Greater Niagara Region
Frank Campbell
The frigid cold temperatures have allowed plenty of strong black ice to form all over the area according to Matt Vogt of Newfane. Vogt has been focusing his efforts on Wilson Harbor, and he reported that the panfish bite was great. Perch, bluegill, and crappie were caught throughout most of the day. He has yet to get a bite on his tip-ups and that seems to be the story he has heard from other fisherman in the area. Pike have been quite elusive in that spot. The best fish for Vogt so far was an impressive 12.5-inch crappie, released to fight another day. Wilson has up to 6 inches in some spots. Olcott is also locked up. Vogt says that the ice gets sketchy by the Route 18 bridge on the parking lot side because there is lots of water flow right there. However, the main part of the harbor seems to be solid with 4-5 inches of ice. Be careful.
The river is still recuperating from recent storms on Lake Erie. Capt. Matt Yablonsky of Wet Net Sportfishing reports he was out recently, and conditions were poor. The water was muddy and there was floating ice from shore to shore. When the sun came out, it seemed to turn the walleyes on. Drifting big golden shiners off three-way rigs, Yablonsky’s customers reeled in five quick fish while the sun was out. However, when the sun tucked back in behind the clouds, the bite stopped. The water temperature in the river was 32-degrees – liquid ice was how Yablonsky put it. They also managed a brown trout. It should start to get better once Lake Erie ices up or we get some consistent weather. The good news is that the ice has started to clear at the mouth of the river the last few days according to Alan Raymond with The Wicked Worm in Youngstown.
Mike Ziehm of Niagara Falls has been out a couple times, and he reports it has been slow. He still managed to land a few fish, including brown trout and steelhead in the gorge from shore. The brown came just before all of the cold wind and ice arrived in the river, catching them all on No. 4 pink/chartreuse spinners. With all the ice moving down the river, drifting spinners are a real struggle. Lake Erie should be well on its way to freezing up. River visibility is sitting around 3 feet as of Sunday afternoon.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Lake Ontario and Streams
Maxwell is iced-over with limited open water for catching steelhead. We will have to wait for a thaw.
Bays
Solid ice is on Sodus with a good 6 ½ inches. You can safely use small ATVs to reach your targeted area.
Straight out from Shaker Heights Road a nice walleye was caught in 25 fow. The perch are scattered with the larger “thumpers” coming from 20 to 30 fow.
Pike are being caught around the islands on the north side of the bay. Tipcold wind and ice with pike minnows worked the best. Rosy Reds are also catching pike and some walleye.
You can also fish out from Skipper’s Restaurant on the east side of Sodus.
There is also safe ice on Port Bay… and with frigid temperatures and limited snow cover, the ice machine continues. It’s now 7 inches thick.
The perch on both bays are hitting the larger jigs tipped with spikes. Acme or Northland makes some larger tungsten jigs.
The following guide from DEC is the thickness needed for safety. This is an accurate guide for safety on ice.
| Ice Thickness | Permissible Load |
| 2 inches or less | Stay Off |
| 4 inches | Ice fishing or other activities on foot |
| 5 inches | Snowmobile or ATV |
| 8-12 inches | Car or small pickup |
| 12-15 inches | Medium truck |
Remember to stay away from tributaries and open water near docks that use bubblers.
Erie Canal
Sections of the canal are frozen with Widewaters having the larger area to fish. The ice is safe near the park which is just west of the Newark on Route 31.
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
Orleans County Sportfishing Coordinator Ron Bierstine:
After a couple days of milder temps at the end of last week it has turned cold again. Welcome back to winter! Look for these cold temps with highs in the teens to hang in thru the week according to the forecast. Finally too, the area has some snowpack.
There was some lake effect snow off Lake Ontario that swirled around and parked and dumped 8 – 10 inches here on the WNY south shore thru yesterday. Its a cold fluffy snow so I would guess there’s not a whole lot of runoff there and it probably doesn’t extend all that far inland. But… It all counts toward the total and there is the chance that a Lake Erie lake effect snow band may reach up to this area later today/tonight.
Chance of slight warm up with highs in the 20’s F for the upcoming weekend. Fishing pressure pretty light thanks to the weather. Best success in these conditions will be for the resident fish at the dam on the Oak. Flows are low and clear and icing conditions will be closing in for any downstream water. The other area smaller waterways are frozen over.
Some local anglers are hitting the ice for panfish or pike or walleyes. Remember the lower reaches of any of these tribs is still moving water so exercise caution and only go out on safe ice. Lake Alice above the dam should be making ice cover that we haven’t really seen in years.
We’ll see how the rest of the mid and later winter goes for the weather but things could be shaping up for more traditional timing on later winter/spring action if the cold hangs in. So think Feb/Mar/begin Apr for the Oak, Feb/Mar for the smaller waterways, Mar/Apr/begin May for Niagara/Genny and end Mar/Apr/May for lakeshore troll or cast.
Oswego County
This past week in Oswego County, the weather was frigid. Fortunately, the fishing remains hot!
Salmon River, Pulaski NY
• Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
• Click Here for the Current CFS at Pineville
Fishing has been very good. Steelhead remain scattered throughout the river. For many anglers, this is an ideal time because river pressure isn’t congested.
Eggs continue to produce in blue, purple, white and peach. While jigs and pink worms have been doing good as well.
Concentrate your efforts on the slowest deepest water you can find. Example pools include the Schoolhouse, Wires, Trestle, Pineville, Ace, Sportsman, Glass, Clark, Papermill, Trooper, 81, and Town pools. If you’re unsure where these spots are, consider ordering a free map from the tourism office by calling 1-800-248-4FUN(4386).
Oswego River, City of Oswego
Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
Fishing on the Oswego was very good from the dam to the lock before the deep freeze. When the temperatures dropped, so did the water.
Unfortunately, with the drop and heavy snows, most of the river has become unfishable. The only place left to put in some effort is the deep channel. Both the High and Low walls should be productive. Jigs are a great bait this time of year.
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.
Request a Free Fishing Map for Salmon River!
Designed to slip into your pocket, this map covers popular public and private fishing locations, as well as boat launches. The best news: it’s completely free!
Contact the Oswego County Tourism Department:
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.