Central New York

Oneida Lake: The warm spell put a halt to ice fishing, and
nothing was being reported earlier this month.

Oswego River: The Oswego River has been running at around 16,000
cfs. There were browns and steelhead in the river but with the high
water levels and snowmelt fishing has been slow. Most of the fish
were being caught in the harbor, behind the hotels, on white jigs
and pink eggs.

Salmon River: The Salmon River was running around 1,800 cfs, but
that was on the heels of the warm spell. Fishing was very good on
the river before the winter thaw raised the water level. Steelhead
are spread throughout the river, with most of the fishing pressure
taking place in the upper river. Fishing the deeper pools with egg
sacs fished under floats has been productive. Bottom bouncing with
egg sacs, single eggs, nymphs or pink worms have also been working.
Good egg sac colors have been blue and white.

Sandy Pond: Ice fishing came to a halt when the warm weather
arrived, but conditions may be getting back closer to normal by
now, so it’s worth a look or phone call to a local shop to see
what’s happening on the hard-water scene. If you do go, exercise
caution, given the wide fluctuations in weather.