Greater Niagara Region
Frank Campbell
River action continues to be impacted by ice in Lake Erie and below Niagara Falls reports Alan Raymond with The Wicked Worm in Youngstown. The water is still very cold as a result, impacting pen stockings and fishing opportunities – especially when some ice chunks migrate down through the system. Brown trout were eating up the shiners this weekend by Fort Niagara on boats and at Youngstown public docks from shore using a float and shiners. Steelheads seem to still be biting beads, eggs and trout worms upriver in oxygenated waters. Still no reports of any smelt. Boat action was good to very good over the weekend according to Capt. Dave Scipione of Lewiston. On Saturday he fished from Devil’s Hole to the Niagara Bar and the most consistent action was in the Hole. Steelheads were hitting pink egg sacs and golden shiners on 3-way rigs. Scipione and company also caught lake trout and brown trout. On Sunday, Scipione spent the first 2 hours in Devil’s Hole doing much of the same thing with a little better steelhead and lake trout action. Then they headed to Lake Ontario to the mouth of 4-Mile Creek to do some shoreline trolling for brown trout. Action was consistent for browns with water temperatures near 40 degrees. The water was clear, but he found some productive, stained water just east of the creek mouth. Taking most of his fish were Smithwick and Challenger stick baits in perch, and natural black/silver colors. They also caught Coho salmon.
Also in the lake, Capt. Joe Oakes with Salmonboy Charters reports fishing is pretty good right now out of Wilson along the shoreline in 10-15 feet of water. He was catching brown trout with the odd Coho salmon mixed in. Spoons and stick baits are both working. Lake trout fishing is good, as well, in depths greater than 50 feet. Spoons and flasher-fly combos worked best for him when targeting lakers.
Karen Evarts at The Boat Doctors and Tackle Barn in Olcott reports that shoreline trolling out of Olcott has been good in 10 feet of water for brown trout and Coho salmon. Stickbaits are the bait of choice. For lake trout, try in 60 to 100 feet of water. You may pick up a steelhead or an Atlantic salmon, too. Spoons, stickbaits, spinners, and cowbells will all help to catch fish. In the creeks, the end of the runs are fast approaching. Tanner Niezgoda of Newfane caught some trout in 18 Mile Creek near Burt Dam. Egg sacs and beads are still working but fish are scattered. Evarts noted that there are still some bass and bluegills in the harbor at Olcott. Don’t rule out the piers at both Olcott and Wilson.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Lake Ontario
The 90,000 king fingerlings are now in the net pens in Sodus Bay. They will probably be towed to Lake Ontario after a three-week stay. All the effort from the captains and everyone else made this important occasion a remarkable success. Everyone was organized and professional. “Well Done.”
Friday was a calm day to fish for the close to shore browns. No wind…however a very dense fog greeted the charters on Saturday. Sunday was clear and the mix of cohos, browns, steelhead, and a few Atlantic Salmon were all netted.
Look for stained water close to shore in 10 fow. If it’s clear troll out to 30 fow. Some nice 10-pound browns were caught to the west of Sodus Bay. They were hitting Michigan Stingers, mostly an orange or chartreuse spoon. Bright colors are working the best off the boards.
Stickbaits are also working behind Chinook Divers. The kings have not shown up yet, however it won’t be long. Most of the charter boats are in the water and the spring fishing has been fantastic.
Bays
The perch have spawned and are difficult to find in the bays. In approximately two weeks and some warm weather, catch your perch near the Port and Sodus Bay’s channels.
If the water level is still low, launch at Bay Bridge Sport Shop on Sodus and DEC Port Bay sites at the north and south end of West Port Bay Road.
In New York, the open season (harvest) for largemouth and smallmouth bass, collectively known as black bass, runs from June 15 to November 30, with a catch-and-release season from December 1 to June 14.
Sodus Bay will be the place to be when the bass season opens.
Erie Canal
Some of the regular kayak anglers were fishing Widewaters on Sunday. Don’t forget the canal fishery, which has bass, panfish, pike, and crappies.
Keep in mind the pike season closed March 15, 2025, and will open on May 1st.
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:
Open Lake
Onshore, especially, and near-shore action has been good out of Point Breeze. Weather through the past end of week and weekend offered up the medium seas and semi-stained water that trollers look to target. For the last part of the weekend, the water color steadily cleared, and the action got tougher onshore, so guys started to slide out.
Look for a couple of windy and colder days here midweek, so trolling action might pause until about the end of week. Lots of mostly cold water out there, but the stained water color should be back for a while onshore after these winds. There have been mostly browns caught, with a few cohos and Atlantics too.
Sliding out deeper has been bringing on Laker hook-ups as guys search for the first Kings of the season. Not many, if any, Kings have been reported yet around the Oak Orchard waters, but check out the medium Laker in the pic below. As things move along and water temps warm, we can likely look forward to the salmon action coming on.
Cpt. Chas from Searcher Charters says, “There are lots of browns in as close as 6 – 7 fow. Stickbaits on the planer boards running Renosky baits and Rapalas have been good. Out in the stained 40 – 80 fow Spin-Doctors and Dreamweaver spoons on the downriggers and Dipseys 120 ft out on a 2.5 setting were firing.”
Tributary
It’s the middle of Apr and still some fair steelhead chances in the Oak thanks to good flows and cool weather. Light fishing pressure, but the few anglers out are getting in their last lick, drifting chances for eager drop back steelhead and some spawning fish, and even a fresh fish here and there. Check out the hard battling dropback steelhead in the pic below.
Flows in the Oak are hanging in at about medium with 2 – 3 ft of viz. Just some rain showers lately to keep flows interesting. Look for flows to slowly drop back toward mod unless there is significant precipitation.
Chance of mixed bag precipitation or snow showers through today, with no accumulation expected here on the WNY south shore of Lake Ontario. Temps are dropping now with a couple of colder mid-week days in the forecast.
Wind is back on the scene after a few calmer days of good pier and shoreline casting chances, where some nice browns were hooked. Look for churned-up dirty water and waves in the near future. The other smaller waterways have low to mod flows and are mostly clear.
There’s been some smallmouth bass action, real good at times, reported. A few bass are likely also moving up the Oak, too.
Oswego County
WalleyeFest Derby, May 3-4 2025
Walleyefest is the premier yearly fishing celebration in New York State, held right here in Central New York on Oneida Lake. Drawing anglers of all ages and skill levels from all over NY and the Northeast to kick off the walleye season with a fun, family-friendly competitive atmosphere.
The heart of the event is the Oneida Lake Walleye Fest Derby, where participants compete for prizes by reeling in walleye, and yellow perch. This year’s Derby has eight (8) different categories or “Leaderboards” for Angler’s to choose from highlighted by a “Women’s only”, “Military/Veteran/1st Responder” and two (2) “youth” leaderboards. Offering opportunity and inclusion for all who want to participate against everyone or just their peers.
NEW FOR 2025, WalleyeFest built its own tournament app called DERBYFISH. Inside the DERBYFISH app is where all fish are entered in the Derby using a CPR (Catch, Photograph, and Release) format right on the water in real time. Technology now allows us to protect the largest fish that are being entered and ensures that they will live to spawn again and pass on their superior genetics back into our lake ecosystem.
The weekend concludes with the awards ceremony on Sunday May 4th from 11-6 (rain or shine under) the tents at Brewerton Speedway. This event is open to the public and there will be a FREE FISH FRY, Live Music, and local vendors adding to the festive, community-driven spirit of the event.
Whether you’re a seasoned angler or new to fishing, Walleyefest is the perfect way to enjoy springtime on the water and experience all that New York’s greatest lake has to offer. Don’t miss your chance to be part of the tradition that started way back in 1979!
Call to Action:
- Register online for the Walleye Fest Derby at walleyefest.com
- Check out local vendors and raffles on Sunday
- Follow Walleyefest on social media for updates and photos (Instagram, YouTube, Facebook)
- Bring the family and make a day of it on Oneida Lake!
Top Tips for Spring Fishing on Lake Ontario
• Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
- Dirty water = bright baits. Clear water = natural baits.
- Be prepared to change your lures. Fish can be fickle, so you may need to change your lures often to get them to bite.
- Stretch your lures back – away from the boat. You’re fishing very shallow and the fish spook easily.
- Utilize side planers, inline or planer boards. This helps get your lures away from the boat. It also allows you to run more lines.
- Vary your speed and make turns to figure out what the trout want.
- Add Scent! Adding scent to your baits will get more bites especially in dirty water.
- Look for warm water pockets. The warm water will attract bait which will, in turn, attract the predators.
- Fish early in the morning or late in the evening. These are the times when fish are most active.
- Use a variety of lures. Try different lures until you find one that the fish are biting on.
- Invest in a good rubber net; it will save you a lot of aggravation in the long run. Small trebles and nylon nets don’t get along