Greater Niagara Region
Frank Campbell
It’s a fishing contest weekend in Lake Ontario as the Lake Ontario Counties (LOC) Trout and Salmon Derby ends on Sunday, the Lake Ontario Trout and Salmon Association has three club events going on, the All Counties Salmon Slam starts Saturday, and the Sonny’s Salmon Tournament is going on – all happening this weekend.
The Summer LOC Derby heads into the final weekend and some new leaders were caught and weighed in again this week. For the $15,000 Grand Prize, Bradley Evans of Arlington, Texas caught a 32-pound, 4-ounce salmon to take over the lead for the big check. Amanda Kimble of Clinton, Maine weighed in a new brown trout leader at 16 pounds, 8 ounces from Wayne County. A new LOC Derby steelhead leader also came from Wayne County when Mike Lewis of Canastota weighed in a 13-pound, 13-ounce fish. There was a bigger Olcott fish weighed in and he was in the derby, but the youth was only 8 years old. You must be a minimum of 10 years of age.
According to Evarts, fishing changed a bit with recent northeast winds, but boaters are still doing well on salmon and trout once you find active fish. Wilson was doing well in 60 to 300 feet of water with meat rigs and spoons. Target 40 to 80 feet down. Capt. Joe Oakes of Salmonboy Sportfishing reports a mix of kings and steelhead being caught on flasher-flies, meat and spoons. He found active fish spread out from 150 feet of water all the way to the border. For him, 40-foot to 80-foot down worked best.
The first signs of a consistent salmon bite arrived at the Niagara Bar drop off over the weekend. John Van Hoff of North Tonawanda and Kevin Guenther of Niagara Falls hit the Niagara Bar in 120 to 150 feet of water with flasher-fly and meat rigs. Their best zone was 60 to 120 feet down, catching salmon up to 25 pounds. In Olcott, Vic Thibault of Newfane did well off his home port around the 200-foot mark, 70 feet down with green spoons.
In the upper Niagara River, Capt. Peter Goretti of Buffalo was hitting smallmouth bass between the humps. The moss is slowly starting to dissipate. Alan Raymond at The Wicked Worm reports that not much has changed since last week with a mix of smallmouth bass and walleyes being caught. Moss is starting to phase out of the system. Capt. Joe Srouji with Angler Edge Outdoors is still working around the moss for smallmouth bass. Drop shot rigs with paddletails or grubs with lighter weight has been a good work around while fishing through the moss.
There is a new walleye tournament coming up next weekend. The inaugural Fishing FUR a better tomorrow lower Niagara River contest will be run out of Fort Niagara August 2nd. Call 807-9127 for details. Also, mark your calendar for the 50th Annual Greater Niagara Fish Odyssey Derby August 16-24. It could be the final one.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Lake Ontario
Congratulations to Pro Team 5-More-Minutes and Amateur Team Silver Rush for winning the 2025 Sodus Pro Am.
The salmon fishing has been excellent with catches coming east and west out of Sodus Bay. The kings were in 150 to 130 fow. In the mix have been some cohos and steelhead.
Spoons have been working the best. Use some older Northern King ladderbacks and Wonderbread if you have them. Stinger spoons are working off the riggers and the dipsy divers.
Moonshine Carbon 14 has been another hot spoon for the kings.
Seven days left to catch some of those mature kings for LOC Derby big money payoffs.
2025 LOC DERBY DATES
• Summer June 28th July 27th
• Fall Aug 15th Sept 1st.
• Register now to win your share of the $147,150 guaranteed cash in the 2025 loc derbies!!
Bays
The perch from Port and Sodus Bays have entered the lake. This happens every year. You need to look for some structure and fish shallow 8 to 10 fow. From Hughes’s Marina to Chimney bluffs, east to the Fairhaven Bay border you’ll find perch.
Use smaller bright jigs tipped with spikes. Catch them using your ultra-light gear.
Sodus Bay continues to be the hot spot for bass anglers. The largemouths can be found off the points and next to heavy weedlines.
Sodus boats can be launched at the Margaretta launch on the west side of the bay or Bay Bridge Sport Shop at the south end.
Port Bay has the south and north DEC launch sites from West Port Bay Road. Both are in great shape for boats with enough parking for the trailers.
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
Kayak anglers were at Widewaters yesterday. There is a kayak launch at Widewaters County Park.
The bass are everywhere between the locks at Newark and Palmyra. Stay on the south side of the canal as boat traffic will usually be on the north.
Conditions permitting, all portions of the New York State Canal system are now open. This is the 201st consecutive year of travel along New York’s Canals and the 200th anniversary of the original Erie Canal’s completion on October 26, 1825.
There are no tolls or fees for recreational use of the Canal system 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:
We’ve had slightly cooler and less humid weather so far for the start of this week after rain at the end of the past weekend. Our old “friend,” the east winds, have tried to make a comeback, but so far are limited to earlier in the day, whitewater. The forecast ahead looks warmer and more humid and chance of storms through the weekend. Always check the marine forecast when heading out. Weather and winds with fast-moving storms can change for the worse rapidly.
Diversity is the name of the game in the Lake Ontario Orleans County waters. This season’s trolling action may well be remembered for the mixed bag action as much or more than the number of Kings landed. Yet even though mature Kings remain somewhat elusive, big fish are still coming to hand. Just check out the summer LOC Derby results for confirmation of that. If the salmon keep eating bait for the rest of the summer, there should be some legit heavyweights for the fall LOC Derby and tributary runs!
One serious rec angler described the action as a “casual pick.” Great numbers of Atlantics, chunky browns, good steelhead, those cooperative cohos, and fill-in lakers are making up for any perceived shortage of Kings. Fish seem hungrier now, too, with bait showing up as more scattered than earlier in the season when spinning bait was everywhere.
Tightlines Charters CJO says, “several programs are working on whopper browns and Atlantics with skirmishes on Kings day to day. Modified spoons are getting the goby eating brownies at Bald Eagle to the Flats, as well as west at Green Harbor to the County line. Northwest and west winds usually push the fish together.”
Oak Orchard die-hard anglers Karen and Dan J. had several steelhead just shy of the Summer LOC leaderboard by only an ounce! They let the fleet get an early start and took a leisurely 1000AM start and found their hook-ups around the 29 line straight out of the Oak. The King and one steelhead came on a dipsey with a bikini bottom paddle and a Leonard Fly. The other 2 steelhead came on a raspberry NK mag off a downrigger 72 ft down.
Capt. Rob W. of Legacy Sportfishing has for sure been making the best of the diversity and getting his anglers multiple hook-ups. Check out the Lake Ontario grand slam that his NH anglers boated just recently. Look at those quality fish – all 6 species of trout and salmon! That’s a tough creel to pull off anywhere else in Lake Ontario and perhaps in the rest of the Great Lakes! And how about this to top that off? That’s the 2nd Lake Ontario grand slam for his anglers so far this season. Now that’s making the best of things with quality hook-ups! Lately his action has been inside of 150 fow.
Oswego County
Fishing remains excellent on the eastern end of Lake Ontario. Whether you’re targeting brown trout or salmon, the action has been steady—get out there and enjoy it.
Lake Ontario – Oswego County
Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
Anglers launching out of Oswego have been working depths ranging from 139 feet out to over 500 feet. North–south trolling patterns have been productive, but don’t hesitate to stay at whatever depth you find success.
Meat rigs have been the top-producing presentation recently, while spoons have seen limited action. Chartreuse-themed flashers have been especially effective, with chrome patterns performing best under sunny conditions. Hot meat rig colors include green glow, stud, and warship.
Lake Ontario – Mexico
Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
Salmon are beginning to enter the bay, with the most consistent activity near the Shark’s Fin—a contour line in front of the Salmon River that resembles a dorsal fin.
Brown trout fishing has been steady in 50 to 75 feet of water, from Selkirk to the High Rocks. Leadcore lines, slide divers, and downriggers have all been producing well.
Spey Nation Returns August 8-10, 2025
Swing The Fly is honored to announce Spey Nation will return August 8-10, 2025, to the storied banks of the Salmon River in beautiful Oswego County New York.
LEARN MORE
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.