Greater Niagara Region
Frank Campbell
Good news all the way around for fishing enthusiasts in Niagara Falls USA! The Greater Niagara Fishing Expo opens this week, Feb. 19 at the Niagara Falls Convention Center, offering over 200 quality seminars and 180 vendor booths to occupy your time. Check out niagarafishingexpo.com for details. On Monday, the captain trio of Joe, Chris and Connor Cinelli of Grand Island were ice-breakers quite literally as they chipped away the Lewiston launch ramp to open the lower Niagara River for boats.
The Niagara River fishing will be taking off this week, from both boat and shore, as boat access was finally opened at Lewiston. Fishing was lights-out for the Cinelli family as they hit the water for the first time in many weeks, with pink egg sacs fished off a three-way rig the ticket for success. From shore, Mike Ziehm of Niagara Falls hit the water again in the gorge and found 6 to 7 feet of water clarity in some spots. His homemade white jigs tricked walleyes, steelhead, lake trout, and brown trout into hitting. Ice wasn’t too much of an issue. Mark Plennert of Niagara Falls lost a steelhead on his third cast but landed a second steelie and a small brown trout. Capt. Tyler Siegmann of CGF Guide Service fished from shore off Artpark and caught a couple steelhead on 8 mm pink beads and three on homemade soft plastics rigged on jigs. Alan Raymond at The Wicked Worm in Youngstown had good reports of steelhead being caught from shore upriver, along with a few brown trout. Now that boats have access, look for the Niagara Bar and Coast Guard drifts to be hotspots. Noah Radecki with The Outsiders on YouTube had a successful weekend filming from shore using a Crackhead jig under a float. Look for it on YouTube.
Tom Wilson of Lewiston with sons Trevor and Logan hit the back bay in Wilson for some hard water action over the weekend and did well in 9 to 10 feet of water on big bluegills, some perch up to 11 inches, and a rock bass using wax worms and jigs in green and white, tipped with a wax worm. Ice thickness was 12-plus inches. Water clarity was good.
Matt Vogt of Newfane also fished Wilson Tuscarora hard this past weekend. He ended up catching a good number of bluegills and some perch. There was about 12 to 13 inches of ice where he fished. Fish were coming 3-4 feet off bottom to eat and he caught over a limit of bluegill, several rock bass, 4 largemouth bass, a couple crappies, as well as some perch sprinkled in, too. He was using a jig tipped with wax worm and some live shiners.
Karen Evarts at The Boat Doctors and Tackle Barn reports that action was very good earlier in the week at Burt Dam for brown trout and steelhead. Wax worms, beads, and eggs were all working, but it has slowed down a bit. Olcott ice fishing was doing well until the warmup but with melting snow and rain in the forecast, the moving waters of 18 Mile Creek will make this unsafe. Don’t take chances. One person fell in on Tuesday with weakening conditions according to reports.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Streams
Maxwell Creek has some open sections. Try for the steelhead in the small pools. Maybe the next weather pattern will not be so cold. Fresh egg sacs work the best.
Bays
The anglers were out on Sodus Bay in the hundreds. Including today we have had some great weather patterns. There are spots where you must walk through some slushy heavy snow, however there are plenty of trails left by the machines on the ice.
Ice is 14 inches at Thirds Creek, near the islands, at the trestle, and out from Bay Bridge. Bay Bridge Sport Shop is having another ice fishing contest, sponsored by the Sodus Point Bass Club. Saturday, the 21st is the date. Bay Bridge has the info 315-587-9508.
The perch are in deeper water, and the females are hanging out together. Use perch eyes or fresh spikes on silver and yellow jigs.
The prediction is for some nasty weather coming are way. Maybe they will be wrong.
Dock bubblers on Sodus and Port Bays are creating very large open holes. Don’t fish next to any bubbler.
You can now park at Davenport’s Marina on the south end of Sodus. See Don at the bait shop for information.
Erie Canal
They have been catching bluegills and perch on Widewaters. Bass is only catch and release during the winter months.
The canal doesn’t have as much wind as the northern bays in Wayne County.
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.
Orleans County
Orleans County Sportfishing Coordinator Ron Bierstine:
The area is in the midst of a slow to medium warm-up through this week that is forecast to last until about the upcoming weekend. Temps are going into the 40’s for daytime highs and dropping back to the 30’s F at night. There is a chance for rain or freezing rain for the mid-week and more precipitation for the end of the week. Total precipitation over both events may reach 0.50 – 1.00 inch accumulation. Temps after this warm-up may go back to around freezing for the highs.
Flow conditions will be changing as a result of the forecast, especially toward the end of the week. So far as of today, there is not a lot of flow change evidenced because of the slow melt off. The smallest and smaller waterways are still mostly iced up. The area-wide snowpack has settled down to about 1 ft +/- of heavy wet snow. Depending upon how much melting there is and future precipitation that is received look for all the waterways to be on the rise and opening up some. It’s unknown at this time if the significant amount of ice that has built up in the waterways will completely clear out, especially in the lower reaches and estuary areas. There is a chance for some ice jam flooding.
Today flows in the Oak are still low and clear. A good portion of the bank-side ice has gone away, and that trend should continue. Downstream flat water areas are likewise opening up and there is a channel of fishable water. Look for rising flows, changing water color, more ice moving out and the chance for overflow levels on the rise.
Anglers are still into the decent steelhead action like at the dam as they have been these past few weeks. As more downstream areas may fill in with higher flows, look for tasty drift opportunities through the rest of the rivercourse and fresh fish chances. The other area, smaller waterways, will need some time to open up enough to encourage fresh fish migrations and to open up the driftable spots. Look for good late winter and springtime fresh steelhead action ahead. Stay tuned to see what the waterways look like after a few more days of this warm-up!
Oswego County
Steelhead fishing remains excellent this winter, with fresh fish continuing to enter the river.
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Salmon River, Pulaski NY
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With the recent warm-up following the deep freeze, ice cover has cleared and the steelhead have become more active. The upper river has been crowded, so anglers should consider concentrating their efforts from Pineville downstream to the DSR. The larger, slower holes are holding fish that have been relatively undisturbed for weeks; these fish are now rested and feeding actively.
Productive offerings have included jigs, pink worms, egg sacs, and beads. Fish what you are confident in and adjust as needed.
The Lower Fly Zone has also seen steady activity. Sucker spawn patterns, carpet flies, and beadhead nymphs have all been effective.
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Oswego River
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Water levels have stabilized, but with the recent warm-up and rain, flows are expected to increase. Rising flows should begin to break up the heavy ice and improve fishing conditions from the dam to the lock. As flows increase, the low wall should become more productive as well.
Due to the heavy ice pack, the harbor is currently unfishable.
Below the powerhouse, jigs and beads have been the most productive presentations. Eggs and beads should perform well throughout the remainder of the river.
Cold Weather Reminder:
With temperatures forecast to fall below 10 degrees, fish gills and eyes can freeze quickly when exposed to the air. If photos are desired, keep fish in the water as long as possible and limit air exposure to only a few seconds.
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.
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