Greater Niagara Region
Frank Campbell
Capt. Dave Scipione of Lewiston hit the lower Niagara River the past week, starting in Devil’s Hole with skein to see if there were any salmon around. He lost one king and also boated walleye, sheepshead, and smallmouth bass. They switched over to K11 Kwikfish and 3.5 MagLips and caught only bass and walleye. He also fished clay banks, Stella Niagara, Joe Davis, and coast guard drifts and he produced quite a few nice smallmouth bass on golden shiners and crayfish up to 5.25-pounds.
Mike Ziehm of Niagara Falls used white No. 4 spinners to hit some king salmon again in the gorge. He also noted that there were plenty of brown trout around that cruised in this week. With east winds on Lake Ontario bringing in cold water close to shore, it could help trigger a salmon run. However, warmer water from Lake Erie continues to be a bit of a problem. Mike Rzucidlo of Niagara Falls hit the gorge this week and was 1 for 2 on salmon and caught two walleyes as well. He lost his first steelhead of the season. The water was super clear with 10-12 feet of visibility. Parker Cinelli of Grand Island caught some browns on spinners in the Whirlpool area this week, too.
For Lake Ontario, Karen Evarts of the Boat Doctors and Tackle Barn in Olcott reports that anglers are catching a few kings near shore and off the piers with a mix of baits. Out in the lake, J13 Rapalas and J-plugs will work for starters. In the harbor and off the piers, casting stickbaits, spinners, spoons, and rattlebaits (like Rat-L-Traps) should trigger a fish to hit. Also fishing chunks of treated egg skein under a float can catch you a big king. There are some Coho salmon, brown trout, and some king salmon around. Capt. Justin Warriner of North Tonawanda has been doing great off Olcott, averaging 4-6 fish a night by casting hardware like spoons. His best night is 16 fish to the boat in just 4 hours. The streams are waiting on a big rain event to blow summer out and move fish in.
Congratulations are in order for Matt Vogt of Newfane and Mike Freeman of Albion! They decided to split the Greater Niagara Fish Odyssey Grand Prize of $2,500 when they were the final two first place winners in the drawn down at the Wildlife Festival last weekend.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Lake Ontario
Fishing for the mighty kings is a stream-pier fishing adventure. The only trouble is Lake Ontario is low and our streams are just a trickle.
We need a decent rainfall to give Maxwell a chance to push into the lake. Currently it’s just a bunch of stones.
Pier fishing will be an option when kings enter the bays. There were some browns being caught at the Sodus Bay channel.
Some smallmouth bass were being caught to the east of Sodus and the west near Hughes’ Marina.
Currently, lake temperature is 60 degrees and Sodus Bay is 70 degrees.
Bays
Some perch are being caught in Sodus and Port Bays; however, you need to move around for the bigger variety. There are many schools of four to six inchers, which might not be good today, however, just think about the future. Year of class is always great news.
Larger perch have been at the north end of both bays, fishing near the channels.
Erie Canal
Largemouth bass have been hitting near Widewaters…home of the six pounders. Use Senko rigs. There is plenty of parking for boat trailers at the Widewaters County Park.
Panfish have been caught from the shore on the north side of the canal.
Kayak fishing is very popular along section of the Erie.
All the locks on the canal are open until mid-October.
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
Lake fishing has remained strong while the river fishing has been tough.
Lake Ontario
Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
Fishing remains impressive on the lake! The salmon have been holding in from 40-70’, with large groups of cohos and kings.
Flasher flies have been working best below 30’. But for higher fish, deep diving plugs and spoons have been the ticket!
Tight Lines.
Salmon River, Pulaski NY
• Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
• Click Here for the Current CFS at Pineville
Every day a few fish enter the river. How far upstream they travel just depends on the day. Fish have been holding in the channels and pools with little movement throughout the day light hours.
Other than the major holes (such as Town Pool, 81, Sportsman’s, Trestle and Schoolhouse) the fish have been spread out. So, we recommend to be on the move when the bite is slow.
We predict the cooler temperatures in the forecast will help jumpstart some movement!
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
We had a nice water bump this past week on the Oz. This drew in a few fish. But with the high sun and warm weather, the fish seemed to have headed back to the lake. Reports from anglers at the dam are very few fish to been seen. The low wall area and shoreline has seen a few fish taken.
With the higher water temperatures, the skein bite has been off. We recommend large beads under a float or slow retrieving deep divers.
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.