Greater Niagara Region
Frank Campbell
Warm rain was helping clear up the shoreline earlier in the week, reports Alan Raymond with The Wicked Worm in Youngstown. With temperatures in the 20’s again, it’s still cold but mild temps are in the forecast for Thursday. The guys who dare to go down to Artpark are catching lake trout by imitating natural forage such as emerald shiners. Rainbow/steelhead are being caught on beads. Colors may vary due to water clarity, but chartreuse and yellow/orange seem to be the best go-to colors. He is seeing some more brown trout by his shop and along the Coast Guard drift. They are hungry for live shiners.
Up in the gorge, Mike Ziehm of Niagara Falls hit the icy shoreline using his white bucktail jigs. Water visibility is about 6 feet plus and river ice was still heavy – posing a problem for both shore fishermen and boaters. However, you can catch fish with a proper presentation.
Capt. Matt Yablonsky of Wet Net Sportfishing reports winter steelhead fishing on the Niagara River doesn’t come without challenges. However, despite the cold conditions, boat fishing has been good for a mix of steelhead, walleye, brown trout, and lake trout. He noted that there are a lot of fish in the river system this year. Captains Chris and Connor Cinelli of Grand Island hit the lower river on a couple recent trips and did well on steelhead. One day it was pink egg sacs fished off three-way rights that caught fish. The next day it was Kwikfish lures, also fished off three-way rigs. On Tuesday the color was near-perfect and the ice was starting to subside.
Karen Evarts at Boat Doctors & Tackle Barn in Olcott reports there has been some consistent ice action in Wilson and Olcott. At Burt Dam on 18 Mile Creek, there is some open water for drifters. Wax worms are a must to connect with brown trout or steelhead. Fish them off a jig under a float. Scott Brauer, Ice Team Pro from Gasport, checked out Wilson Harbor over the weekend and he kept a bag of bluegills and yellow perch. He noted that we’re almost in a midseason pattern right now. We must switch baits every couple of fish to keep them interested and keep them biting. Lighter colored baits worked best in Wilson.
The Greater Niagara Fishing Expo at the Niagara Falls Convention Center is only 2 weeks away, set for Feb. 13-16! Almost all the education, which includes over 250 seminars, is now uploaded to the website at niagarafishingexpo.com. Check it out … and see you there!
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Bays
There is a great ice fishing event scheduled for this weekend. Ya hoo! The Sodus Point Bass Club’s derby is this Saturday, February 8th.
Register at Bay Bridge Sport Shop any time from now until 6:45 am on the day of the tournament.
$50 per 2-person team, 3rd team member is okay if 16 or under. This event is for Sodus Bay only. Perch, pike, or walleye are the species for this tournament.
Weigh-in is at 2:00 pm (sharp) at Riley’s Bar & Grill at the south end of the bay. Penalties will be assessed if late for weigh-in.
The ice on Sodus Bay has been a solid ten inches. Naturally, you need to stay away from the shoreline because of dock bubblers.
The perch are scattered. A few days ago, the “thumpers” were in 20 to 23 fow. They have moved around with larger perch being caught straight out from the south end of the bay.
The perch are feeding on shad so use chartreuse and white jigs. Tip the jig with spikes or perch eyes.
If pike are your targeted species, they are everywhere this 2025 season. The northeast end next to LeRoy Island has pike. You can also try out from Shipper’s Restaurant. This section of Sodus has 6 to 10 fow.
Port Bay also has a good solid ten inches of ice. One day the perch bite is great and the next they become scattered. You must move around if you are catching smaller fish. They tend to school by size.
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
Widewaters has solid ice across the entire canal. Bluegills, sunfish, and pike can be caught at Widewaters.
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:
A few guys out on the Oak are finding mostly low and clear flows. There’s (skinny) open water to drift from the dam all the way to the downstream flat water. A little bit of recent melting and precip doesn’t seem to be enough to change flows in the Oak just yet. If the power company bumps up the flows at the Waterport dam there is the chance for flows to come up a little.
The other area smaller waterways are up slightly to mod flows but the rise in flows looks to be moving through under the ice cover and nothing has opened up significantly. For now and ahead everything seems to be tightening back up with temps back on the drop. Temps are forecast highs in the 20’s F and into the 30’s F on Thu with a chance of a wintery mix of precip before a change over to rain or showers.
On the Oak there’s open water to drift or swing from the dam, downstream thru some of the holes/slots and at the downstream flat water beyond the bank ice. Intel is pretty light, but small and light presentations should yield a few steelhead or brown trout hook-ups.
We’ll have to wait and see how the weather ahead goes, but there’s at least a little bit of snowpack now and reasonable groundwater levels that could mean some run off ahead. With the chance for all the waterways to open up on some future later winter or spring warm-up with higher flows, there should be more options for fishable water – and fresh steelhead migrations should be not far behind!
Oswego County
Fishing on the Salmon River started to get a little better with the water drop. The Oswego has been flowing steadily around 5000 CFS. Sandy Pond has plenty of ice.
Salmon River, Pulaski NY
• Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
• Click Here for the Current CFS at Pineville
The water has dropped down to 335 CFS. Fishing has settled into the mid-winter blues. Steelhead remain scattered throughout the river. Therefore covering water will lead to more action. As usual, concentrate your efforts on the deepest water you can find.
Eggs continue to produce in blue, purple, white and peach. Jigs have been good in white, white/pink and black. The pink worm has been doing well too (wacky style or on a jig head).
The DSR reports anglers having great success this week. The common denominator was covering a lot of water.
If you’re unsure of where to fish consider ordering a free fishing map from the tourism office by calling 1-800-248-4FUN(4386), or stop by any of the local tackle shops for a free printed copy.
Oswego River, City of Oswego
Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
Fishing on the Oswego has been decent, from the dam to the lock. Both the high and low walls have been productive. Jigs are a great bait this time of year.
Anglers concentrating on fishing the dam seem to be having the most success. But with the cold temperatures and low flows, a lot of ice has formed. So be extra careful when wading.
Productive baits have been egg sacs and beads. With the lower clearer water, we recommend a stealthy approach.
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.
Sandy Pond is Open!
Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
There are 10-14” all across the pond, so plenty of ice. Pike has slowed down somewhat, and the walleye is near standstill. But we now have reports of perch and a few pickerel too.
Caty jigs and spikes are our recommendations this time of year. Rosies, fatheads and Swedish pimples are other options.
The main points of ice access for Sandy Pond are: “The Elms,” Wigwam, and the DEC launch at Stanley Drive.
Thanks to Woody’s tackle for help with this report. Be sure to check our Facebook page, or else call Woody’s tackle directly for info about the upcoming derbies in February.
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.