Greater Niagara Region
Frank Campbell
Water temperatures have dropped and the fishing has heated up on the lower Niagara River. Brown trout have finally responded to egg sacs and beads presented on three-way set-ups on just about all the drifts north of Lewiston. The most effective colors were yellow or chartreuse. Steelhead numbers have also improved at Artpark and other whitewater areas, but it has sometimes been difficult to get your bait past the lake trout that are spawning in certain areas. If you do hook a laker, please return it to water as quickly as possible as they are out of season until Dec. 1. There has been documented natural reproduction of lake trout in the river. Best baits for steelies have been bright colored beads or egg sacs. Bass and walleye are also still an option, and the best areas are slower moving drifts such as Peggy’s Eddy and out in front of Fort Niagara on the Niagara Bar. Best presentations include shiners for live bait, along with crank baits and swim baits.
The Niagara River was fishing a bit tougher due to the unseasonably warm water temperatures and very clear water conditions reported Capt. Jim Rores of Big Greek Sportfishing. That has already started to change this week with high winds and rain over the weekend. Visibility was lessened on Monday, and the colder night temperatures will certainly help. He was fishing in the lower Niagara River at the mouth with clients Ahmed and Ammar Sultan of Maryland and caught decent brown trout using an 8mm trout bead on a three-way rig over the weekend. Rores also noted that the smallmouth bass fishing on the upper river around Grand Island is steady right now with live golden shiners producing best off three-way set-ups.
The Niagara Musky Association moved its annual Memorial Tournament from last weekend to Nov. 15 from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Entry fee is $25 and you must be a member. Call John Pensyl for more info at 628-9563.
The best spot to be for tributary fishing is Burt Dam and 18 Mile Creek where everyone seems to be doing well according to Karen Evarts at The Boat Doctors and Tackle Barn in Olcott. There have been plenty of fish … and plenty of people! Best baits have been egg sacs, beads, wax worms, crystal meth, wooly buggers and more. A few casters are still pier fishing with spoons and spinners. It’s winding down on the piers, but they are still catching some fish. A lot of yellow perch are reported in Olcott and Wilson harbors. One of the reasons for the success of salmon and trout fishing in the creek is the supplemental water from the Erie Canal that helps to draw in fish from the lake, especially when water levels are lower due to lack of rain. Another reason is the successful pen-rearing projects every spring run by the Lake Ontario Trout and Salmon Association.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Streams
Maxwell Creek was checked today, and our recent rainfall didn’t really create much flow. Another inch or two…or three will make Wayne County streams perk-up and give us a flow to the lake.
The kings, steelhead and browns are entering the channels, and pier fishing has been productive when the Lake Ontario winds don’t blow.
Use your heavy spoons with a bright chrome finish. The ones listed here are just a few that you can cast out in the channel: Kastmasters, Little Cleos, or Cabela’s Canadian Spoons.
Be careful fishing at bay channels. Wear a vest and use long handle nets.
Bays
The perch are still in Sodus Bay, and you still need to fish the entire bay. The keepers are deeper than the small fish. You can still launch your boat at Bay Bridge and Margaretta Road.
On Port Bay both DEC’s north and south ramps are available. Docks have been pulled so be careful on the ramps.
The perch prefer live bait, so buy your bait at Bay Bridge Sport Shop, Davenport’s Marina, and Jarvis Bait Shop on Brown Road, Wolcott.
You can also catch perch with your 2-inch grubs with yellow tail. Fish off the bottom so the gobies don’t steal your bait.
If you catch a silver bass, take a piece of belly fat and put it on your hook. Gobies can’t take it off. (It’s true!”
Erie Canal
The water in the Widewaters section of the canal is the perfect level for launching your boat. The largemouth are still being caught, although the season is winding down. When we get our safe ice make sure you try your luck in the Erie.
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:
The “Second Season” for Orleans County brown trout action is solidly underway! And there still is “First Season” salmon action too, but some Kings are beginning to show signs of wear. Some Kings will trickle into the waterways likely thru Nov. And we may see a few more cohos too, as they tend to migrate sometimes later and even into Dec. King salmon are spawning about now and so there are some dark or zombie fish, some fresher and greener and the occasional outright fresh fish late to the party. Salmon are concentrated most heavily in Johnson in the upstream reaches and still nearer the dam on the Oak. With more earnest spawning efforts underway, more fish are dropping back from the dam to the downstream fast water stretches.
Pic courtesy Big Kev Guide Services
The fall weather continues to be pretty easy to take. Its only cooled down some to comfy fishing temps from the earlier warm, mild temps. Latest precip as showers has not effected trib levels beyond what the Erie Canal water feed program has been able to do. Next chance at rain of approx. 0.25 inches is thru Wed night or begin Thu. The WNY Lake Ontario south shore area is not expected to accumulate any snow from the forecasted end of week northeast storm. Longer range forecasts after that are calling once again for a warmup in temps for next week.
Most all anglers are experiencing good brown trout action, getting hook-ups each outing in waterways like the Oak and Sandy. Bolstered flows from Canal feed has really perked up action like in Sandy with anglers hitting all the access spots like at the first few bridges up from the Lake. This week it does feel like the fishing pressure is easing some though, and esp thru this mid week period. Brown trout numbers have been strong enough on most days that anglers could walk away from the most crowded spots and still have good expectation that the “B” water was holding fish too. And now that Archers Club parking has ended for the season, that has taken away some pressure from the Oak. Remember, you can still fish from the immediate bankside areas of the Archers Club as long as access is from designated access points like at the Waterport dam or the Park Ave Ext Fishing Trail.
Expect slightly high and mostly clear flows on the Oak and frequent water level fluctuations from hydro power operations, esp. on windier days. As leaf fall ends we can look forward to less frequent water level fluctuations. There’s plenty of good flows and water cover for tasty fly, spin or float drifts on the Oak. Egg patterns, beads and jigs can all be effective with a good drift. Browns are also being taken on some swung or retrieved streamers. Flows at Sandy are about med and just slightly stained with good numbers of fish spread throughout like in the lower and middle reaches of that trib. Flows in Johnson are comparatively lower but still fishable and there are still good numbers of fish reported. Steelhead are reported on select days and there are good chances at finding an Atlantic too like on the Oak.
Oswego County
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Steelhead fishing doesn’t get much better than this right now!
Salmon River, Pulaski NY
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Steelhead fishing on the Salmon River is about as good as it gets! From the DSR to the Upper Fly, steelhead are present in big numbers throughout the entire river. Following the epic salmon run this past fall, steelhead numbers are starting to match those impressive numbers!
To find the largest schools, look for faster water behind spawning areas.
To catch some of these silver bullets, start with 8–10 mm beads in natural colors. Effective colors include:
- Muskegon Madness
- UV Tangerine
- Tangerine
- Glo Roe
Other productive options include:
- Egg sacs in white, blue, purple, and pink
- Glo Bug patterns in peach, cheese, and cream
- Estaz in chartreuse, purple, and blue
Oswego River Report
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Brown trout have been the most common catch on the Oswego River over the past week. Warmer weather last week slowed the steelhead bite, but the colder weather should get them fired back up!
The low wall has been productive over the past few days, with a mix of fish coming to the net. The upper wall has been decent, while the stretch from the dam to Lock 7 has been great.
Off the wall, slip floats have been working best with beads and jigs. Productive bead colors include pink, natural, and chartreuse, along with white and black jigs.
On the east side, fixed floats with beads have been most effective. Egg colors and dead egg patterns have been producing the best results.
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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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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