Greater Niagara Region
Frank Campbell
The 16th Annual Niagara County Bullhead Tournament was held last weekend and there were 134 entries, including 43 junior anglers ages 12 and under as they enjoyed decent conditions around the county. Leading the way for the adults was a father-son team from Ontario, NY – John Fioco with two fish weighing 4.32 pounds and Paul Fioco with 4.24 pounds. Third place was Matt Bedient of Lockport with 4.17 pounds. Youth winner was Bryson Fitzgibbon with 3.38 pounds of bullhead. Logan Wilson of Lewiston was second with 3.01 pounds and Ashton Botting of Wilson placed third with 2.73 pounds of bullhead. Biggest bowfin for the tournament was Andy Hallatt with a 28-3/4-inch fish.
River action has been good the past week. Capt. Joe Srouji of Angler’s Edge Outdoors reports brown trout continue to cooperate using minnows or soft plastics on three-way rigs. There has been very little ice in the river due to ice boom complications, but with wind events on Monday and Tuesday, there should be some ice coming through the system; not much though.
Alan Raymond at the Wicked Worm in Youngstown reports that brown trout are still at Fort Niagara. They love the medium golden shiners at the dock or on a drift. Little Cleo’s at the dock and an Iron Decoy steely in No. 3 and No. 4 have been good from boats. Steelhead are hitting up in Devil’s Hole/Whirlpool area using inline spinners, including both Vibrax and Arctic spinners.
Tim Andrus from Rush Outdoors drifted the Devil’s Hole area battling rain, wind, and changing water color to connect with several lake trout and steelhead while filming an episode of Rush Outdoors earlier this week with Capt. Frank Campbell of Lewiston. A good number of fish are holding throughout the river with steelhead at Artpark, lake trout in Devil’s Hole, and brown trout in the lower drifts towards Lake Ontario. Best baits to target steelhead have been egg sacs, beads, and MagLips. Lakers have been responding to minnows, while browns have been taken on minnows and MagLips. Look for the water visibility to improve and fishing to stabilize over the next week. Capt. John Oravec of Tight Lines Charters has been having success presenting minnows for brown trout in the lower stretches of the river.
Capt. Mike Johannes of On the Rocks Charters reports that he managed to get his big boat out for a shakedown cruise out of Wilson and did well on Sunday. He caught his first brown in front of Tuscarora Beach. In three hours, they boated seven and lost three, using Bay Rats and Rapalas in natural colors off in-line boards. His best rod was a No. 2 diver out 20-30 feet with a gold backed green jeans spoon. Most of his action came in the slightly warmer water. The fishing seemed better when he was away from the pack of boats in front of the pier heads. He also caught a couple fish off a downrigger and spoon just off the bottom. Best depth was between 8 and 15 feet of water.
Capt. Anthony Ellis of Redemption Charters reports water is about perfect for brown trout fishing out of Olcott. A mix of Super Slim spoons and stick baits did the damage in a variety of colors but if you find that one color they really want, it’s a fun day. One day he boxed out with 6 browns in about 1.5 hours. On Saturday, practicing catch and release, they boated 15 browns.
Finger Lakes and Western New York Fishing Report
Captain Nick Petrou Nick Petrou of Natural Outfitters Guide Service
The yellow perch fishing still remains as the strongest bite here in the finger lakes region. With the water still up and stained in some of the bigger finger lakes, the smaller ones have been producing better perch action. Dropshots with fathead minnows and small swimbaits are accounting for a lot of the action. The best bet has been the 10-20 foot zone wherever you can find cleaner water. Our last few trips we’ve been averaging around a one to two man limit every outing, with some days slower than others. We’ve kept 493 perch in the last 5 outings according to my records. From reports from other anglers, the Lake Erie perch fishing is a red hot when you can get out there in the 60-80 foot range.
Crappie and bluegill fishing has picked up tremendously with the warm temps. If you can find shallow water above 50 degrees, you’ll find them. Slip bobbers with small swimbaits or trout magnets fished in 5-15 feet of water have been working the best.
The bass action has picked up a ton here in the finger lakes and even out into Lake Ontario. Jerkbaits, crankbaits, chatterbaits and skirted jigs have been the best baits. Again, if you can find clean water, that’s your ticket to catching them. The largemouth bite in the finger lakes seems to be better than the smallmouth bite, but that can change any day. Now the the ice boom is getting taken down on Lake Erie, that will put the big smallmouth into play here very soon.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Streams
Maxwell is flowing great. Try the south side of Lake Road and walk up the creek until you find some small pools. Fish for some steelhead using bright red beads, egg sacs, or small jigs.
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario fishing is HOT! The browns are in shallow water from the east and the west coming out of Sodus Bay. The catch is not just browns. Charters are catching Atlantics, steelhead and some cohos.
Use stickbaits and spoons off the boards. If you have your rods bending, stay where you. Don’t go looking for fish when you are catching fish.
Hot spots are west out of Sodus, trolling to Hughes’ Marina. Out of Port Bay go west to East Bay, or east pass Scott’s Bluff.
The Pen rearing kings came yesterday and the charter captains, who have done an excellent job with the new pens, were impressive to watch. The total fish count came to 100,000 kings, and “Hats Off” to the organized crew.
Bays
Bullheads are everywhere. Fish off Bay Bridge and near the streams dumping in Sodus Bay. If you have your boat ready find shallow water in Port and Sodus Bays. The bullheads will gobble night crawlers and bits of raw shrimp.
The perch are scattered in the bays. You must move around. The Sodus Bay water temps are 48 degrees, which means the perch are ready to spawn.
Blue gills have been caught in Sodus Bay.
Erie Canal
Bullhead fishing has been excellent in the canal. Try the Wayne County Parks near Lyons, Newark, and Palmyra.
The crappies are being caught under the Port Gibson bridge at Widewaters.
The Erie Canal will open Friday, May 15th and will run through October 14th.
There is an excellent DEC site that lists all the boating launch areas in Wayne County: dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/boating/launch-sites/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. On 1298 Route 104 is Ontario Country Max and 625 E Main St. is Palmyra Country Max.
Orleans County
Orleans County Sportfishing Coordinator Ron Bierstine:
This weeks weather is trending warmer with the chance for off and on rain or storms. No significant precipitation yet, with storms having gone both north and south of the area so far. Breezy and windy conditions are forecast through the mid week and better chance at rain Wed or Thu. Longer range forecast is pointing toward a cool down for the end of the upcoming weekend.
Trolling action on the open Lake has been good off the Orleans County waters at Point Breeze. Guys are mostly into drop back browns that seem hungry and have been willing biters. Some on and off stronger winds coming along with passing storms has been the only limiting factor in getting out there. Over-all fishing pressure has been manageable with boats spread out west and east of port. County launch docks are in place at Point Breeze now and parking is available. The rest of the County facilities including restrooms will come on-line soon.
Capt. Jonathon Ross of Route 18 Tackle says “there’s been some Kings hooked up by the trollers working 8 – 25 fow for browns. They’re in pods east of port and going toward Rochester. Those fish are in the stained and warmer discharges of the tribs that have been running on the high side. The Kings will likely disperse but for now they are being taken on the usual spoons and stickbaits that trollers are working for the brown trout.”
No doubt trib water temps are moving into the 50’s + F. The Oak should weather this warm up ok with steelhead still being present, especially if temps cool down ahead. Inevitably though, we can expect steelhead and brown trout to be dropping back toward the Lake (marooned overflow fish may be stranded for now).
Flows in the Oak are slightly high and dropping slowly with 2 ft of stained water color. Flows are real nice for fish to hold most anyplace they want to be. As flows drop and clear the spawning gravel spots become less heavy and anglers can wade and position themselves better for best drifts or swings. Latest intel from the past weekend still had guys scoring steelhead hookups nearer the dam. And downstream dead drifters were into some semi fresh fish in the holes adjacent to gravel spots. A few anglers are making some drifts and swings to spawning fish.
The other area smaller waterways have mod – med flows and slightly stained water color that is warming up a little quicker then the Oak. Look for some lingering steelhead or browns and smallmouth action coming on.
Nearshore and pier head casters are finding receptive hungry post spawn brown trout as long as good looking water not blown up muddy from wind and waves is within casting range. Unfortunately spring time and the weather lately has been bringing on a fair amount of onshore winds!
Oswego County
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With the flood waters receded, steelhead fishing has been excellent. Anglers are hopeful that the next round of heavy rain stays away. Brown trout fishing on the lake has also been outstanding, with conditions about as good as you can ask for.
Salmon River, Pulaski NY
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Following the high water event, steelhead are now spread throughout the entire river system. Anglers can find success on nearly any stretch. Productive offerings have included beads and pink worms, with a wide range of colors producing fish. Chartreuse has been the most consistent, especially given the dirty water conditions, though shades ranging from Chardonnay to very light chartreuse have all been effective. As a general rule, the dirtier the water, the brighter the presentation.
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Lake Ontario – Oswego County
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Brown trout fishing has been strong in 10–25 feet of water, from the western county line to north of the Salmon River. Fish are actively feeding, and both stickbaits and spoons have been effective. In stained water, brighter patterns such as hot steel, citric shad, mongoose, firetiger, and frog have performed well. In clearer water, more natural patterns like ayu, goby, gold perch, black widow, and wiggler have been productive.
Effective setups have included flat lines run 80–125 feet back, 1- and 2-color lead core lines, and divers set 10–25 feet out.
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.
Spey Nation Announced: August 7-9th, 2026
For more info visit the Spey Nation website
Swing The Fly is honored to announce Spey Nation will return August 7th-9th, 2026, to the storied banks of the Salmon River in beautiful Oswego County New York.
This year, we aim to honor the event’s decades-long traditions AND offer a few new and exciting updates.
The presentation schedule for Spey Nation 2026 is still taking shape and will be announced sooner than later, but, as always, the presentations and presentations will be carefully curated to provide a wide range of useful information for attendees to become better casters and better anglers.
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.
Click Here to Order Free Information, or email tourism@oswegocountyny.gov