Greater Niagara Region
Frank Campbell
The lower Niagara River has continued to be a roller coaster ride when it comes to fishing. A nice push of king salmon came in after last week’s rain, triggering the best drift fishing of the season in Devil’s Hole with double digit hook ups being reported.
The most productive presentation was skein on 3-way rigs. Action slowed on Monday, and it seemed as if most of those fish had moved further upriver past Devil’s Hole. Walleyes have also been a hit and miss proposition with success varying from angler to angler. Some decent shore action has been taking place in the Devil’s Hole area for salmon, walleye and bass. Kings are cooperating with anglers throwing hardware such as spoons or egg skein under bobbers, while walleye have responded to stick baits and jigs. The most consistent action for anglers has been bass throughout the system with a variety of live bait off 3-ways being the most productive.
Mike Rzucidlo of Niagara Falls hit the gorge this week and managed to hook up with double digit smallmouth bass on his homemade No. 3 spinners. He also hit a big salmon by fishing a slow retrieve down deep.
Capt. Joe Srouji of Angler Edge Outdoors has also been picking up some salmon in Devil’s Hole with treated egg skein. Minnows and crayfish have been the best bait for bass, fished off three-way set-ups. Some trout are starting to show up. Alan Raymond with The Wicked Worm tackle shop in Youngstown also noted that salmon are still being caught off the NYPA fishing platform. He was able to catch a few brown trout at the Youngstown north dock this week. He is starting to see more browns in the early morning jumping out of the water. Bass are being caught from shore. Bass are hitting shiners and shiner imitations.
In the upper Niagara River, Matt Wilson of Wheatfield was out over the weekend, giving an on-water seminar for a couple of his friends on using electronics to identify fish and fish-holding areas. Using sidescan, he marked an area that held 40-50 fish. When he stopped marking fish, he ran back up the river to the starting point and started casting to the fish. They caught 14 bass on 16 casts using a ¼-ounce football jig head with a Wilson mop jig. They found another area on the east river holding some decent fish. Casting Rat-L-Traps and swimbaits, they ended the day with their five biggest bass going better than 25 pounds. Wilson insists that sometimes not fishing to find fish is key. Put your rods down for a while to not only find fish but to find structure.
Karen Evarts with The Boat Doctors and Tackle Barn in Olcott reports fishing is much better after the recent rains, with more precipitation on the way. Browns and kings are being caught at Burt Dam and some Atlantics and kings are being caught off the piers. Voodoo jigs, egg sacs flies, death roe, and beads all working at the dam. Pike, salmon, browns and perch are in the harbor on eggs or spoons. For pike, try using a Chuck Booker Big Chinook spinner. Glow spoons and J13 Rapalas are good lures to try off the piers.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Streams
Some regions of Wayne County received a couple of inches of rain the last few days. The rainfall was to the south. The streams which enter the lake only received an inch…not enough to make Maxwell Creek bust through to Lake Ontario.
This week the weather experts predict a few rainy days. Ok, bring it on.
You can cast out from the Sodus pier. There has been some serious dredging of the channel, so walk out to the end and cast some bright heavy spoons.
Bays
The water temps in Port and Sodus Bays are now in the 50’s which usually makes perch fishing more productive. A few boats were on Port Bay this morning, working the points in the bay.
Use the 2-inch grubs with a tail and put on fresh spikes. Tie your sinker on the bottom with the hook 12 inches above.
The Sodus Bay largemouths are still being caught. After yesterdays “big blow” from the northwest, Sodus has calmed down with a Southwind today.
The bass will be caught around the weedbeds which are at the south end of the bay. Use a Senko rig.
Some pike were caught on the north side of LeRoy Island. Regs for northerns are 22-inches and a five fish limit. The pike season closes on March 15th.
Sodus Bay 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
Sunday was the perfect day to try for some bass at Widewaters. Some kayak anglers were fishing the south side. There is not much boat traffic this time of the year. You have the canal to yourself. There are some open spots on the north trail from Widewaters to Port Gibson. You can cast from shore for bass, bluegills, sunfish, and some crappies.
The canal is open until November 3, 2025, for boat traffic.
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:
Well we are getting the wet and cooler weather finally that we all hoped for. Since the past weekend and through the beginning part of this week, there has been 3/4 to 1 inch of rain for the area. Yet given as dry and droughty as existing conditions are – there’s been no high or dirty or blown water conditions. The Oak and other area smaller waterways, according to gauging stations, are showing just a small bump up.
A note about the USGS stream gauges (aside from the normal limitations) is that websites are displaying a different look due to the current federal government shutdown, and data may not always be accurate or verifiable. The North Hamlin (Sandy) station may additionally have been showing some inaccuracies even beforehand.
There is a chance for rain or showers today and another chance at soaking rain midweek and more showers through the end of week. The forecast is for continued cool temps and additional accumulations of 0.50 + inches rain. At the forecasted rate of rainfall and existing droughty conditions, we do not expect waterways to get to an unfishable condition. There have been some windy conditions with resultant leaf fall. Expect likely daily water level fluctuations at the Oak thanks to hydropower operations and turbine rack cleaning of leaves and debris. Leaf fall could be extended this year due to so far limited cold weather and the dry conditions.
Flows in the Oak are medium and just slightly stained. A peak period of Erie Canal water feed is scheduled to be reduced, so flows may go down a little bit by the end of this week if rainfall is not enough to keep flows up. Check out the Erie Canal Fall Fishing Program tab link on this page for additional and upcoming flow release dates for other tribs. Flows in the other area smaller waterways are up slightly from what was low-mod to mod-med and slightly stained. Look for leaves, weeds and debris to be moving out of all the waterways. Erie Canal peak water release periods upcoming should really benefit the smaller waterways but the slight perk up right now should be a good trigger for tardy salmon migrations and newer trout migrations. Overall angler intel from the smaller waterways sometimes does not come as freely as say, from the Oak, but we are hearing from a few guys about intercepting what sounds like the first mass seasonal movements of browns and having a banner time.
On the Oak, fishing pressure perked up the past weekend and for the beginning part of this week. There are more trout anglers getting out lately, looking for browns and steelhead and Atlantics. Salmon chances are still good and those anglers haven’t given up their pursuits yet – and really shouldn’t. There are barely just some Kings beginning to show signs of wear with no great zombie patrols just yet. This latest change in weather, with the added precipitation, seems to have put some more Kings on the move. Near-shore Lake fish are moving in and lower river fish are moving up to frog water spots and frog water fish are moving up to the fast water stretches.
Archers Club and that mid river area is producing a few hook ups for anglers hanging in, with upstream areas nearer the dam producing prob a little better. Mixed bag chances now with more browns and a few steelhead and Atlantics reported. Anglers continue to say they see fish migrating or salmon crashing around with sometime a frustrating lack of hookups. Salmon anglers at the dam are benefiting from more ernest King movement that might have begun just before the latest precipitation. Look for the fair to good salmon action at the dam to continue with more and more brown trout in the mix. It remains mostly a skein and eggs and bead bite with float anglers who are able to make the best light line dead drift presentations, having the best luck. If you’re more interested in swinging presentations, now can be the time in the cool water periods before the cold water periods for best action. The key is to find less harried fish.
The St. Mary’s Archers Club 2025 public access fall season parking will be from Oct. 10 through Nov. 11. Parking is $10, with gates opening at 4-5 a.m. and closing at 4 p.m. A lunch will also be served this year. For updates, visit the Sportsman’s Archery Club of St Mary’s Inc Facebook page.
Oswego County
Fishing has remained excellent across Oswego County! The rain early in the week brought in what appears to be the remainder of the Kings and Cohos.
Following the salmon run are the “silver bullets” we chase all fall, winter, and spring—steelhead!
Salmon River, Pulaski NY
• Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
If you’re still looking to catch a few more salmon, there are plenty around. Most have now moved to their spawning grounds, so focus your efforts on gravel areas.
For trout, fish are still being found in faster water—concentrate on riffles, chutes, and fast runs. Productive baits this time of year include egg imitations, beads, glo bugs, and estaz flies.
Bright colors work well for early steelhead—chartreuse and pink are great choices beyond the standard egg tones. Don’t hesitate to try large egg sacs in pink, chartreuse, blue, or peach.
The highest concentrations of steelhead are currently between the DSR and the 2A bridge, though fish are already showing up in Altmar as well. The rain early in the week helped get things moving, and additional rain by week’s end should help fill the reservoir and raise river levels further.
Oswego River
Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
Water levels on the Oswego River have remained low, even after this week’s rain. However, the slight change in flow has brought more Kings into the deep channel, giving anglers on both the high and low walls a better shot at salmon.
With the dam shut off, remaining fish have concentrated at its base. Anglers are also finding success from the Utica Street Bridge up to the dam, targeting salmon with single-egg patterns—whether beads or flies—in the faster water.
Please note that there is significant construction on West 1st Street; plan accordingly.
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. Click here for the current water flow.
Additional Oswego County Locations
North Sandy Pond:
A few cars were spotted at fishing access paths, but there wasn’t much activity earlier in the week. The water level was low with little flow. As of today (Wednesday, 10/22), there’s been more activity, with anglers spotted under the Woodville bridge. There’s also an increased flow of water that seems closer to normal levels, but little angler success.
South Sandy Pond:
A few vehicles were parked at fishing access walk path locations, but no anglers were visible earlier in the week. Little to no flow. As of today (Wednesday, 10/22), many anglers were spotted upstream under the bridges at Ellisburg, Joslyn Rd, and Monitor Mills Rd. Water has also risen a little to a more normal level with decent flow. There have been a couple of kings caught.
Little Sandy Creek:
Water seems to be on the lower side. Some flow.
Grindstone:
There is some flow, but there have been no anglers spotted.
Little Salmon:
Water is on the lower side; some flow. There has been decent angler success at the Jellystone campground, all catching kings. Otherwise, it’s been slow.
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.