Greater Niagara Region
Frank Campbell
The lower Niagara River has been rocking all week, ever since the launch ramp was cleared of ice. Capt. Chris Cinelli of Grand Island was out every day the past week and he found conditions near-perfect for drifting the lower Niagara River. Pink and yellow egg sacs and minnows have been the baits of choice, fished off three-way rigs – catching steelhead, brown trout, lake trout and walleye. Capt. Frank Campbell of Lewiston hit the water recently and he found hungry trout chewing on minnows fished off three-way rigs for a mixed bag of trout and walleye. He caught fish from Lewiston all the way down to the Niagara Bar off the mouth of the river. Best depth was 10 to 25 feet of water. Alan Raymond at The Wicked Worm in Youngstown reports that folks along the bank on both sides of the river are catching some steelhead/rainbow trout using beads and drifting soft plastics. March 28 is the Second Annual Spring Steelhead Slam sponsored by The Wicked Worm. Find out more information at www.thewickedworm.com. Capt. Tyler Siegmann of CGF Guide Service hit the water a few times since the ice was cleared and found cooperating trout from Devil’s Hole to the Stella drift on beads, egg sacs, soft plastics, and minnows.
Shore anglers are still connecting on trout, too. Mike Ziehm of Niagara Falls reported that there was clear water above the powerplant and stained water below the powerplant. It’s ice free for now as long as the ice bridge keeps holding. Fishing from shore has been a little bit of a challenge according to Ziehm. It seems most fish are holding down river in calmer areas, as well as out further in deeper water.
The ice has melted down a bit at Wilson Harbor with some parts of the white ice starting to turn into a slush layer. Overall, there was still about 9 to 11 inches of ice according to Matt Vogt and Nick LaRose of Newfane. With the slight warmup, they recommend exercising caution getting on the ice. The recent cold nights should help for the remainder of the season. The panfish bite was steady all morning over the weekend for Vogt and LaRose, and they landed plenty of bluegill, perch and rock bass. Around noon the bite died off, and the fish were acting very picky. That was when the northern pike grabbed their baits and they iced three nice pike in about 15 minutes. No one was ice fishing at Olcott Harbor. However, Karen Evarts with The Boat Doctors and Tackle Barn in Olcott reports anglers are still catching brown trout and some steelhead at Burt Dam on 18 Mile Creek. The water was muddy. Beads, wax worms, nightcrawlers, and dead mealworms were working. White and olive colored marabou jigs were catching fish, too.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Streams
Maxwell Creek and Salmon Creek in Pultneyville still have some openings. Later this week the temps are expected to be in the 40’s which will give the stream anglers a chance for some steelhead.
Egg sacs or bright red jigs work the best.
Bays
It’s a wrap at Sodus Point Bass Club / Bay Bridge Sport Shop contest which took place last Saturday, the 21st. The ice derby had 27 teams. Some nice perch and pike crossed the scales at Bay Bridge Sport Shop. The fishing community showed out today. Special thanks to Janelle Hunt and Tommy for running the bait shop and opening your arms at Riley’s Bar & Grill to the anglers for hot food and cold drinks. Erie Power Equipment Dieter and Rachel Swartz McCooey brought their equipment to the derby.
Ice is 14 inches at Thirds Creek, near the islands, at the trestle, and out from Bay Bridge. The Loop at Sodus Point has too much slush, and it’s not the safest place to fish.
Port Bay has 12 inches of ice, however in the middle of the bay there is a slushy layer making it difficult dragging your shanty.
The perch have been “thumpers” which are the 10 plus inch variety. Use forage minnow jigs from Northland. Tip them with perch eyes or fresh spikes. The bright chartreuse and white colors seem to work the best.
You might need to move around fishing both bays, however, drill your holes in 25 to 30 fow.
Dock bubblers on Sodus and Port Bays are creating very large open holes that you cannot see when you are using machines. Be careful close to any shore. Don’t fish next to 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
Ice anglers had their shanties out at Widewaters over the weekend. There is 10 inches of ice. Set up on the southeast end. You can also try close to shore on the north side near the trails that go to Port Gibson.
There are bluegills and some crappies caught on small chartreuse and white jigs tipped with spikes.
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:
Flows in the Oak and area tribs are on the drop, thanks to a return to some cold temps with below-freezing temps. Temps should stay cold through the midweek period and then warm up slightly to around 40 F by the end of the week. There was no impact here for the WNY area from the previous beginning of the week Nor’easter, and the latest snow accumulations for the area have been 1 – 2 inches. For now, there remains in the fields and protected woods areas +/- 1 foot of windblown snow that will make for more run-off with future warming temps.
Flows in the Oak are slightly high and stained with about 2 ft of visibility. Flows consist of a strong head of turbine water and overflow levels are diminished. It looks like overflow levels came up and down from the last melt-off period for about 2 days, so steelhead migrations into the overflow channel may be minimal. There’s a good head of cold water flowing through the whole stream course, with still some downstream frog water area bank ice. Lower river estuary areas are iced over.
Fishing pressure is pretty light, and recent intel is spotty on reports of angler success. Conditions are good for fresh steelhead migrations. The higher, stained flows can make for harder drifts and hook-ups aren’t going to come easily. That can be the nature of late winter/spring steelhead fishing, though!
Photo courtesy Uncle R.
The other area smaller waterways are mostly open in their upstream fast water areas with high and stained flows. If not for downstream ice jammed areas holding back some flow, those waterways could spill quicker and drop, recede and clear up. Look for those waterways to continue to drop slowly for now, but could be back on the rise toward the end of week and weekend with warmer temps. The up and down temps for now have not opened up completely the smaller waterways – a more prolonged warm-up with high flows will be needed. At least there should be no new significant icing thanks to the lengthening days and low chance of prolonged cold.
Oswego County
The Salmon River has finally seen a bump in water flow. Hopefully, this will draw in the remaining steelhead looking to spawn.
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Salmon River, Pulaski NY
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Fishing remains excellent on the Salmon River. Late February has traditionally been a productive time to be on the water, as steelhead are making their final heavy feed before peak spawning activity begins.
This week, reports have been strong throughout the entire river system. Anglers are finding success in the DSR, the Town section, mid-river, the Upper River, and the Fly Zone.
Eggs, beads, jigs, flies, and pink worms have all been producing. As always, run what you’re confident in and be willing to cover water. However, once you locate fish, stay with them—some areas have been producing high numbers. Color selection has varied widely, with no single pattern dominating.
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Oswego River
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Ice has receded, and the harbor has been fishing very well. The recent water increase has helped push fish closer to shore. Jigs continue to be the primary presentation.
Anglers still have a couple of weeks to target walleye before the season closes. Upstream, the High Wall has been producing decent action.
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.
Sandy Pond
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There is still 8” of ice on the pond. But it’s a bit slushy, so four wheelers aren’t recommended.
Pike and pickerel have been on fire and we’re also starting to see some crappie. Iron decoys and perch pounders are the hot tickets.
The main points of ice access for Sandy Pond are: “The Elms,” Wigwam, Greenpoint and the DEC launch at Stanley Drive.
Thanks to Woody’s tackle for the help with this report. Be sure to check our Facebook page, Oswego County Fishing, or else call Woody’s tackle directly for info about future derbies.
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