswego County
Fishing remains very good on the Oswego County tributaries!
Salmon River, Pulaski NY
• Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
• Click Here for the Current CFS at Pineville
The number of Salmon entering the river has slowed. But there are fish spread throughout the entire system. At this point, most of the kings are found on or near gravel areas.
Now that the salmon run has started to slow that only means one thing: trout aren’t far behind! This week the DSR has reported higher numbers of steelhead and brown trout entering the river. But they’ve been found as far as the “Ballpark” area.
Oswego River, City of Oswego
Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
After weeks and weeks of waiting for good pushes of fish, it looks like the Oswego finally has good numbers of salmon in the river. The dam has been producing lots of limits over the last 4-5 days.
The high was has also has been producing consistently for anglers float fishing and the lower wall has also seen a good share of fish.
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.