Greater Niagara Region
Frank Campbell
Fishing on the Lower Niagara River is starting to heat up with lessening of ice and warmer air temperatures. There is little to no ice below Niagara Falls, but there is some debris to keep an eye on when traveling the river, says Capt. Joe Marra with Niagara Rainbow Charters. The water temperature reached 40 degrees over the weekend with lack of ice floating and the fish responded accordingly with steelhead, browns, and lakers all being taken throughout the entire lower river. Minnows off 3-way rigs are still the most productive bait and presentation. However, MagLips and eggs will still catch fish. Look for smallmouth bass to start responding to the warmer water and jigging spoons, swimbaits, and tubes should produce fish. Remember if you target bass, it’s artificial baits only. A few Atlantic salmon have also been reported in the lower river off 3-ways and minnows. Brown trout are being caught in the lower river, using bait fish and their artificial imitations, reports Alan Raymond with The Wicked Worm in Youngstown. Steelhead are available upriver using beads/eggs. A rush of lake trout have been found on the Niagara Bar, with a few salmon being reported. With waters warming up every day, look for the smelt run to begin soon. By the way, the Wicked Worm is a weigh station for the LOC derbies this year.
Water is finally starting to warm up but the king salmon haven’t shown up in any large numbers yet reports Capt. Matt Yablonsky of Wet Net Charters. He says that there has been good brown trout fishing out of Wilson with some Atlantic salmon and Coho salmon showing up. Junior Challenger stick baits in natural and goby colors are best on flat lines. Dreamweaver Super Slim spoons on the riggers have been working well, too. “Get ‘er Done” and “Mixed Veggies” were Yablonsky’s go-to color patterns. The best depth was 7 to 10 feet of water. For lake trout, head out to deeper waters outside the 50-foot mark. If you want to hear what Yablonsky has to say about spring salmon fishing, the Lake Ontario Trout and Salmon Association will be holding its popular “At the Dock” session at Bootleggers Cove Marina in Wilson at 7 p.m. on May 1. Get there early (6 p.m.) for a Marty Polovick-grilled hot dog. Timing is perfect with the Spring Lake Ontario Counties Trout and Salmon Derby slated for May 2 to 11.
Matt Vogt and Matt DiTullio of Newfane hit the lake out of Olcott recently and despite cooler water temperatures, they managed to find scattered brown trout in varying depths. On their last trip they went six for eight on browns and a Coho salmon using sticks and spoons. Expect water to start warming, especially after the warm rain on Monday. In the harbors, Karen Evarts at The Boat Doctors and Tackle Barn in Olcott reports mostly a mix of panfish with an occasional trout being caught off the piers.
May 1st is also the opening of four different fish species. At the top of the list is walleye, carrying a minimum size of 15 inches and a daily limit of five fish as far as statewide regs. However, not all bodies of water are created equal. The daily limit is six walleyes per person on Lake Erie. On Lake Ontario and the lower Niagara River, the limit is three with a minimum size of 18 inches. Also opening May 1st, Northern pike, pickerel, and inland tiger musky seasons.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Lake Ontario
The brown trout season has been very good. Let’s say …exceptional. What is really exciting is the Atlantic salmon cruising the Lake Ontario shoreline. (25-inch minimum length)
The browns netted have been in the 8-to-10-pound range and have been in 10 to 20 fow. The boards have been working the best for the charter boats. Use Smithwick or Bay Rats for stick baits and Stingers for spoons.
Speeds have been between 1.5 and 2 mph.
Once again, we are dealing with some erratic and absurd winds. Everyday it seems to blow. At least charters are closer to shore this time of year and can deal with a south wind blow.
The Spring LOC Derby kicks off in 10 days. Get ready for the unofficial start of the Lake Ontario fishing season with the LOC Spring Derby, May 2nd to May 11th. Make sure you enter to win your share of the $147,150 in cash we will be awarding in 2025!
Bays
Some bullheads are being caught from Bay Bridge on the south end of Sodus Bay; however, we need some warming trends to really have some action.
Most perch have spawned and are difficult to find in the bays. Use your ice fishing jigs and put on some 2-inch rubber with a chartreuse tail. Put three or four spikes on the hook.
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.
Don’t forget the opener for pike is only days away. (May1st)
n 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 crappies were caught from the shoreline next to the Port Gibson Bridge. Use small bright jigs and suspend your rig under a bobber. When bass season starts fish the south side of the canal for largemouths.
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
Open Lake trolling action has so far been all about onshore brown trout when there’s some stained and slightly warmer water to target. When there’s been no onshore stain to target, guys have been sliding out to the near-shore waters looking for Lakers or that first King bite. Smaller Atlantic salmon have been showing up too.
Winds are off and on as in a usual spring, so on the backside of the wave action is when trollers have found nice pockets of green water. Now, after some precipitation yesterday, guys will find all the tribs pumping out some stain and temp too. Yet there’s lots of cold water out there all around, but the forecast ahead is warming, and there are some 70°F days likely. The inevitable warm-up is afoot, and we look forward to the King action coming on.
In the spirit of hunting up the stain and warmer pockets, Capt. Lou B. of Get the Net Charters worked the water from Bald Eagle to the Devil’s Nose and found a small patch of water with a 1.5-degree temp change. “More natural color baits were the ticket in the slightly colored water. Later, we finished the day sliding out to 60 fow and found some quality lakers suspended around 40 feet down. We ran on the faster side of trolling spoons at 3+ mph.”
Capt. Chris V. of U-Betcha Charters is waiting for the King action to come on, too. “I wouldn’t be surprised if a few Kings are caught in the near future. Find the warmest green water, and there should be silvers there. If not, there are plenty of lakers on the bottom in 60 – 90 fow.”
Tributary
Around 3/4 in of rain through yesterday has all the tribs on the rise and going off color. Flows in the Oak are back up to slightly high, with what looks like a good head of turbine water. Water color will be getting dirtier over the next day or two, even as flows may crest or begin to recede. The other smaller waterways have high and dirty flows.
Near-term forecast ahead looks clear for any major precipitation, there’s a chance of showers around the weekend. Temps are warming, and look for a couple of 70°F days ahead. Winds are off and on (breezy again today!), as has been the norm this spring. Water temps are moving into and through the 50’s F, so the cold water steelhead action is numbered.
Last lick trib chances are right now for drop backs like in the Oak or casting action for brown trout. When the waves settle after any good wind like today, and leave the semi-stained near-shore lake water means a good casting window. Even the medium-sized browns hooked up have been plump, pretty, and fun on lighter spin gear. Trib fishing pressure is real light, and at the piers at Point Breeze, there’s typically only a few guys spread out.
After another successful spring pen rearing of the steelhead, those fish are slated for release at dusk tomorrow. Who knows, maybe of the 15,000 fish (another 10,000 direct stocked) one will be waiting to strike your fly, bait, or lure in the Oak Orchard in a few years!
Oswego County
Now is the perfect time to hit the water—whether you’re trolling Lake Ontario or casting on the Salmon River, the action is excellent. Better yet, take a couple of days and enjoy both!
Salmon River, Pulaski NY
• Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
• Click Here for the Current CFS at Pineville
Steelhead fishing has been outstanding throughout the river, from the Fly Zones to the Douglaston Salmon Run (DSR). Fish are holding in a wide range of water types, so cover as much water as you can.
Effective presentations include beads and pink worms, with a variety of colors producing bites. Yellows, oranges, and chartreuse-based beads have been particularly successful.
Lake Ontario – Oswego County
Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
The shoreline is producing a solid mix of brown trout, coho salmon, and Atlantic salmon. Productive setups include stickbaits on flatlines, spoons on single-color lead cores, and mini divers.
In stained or dirty water, opt for brighter patterns such as Hot Steel, Firetiger, and Circus Freak. When the water clears, transition to more natural color profiles like Black and Silver, Ayu, Perch, Diehard, and Green Glow Alewife.