Greater Niagara Region
Bill Hilts, Jr.
It’s time for the long-awaited International Fishing Congress in Downtown Niagara Falls USA and delegates from around the world were greeted with bountiful sunshine and 80 degree temperatures. The first couple of groups wanted to sample Lake Erie’s smallmouth bass fishery and they weren’t disappointed. Swimbaits and spot-tail shiners were the ticket for most of the fish, including bass up to nearly 6 pounds and a musky around 39-inches that was immediately released.
Meanwhile, a group went after trout in the lower Niagara River. Action has been good for boaters, producing a mix of steelhead and lake trout. An occasional walleye and musky is also being caught. If you want to target smallmouth bass with artificial baits, they are also cooperating for anglers. Tube jigs and swim baits are the ticket for smallmouth; Kwikfish, MagLips and minnows/shiners for trout, all fished off three-way rigs. Shore guys are working the NYPA fishing platform with jigs and spinners to take trout and a mix of whatever else swims in the river like suckers, silver bass, smallmouth bass, muskellunge and maybe even a sturgeon!
Out in Lake Ontario, the fishing for kings turned on last weekend and is continuing, a great start for the LOC Derby set for May 11-20. For more details go to www.loc.org. Best salmon action with a mix of kings, cohos and lake trout. Target 60 to 100 feet of water with spoons and flasher-fly. Greens and golds were working, but so are some glow colors. Fish are hungry. Water temps were around 45 degrees in the lake. Our international guests will be hitting the lake Thursday morning and we hope to have some nice pictures to share in the future. You can check out photos of the media event at www.buffalonews.com/section/sports/outdoors to see an impressive gallery. In addition, don’t forget that the Wilson Harbor Invitational Tournament is set for May 19 and, as a lead-in to that big event, there are two other salmon contests that will be held from May 14 to May 18. The first is a $1,000 a day option for the biggest salmon caught each day. The second is the Salmon Slam. There are five days of fishing and the competition focuses on the best 7 fish for those 5 days. You pick and choose when to weigh a fish in. A certain amount of strategy is involved. Find out information on all three at wilsonharborinvitational.com.
Tributary action was very good over the weekend with a mixed bag of steelhead and smallmouth. With warming waters, though, the steelhead option could be a thing of a past by this weekend. All you can do is check it out. Jigs and egg sacs.
Remember that the Lake Ontario Pro-Am Salmon Team Tournament is set for June 1 and 2 this year, preceded by the Don Johannes and Pete DeAngelo memorial events on May 31. You can check out akeontarioproam.net for details on the Pro-Am. For the Johannes/DeAngelo contest, stop in a Bootleggers or the Gas Shack in Wilson; The Boat Doctors or The Slippery Sinker in Olcott. Good luck and good fishing!
Eastern Finger Lakes / Central New York Fishing Report
Mike Crawford of upstateguideservice.com
May is perhaps the finest month of the year for the angler. Be it on streams, rivers or big lakes. Other times of the year may offer better opportunities for certain fish in certain waters…But May is just so pretty!
Ice out was last week on many of the Adirondack lakes and ponds. One of the latest ice out’s in recent memory!
The trout fishing is about to be the best it can get for the light tackle angler in New Yorks’ lake and mountain country.
Central New York area trout streams are in great shape and dry fly fishing has commenced with the arrival of olives, Hendrickson’s and assorted other small mayflies.
The water in the Finger Lakes is climbing into the fifties and the trout action is very good! I like to fly fish the big lakes for trout this time of year! It is challenging and fun!
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Lake Ontario
The browns have been close to shore in 10 to 20 feet of water, the kings are in 40 and the lakers are in 100 fow. That’s the action occurring in the “Big O.” The temps are now running 48 to 50 degrees.
Browns are hitting stickbaits and the lake trout are biting peanuts with cowbell attractors. Most of the charter captains from Sodus Bay are staying close to home port. There’s no need to run when they action is at home.
LOC Derby action starts this Friday, May 11 and runs till May 20. Check out their web at www.loc.org/ for the prize structure.
Bays
A few nice walleye were caught in Sodus Bay between the islands on the north side. One was a five-pounder caught by casting a blade spoon.
The bullhead action has been very slow. Anglers fishing Bay Bridge are not catching much. Maybe a warm rain later this week will fire-up the bullhead fishing.
Pike fishing has been productive at the north end of Sodus. You can use live bait or cast bright red spoons.
Crappies were still hitting at the south end of Port Bay, suspended in eight feet of water. You can launch at the DEC site off West Port Bay Road.
Check out the rest of the Wayne County Tourism web page for the locations and hours of local bait and tackle shops. waynecountytourism.com
Erie Canal
The canal water level will be raised on May 18. You can launch boats in Clyde, Lyons, and Newark. The Widewaters section is never drawn-down so you can launch there anytime. They are catching crappies near Port Gibson.