Greater Niagara Region
Frank Campbell
The lower Niagara River action has been the place to be for a variety of fish species. With the cooling water temperatures, salmon fishing in places like Devil’s Hole and further up into the gorge has been good to very good. Capt. Jim Gordon of Hawg Charters caught a limit of salmon on Monday this week for three anglers (9 salmon) and they also reeled in a 26-pound carp that they caught on treated egg skein off three-way rigs. Salmon fishing has been reminiscent of years gone by. In the Charity for Children event held last week in the lower river, the event produced 37 salmon and 385 smallmouth bass over two days.
Mike Ziehm of Niagara Falls has been using a three-prong approach to take his salmon from shore in the gorge. Casting spinners and jigs has been his most consistent producer for him and chartreuse has been a good color to use. He will also use salmon egg skein under a float to switch things up. The water is very clear, so he tries to hit the water early before the sun hits the shoreline around 11 a.m. and the fish head to deeper water.
Bass fishing has also been good throughout the river using live bait. Fish now seem to prefer shiners off three-way rigs or drop shot set-ups – a sign of fall fishing. There are some reports of lake trout being caught. Handle with care as the season is closed until Dec. 1. Alan Raymond with The Wicked Worm in Youngstown reports that bass are still being caught along the shoreline with a mix of walleye. Salmon are being caught on spinners, spoons, and skein.
Upper Niagara River bass fishing action (above Niagara Falls) has been off the charts according to Capt. Chris Cinelli of Grand Island. Ever since he switched over to shiners last week when Lake Erie waters flipped, the smallmouth fishing has been great. With the cooler water temperatures, it won’t be long before musky fishing becomes more prevalent. Cinelli will start to run his trips in a few weeks. Casters have been picking up a few walleyes around Freedom Park up towards Buffalo.
Salmon and trout are still available in the lake. Capt. Joe Oaks of Salmonboy Sportfishing reports that salmon and trout fishing has been good in 400-plus feet of water for an offshore bite. He has been concentrating his spoons and flasher-fly combos in 60 to 100 feet of water. Capt. Matt Yablonsky of Wet Net Charters has transitioned into the lower river for his salmon fishing, but his final lake trips last week focused on steelhead out deep off Wilson in that same 400-foot area, 60 to 80 feet down for steelhead. John Jarosz of Lake View and his sons Matt and Dave of Elma caught plenty of fish up to 11 pounds using a mix of spoons with Yablonsky. According to Karen Evarts at The Boat Doctors and Tackle Barn in Olcott, there is still quite a bit of fishing going on there, too. You have the option to choose salmon and trout off the Olcott piers using J13 Rapalas, spoons, or spinners. Blue and reds have been the best colors for spoons like Little Cleos. The creek (18 Mile) has some decent flow with a good mix of fish, in part due to Erie Canal water releases. Egg skein fished under floats seems to be the best in the creek all the way to Burt Dam. The Dam also has plenty of browns and some steelhead biting jigs and eggs (both soft and real). Some beads produce a few fish at the dam, too.
The countdown has started for the Association of Great Lakes Outdoor Writers 70th Annual Conference in Lewiston Oct. 11-15.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Lake Ontario
Most of the charter boats are out of the water and being stored for the winter. You can still fish on the lake with a smaller boat, however, make sure it’s a safe craft as Lake Ontario can be temperamental this time of the year. A perfect example is yesterday’s big blow from the northwest.
Troll close to shore in front of Maxwell and west towards Hughes’ Marina.
Bays
The bays are still full of bait which makes it difficult for fishing. Sodus does have some action with perch in deeper water. Try off Shaker Heights and fish 30 fow for larger perch.
It is still hard fishing competing with all the small shad in Port and Sodus bays. Try live minnows.
Dock removal dates for Port Bay are usually right after Columbus Day. Without the docks be extra cautious of slippery ramps.
Erie Canal
Sections of the canal will be drained for the season after the closing. Widewaters is not affected to this, and it is still the best location on the Erie for fishing.
Currently the largemouth bass are still being caught at the south side, close to the weed growth. Use Senko worm rigs or try casting spinner baits close to the weeds.
There are plenty of smaller panfish along the southern shore. Fish from the south trail or launch your kayak at the county park ramp.
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.
Orleans County
Orleans County Sportfishing Coordinator Ron Bierstine:
Now is the time for big green Kings in the Oak and nearby smaller tribs! The best biting salmon are being hooked up by float guys, hardware casters and a few fly swingers. Are the Kings dime bright silver fresh? Well not quite – that’s a rarity anyway in our low gradient WNY tribs. But they are big and in good shape and ornery enough to bite varied presentations.
Flows in the Oak are real good for trout and salmon migrations, somewhere between med and slightly high depending upon angler perspective. Its a little higher then typical fall flows and anglers are not likely able to see every fish in every run. Good water cover though almost always leads to less spooky fish and better biting fish. There’s a good number of browns reported already, and we are barely a few days into Oct. That’s encouraging for better yet action through the month and into Nov. The good King and brown trout action reported at the dam is now trickling downstream in the fast water sections. A few more dead drifters are hitting that water with eggs and egg patterns and getting hook ups. All that typical fast water action beside at the dam should only get better and better for browns and Kings. Add in some bonus steelhead and cohos and Atlantics and its mixed bag catches for the Oak coming up.
Downstream frog water guys are reporting a good bite. Some days fish are crashing around and some days they are not. Hookups sometimes have been as good or better on the days when fish are not activily crashing around. Both plug and skein guys report hookups, so try different drifts and retrieves. Fly anglers generally are handicapped the most in the frog water now while Lake levels are high. Upstream fast water drifts usually are more productive but a few swingers and streamer retrievers can still have action if they want to stick with it.
Lower river and near shore Lake action intel is light, but no doubt some fish are still moving through. A couple recent days of favorable NW winds should have put some fish around the Rivermouth or moved up some staging fish. Forecast ahead is warming after the coldest night yet of the season last night. Slight chance of rain showers over the next couple days.
Flows in the other area smaller tribs are about med and just slightly stained from Canal feed. Those waterways are generally longer watercourses and pods of fish can be anywhere. Flows are plenty high enough to encourage upstream movement and temps are becoming more favorable. To the west at Johnson there’s not been a whole lot of upstream fish movement reported. To the east at Sandy guys are just starting to report some more fish movement.
Oswego County
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Fishing has been incredible in Oswego County, but remember that this is the busiest weekend of the year coming up.
Salmon River, Pulaski NY
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The Salmon River has been having steady pushes over the last few days. With kings right outside the river Salmon have been pouring into the river for the last week, with runs of epic proportions. Since the runs have been coming in at a steady clip over a long period of time, the fish have been forced farther and farther upriver to make room for the new fish moving in.
Because of this, anglers are able to spread out to find fish rather than having everyone concentrated in a few big holes.
Lots of fish are holding in the holes while others are actively moving. Find a quiet spot and enjoy it!
Egg imitations have been the choice for most anglers. Whether it’s a bead, a fly, or a rubber egg, just make sure it looks like an egg and you’ll do fine.
Many anglers are finding success running plugs on side planers as well.
Oswego River Report
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The salmon have been up at the dam in decent numbers, along with a large group of brown trout.
Anglers are also having good success off both the high and low walls. The most effective technique on the high wall has mostly been float fishing, beads, or jigs, while the low wall has seen better success with casting deep-diving plugs.
The water temperature has dropped significantly this week, and the skein bite has really picked up.
REMINDER! The brown trout limit on the river is 1. The limit is 3 fish in combination, but only one brown trout and one steelhead/rainbow may be included in that total of 3.
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.
Cormorant Reporting
Courtesy of NYS Sea Grant
New York Sea Grant announces new survey tool to track birds’ populations and impact
In August, New York Sea Grant, a collaborative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York.
Read more about the project here
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