Greater Niagara Region
Frank Campbell
Over the weekend, there were mixed reports coming in from the Niagara River. Mike Ziehm of Niagara Falls was catching lake trout and steelhead, all on white/chartreuse No. 4 spinners. He also hooked into some walleyes, but the season doesn’t open until May 1 for those fish. The water above the power plant was 5-foot-plus of visibility and below the power facility was stained with decent visibility holding slightly murky at 3 feet on the weekend. Things are transitioning now with plenty of lake trout and steelhead all on the move according to Ziehm. Look for things to heat up soon as water temperatures on the lake and river are warming up. It won’t be long before black bass become active. Boaters in the lower Niagara River enjoyed good success over the weekend. Capt. Joe Marra of Niagara Rainbow Charters reported plenty of steelhead and lake trout in the Devil’s Hole area, bouncing bottom with three-way rigs outfitted with minnows. However, with the cold front that came through earlier in the week, fishing shut down as a result. It’s starting to pick up again.
Out in Lake Ontario, Mark Romanack of Fishing 411 fame paid a visit to Wilson recently to pursue spring brown trout along the shoreline. He was rewarded with a great segment for the show that appears on numerous channels such as World Fishing Network. Long- lining Yakima MagLips on in-line boards provided non-stop action for browns with a few salmon in the mix. Romanack, along with Captain Frank Campbell of Lewiston, targeted stained water at 15-foot depths to do their damage. Gold and orange along with green were the top producing colors.
Capt. Matt Yablonsky of Wet Net Charters also had a good brown trout bite in front of Wilson. He tried for laker trout and kings first thing in the morning out a bit deeper but couldn’t get them to bite – probably because of the dirty river water impacting clarity. After 3 hours, he moved into 15 feet of water and had a good brown trout bite. He was running Dreamweaver Super Slim spoons on downriggers and Junior Challenger sticks on boards. Both took fish. Over in Olcott, Matt Vogt of Newfane hit the lake using a mix of Rapalas off the boards, but he also had some good spoon bites off the downriggers – catching mostly brown trout. In the creek he was tossing tube jigs and Ned rigs to catch a mixed bag of fish. Karen Evarts at The Boat Doctors and Tackle Barn reported some success at Burt Dam and one “secret” bait was cranberries. They caught a few brown trout and they also worked as a snack while fishing. Some fish are being caught off the Olcott pier by tossing spinners. Capt. Ryan Shea of Brookdog Fishing Company managed some very good days on Lake Ontario recently, fishing deeper waters on the Niagara Bar and trolling with spoons to target king salmon. Action was very good.
The first big fishing contest of the year is the Spring Lake Ontario Counties Trout and Salmon Derby May 1-10. Find out details like weigh stations at loc.org.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Streams
Stream fishing has been productive; however, most anglers are trolling the lake for the browns. The steelhead that are still in streams can be found in the smaller quiet pools in Maxwell Creek. Use fresh eggs of bright beads. Salmon Creek in Pultneyville has some steelhead near the bridge or near the yacht club.
Lake Ontario
It has been a fantastic season for brown trout close to shore fishing. If you are leaving Sodus Bay, troll west past Hughes’ Marina. Out of Port Bay, troll east or west from the channel.
If the water is calm stay where you are catching fish. The browns have been in 15 to 20 fow.
Not only are the browns being the targeted fish, but charters are also catching steelhead, Atlantic salmon, some cohos and early spring kings.
Lures have been Stinger spoons and Smithwick Rattlin Rogues.
The Pen rearing kings came last Monday 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. The kings are released based on water temperatures.
Bays
Bullhead fishing has continued in shallow water. Fish the south end of Port Bay and off Bay Bridge, the south end of Sodus.
Don at Davenport Marina mentions that the perch in Sodus Bay have spawned and will soon head for Lake Ontario. Currently, they are near the channel.
Bluegills and some crappies are being caught between the islands at the north end of Sodus.
The docks are in place at both the north and south ramps at Port Bay.
Erie Canal
There are higher water levels at Widewaters and the current is strong. The fish and release largemouth bass are on the southern side of the canal. Bass season opens June 15th. You can keep 5 fish minimum 12 inches.
Bluegills are being caught close to shore, from a boat, or the Widewaters path on the north side of canal.
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:
April and near shore action in the Orleans County waters has been holding up real well with lots of action for civilian trollers and Charters alike! There’s been some blow off days here and there and boaters have to manage the dirty water or mudlines. But when there is reasonable conditions the shallow water browns and Kings have been cooperating. Moving out a little deeper to mid-depths trollers have found the lakers too.
Capt. Chas T. from Searcher Charters says “depends on the water color but browns and salmon have been in tight. The numbers of fish has been great in 10 – 15 fow. Renosky stickbaits have been especially good and DW super slim spoons have been working too. We’ve been finding our lake trout bites with fish in 45 – 75 fow.” Happy anglers and limits have been the norm.
Another civilian solo troller had good action in just an evening outing this past weekend. One good King was hooked in 40 fow about 20 ft down west of Point Breeze. There was some bait tight to bottom in 35 fow and what looked like bottom hugging lakers in 50 – 60 fow. Moving out deeper there was cold water. Back inside in less then 10 fow in the stain the brown trout were biting small spoons. The shallow water bites made it hard to run just a couple of rods!
We may actually be in somewhat of a drying out period after more rain through last week and weekend. Trib flows for now have crested and are back on the drop and clear. After a couple days and nights of cold temps the rest of this week looks seasonably warm with no major precip in the forecast. Next chance at rain is for the upcoming weekend.
Flows in the Oak are slightly high with diminished overflow water. Flows consist of a strong head of turbine flows with about 1 foot of visibility. Flows may continue to drop and clear slowly without any new significant precipitation. Fishing pressure is real light with only a handful of anglers out.
One angler yesterday had some swinging action in the softer water adjacent to a fast water riffle spot. Water temps are hanging in coolish for now in the high 50’s F so steelhead should still be in the waterway with some spawners and drop back fish. All those winter time fish that hung at the dam can be intercepted as they move back out right about now. There is still the chance for fresh fish, some browns or new bass. Keep the drift or swing up and lively and hopefully away from the suckers!
The other area smaller waterways have med flows and slightly stained water color with 1 – 2 ft of visibility. Look for a few dropback steelhead or some browns or bass. Water temps are likely higher then temps in the Oak.
After onshore windy days or with lite to med offshore winds the pierhead and lakeshore casting action has been good, like in the picture below. It seems like there is a good amount of browns out in the open Lake of all year classes – small fresh silver fish, med size post spawn drop back fish and a few legit 10 + pounders.
Spring time Oak Orchard stocking efforts continue with the most recent plants of 37,000 fingerling browns at Point Breeze, see the picture below. USDA cormorant hazing efforts (very important) take place at the same time as stocking to give the fingerlings a good head start at dispersal. Pen reared Kings and steelhead are doing well and are targeted for release next week after their hopeful imprinting on the Oak!
Oswego County
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Fishing has only been getting better as of weather has warmed up!
Salmon River Cleanup Day
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New York Sea Grant and Oswego County Tourism partnered to host a Salmon River Cleanup Day on Saturday, April 11. Nearly 40 volunteers gathered to collect trash and debris from the banks of the Salmon River and surrounding areas.
“This event was a great success,” said New York Sea Grant Great Lakes Fisheries and Ecosystem Health Specialist Stacy Furgal. “It was wonderful to see such a diverse group of fishing and community members joining forces to clean up the river
Oswego County Deputy Director of Tourism Daniel Breitweg added, “We’re proud of what was accomplished at our first Salmon River Cleanup Day; and very grateful to the volunteers for their hard work. We look forward to holding another successful event next year.
Salmon River, Pulaski NY
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Dropback fishing on the Salmon River continues to improve. Following the recent drop in water levels, anglers are finding success throughout the river—from the Fly Zone down through the DSR.
Egg-imitating baits have been the most effective, as they mimic loose steelhead eggs, which are currently the most abundant food source available.
Request a Free Salmon River Fishing Map!
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:
Lake Ontario – Oswego County
Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
Brown trout fishing has been excellent, with fish that are plentiful, aggressive, and in great condition.
Over the past week, more salmon have also started to appear, including Chinook (King), Coho, and Atlantic salmon.
Spoons and stickbaits have been the most effective presentations, run on flat lines as well as one- and two-color lead core setups. A wide range of colors—from natural patterns to bright, high-visibility options—has been productive. Start with a variety and adjust based on what the fish are responding to each day.
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.
Oneida Lake Walleyefest: May 2-4, 2026
For more info visit oneidalakewalleyefestderby.com/festival
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.
Friday May 2nd, 2025
- WalleyeFest Night at Brewerton Speedway
- Discounted admission with WalleyeFest ticket
Saturday May 3rd, 2025
- Derby officially starts at 1201 am
Sunday May 4th, 2025
- Festival grounds open at 11:00 am
- Derby ends at 11:59 am
- FREE FISH FRY for CONTESTANTS
- Live Music:
- 11:30 -1:00 pm – Grizzly Ridge Band
- Awards ceremony starts at 2:00pm
Free Oswego Fishing Guide
Click Here to Order a Free Guide
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