Greater Niagara Region
Frank Campbell
South Wales, and they managed to catch some steelhead (and lose a few) on pink egg sacs fished off three-way rigs. That window was closed quickly when more wind showed up. Hopefully, that will all change now that the ice boom at the head of the river was finally installed last week. With colder temperatures in the forecast, look for Lake Erie to start freezing up soon. When that happens, the likelihood of muddy conditions following a wind event will be gone. Get ready to hit the water as soon as that river water starts to clear – from both boat and shore. It will be good!
Ice fishing in places like Wilson Harbor and the Small Boat Harbor was put on hold after the recent rain and warmer temperatures. It won’t take long for things to free back up when temperatures plummet into the teens with a below zero wind chill on Thursday. As always, we advise common sense and to err on the side of caution.
Mark Musser has been finding good action through high water conditions in the tributaries.
Karen Evarts with The Boat Doctor and Tackle Barn in Olcott reports that many of the tributaries opened following the recent rains and there were plenty of cars in the Burt Dam parking lot of 18 Mile Creek. Water was stained with many anglers using egg sacs and marabou jigs. Jigs were tipped with spikes and wax worms. Ken Jackson of Sanborn hit the dam for a mix of brown trout and steelhead with eggs. Matt Vogt of Newfane found conditions tough at the dam with difficult fishing. The water was high and muddy. He also found good flow at Keg Creek to the east of Olcott, but no fish were located. He hopes the water push will attract some fresh fish from the lake before things freeze back up again.
The countdown has started for the Greater Niagara Fishing Expo set for Feb. 19-22 at the Niagara Falls Convention Center. There are only a few seats available in LOTSA’s highly acclaimed Salmon School. Check out the long list of fishing education at niagarafishingexpo.com. There are also numerous beginner fishing classes being offered during the four-day show.
Mark down March 28, 2026 for the Lower Niagara River Steelhead Contest! Go Bills!!
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Streams
Maxwell Creek is open to the lake. The browns and steelhead are in the creek; however, you need to find a quiet spot to fish. Try the south side of Lake Road and locate the smaller pools. Or you can walk the northeast side to the lake. If Ontario is calm (a word the lake doesn’t know) you can cast out with some bright heavy spoons towards the mouth of Maxwell.
For the smaller pools use egg sacs that are fresh and try for browns and steelhead.
Salmon Creek in Pultneyville has been open and some steelhead were recently caught on both sides of the bridge on Lake Road.
Bays
We lost all safe ice during the rain and warm-up. Both Sodus and Port Bay are frozen over, however it’s porous ice which is not thick enough to walk on.
We must wait and see if colder temps come and make it harder.
Currently…it is not safe.
Dock bubblers on Sodus and Port Bays are creating very large open holes, and keep in mind the ice is thinner everywhere near bubblers.
You can now park at Davenport’s Marina on the south end of Sodus. See Don at the bait shop for information.
Erie Canal
Widewaters is frozen, however just like our bays, recent rain and thawing temperatures have made it unsafe.
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:
There’s a nice couple of days warm-up underway today and tomorrow with high temps forecast around 40 and it looks like some anglers are targeting this nice weather window. Chance of some rain showers through tonight or tomorrow, but no significant accumulation is expected. Previous rain from a couple of days ago likewise did not amount to all that much, so for now all the waterways are slowly on the drop.
There’s a quick cool down expected after falling temps tomorrow, and then it looks seasonably cold through the upcoming weekend with the chance for some LES for a few inches on NW winds. Although right now it looks like all tribs are open with fishable conditions, another cold snap could ice back up the smaller waterways.
Flows in the Oak are slightly high and look like one click or so less than the turbines being maxed out. Flows consist of all turbine flows with about 2 ft of stained viz. Conditions look real nice by winter time standards and fresh steelhead could show at any time. There’s still a decent amount of guys spread through the stream course, with prob a few more guys at and nearer the dam. A few anglers report the hook-ups are coming a little slower than when the first bit of fresh fish (and uneducated) showed up not too long ago.
There are dead drift float guys using beads and jigs and sacks. There are fly guys dead drifting egg patterns and nymphs and some are swinging or retrieving streamers too. Nearly every day, we hear of some angler hooking up on a hard-fighting big chrome fish, even if they don’t land it! Those are the kind of steelhead that bring us out this time of the year! The other area, smaller tribs look to be offering up a fishable window right now without any serious icing conditions.
There may still be some lower river ice or jams, but upstream fast water areas are open under med to slightly high and stained flows. Look for 1 – 2 ft of viz and the chance for some fresh steelhead or browns redistributed.
Judging by the amount of cars at the Oak, it doesn’t seem like that many anglers have spread back out to those smaller tribs. Some conscientious anglers have remarked that the litter and trash and debris along the waterways, especially at the Waterport dam, is disappointing. On these private property fishing parcels, like on the power company property, we would all do ourselves a favor to preserve the fishing privileges by picking up after ourselves. Let’s keep it neat and clean and carry trash out so we can all enjoy future access for fishing!
Oswego County
Winter is back. Deep cold has returned, but despite the conditions, fishing remains strong.
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Salmon River, Pulaski NY
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Steelhead are scattered throughout the river, from top to bottom, with the most consistent action coming from larger, deeper winter holes. Egg sacs in blue, pink, and purple have been the most productive offerings.
Beads in 10mm and 12mm sizes have also been effective with the recent water bump, with brighter colors producing best. Anglers are additionally finding success with jigs, particularly in white, white/pink, and black.
Fly anglers are doing well with egg imitations in various colors, along with egg-sucking leeches.
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Contact the Oswego County Tourism Department:
Oswego River
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High water has created difficult fishing conditions on the Oswego River. The best opportunity has been in the harbor behind the hotels. With flows over 10,000 CFS, fish are being pushed tight to the east side. Jigs, swimbaits, and deep-diving plugs in natural colors have all been effective.
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.
Free Oswego Fishing Guide
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The 68-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.
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