Greater Niagara Region
Frank Campbell
Some big fish are being caught in the lake, as evidenced by the big summer fishing contest. In the Lake Ontario Counties Trout and Salmon Summer Derby, Scott Schneegas of Mohawk is still in the lead for the Grand Prize with a 23-pound, 11-ounce Olcott king salmon. First place in the Division is a 23-pound, 11-ounce fish hauled in by Blake Peet of Geneva, Ohio while fishing in Olcott. Youth leader is Patrick McMaster of Gasport with a 22-pound, 3-ounce Olcott fish he caught with Capt. Matt Bedient with 716 Sportfishing. He is in fourth place overall. Top brown trout is a 16-pound Wayne County fish weighed in by Kyle Sayers of Mendon. Mark Bedient of Lockport is third with a 14-pound, 12-ounce fish he caught fishing with his son Capt. Matt Bedient of 716 Sportfishing. Leading steelhead is a 12-pound, 12-ounce Wayne County fish checked in by James Carini of North Rose. Second place is Russ DeMiglio of Youngstown with a 12-pound, 4-ounce fish he caught out of Wilson with Capt. Dave Scipione of Scipione’s Fishing Charters aboard “King Me.” The derby continues until July 26. For a complete leaderboard check out www.loc.org.
North and east winds earlier this week created a lake rollover for anglers, scattering fish and making things a bit more difficult. Heading offshore is the best way to combat the unstable conditions. Just prior to the inversion, Capt. Matt Bedient of 716 Sportfishing caught some nice derby fish out of Olcott. Patrick McMaster of Gasport caught a fourth place king. The fish came just east of Olcott in 120 feet of water, and it hit a spoon 80 feet back on a wire diver. The brown trout that Bedient’s father (Mark) caught hit a Gold Rush DW super slim spoon in 40 feet of water, also using a wire diver to get the lure down into the fish zone. Capt. Dave Scipione of Scipione’s Fishing Charters reports that fishing for kings has been a grind one day and great the next. He found a nice temperature break right on the edge of some river water in 275 feet of water in front of Wilson recently. That produced several nice kings in the upper teens, along with a mix of other fish. Most of his bigger kings have come on deep meat rigs, either out 275 clicks on wire divers or down 95 to 105 feet on the riggers. He had a nice 12.4-pound steelhead hit a slider down about 40 feet recently, now in second in the LOC. Don’t completely abandon your spoon program as he’s had several nice fish come over the rail on riggers 80 to 100 foot down with cheaters/sliders attached. Best spoons have been DW 2-Face in UV, glow or lances, and anything with green and black dots. Karen Evarts at the Boat Doctors in Olcott reports black has been a hot color lately. Boats were heading offshore but fog posed a problem.
In the Niagara River, Alan Raymond with The Wicked Worm in Youngstown insists that the moss is creating problems from both boat and shore. Some drifts are producing walleye on worm harnesses if the blade can spin moss-free. Chartreuse and orange have been the best color choices but there are some fish reacting to jigs and blade baits. There are still a few smallmouth bass on the beds, but most are being caught in deeper water using live bait such as crawfish and shiners presented on three-way rigs and drop shot set-ups. The top artificial baits have been spinnerbaits, tubes, and creature baits like the Coike from Hideup. Look to the drop offs as a good starting point to target bass. Spinnerbaits cast towards shore will draw the most interest and the smallmouth are loosely schooled up so once a few fish are caught keep targeting that same area.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
2026 LOC DERBY DATES
*Summer-June 27th-July 26th
*Fall-Aug 21st-Sept 7th
Sodus PRO-AM
Main Event: July 18 – 19
1K a Day: July – TBD
Big Fish Friday: July – TBD
Wayne County Youth Fishing Derby
The Wayne County Federation of Sportsman’s Clubs is presenting the Annual Wayne County Youth Fishing Derby which started on June 15th and will continue until July 31st. This summer fun outdoor event is celebrating its 29th year, inspiring youngsters to enjoy the sport of catching fish.
- Ages 4-16
- Registration only $5.00
- Derby Dates June 15th-July 31st, 2026
- August 9th 12-3 Sodus Point Fire Hall the Wolcott McDonald’s Award Ceremony
- Register Online at youthderby.com
Lake Ontario
The brown trout caught in the lake have been huge. Just check out the LOC Leaderboard and you’ll see why we are bragging. A 16lb. brown leads the division. Fish to the east and the west out of Sodus Bay. The browns are in 40 to 50 fow. They are hitting spoons. Michigan Stingers are working the best. Pick your favorite UV color.
The kings are in 50 to 400 fow and meat rigs and flasher flies are catching 20 pounders.
If you want to target lake trout use the old fashion cowbell/peanut presentation. The lakers are at the bottom.
If you have the desire to fish a contest in Wayne County, the Sodus Pro-Am is coming on the 18th and 19th of July. Check out their new web page. It’s impressive!
Bays
It’s a challenging task to fish the bays during the holidays. The recreational boat traffic on all the bays means don’t fish! However, the bays are now open for the casters and their boats. Sodus is the place to catch largemouth bass. Cast around the docks, weeds, and near the points that jut out in the bay.
The Senko rigs are great. You can go with the Texas or Wacky rigs with Senko baits. Spinner baits will work next to the weed lines or just go with the “common earthworm.”
The southeast end of Port Bay has some bluegills and a few perch. Fish across the bay’s south DEC launch site. Use your ultra-lite gear for some panfish fun.
The channel had a few smallmouth bass, however not really much action.
Erie Canal
Widewaters is once again the hot-spot for angling. The largemouth bass are in the 6-pound range. Fish along the south side of Widewaters. There is plenty of parking at this county park.
You can also cast out near the locks, which are adjacent to Route 31. There are pull-offs locations for your vehicle.
The Erie Canal is now open and will close on October 14th.
There is an excellent DEC site that lists all the boating launch areas 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. 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:
After a stretch of some exceptional hot and humid weather things have turned back seasonably warm with some passing storms. Heavier rains south of the area missed the Oak Orchard area for the begin part of this week. There have been medium east winds the past few days which are forecasted to last about thru the mid week. Warmer temps and building humidity with the chance of passing storms are expected through the end of the week.
As a whole the big lake open water action for the Orleans County waters is somewhat mixed. During the hotter weather recs and charters were scattered at the mid depths or offshore out front or east and west of Point Breeze. There’s the good likelihood colder water will be moving near shore or on shore with continuing east winds. So if it doesn’t go icy it could move some brown trout or salmon action in. Check out the latest Oak Orchard weather buoy info for the temp profile.
Capt. Chris V. from U-Betcha Charters fished browns this past weekend. “On Sunday we had a steady bite in the morning in 50 – 70 fow. Black and gold and black and glow Stingray spoons were best. We had riggers and divers 5 – 10 ft off the bottom. This east wind may bring in some cold water and move those browns in.”
Capt Jerry S. from Rod Benders Charters targeted salmon farther out. “We fished 150 – 250 fow east of the harbor. It was a good spoon bite with black and white best and we got some on meat too.”
Rec anglers Teresa and Mark L. had steady action on their weekend troll for nice browns and salmon. Their action was in 100 – 135 fow right out front with browns coming on divers and green/black combo spoons. They took some salmon on meat rigs down 55 – 75 ft.
Capt. Lou B. of Get the Net Fishing Charters fishing out of Bald Eagle Marina has been into pretty consistent action the past week. “We have mostly been working between 90 – 125 fow with some good fish caught as far out as 300 fow. It has been mostly a spoon bite with Moonshine seasick wobbler taking our fair share of fish. Lead cores with 6 – 8 colors out and 300 ft coppers have been very productive too. Most of our fish have come between Bald Eagle and the glass house.”
Oswego County
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Lake Ontario – Oswego County
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Salmon fishing has been productive from 100 to 600+ feet of water, straight out of the harbor and to the northwest. Meat rigs have dominated lately, while flasher/fly combinations continue to produce well. Spoons have also been hot on certain days.
With the Oswego Pro Am taking place this weekend, many captains have been understandably hesitant to share their most productive setups. Anglers should also expect heavier-than-normal boat traffic.
The Oswego Pro Am is the second-longest-running tournament on Lake Ontario, with a rich tradition of competition. Many of Lake Ontario’s top captains have honed their skills here while pursuing the tournament’s elusive grand prize.
The main event will be held Saturday and Sunday, with registration remaining open through the captains’ meeting on Friday at 6:00 p.m.
A Big Fish event will also be held on Friday and is open to all anglers. Registration is available at most local tackle shops or online at www.oswegoproam.com.
Lake Ontario – Mexico
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Fishing out of Mexico continues to be centered around the brown trout bite, while many anglers are also heading north to target lake trout.
Brown trout have been holding in 30 to 70 feet of water. Southeast winds during the middle of the week cooled water temperatures, helping maintain favorable conditions.
Brown trout numbers have been excellent this season, and the average size has been noticeably better as well.
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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:
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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