Pictured above: Shawn West landed this heavy 18-pound brown trout this week
Greater Niagara Region
Bill Hilts, Jr.
A January thaw is already underway in Western NY and it could spell good news all the way around for anglers. For starters, the lower Niagara River is back in business for boaters and shoreline casters. The gorge area has been producing lake trout, steelhead and walleye for casters using jigs in green and white. Lake trout to 13 pounds and steelhead to 12 have been reported. Wear ice creepers when walking the shoreline. Boaters started catching fish on Monday and today was pretty good for many of the captains plying the waters in search of trout and walleye. Kwikfish and MagLip lures fished off three-way rigs have been the most effective. Beads and egg sacs will catch fish, too. Be careful of any chunk ice floating down. Fish can be found from Devil’s Hole to the Niagara Bar.
The streams are slowly starting to open back up again and while the openings are limited, you can do well. Shawn West of Lockport caught his personal best brown trout this week, an 18 pound bomber that hit a bead. Jigs will also work, tipped with wax worms and fished under a float.
There is still good ice in Wilson and Olcott. Biggest fish was a 44-inch Northern pike hauled in by Jarame McClelland of Newfane, his biggest pike ever out of Wilson. It hit a pike chub off his tip-up. Keep your fingers crossed we don’t lose too much ice. And Olcott was producing some nice trout through the ice on Voodoo jigs for Roy Letcher.
The fifth annual Greater Niagara Fishing and Outdoor Expo is just around the corner, set for Jan. 19th through the 21st at the Conference and Event Center Niagara Falls. We’ve been talking about this for a month – and with good reason. If you want to learn anything about fishing, this is the show for you. As far as education is concerned, it’s one of the best on the Great Lakes. With over 70 speakers and over 120 different seminars, you can’t go wrong finding something that you are interested in. Salmon, trout, bass, walleye, perch, musky, electronics, rigging a boat, getting started with fishing … check out the website at niagarafishingexpo.com for a complete rundown of seminars. The speakers are top notch, too. Bassmaster elite pros Shaw Grigsby and Mark Menendez, salmon fishing greats Jake Romanack and Dan Keating, walleye pros Mark Romanack and Lance Valentine – the list is a long one. Go to niagarafishingexpo.com.
The Niagara River Anglers Association will hold its annual Roger Tobey Memorial Steelhead Contest on Saturday, February 3 from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. out of Lewiston Landing (at the launch ramp). Eligible waters are all waters of Lake Ontario and the tributaries, as well as the Lower Niagara River; awards and dinner to follow at the Lewiston #1 Fire Hall on 6th Street, Lewiston. Sign-ups will be taken at Creek Road Bait and Tackle in Lewiston, The Slippery Sinker in Olcott or at the dock on that Saturday morning. For more information call Paul at 998-8910.
Oswego County
Mary Ellen Barbeau
Oswego River Report
The river flow has generally been running between 4,000-5,000cfs over the last few days. However it has spiked to 8,330cfs since this morning. We have finally broken out of the frigid temperatures with 30 to 40+ degrees expected this week. There has not been much to report from the river. Much of the river from the dam down toward the Utica St. bridge had been frozen over as well as areas toward the hotels. With the warmer temperatures this has started to break up.
Notice: The bridge to Leto Island is closed, and there are mandatory personal flotation device (PFD) zones on the river. For more information, visit our website at www.visitoswegocounty.com and click on the Fishing Report along the top bar on the home page.
Salmon River Report:
According to the Douglaston Salmon Run:
The DSR has been closed the last two days due to extremely dangerous river conditions. After evaluating the conditions, we did not feel comfortable allowing anglers access to the Run. We found several areas where shelf ice extends 60 feet or more out into the river.
According to Whitaker’s Sport Shop & Motel:
After the bitter cold and snow, the good news is that we have some milder conditions this week. The few anglers we spoke with fished the upper end of the river between Altmar and Pineville. The anglers who were fly fishing reported having the most success with nymphs and anglers who were bottom bouncing or float fishing had the most success with blue egg sacs. The upper end of the river has the most open and fishable water. The lower end of the river has significant shelf ice from the recent stretch of extreme cold.
Oneida Lake Report:
Although we did have some snow over the weekend, reports indicated that most of it blew off the ice along much of the north shore. Daytime temperatures were lucky to reach anything over 0 on Saturday but have moderated into the 30s with a couple of warmer days coming Thursday and Friday. Anglers are reporting some perch and walleye along with blue gills and crappies at Big Bay and Lewis Point.
Sandy Pond report:
Warmer temperatures are expected over the next couple of days with some rain. This may cause some slushy conditions on the ice. However, the cold is forecasted to return on Sunday with temperatures back into the teens. We currently have 7-12 inches of ice on the pond with anglers finding walleye, perch and Northern pike.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Bays
Sodus and Port Bays have 8 inches of solid ice and even though temps are going to be high this week, it shouldn’t really melt significant ice. Pouring rain could make it messy, however it still should be safe.
The perch fishing has been the best in decades with the best fishing out from Arney’s Marina on the north-west side of the bay. Jigs tipped with spikes or perch eyes are catching the 10-inch fish.
Perch school so move if you are catching smaller fish. You can also use lager 3-inch rubber minnows. Pick your favorite brand and tip with spikes.
Anglers are also catching perch near the south-east end of Sodus and some pike are being caught near LeRoy Island.
Port Bay has action at the north end. The south end road hasn’t been plowed so make sure you have a 4X4 if you want to take a chance driving the DEC road.
Remember, as ice anglers you are visiting the bays, so don’t trespass on land where you don’t have permission to park. And don’t leave stuff on the ice, like propane tanks. The word is that there have been parking issues and litter left behind near the loop at Sodus Point. Make sure you respect where you are because the hospitality given to ice anglers can end quickly.
Wayne County has an ice fishing guide which gives you the basics of fishing on our bays. Contact the tourism office if you wish the brochure.
Erie Canal
There is a solid 8 to 10 inches of ice at Widewaters. Shanties were out there on Sunday however not sure what they were catching. The canal has plenty of perch and bluegills with some pike also being caught at Widewaters.
Check out the rest of the Wayne County Tourism web page for the locations and hours of local bait and tackle shops. waynecountytourism.com.