Upstate New York Fishing Report – May 28, 2020

Greater Niagara Region

Bill Hilts, Jr.

Mark and Jake Romanack with the Fishing 411 TV Show arrived in Niagara on the eve of Memorial Day weekend and had hoped to put 2 fishing shows in the can when they arrived in Lewiston. The first day they decided to go old school for a different kind of a show. After filming the release of some of the salmon that had been held in pens and tanks in the lower Niagara River at Youngstown, the Fishing 411 crew headed out onto the Niagara Bar near the green can to take a mix of salmon and trout using 3.5 MagLip plugs running 3-way rigs or lines with snap weights to get their lures into the fish zone. The next day, Team Romanack headed back out on the Bar to fish more traditional methods for salmon and trout. It was foggy and a little congested at the Niagara Bar last Saturday morning. Fish were scattered along the bar in 50-80 feet of water. They ran Mag Silver Streak spoons on 3 and 5 color lead core set ups with in- line boards.

They also trolled SpinFish plugs on downriggers. Both presentations worked very well. Rotating plugs like this SpinFish by Yakima Bait are becoming a staple for Great Lakes salmon according to Romanack. Things are changing though, as it normally does this time of year – just in time for a salmon tournament. The Wilson Harbor Invitational Tournament is June 6 and it is starting to get a bit tough out there. According to Karen Evarts at The Boat Doctors in Olcott, she reports that fishing has changed up a bit out in the lake. The salmon have moved out. Best fishing was 250 feet of water as of Monday. Things are hitting better using planer boards. They were down deep but then moved up to 50 to 65 feet below the surface. Mag spoons are the best, black, silver, glow, and green the best colors. They will be changing up to meat more now according to Evarts. People were trolling the shoreline for bass, too. Justin Dunkelberger of Olcott enjoyed a great 9th birthday present going fishing with Josh and Dale Dunkelberger. Fishing with his friend Josh McCabe, they caught several king salmon and a lake trout that tipped the scales at 24 pounds. Best lures for the kings were UV Yellow and Atomic Bomb GRC flies. Riggers were 55 down over 89 feet of water. Dipsy divers 115 to 140 feet back.

In the lower river, Lisa Drabczyk of Creek Road Bait and Tackle reports that steelhead are still snapping in Devil’s Hole on minnows or lures like Kwikfish or MagLips. Bass are starting to turn on with tubes, Ned rigs and swim baits. Remember you need to use an artificial lure if you are targeting bass until the regular season opener. Lake trout seems to be the predominant catch at the bar off the mouth now that the salmon have moved deeper. Kwikfish, MagLips and minnows will all work around the green buoy marker, bouncing bottom with 3-way rigs. Upper river bass action continues to be strong and a few walleyes are starting to show up, too.

The Wilson Harbor Invitational Tournament is all set to hit the waters on June 6 for the main event. If inclement weather is an issue on that day, the event will roll over to June 7. There are still openings available for this team event, with special changes being added, to maintain social distancing and to keep competitors safe. The contest is based on your best 6 salmon during 1 day of fishing. No observers are required this year. The 2 events that help competitors to pre-fish the lake and gear up for the main contest is the Salmon and Trout Slam and the $1K a Day. The $1K a Day is just what it says, offering up to a $1,000 (based on numbers of registrations) for the largest salmon caught each day. If you are already entered into the WHI, registration is free. If you are not signed up for the WHI, you can still register for the $1K a Day off the WHI website. Due to the low numbers of entries in the Salmon and Trout Slam, tournament officials have decided to cancel this portion of tournament week this year. For more information log on Wilson Harbor Invitational Tournament.

Wayne County Fishing Update

Chris Kenyon

Lake Ontario

The holiday weekend proved successful on the Big “O” however a south wind produced clear water, which is difficult to fish.

The report today is fishing west of Sodus has produced a mix bag. Not many kings, but the cohos, steelhead, and lakers are hitting in 120 to 250 feet of water.

The lake trout are on the bottom and the steelies and cohos are on the top. Use red and black and silver glow spoons.

The fish are scattered, however if you work the water off the points west of Sodus Bay towards Hughes’ Marina, you’ll find fish.

The Sodus Pro-am is tentatively a go in July. As soon as we receive confirmation, it will be posted on the fishing update page.

Bays

Bullhead fishing has been excellent. You can fish off Bay Bridge or launch a boat and try shallow warm water near any off the outlets into the bays. There is a great location for bullheads at the south end of East Bay near Slaght Road in the town of Huron.

Not too much action on the bays because of recreational boat traffic over the weekend. Remember that the bass season opens the third Saturday in June. Currently it’s a catch and release season for small and largemouth bass.

Some perch were being caught on the east side of the Sodus channel.

Erie Canal

The panfish were biting Sunday near Widewaters. Fish the north side of the canal for the warmer water. You can launch at the Widewaters County park.

Currently the canal is closed for boat traffic. You can keep informed from the NYS Canal web.

Charters in Wayne County are Opened for Business

Wayne County Charters are now opened for business. The Finger Lakes region has currently met all the necessary requirements during Phase One to operate their business. All steps and guidelines to ensure safety are listed HERE.

Boat Launches Opened

Privately-owned marinas, boat launches, and many other recreational marine locations are now opened.

The official statement from New York State is made in conjunction with similar ones from the governors of New Jersey and Connecticut, is the latest change to the guidance from Empire State Development on what is and isn’t affected by the governor’s Executive Order 202, which ordered employers to reduce the number of employees working at individual locations to help fight the coronavirus pandemic.

The guidance regarding privately-owned marinas, boatyards and recreational marine manufacturers allows for operations and boat repair/maintenance so long as the facilities ‘adhere to strict social distancing and sanitization protocols.’ However, watercraft cannot be used for charters or rentals, and any restaurant facilities there must remain take-out or delivery only.

Safety Precautions from DEC

While enjoying the outdoors, please continue to follow the CDC/New York State Department of Health guidelines (leaves DEC’s website) for preventing the spread of colds, flu, and COVID-19:

• Try to keep at least six (6) feet of distance between you and others.
• Avoid close contact, such as shaking hands, hugging, and kissing.
• Wash hands often or use a hand sanitizer when soap and water are not available.
• Avoid surfaces that are touched often, such as doorknobs, handrails, and playground equipment.

When fishing, DEC recommends avoiding busy waters and following the guidelines on DEC’s website about fishing responsibly in New York State. If an angler arrives at a parking lot and there are several cars, they should consider going to another parking lot. If an angler is fishing upstream, they should fish downstream of the other angler or consider fishing another day. Anglers fishing from boats should be able to maintain at least six feet of distance between one another. For more information about the benefits of being outdoors safely and responsibly, go to DEC’s website.

New York State is open for fishing and DEC encourages anglers to recreate locally at a nearby waterbody. New York’s lakes and streams offer great opportunities for fishing in a wide array of settings across the state. Even during the current COVID-19 public health crisis, getting outdoors and connecting with nature while angling in New York’s waters is a great way to help maintain mental and physical health.

Charters and Guides

The “New York State on PAUSE” Executive Order, a 10-point policy to assure uniform safety for everyone during the COVID-19 response, includes a directive that all non-essential businesses statewide must close effective at 8 p.m. on Sunday, March 22, and temporarily bans all non-essential gatherings of individuals of any size for any reason.

At this time, fishing guides or charters of any size have been determined to be not essential and are subject to workforce reduction requirements of the Executive Order. The full and updated guidance on which types of businesses are determined essential and other designations associated with the order can be found online. For more info https://esd.ny.gov/guidance-executive-order-2026.