Greater Niagara Region
Frank Campbell
Capt. Pete Alex of Vision Quest won his second Niagara County Pro-Am tournament in the Professional Division with a two-day score of 346 points based on 10 points per fish and a point per pound to narrowly beat out the Wet Net crew led by Capt. Matt Yablonsky with a score of 298 points. In the Amateur Division, it was the Knot Farming team led by Jesse Snyder of Gasport with a score of 190 points, narrowly beating Hound Dog with 179 points. The tournament was shortened by a few hours on Saturday when a small craft advisory was posted at 10 a.m.
For the Vision Quest squad, Day 1 they worked 440 feet of water in the northwest corner of New York waters, targeting the top 60 feet with regular Dreamweaver spoons. The Rambler silver back was HOT! The second day, due to the rough weather, they focused on 62-75 feet of water on the Niagara Bar using 6-inch baby spin doctors and A-Tom-Mik “modified flies” (they cut 1-inch off the full-size flies for Coho) and Dreamweaver regular spoons. Rambler white back was good. They caught the tournament limit of 12 fish the final day, the only team to do that.
In the Amateur Division, Knot Farming comprised of Jeff Budziezewski of Appleton and Jesse Snyder of Lockport fishing aboard Snyder’s 22-foot Robalo decided to set up in 400 feet of water northwest of Olcott on a north troll. They ran a spread that covered 50 to 100 feet down with a mix of lead core and weighted steel long lines on inline planer boards, wire divers, and downriggers. They deployed a mix of spoons and a couple meat rigs with spin doctors and flashers. There wasn’t a distinct temperature break, or any kind of thermocline set up yet so the fish were scattered throughout the water column. Friday morning’s bite was slow and steady until the action dried up around 10:30. Then they spent the day between 330 and 460 feet of water but had our best action between 350 and 415 feet of water. They ended up weighing a 17.69-pound king salmon and 4 good size steelhead on Day 1, putting us in 5th place overall, with the 2nd biggest fish of the day. For Day 2, they decided to go right back to where they caught their fish Saturday morning and deployed the same spread covering the same water column. They hooked a screamer at 6 a.m. on a meat rig set at 100 feet down on one of the downriggers and after it ran out several hundred feet of line the hook pulled out. They ended up boating 4 legal fish to weigh, comprised of 2 king salmon and 2 steelhead by 7:15 a.m. An hour later they caught an 11-pound steelhead coming on a standard diver set 140 feet back on a 2 setting with a custom-made Mag spoon to complete their limit.
In the Don Johannes/Pete DeAngelo 3-Fish/Big Fish contest Thursday, Marty Polovick of Lockport and the Four Poles team fished straight out of Wilson in 320 feet of water. They caught their biggest salmon on a flasher-fly combo fished off a diver set back 150 on a No. 3 setting. Their other two fish (steelhead) came on the downrigger set 35 feet down using a Warrior Mag spoon, and on 5 colors of lead core line with a Warrior spoon. The steelhead were high in the water column.
Niagara River action is being hampered by the dreaded summer moss, but people are still out there fishing. Action for smallmouth bass was good off the NYPA Fish Platform last week using jigs tipped with rubber flukes according to Tommy Holycross of Wheatfield. However, Qui Nguyen of Buffalo, formerly of Vietnam, used a minnow to reel in an odd catch. It appeared to be a striped bass! They can live in fresh water. None have ever been stocked in the Great Lakes. For the boaters, less trout are available with only 1 or 2 fish showing up each day for the charter guys. Most of the action is bass, walleye, and white bass. Minnows are working best. Mag Lips will trick bass, walleye, and trout into hitting. The middle section of the river has been tough fishing. Upper river action for walleye and bass has been decent. Chris Trzaska of Buffalo was fishing from the Grand Island shoreline over the weekend using red and white No. 3 Chuck Booker spinners to take 8 bass, and 3 pike. Wade and Lisa Winch of North Tonawanda did well on smallmouth bass in 4 to 10 feet of water using Ned rigs and black bucktail jigs.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Lake Ontario
Fishing in the lake has been tough. Salmon are being marked; however, they are not taking any bait. Before the weekend northeast blows… which pushed warm water out to sea…the kings were in 90 to 150 fow down 50 fow. They were hitting watermelon UV spoons.
Now for the good news. Brown trout were stocked in Wayne County on May 24th.
27,000 went in at Sodus Point and 20,000 were stocked in Pultneyville.
Bays
Bay fishing is also going through its late spring transition period. Bass season starts June 15th and anglers are now catching fish and release bass near the Sodus Channel.
The perch are still in Sodus Bay. You’ll find them near the breach and off points at the north end.
Use 2-to-3-inch rubber, shad color.
Port Bay still has 10-to-12-inch perch near the outlet to the lake. You’ll also catch some blue gills and sunfish near the north end of the bay.
Port Bay launch sites are at the north end barrier bar and the south end ramp off West Port Bay Road.
Sodus Bay launch sites are at Bay Bridge Sport Shop and Margaretta Road.
Erie Canal
Fishing the canal has been the hotspot. Widewaters is where you’ll catch all kinds of panfish. And that area of the canal has largemouth bass that will tip the scales at 6 to 7 pounds.
Some channel cats are being caught near Clyde. Use cut shrimp or worms and try to find the deeper water.
You can launch a boat at ramps in Clyde, Lyons, Newark, and Macedon along the Erie Canal.
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 Road.
Notable Freshwater Fishing Regulation Changes
The following list offers a summary of the most notable fishing regulation changes resulting from the adopted rulemakings described above.
- New statewide regulation for rainbow trout, brown trout, and splake in lakes and ponds. The season will now be open year-round, with a five-fish daily limit, any size, with a “no more than two longer than 12 inches” harvest rule.
- Statewide Atlantic salmon regulations will now allow for a year-round open season.
- Ice fishing is permitted on all waters in New York unless specifically prohibited with the exception of Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Lewis, St. Lawrence, Warren, and Washington counties where previous rules remain.
- New specific dates replaced floating dates for statewide season openers to include:
- May 1 – Walleye, Northern Pike, Pickerel, and Tiger Muskellunge.
- June 1 – Muskellunge. (Note that in 2022, DEC will allow for the fishing of muskellunge beginning the last Saturday in May to accommodate previously planned fishing trips);and
- June 15 – Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass.
- A five-fish daily walleye limit in Oneida Lake.
- A new regulation to limit the growth of the walleye population in Skaneateles Lake. No daily possession limit; 12-inch minimum size limit, open year-round.
- The statewide sunfish daily harvest limit has been reduced from 50 to 25 fish: and
- The statewide minimum size limit for crappie has been increased from nine inches to ten inches.
Orleans County
Orleans County Sportfishing Coordinator Ron Bierstine:
Some tough trolling action through last week’s calm and flat conditions ended with a medium NE blow Saturday. By Sunday it did kind of blow itself out and the forecast is for prevailing winds and maybe some NW through the upcoming mid week. That wouldn’t be a bad thing to try and move the Niagara plume that’s been essentially bottled up on that west end. That good water should move along some of the trout and salmon that did a Houdini from here. And the Saturday NE blow scattered the Oak Orchard action that we did have and moved in cold water and scattered the bait. Prevailing W or some reasonable NW winds will help set back up good temp structure off Point Breeze. Even off shore guys lately have been hard pressed to find the typical more consistent action out there.
So bring along your June optimism for improving fishing action (it always does!) and get ready for the Oak Orchard Open on June 9 – 11, 2023. Good luck, fish hard, fish fair, be safe and have fun competing. When you come off the water you can bring the crew or family to Albion’s Strawberry Festival on June 9 and 10, 2023. There’s lots of great things to do and enjoy and of course sample some strawberry cuisine! There’ll be live music and entertainment into the evenings. There’s always a great compliment to the fishing here in Orleans County!
The Orleans County Open fishing tournament is June 10th & 11th.
The rules for the PRO and AM divisions are posted on their Facebook Page.
Oswego County
Military Appreciation Luncheon & Fishing Event – June 10, 2023
The third annual Veteran Fishing and Luncheon event will be held on Saturday, 12:00-5:00pm at Wright’s Landing Marina.
Lake Ontario – Oswego
Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
Brown Trout has been the fish of choice the last week in Oswego. The kings have spread out and are harder to find.
The best bite has been from 10-30 feet of water. Early in the morning, the shallow water has been productive. But as the sun comes up, the deeper (20-40’) zone has been most productive. Flat lines in shallow and start applying those 2 to 5 color leadcores when you move out.
Our recommendation is dark and naturals early, brighter colors in the high sun. Smaller size spoons have been working best. Gold perch, black widow, uv tux, and green tux have all been good.
Tight Lines!
Lake Ontario – Mexico, NY
Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
In Mexico, fishing has been even tougher than Oswego. The fish have been very spread out and hard to get pinned down. Even the Lakers have been hiding.
Browns are still being caught from 15-40 feet of water, from “Catfish” to the buoy line. Brown trout have been suspended from the surface and down to the bottom, so spread your lines out and cover water. Search for the groups of fish and stay on them.
Spey Nation Returns in 2023
August 11-13, 2023
Oswego County Tourism caught up with the organizers to ask some questions about the event:
Q. What are you most excited for Spey Nation 2023?
We’re most excited to see the energy of this event once again. Spey Nation has developed a great following and it will be great to see the tradition continue. The new format is designed to provide a unique educational opportunity and one-on-one access to experts in the world of Spey casting and fishing.
Q. We’re excited to see that Spey Nation will be on the Salmon River again this year. Can you comment on the history there?
Prior to Covid, Spey Nation had been held on the Salmon River for ten years. Geoff Schaake and few other dedicated Spey enthusiasts were the driving force. The main event was always at the Pineville Boat Launch, so this year we have kept the Saturday presentations there once again.
Q. How will 2023 be different from years past?
Spey Nation is now operated by Swing the Fly, a media outlet known as “The Voice of Spey.” The new Spey Nation is now a three-day event. In addition to the Saturday presentations there are a variety of casting, fishing, and tying classes being offered from Friday through Sunday as well as an informal hour (Friday evening).
Q. What’s the best way for attendees to interact with you leading up to the event?
The event link on the Swing the Fly website provides all the details on the event including the presentations and class registration. As for social media Spey Nation is on Instagram (@speynation) and Facebook (@SpeyNation).
Free Oswego Fishing Guide
Click Here to Order a Free Guide
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.