Greater Niagara Region
Frank Campbell
It was another media week as the New York State Outdoor Writers Association invaded Niagara Falls USA. Lake Ontario and the lower Niagara River were the primary angling spots in dealing with availability. In the past week on the Lower Niagara River, smallmouth bass are moving closer to the spawn. Water temperatures rose about 5 degrees and now approach the mid-50’s and that’s spurred some bass to move shallow. With that said most fish are still in 15-25 feet of water with jigs being the best option. Ned rigs have drawn the most attention with swimbaits still taking some fish. During the conference fish had turned off the jerk bait bite and Glenn Sapir of Putnam Valley and Leo Maloney of Sherrill had a good outing catching fish up to 5 pounds targeting 5 to10 feet of water. Please help take care of our future and quickly handle and release smallmouth bass when they are caught during this catch-and-release season. A mix of lake trout, steelhead, walleye, smallmouth bass, white bass, Coho salmon and Chinook salmon were all reeled in by the writers during two days of fishing.
Alan Raymond with The Wicked Worm reports that the winds this week were not in our favor. Some bass are being caught using smaller finesse style methods, and perch are being caught near the Lewiston sand docks with some walleye in the mix with live bait and small artificials. The night walleye bite has been good there according to reports. Steelhead still hitting at the platform according to Tommy Holycross of Wheatfield. Try using a minnow under a float. Some nice silver bass are being caught, too.
Out in the lake, Capt. Matt Yablonsky of Wet Net Charters reports it’s the year of the Coho salmon. He’s been targeting mostly Coho salmon 20-35 feet down with 6-inch orange spin doctors and green crinkle A-Tom-Mik flies. He’s also been running a few king rods mixed in. Some days you get a few bites on them and others you don’t. There just doesn’t seem to be many kings around this year.
Capt. Mike Johannes of On the Rocks Charters shared some of the Coho action with NYSOWA members on Friday, using orange as a primary attraction. He also hit one 20-pound king that Jonnie Chamberlain of Peck’s Lake reeled in that started 120-plus feet down over 180-foot depths. Most of the Coho salmon came on rods rigged with two and three colors of lead core line. Albie and Clarence Chamberlain both caught at least three Cohos each, and lost a few, too.
Burt Dam and 18 Mile Creek has been rocking for smallmouth bass action during the catch-and-release season for Aiden and Ethan Hill of Lockport. Remember it’s artificial lures only. Jigs, plastics, and jerk baits are the way to go according to Karen Evarts at The Boat Doctors and Tackle Barn in Olcott.
In the highly competitive Wilson Harbor Invitational Salmon Tournament last weekend on Lake Ontario, the team Hell on Reels led by Ryan Paquette of northern Michigan came up with a proverbial “Hail Mary” fish at the end of the second day of the contest when they were pulling rods to win the overall tournament at the last minute quite literally. Their last fish of the day turned out to be a 27.43 pound king salmon and it tipped the scales in their favor, narrowly beating the Yankee Troller team led by Capt. Rich Hajecki of Rochester by 6 points – 245 to 239 based on 10 points per fish and point per pound. The big fish was the largest caught in the tournament. Third place was Bite Force led by Jackson Jones of Pittsburgh, Pa. A total of 39 teams competed in the competition. Next big event on the fishing calendar is the 41st Annual Skip Hartman Memorial Lake Ontario Pro-Am Salmon Team Tournament set for May 30 and 31 out of Wilson and Olcott. Check out www.lakeontarioproam.net for details. As a lead-in to the tournament, the Don Johannes and Pete DeAngelo Memorial 3-Fish/Big Fish contest is set for May 29 and you do not have to fish in the Pro-Am to compete in this contest. Call Mike Johannes at 523-1727 for details.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Lake Ontario
Try some early morning browns close to shore. The northeast wind has made our water very clear. The king bite has been slow. Some cohos and Atlantic salmon have been caught, however we need a northwest blow. And not a gale force wind. Just something to make some dirty water.
A few kings have been caught deep 175 fow down 120.
The weather forecast for the rest of the week is for a southeast wind which is better than anything from the north.
Rochester Lake Ontario temps are 44 degrees.
Bays
Perch are close to shore in shallow water at the north end of Port Bay. They have been feeding on small minnows so use white 2-inch grubs, tipped with spikes. They have also been on the northeast side of the bay.
Sodus Bay has seen some rock bass action close to the shore…next to docks.
There are also perch near the channel, however you have to be careful where you go. Stay away from the east side buoys.
Some bullheads are being caught from Bay Bridge. We just need some more heat…and it won’t be here this week.
The pike season opened Thursday May 1st. The limit is 5 fish with a 22-inch minimum.
Use some heavy bright spoons and cast or troll near LeRoy Island or between the other islands. The good ole Eppinger Dardevle still works. Remember that spoon??
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
The canal is now open for recreational traffic.
Launch at Widewaters for boating access. When the bass season opens, you’ll catch lunkers at Widewaters. Currently, anglers are catching rock bass, bluegills, and crappies. For the larger catches, the canal has pike,
The Erie Canal will be open until November 3rd this year.
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:
Light fishing pressure on the Orleans County open Lake waters for now. Some of our charter fleet are still plying the west end and finding pockets of salmon with some nice cohos thrown in the mix too. Off the Oak, the rec boat pressure is pretty light too, so if you’re looking for unharried water, there’s plenty of space here! We are still up against some challenging weather conditions with no great warm-up yet afoot. Today featured a medium hard east wind, and there may be more of that in the forecast through mid-week, with rain and storms expected. Looking ahead toward the holiday weekend, it looks like the temps may moderate. Hopeful that some prevailing winds can set up to stabilize and warm the mid-depth waters.
For now, Capt. Chris V. from U-Betcha Charters got out for some of the past weekend (Sunday was a blow day) and found lakers in 135 fow. The lakers liked cowbells and white spinnies. Heading north, they went out to the 27 line around 350 fow and found some Kings and steelhead. Free sliders and short cores were the ticket for those hook-ups.
Some warmer spring weather has to come eventually, and we look forward to the first home derby here at the Oak on June 6 – 8. Check out Facebook for more info for the first leg of King of the Oak (KOTO) and the Orleans County Pro-Am. Early season conditions may bring out the best trollers and weed some of the rest out! Fishing action and pressure should be picking up by then, and either way, it’s all good-natured fun for bragging rights here at the Oak!
On the tribs thanks to a good head of water pumping through all the waterways, likely from the seasonal filling of the Erie Canal, there’s been good smallmouth bass action reported. Great catch and release fun for these big Lake run bruisers that’ll retreat back to the big Lake waters soon.
Oswego County
Fishing remains excellent across Oswego County. Don’t forget—the Sonny’s Brown Trout $2,000-a-Day Tournament takes place this weekend, Friday through Sunday.
Lake Ontario – Oswego County
Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
The brown trout bite is phenomenal, with limits being the rule rather than the exception.
Recent high flows from the Oswego River have created ideal trolling conditions, while persistent strong winds have helped keep cooler water near shore, concentrating fish in 10 to 30 feet of water.
Stickbaits in natural colors continue to be highly effective, while brighter-colored spoons have also been producing good results.
Lake Ontario – Mexico
Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
Mexico Bay has been unusually clear and challenging, with brown trout scattered and wary. The recent strong west winds on Wednesday, combined with high flows from the Oswego River, should help push stained water into the bay—something anglers have been hoping for.
If you’re targeting brown trout, focus your efforts from Pleasant Point to the High Rocks, as that area is likely to see the off-colored water first. If conditions remain too clear or slow inshore, consider heading offshore to target lake trout.