Greater Niagara Region
Frank Campbell
The Lake Ontario Counties Fall Derby is underway and after a week into the contest, there have been some impressive fish that have come through the scales. Jack MacDowall of Hancock is in the early lead for the $20,000 Grand Prize with a 30-pound, 13-ounce king salmon.
First place brown trout so far is an 18-pound chunk that Lisa Winch of North Tonawanda reeled in while fishing at the Niagara Bar. First place steelhead is a 14-pound, 4-ounce fish caught by Blake McConnell of Prattsburgh. Second place is a 12-pound, 9-ounce fish reeled in by Christin Yablonsky of Youngstown while fishing in the Reelin’ for a Cure Ladies Tournament held last Friday on the Fish N’ Chicks team that won the friendly contest fishing with Capt. Vince Pierleoni of Newfane out of Olcott.
Capt. Joe Cinelli of Grand Island reports that the Niagara Bar fishing has been very good. He has been fishing off the ledge and running spoons between 60 to 70 feet down on the riggers. Glow patterns and greens are working well. The thermocline was sitting around 65-foot down. Browns are stretched down the ledge all the way to 6 Mile Creek in the same general depths.
Capt. Matt Yablonsky of Wet Net Charters reports the fishing has been very good out of Wilson. The best and most consistent bite has been offshore. Focus on the 25-28 line on your GPS, which is from 400 to 450 feet of water. There is a good mix of steelhead, immature kings and mature salmon all swimming around, and all in the top 60 feet of water. Out deep it has been an all-spoon bite. There are some kings inside 100 feet of water and less, but it’s been hit or miss.
Karen Evarts of The Boat Doctors and Tackle Barn in Olcott reported some happy ladies in the Reelin’ for a Cure tournament held last Friday. The leading team was the Fish N’ Chicks crew weighing in six fish that scored 166.66 points based on 10 points per fish and a point per pound.
It sounds like a broken record, but the lower Niagara River is still producing good action for both walleye and smallmouth bass. The bite is spread throughout the river, and fish are caught on a variety of baits. Bass have been responding well to live bait fished on 3-way rigs. Artificial baits such as crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and various drop shots set-ups have also been very consistent. Fish are being caught from 5 to 35 feet of water. Anglers targeting walleye have had success with worm harnesses, jigs, and crankbaits. Good starting depths were between 30-40 feet of water in the river. Out on the Niagara Bar, anglers are targeting both walleye and bass when conditions allow. Expect the first salmon to enter the lower river. Normally the NYPA platform is the place to be. Speaking of the platform, Tommy Holycross of Wheatfield reports very good fishing recently. He hit his limit of ‘eyes (three fish) and caught and released five more. Homemade worm harnesses did the trick with pink/orange beads with brass blades. Alan Raymond with The Wicked Worm in Youngstown reports that a bunch of bass/sheephead are being caught along the shoreline. Walleyes being caught from shore at the Lewiston docks and on the Niagara Bar, as well as in all the traditional river drifts.
Congrats are in order for Alex Korol of Fairport, NY who won the Bassmaster Open Tournament out of Buffalo last weekend with 75 pounds, 9 ounces of smallmouth bass in Lake Erie in his first Open contest ever. The tournament set a record for the most 20-pound bags of bass ever with over 200.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Lake Ontario
Before the west wind put major waves in the lake, the top thermocline was in 40fow. That held kings that were hitting off the boards, riggers, and meat rigs. Also, A-TOM-MIK flies worked 90 to 120fow. Spoons were also catching salmon.
The major kings were also deeper… 300 to 400fow down 90 feet.
Don’t forget the LOC Fall Derby starts August 21st and finishes on Labor Day Sept. 7th. Link is below.
Currently, Wayne County leads in Rainbow, 2nd place king, and 6th place brown. And a 30 pounder came out of the lake east in Pulaski. Big king salmon this year.
Bays
Some smallmouth were caught next to the channel in Sodus Bay. Perch and rock bass were caught between the islands at the northern section of Sodus. The water level is still high so cast out your rigs on the west side of the bay. You can also try off Shaker Heights looking for perch in 30 fow. Use 2-inch grubs and keep them off the bottom where the gobies hang out.
The weed cutter is currently at the south end of Sodus next to Bay Bridge.
The Port Bay action is off Tompkins and Graves Point where the underwater ridges are perfect habitat for perch. They have been smaller; however, the larger fish will enter the bay from Lake Ontario.
Be careful of the northern barrier bar launch site. The ramp is very slippery.
On the east side of Blind Sodus Bay, there has been some largemouth bass being caught casting spinner baits. Launch at Holiday Harbor campground on Blind Sodus Road.
Erie Canal
There have been all sorts of action along the canal in Wayne County. Cast out from the northside trail at Widewaters or launch your boat and go for the hefty largemouth bass on the south side of canal.
Fish at Swifts Landing County Park in Palmyra. Some walleye are caught in addition to pike and largemouth bass. The park is on Hogback Road which is off Route 31. There are signs next to entrance.
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: 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.
2026 LOC DERBY DATES
*Fall-Aug 21st-Sept 7th
Get in on the action and win your share of the $140,150 in Cash Prizes in the 2026 LOC Event. Check out leaderboard
We’ll keep the link to the leaderboard so you can see all the action during the fall derby.
Orleans County
Orleans County Sportfishing Coordinator Ron Bierstine:
There was more stormy weather through the past weekend with another dose of heavy rains and then winds with rougher water for the beginning of this week. The open waters are a little mixed up now but hopefully settling out with flatter conditions for the mid or end of week. Charters and recs are getting back out there looking for those biggest of the season Kings for the remainder of the open Lake action. Look for heavy and stained water discharges from the Oak and local tribs. Inside waters have warmed up mostly top to bottom and some staging fish are likely to have slid back out to mid or off-shore waters. There are reports of a few trout running the Oak but with warmer water temps prevailing for now I wouldn’t expect any great numbers to be sniffing the trib waters just yet.
Hard to say what winds or water conditions may be ahead. Are we due for some hotter and drier weather after all the wet and cool that we’ve had – I don’t know? But now’s your chance to come ply the Orleans County and nearby waters and get in on what’s been a great summer bite and maybe get your derby fame in the big money grand finale LOC Fall Derby.
Capt. Mike G. of Get Hooked Sportfishing is out there right now Tuesday finding rough water. “We are at the 26- 27 line in really rough water! Water is warm but we are getting bites. All fish are 95 – 135 ft down.”
Capt. Bob S. from Sunrise II says “the inside water was starting to set up then the NW wind brought really warm water in. So the staging fish may have moved a bit deeper. The mid to off-shore fishing remains steady, a nice mixed bag of different size Kings and some really nice steelhead.”
Before the weekend stormy weather one solo rec boater found mature Kings in 250 – 280 fow. He spotted a break that looked to be easing out. He dropped two rods down and when he crossed the break the down temp at 90 ft went from 54 to 44 F and both rods went off. He worked the break for more bites and the best turned out to be at 250 – 260 fow just outside the break.
Don’t forget to use your eyes along with your electronics to find any fishy water!
Oswego County
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Lake fishing remains good as we approach the finish line, while river fishing is just about to heat up.
Salmon River, Pulaski NY
• Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
It’s the time of year when the first few salmon have already entered the river, and many anglers are eagerly waiting to hit the river. However, there hasn’t been a consistent run yet.
We will see small pushes on and off for the next couple of weeks until the peak comes around the first week of October. For those looking to get in on the early action, always look for fast-moving water closest to the estuary.
If you miss the day of movement, your next best bet is to find deep, shaded holes. That’s where the fish will hold up until the next batch comes through to push them along. Spots like the Glass Hole and Sportsman have always been early-season go-to’s.
Oswego River Report
Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
Salmon fishing remains good out of Oswego. Anglers are fishing anywhere from 100 to 600+ feet of water. There is still a good mix of younger, feeding fish, along with a few darker, mature fish starting to find their way toward the river mouth.
Meat rigs and flies behind white and chrome variant flashers have been the most productive. However, a lot of fish have also been eating magnum-sized spoons.
Anglers in the Mexico Bay area have been chasing brown trout for a couple of weeks now, with some even venturing west past Nine-Mile Point to find fish. They are catching some beautiful browns.
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.
Lake Ontario
Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
After a big blow early in the week, cold water is now very deep, forcing the kings down 130+ feet below the surface.
For those targeting them, however, anglers are still finding great success. The kings remain very active, even though they have been forced very deep.
The key when they are that far down is to use larger flashers to draw them in – 11” squares and 13” fish blades are the most productive.
Cormorant Reporting
Courtesy of NYS Sea Grant
New York Sea Grant announces new survey tool to track birds’ populations and impact
August 7, 2026. New York Sea Grant, a collaborative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York, is inviting the public to document the presence, activities, and impacts of double-crested cormorants. Double-crested cormorants are a native, fish-eating, federally protected migratory bird species. New York Sea Grant partnered with Wayne County GIS to develop an online reporting tool at https://nyseagrant.org/cormorant for the public to upload photos and report observations of double-crested cormorant numbers, nesting, and feeding activities. The survey includes options for logging the birds’ impact to natural habitat, water quality, infrastructure, and recreational usage.
The survey developers strongly encourage users to submit photos to show the birds’ activity and impact.
Read more about the project here
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:
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