Greater Niagara Region
Frank Campbell
Rain on Tuesday could be the trigger we were waiting for in the Niagara River and in the tributaries off Lake Ontario. Niagara River action has still been good despite the clear conditions. It will be even better if we see some more rain and wind – which is forecasted for Thursday, too – to stain the water up a bit and bring those water temperatures down. Lake Erie was still sitting around the 60-degree mark, and we could have record breaking air temperatures for Halloween this week in the 70s. Capt. Joe Srouji of Angler Edge Outdoors reports there are still a few salmon hanging around the lower river, but that bite is pretty much over. He hooked the odd steelhead on beads this past week. Lake trout have started to come in heavier, but the river still needs to cool down some more. The smallmouth bass bite on the Niagara bar can be good using minnows. Winds this week were an issue. Capt. Frank Campbell of Lewiston reports that the floating docks are coming out of Fort Niagara State Park this week so launching should take place at the villages of Youngstown or Lewiston ramps. Lake trout are outnumbering the chrome fish and steelhead are hitting MagLips and beads for him. Smallmouth bass have been the most cooperative species this week for him. The best baits were minnows and shiners off three-way rigs. Tubes and hard baits are also catching fish. Walleyes are being caught from Devil’s Hole to the Niagara Bar on jigs and stickbaits.
In the gorge area of the lower river, Mike Ziehm of Niagara Falls has been doing pretty decent for the conditions with his son Corey. The duo caught lake trout and brown trout mostly. Corey was using a No. 4 spinner with three shades of green working best. Mike was using white jigs and black/white No. 4 spinners. He also caught a decent rainbow and smallmouth bass. He emphasized the need for a good storm and some rain to shake things up. Mike Rzucidlo of Niagara Falls has also been hitting the gorge and Sunday he caught a big 25-pound king that he battled for nearly 2 hours on 8-pound test line using a jig. As Rzucidlo often says, it was sore arm central down there. Speaking of the gorge, it was announced recently by state parks that a section of trail will be closed from the flats area of the Whirlpool to the Whirlpool bridge until some time in 2025. The Whirlpool stairs are open.
In the upper Niagara River, Capt. Chris Cinelli of Grand Island reports seeing action on muskellunge, but clear and warm water is influencing consistency. He caught fish up to 47 inches long over the weekend. Matt Wilson of Lewiston did well in the upper where he took 3 casts and hooked into a 5.33-pound smallmouth bass – great fish for the upper section of river. He was finding breaks in the current and using swimbaits with jigs mixed in to entice the fish. The best swimbait was the 2.5-inch Keitech in any natural colors. He managed close to 30 bass in 5 hours of fishing.
Matt Vogt of Newfane reports that Burt Dam has had a slow start, but just about a week ago the dam started to pack up with more brown trout and salmon. Fishermen, too. The water has been clear, so the brown trout are skittish. A lot of fishing pressure is also affecting fish response. Karen Evarts of The Boat Doctors and Tackle Barn in Olcott reports there are stacks of browns and salmon cooperating at the dam with the best baits being egg sacs, skein, Voodoo jigs, beads, plastics and other egg imitations. The rain was most welcome on Tuesday.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Lake Ontario and Streams
Lack of water has been hurting the smaller streams in Wayne County. As a matter of fact, it has left many with just a trickle.
You can cast out at the Bear Creek launch site and the Sodus and Port Bay piers. Currently, they are the only places to catch browns. Rainfall is predicted today; however, we need a consistent amount.
Maxwell and the other creeks will open with a couple of inches of steady rain.
Bays
The perch are in the bays; however, it is still the manner of fishing we call “move around.” Perch will school so if you find the smaller fish, move around for the larger schools of 8 to 10 inchers.
Charlie Brewer Sliders have always worked. Use the Crappie Slider 1 ½ inch white with chartreuse tail.
Hook the grub 12 inches about a sinker.
Try next to the islands on Sodus Bay and off the points at Port Bay. You are looking for drop-offs where the schooling perch will be in 20 to 25 fow.
Erie Canal
Remember when a 9-pound bass used to be a largemouth…not anymore. A record smallmouth bass weighed 9 pounds and was caught during a BASS tournament out of Ogdensburg. The fish was netted near Cape Vincent.
When we are talking monster bass caught near Widewaters it is the largemouth species. Maybe the huge smallies will enter the canal system someday.
There are plenty of pull-off sites on Route 31 where you can catch bass, perch, and some late season catfish.
All the locks on the canal are now closed for recreational boats, however there are sections on the canal system where the water is not drained.
All the locks on the canal are now closed for recreational boats.
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
Droughty as its been, there’s a real nice flow in the Oak that yesterday at end of day was about medium when I laid eyes on it. Color is just slightly stained. There’s plenty of water for good migrations and cover to hide most fish thanks to the Canal feed pushing through. Given the time of year and leaf fall, there will be water level fluctuations from hydropower operations. The flow disruptions are usually short lived and fish acclimate pretty quickly. And you can consider hitting the afternoon fishing shift when crowds thin and the flow level changes are done.
It feels like a little downturn in fishing pressure for this mid week period. There sometimes is an end of October change in the guard from salmon anglers to more trout anglers. This year though, for sure, there is more salmon action ahead that should last into November thanks to the continued slow roll of Kings. I wouldn’t quite give up on serious King pursuits just yet!
Check out the nice brace of Kings from the Waterport dam in the pic below. Anglers are still hooking up on fair to medium numbers of salmon at the dam and a few fish downstream too. Just a few fish are showing any signs of zombie-ness. Guys who are not targeting the Kings are getting their fair share of brown trout and coho and steelhead and Atlantic chances too. Check out the good looking Oak Orchard Atlantic in the pic below.
Flows to the east in Sandy are likewise up a bit from the Canal feed so we would expect at least some tardy Kings to be steaming up and most likely more browns. To the west, Johnson Creek is reported to have low-ish flows and at 18 Mile at Olcott, anglers are into decent numbers of browns. Weather ahead looks like another exceptional warmup for mid week and breezy or windy. Chance of showers today and maybe Thursday night but it does not look like enough precipitation to change tributary flows for now.
Oswego County
It is clearly “transition time” in Oswego County! The salmon are mostly gone and the trout have started to show; with neither making for banner fishing. But if you find the right spots you can still have a great day.
Salmon River, Pulaski NY
• Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
• Click Here for the Current CFS at Pineville
The lower stretches of the river have been the most productive as the first waves of steelhead enter the river. But don’t be fooled, steelhead have already reached the fly zone with scattered pods throughout the entire river.
When targeting early season steelhead, concentrate your efforts on the fastest water with adequate depth for steelhead to hide. Good spots this time of year are: the Stair Case Pool, Ballpark, Secret, Trout Brook, Snag, Bovines and Barrel pools. They are all early season hot spots.
The best baits tend to be egg imitations. Beads in 8-12mm sizes in a variety of colors will be most effective, with glow bug and eztaz flies getting it done for fly anglers.
Oswego River, City of Oswego
Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
Steelhead and Brown trout have entered the river and are spread out, from Utica Street to the falls. We have reports of catches on the flats across from the powerhouse, the low wall, and the Bridie hole.
With the very uneven bottom of the river, float fishing is the most effective technique. Beads in 8 and 10 mm sizes are the most natural colors and have been especially hot lately.
It’s also worth noting that the dam has been holding a decent amount of “fresher” kings this last week.
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.