Western New York Winter has arrived back on the local scene and conditions are bit difficult with snow and cold temperatures. The Niagara River was turning off-color and may be tough to fish, but keep an eye on changing conditions. In the lower Niagara River, fishing from both boat and shore had been good for steelhead and brown trout, with…
Western New York Now that the ball has dropped on 2019, area fishermen should be aware of some changes in regulations. Lake trout season is now open below Niagara Falls in the Niagara River and on the Niagara Bar in Lake Ontario. Also, walleye fishermen must note that the daily limit drops from three fish to one fish per person…
Western New York Brown trout and steelhead were dominating the fishing report, with walleye not far behind. Buffy Frank of Lockport caught a monster brown trout while fishing a favorite Niagara County Lake Ontario tributary. Using a black marabou jig tipped with wax worms, she hauled in a 34-inch brownie that tipped the scales at better than 15 pounds. She…
Western New York Muskie season is now closed, with the exception of the lower Niagara River and Lake Ontario, where the season closes Dec. 15. The upper Niagara River produced a few nice late-season fish like the 50-inch trophy reeled in by Rebecca Gaulteri of Hamilton, Ontario. She was fishing with Capt. Chris Cinelli of Grand Island and managed to…
Western New York Lake Erie and tributaries: There has been no shortage of water in the Erie tributaries this fall, bringing in more fish with each high water day. Steelhead numbers and catches were good on all streams. Cattaraugus Creek was the only unknown; it has been too high to fish for the past month. The small- to medium-sized streams…
Western New York Burt Dam and Eighteen Mile Creek continued to be good for king salmon, brown trout and steelhead, according to Karen Evarts at The Boat Doctors in Olcott. Skein, egg sacs or egg imitations are the way to go. Maribou jigs and beads are also working. Chartreuse, orange and pink egg sacs have been working, along with nymphs,…
Western New York Lake Erie and tributaries: Cattaraugus Creek is currently running a little high at last look. Steelhead catches had previously been reported all the way up to the Springville Dam, so it’s a good bet when conditions improve – and they may have by now. All other Erie tributaries had lower flows and clear conditions. There have been…
Western New York Lake Erie and tributaries: Anglers were still catching good numbers of walleye off Cattaraugus Creek and to the west. Target walleye in 70-90 feet of water with worm harnesses or stickbaits run between 60 feet down and the bottom. There have been some decent yellow perch catches off Cattaraugus Creek and slightly to the west in 50-60…
Western New York Lake Erie and harbors: Lake Erie anglers continued to enjoy an exceptional walleye. From Cattaraugus Creek to the Pennsylvania line, anglers reported constant fish marks on the screen both high and low. However, most walleye seemed to be suspended above the cold water at about 40 feet down. A DEC creel technician reported that every boat returning…
Western New York Lake Erie and harbors: When conditions allow, anglers are still enjoying an excellent walleye bite from Sturgeon Point to the Pennsylvania line. Good numbers of walleye were available, starting in 55 feet of water out of all ports, and extending to 75 feet of water between Sturgeon and Cattaraugus Creek, and out to 85 feet plus between…
Western New York Lake Erie and harbors: When conditions allowed anglers to take to the water, they caught walleye, as they have all season. The recent walleye bite has been excellent from Sturgeon Point to the Pennsylvania line. The better catches have been trending deeper in most locations. From west/northwest of Sturgeon Point to Cattaraugus Creek, anglers were seeing good…
Western New York Lake Erie and harbors: The walleye bite has been quite good from Sturgeon Point to the Pennsylvania line. Out of those ports, most walleye seemed to be suspended between 15-35 feet below the surface. Sturgeon Point trollers reported good walleye numbers to the west in 55-62 feet of water. Off Cattaraugus Creek, depths of 50-75 feet have…
Western New York Lake Erie and harbors: Lake Erie showed its ugly side during last month’s FLW Costa Series bass tourney, allowing competitors just one day of fishing before kicking up for forcing the cancellation of the next two days of the event. The walleye bite was a bit spotty, as well. There have been some good catches here or…
Western New York Lake Erie and harbors: Anglers reported good walleye action from Buffalo to the Pennsylvania border, with best fishing at the east and west ends (New York waters). Off the Buffalo, windmills to the international line in depths of 45-55 feet of water, trolling and bottom bouncing has produced solid catches of walleye of all sizes. From Seneca…
Western New York The Lake Ontario Counties (LOC) Trout and Salmon derby kicked off June 30 and runs through July 29. The summer contest offers up $29,000 in cash prizes. Included in the mix is a $10,000 Grand Prize for the largest salmon and $1,750 in weekly prizes – $1,000 for salmon and $250 each for lake trout, brown trout…
Western New York Lake Erie and harbors: There were still some walleye available at night in the near-shore shallows, but that bite is tapering off. The daytime action has been decent to good at mid-depth areas, including some limit catches. Out of Buffalo, anglers were catching walleye off the windmills in 30-40 feet of water. Productive methods include trolling with…
Western New York After a bit of northeast wind, Lake Ontario saw fish scatter. Yes, fishing suddenly became a bit more difficult after a month that was often spectacular. Despite the tougher conditions, the Buffalo Sabres Alumni Charity Fishing Outing went off without a hitch last month and plenty of fish were caught by the 22 boats that participated. The…
Western New York Lake Erie and harbors: The walleye night bite seems to get better with each passing night, but there have been some good catches during the day, too. Popular nighttime spots include Shorehaven Reef, Bournes Beach, Green Hills, Van Buren Bay, Evans Bar, off Hamburg and near the mouth of Smokes Creek. Trolling minnow-type stickbaits at around 2…
Western New York Lake Erie and harbors: Most Lake Erie boat launches are now open for the season. There may still be some dredging occurring at Sturgeon Point Marina, so it’s best to call ahead. Anglers were targeting yellow perch between Cattaraugus Creek and Sturgeon Point in 50-60 feet of water. Perch catches have been modest at best so far….
Western New York Lake Erie tributaries and harbors: Steelhead fishing was slowing down prior to the latest blowout, but there were still decent numbers of fish around. Steelhead smolts have recently been stocked in the Lake Erie tributaries. If caught, handle these small steelhead with care so they may return to the creeks as large adults. The steelhead bite at…
Western New York Lake Erie tributaries and harbors: Most creeks are back to a fishable level; Cattaraugus Creek was higher with muddy conditions at last look, but things can change fast on the tribs. Steelhead fishing has been pretty good in all creeks and the consistently cold weather extended steelhead fishing opportunities through April. It’s recommended that anglers avoid actively…
Western New York Lake Erie tributaries and harbors: Cattaraugus Creek was seeing some steelhead action for those anglers still chasing chrome. Target steelhead in the deeper holes and drift offerings slow and low for best results. Conditions can change rapidly in the spring; sometimes a shot of rain can really trigger some fine fishing. Niagara River: Trout fishing has recently…
Western New York We are slowly starting to turn the corner on a variety of fronts. On Lake Ontario, the first trollers have started pounding the surf with in-line planers and stickbaits like Bay Rats and Live Target plugs. At least, that’s what was working for Capt. Vince Pierleoni of Newfane recently when he ran a shakedown cruise out of…
Western New York Action for trout has been good. The tributaries off Lake Ontario and Lake Erie opened back up again and anglers were catching trout consistently before the rains came. All the tributaries were high and muddy but improving quickly at last check. Both Twelve Mile Creek in Wilson and Keg Creek were flowing nicely, according to Wes Walker…
Western New York Greg Schloerb of Amherst reported that fishing improved once the slush off the top of the water was gone at Eighteen Mile Creek at Burt Dam. He caught some dandy steelhead using his homemade olive-colored jigs tipped with a wax worm and fished under a float. He caught steelhead to 12 pounds. In the lower Niagara River,…
Western New York Ice fishing: It’s been a good ice fishing year so far but you will really want to be very careful out there, giving the roller coaster weather. The ice in Olcott Harbor can be affected by excessive flow coming through the Eighteen Mile Creek system. At last check Wilson had up to 6 inches of ice. There…
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