Eastern Finger Lakes / Central New York Fishing Report
Mike Crawford of upstateguideservice.com
ICE FISHING SAFETY
There exists no fish worth risking ones life for. It may be assumed by many that anytime an angler walks on to a frozen lake that he or she is risking their life. This is not true. Lakes, ponds and bays covered with four or more inches of uniform good ice are safe places to explore and fish when conditions allow.
What are the conditions for safe ice angling? Aforementioned uniform ice thickness of a minimum of four inches is necessary. When guiding I will not lead anglers onto less than six inches of “good” ice.
What is “good” ice? Good ice is uniform in thickness and appearance without large cracks and open water pressure breaks. Good ice can be found on lakes and bays adjacent to open water. The closer you get to open water edges the ice lessens in thickness and becomes unsafe.
Ice sheets on a lake or bay that are subject to warm weather and ensuing run-off caused by swollen creeks and snowmelt can still be safe even when air temperatures hover above freezing for extended periods. While warm air temperatures will begin to erode large sheets of lake ice and will make all areas of the ice sheet near stream and creek mouths places to stay away from, the main lake ice sheet, if thick enough (a foot or more) will remain solid and float strong and intact.
Areas on frozen lakes adjacent to open water or moving water are always places to avoid. The closer you approach these areas the more the risk of weak ice. When planning an ice fishing trip on any lake or bay the angler(s) must be able to identify creek mouths or open water ice edges so they can be avoided while traveling on the ice.
The color of ice and texture of its surface, how it sounds and acts when you hit it with a spud bar or drill a hole through it with an auger, gives the experienced angler the necessary clues as to the quality and thickness of ice.
A spud bar, a long handled steel rod with a blunt heavy blade welded on one end, is a vital tool for ice anglers on ice that is questionable. While walking across the near shore ice the angler hits the ice in front of him with the spud bar. The sound and feel made when the ice is struck with the spud bar relays its thickness and safety to the angler traversing the frozen surface of the lake.
Every few yards you should stop walking and smack the ice a few feet in front of you with the spud bar. If you stab the ice two or three times and the spud bar penetrates the ice to water…Turn around and return on the same path. The ice is too thin or soft.
Besides ice thickness and condition, the other main factor that is responsible for many ice rescues and incidents is inclement weather. A week ago several ice anglers had to be rescued by firemen from the frozen surface of Oneida Lake.
These anglers used poor judgment. They ventured out on the 50, 000 acre snow covered surface of the vast lake with 30 mile per hour wind gusts and wind chill values up to -20 forecasted. Bad idea.
Many rescuers risked their own lives searching for and recovering the stranded and lost ice anglers from a brutal environment of near zero visibility and extreme cold. An environment in which these anglers were not properly prepared to endure or retreat.
While the information here is not inclusive of all the factors and potential dangers incurred when traveling upon frozen water bodies, it does discuss the more important. With 16 winters of providing professional guided ice fishing trips throughout Upstate New York, I tell my guests that the most dangerous aspect of an ice fishing trip with Upstate Guide Service is getting to and from the launch in their vehicle. Leading anglers onto questionable ice is never an option.
Greater Niagara Region
Bill Hilts, Jr.
After a bit of an ice storm yesterday around Western New York, temperatures will be shooting up into the 40s and 50s today, bringing with it high winds with gusts to 60 mph through late Friday afternoon. With this end of Lake Erie still open, it will undoubtedly have an effect on Niagara River fishing by pushing ice into the river and also have an effect on water conditions. Wind that strong out of the Southwest has a tendency to stain things up, but with colder temperatures in the forecast for the weekend, it should help things out.
The Niagara River was busy from both boat and shore the past week and trout and walleye dominated the catching scene. We heard about walleyes up to 12 pounds. Steelhead, brown trout and lake trout were all being caught by casters and boat drifters. Boaters were pulling Kwikfish and MagLips off three-way rigs to catch fish. Minnows were also working.
From shore, spinners and jigs were both catching some fish. 18 Mile Creek in Newfane saw some things open up again, and jigs tipped with a wax worm or egg sacs were working under a float. The Back Bay in Wilson was still producing perch, crappie and the occasional trout in Tuscarora Bay through the ice. With the recent warm ups, make sure you check the ice thickness but heading out and heading back in.
Don’t forget next weekend is a free fishing weekend, Feb. 16 and 17. You don’t need a fishing license but you do need to abide by the regulations for the body of water you intend to fish. Check out the DEC website at dec.ny.gov for more info.
The WNY Boat Show is coming up Feb. 20 to 24 at the Adpro Center in Orchard Park. Check out www.wnyboatshow.com for details.
Finally, the Niagara River Anglers has announced that they have rescheduled its Roger Tobey Memorial Steelhead Contest for March 2 in the lower Niagara River and Lake Ontario tributaries. The contest, for NRAA members, runs from sunrise to 2 p.m. with the awards to follow at Lewiston No. 1 Fire Hall in the village. Call Paul Jackson for more details at 998-8910. DEC has also announced new regulations proposals for Lake Ontario and the Niagara River. Go on the DEC website at www.dec.ny.gov to find out what they are and pass along your comments.
Oswego County
Mary Ellen Barbeau of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning.
Oswego River Report
As was expected over the last few days the flow has risen with the snow melt and rain we have had. This afternoon it is flowing at 15,900cfs. More rain is expected overnight so this level may go up. Anglers are finding browns, steelhead and walleye with behind the hotels a good spot to try. Oz Angling reported a nice steelhead caught by an angler yesterday afternoon using an egg sac under a slip float.
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 visitoswegocounty.com and click on the Fishing Report along the top bar on the home page. The Oswego Fire Department offers loaner life jackets at no charge through its “Loaner for Life” program. For more information contact the fire station, 35 E. Cayuga St., at 315-343-2161.
Salmon River Report:
According to the Douglaston Salmon Run:
The early angler gets the steelhead. Tuesday a handful of anglers joined us first thing in the morning all spending a majority of the day down on the run. Reports from each of those anglers indicated fresh chrome being brought to hand. Ones and twos seemed to be the common theme. Shelf ice has diminished greatly and the estuary even has broken open. Only a few anglers ventured out yesterday but they reported landing a handful of fish. Rain moved in by midday and came down in buckets at times. The water flow is currently 750cfs.
Oneida Lake Report:
With the up and down temperatures we have had, use caution with changing conditions. Early in the week anglers were finding a foot of ice in many areas but the snow melt on the lake caused some slush on the surface. Rain is expected again in the area overnight so you may find some standing water on the ice. Anglers out yesterday suggested using creepers. Temperatures are expected to drop below freezing through the day tomorrow with nighttime lows in the teens Friday night through Monday night. The wind will also be a factor tomorrow with gusts to 35+ mph diminishing to 15-20 mph on Saturday. As always use caution.
Sandy Pond Report:
Conditions have varied over the last week on the pond. We had good conditions with 12-16 inches of ice. Then the lake effect snow event dropped about 18 inches of snow on the pond. With the warmer temperatures and some rain, the snow has melted with the surface becoming somewhat wet and slushy in many places. Temperatures are expected to cool down for the weekend but use caution especially near running water and pressure cracks and check the ice as you go.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Streams
All streams are still frozen over and they haven’t really opened-up …even with 60-degree temps.
Bays
Yesterday the temperatures hit 62 degrees, and the past few nights have been in the 50’s. However, that hasn’t really melted much ice. Port Bay still has a solid ten inches and Sodus Bay has the same.
There are soft areas near docks and near the channels, however the ice remains safe.
Predicted rain later this week could change the thickness, but as of today most ice is safe.
The perch are hitting off the points in Port Bay and seem to be gobbling-up spikes. Use bright jigs and perch minnows under tip-ups are working well.
There is limited parking at Bay Front Restaurant near the end of West Port Bay Road.
The crappies and bluegills are hitting at Sodus Center pond (Metz Pond), a small body of water off South Geneva Road in Sodus.
Currently the temperatures have dropped to 34 degrees with overnight lows predicted to be below freezing.
They are still catching jumbo perch over by the loop and at the trestle near the old malt house. The perch are hitting bright jigs and the smaller lures seem to be working better. That area has been the most consistent location for perch.
If you need bait or equipment go to B-E Fishing Tackle in Ontario or Bay Bridge Sport Shop at the south end of Sodus.
Check out the rest of the Wayne County Tourism web page for the locations and hours of local bait and tackle shops.
Erie Canal
A few ice anglers were fishing Widewaters over the weekend. Not sure what they were catching.
Orleans County
Orleans County Tourism and Bierstine of Oak Orchard Tackle and Lodge
Thanks to couple days of warm temperatures, snow-melt and showers through last night, all the tributary flows have come up and gone off color. Flows in the Oak are more or less between high and blown or headed more toward blown and dirty especially with any more precipitation. In the Oak through yesterday, flows were high consisting of lots of overflow and turbine water. Turbine flows looked like they were restored later in the day Monday from earlier low flows so look for something like wide open there. Overflow levels should crest through about today or tomorrow and could be back on the rise with forecasted precipitation later this week. Temperatures are forecast to cool back down with a one day bump back up Wednesday.
The other area smaller tributaries have blown and dirty flows and may not have the chance to retreat all that much if there is more precipitation the end of this week. For now it does not look like those waterways have opened completely up from the winter time ice. Right up until this latest rise in flows in the Oak, anglers were into a mix of steelhead and browns mainly nearer the dam. A few guys did make some drifts in the overflow channel. Downstream slow water areas have opened back up. On the backside of these high flows with any reasonable fishable conditions there should be the chance for some fresh steelhead migrations kicking off the late winter and spring action.