Fishing continues well in Lake Erie and Lake Ontario when winds permitting. Steelhead is starting to appear in Cattaraugus Creek and perch are being caught in the lake. Lake ontario salmon regulation is great at niagara bar and east. The first salmon appeared in the Niagara River.
Lake Erie and its tributaries
The gorgeous walleye is the talk of Lake Erie fishing circles, especially out of Cattarogus Bay. Bruce Kowalski of TAAR Outdoors at Lake View reports that anglers fish with sticks and gear out of Catt in 75 feet of water, as well as out of Buffalo at depths of 55 to 60 feet. Perch have appeared near Evans Bar, just east of Catt. Perch-chasers picked up several good buckets with live minnows at the bottom. Shop Stevens in Kat. Creek Bait and Tackle in Irving reports good walleye fishing out of the Catt area. A good starting point is 50 to 60 feet of water. Worm webbing is the ticket, according to his sources, and several different colors work, including bright green and purple. Perch are caught at 60 feet as well. Live or salted emerald is the best bait at the moment. Steelhead moves to Cattaraugus Creek, and they are caught by live minnows. The Southtowns Walleye competition has been moved to September 23rd on Lake Erie and is now a six fish per person competition. The cost is $40 per person. Call Tom Schiavetta at 208-4245 for details.
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Down the Niagara River, Mike Rczedlow of Niagara Falls has been catching walleye and bass from shore using stick baits, both at night and during the day in the canyon area. Pete Rubel of Niagara Falls reports that the first salmon off his NYPA fishing rig came in last weekend, and he caught his first steelhead on the pin this fall. In addition, he grabbed a decent muskelung from the platform and released it. The egg mimics were doing well. From the boats, the catch was consistent for walleye and bass from Devil’s Hole to the green enclosure in Lake Ontario off Fort Niagara. Worm belts and jigs work with walleyes. Crayfish, Drop rigs, Ned’s rigs, Tubes, and Swimbaits should produce bass as we head into September. Some big eye fish are also available at the bar. Patrick Barber of Niagara Falls reported a 13-pound fish after the Fish Odyssey Derby. The Upper Niagara action is still very good for bass and snare.
Lake Ontario and its tributaries
Vision Quest Charters Capt. Pete Alex reports that salmon fishing is now taking place and the waters are in perfect condition. The icy water inside dissipated with the recent southwesterly winds, prompting the astronauts to head for the beach. It got a little late start this year but the ice water didn’t help. Alex says that the water from Bar Niagara to the old Somerset Power Station has phases and good numbers of browns in 65 to 90 feet of water. Outside, there are two-year-old Kings and mixed steelheads from 28 lines to 31 lines. In the Big Boys Championship last weekend outside Point Breeze, Captain Karl Martin and Team Dublin Up from Wilson beat Dave Antinori and Team Screamer from Oswego and Captain Vince Berleone and Team Thrillseeker from Olcott. . Most teams fished in waters 60 to 120 feet deep, targeting fish east of the oak. The Dublin Up fished 100 to 120 feet of water on both days of the tournament. Some teams have caught adult fish/adult fish in up to 650 feet of water north of the oak. There were adult fish mixed with two-year-old fish. Offshore it was mostly spoon and flasher/fly bite, while on the beach it was plug and stripper/fly bite, stripper and meat bite and some anglers were running big spoons. Best bite was from the oak to the east of the harbor 4 miles away.
Holiday events were great for theatrical royalty, using flash/fly combos to pound ripe salmon at John Van Hoff’s Niagara Bar of North Tonawanda. Drillers at 60 feet and divers 200 times in No. 2 mode experienced continuous action when dropping from 80 to 100 feet of water. They have caught kings up to 25 pounds. Karen Evarts of The Boat Doctors in Olcott reported that harbor traffic for perch, pike, bass and panfish had slowed, possibly due to the extreme heat. As things return to normal next week, look for actions that can be taken. The recent northeast wind helped bring a few salmon and brown trout to the dock fishermen, but it was just a jest. For the boats, there were a few kings staging first thing in the morning, but it doesn’t last long. The best depth was 250 feet. The best spatula was carbon 14. The best colors are black, black/purple and black/silver. Flashes and flies are dark green, green/white and yellow. Bruce Kowalski of TAAR Outdoors reports that salmon is on the minds of many of his customers and confirms that salmon are in the phasing stage and that small schools of fish are swarming in some rivers. Fishing line and larger single beads appear to be the patterns found in small streams and rivers. Pier casters throwing glowing spoons and larger spinners are catching fish, but they are still at an early stage in the process.
The walleye sting continues in the lake’s southern basin, according to Capt. Mike Sperry of Chautauqua Reel Outdoors. Trolling with crankbaits about 2 feet from the bottom and about 2 mph is the best program. Crankbaits work like Hot-n-Tots, Flicker Shads, Flicker Minnows, and Walleye Divers. Using a basic lead line or snap weights is essential to getting lures near the bottom. The vertical drifting and jumping areas where the fish appear on the electronics also work. There are plenty of crappie and white perch scattered around the bottom as well. The best fishing for yellow perch seems to be in the northern basin. From sidewalks to outside weed lines is a good place to start. Schools of perch roam the open water, Sperry reports. Musk fishing was average last week. Casting the northern basin and fishing both basins yield some fish. The North Basin has clear waters, which is great, but makes fishing more difficult on sunny days. A little cloud cover and chipping helps when casting.
Cayuga Lake: Capt. John Golk of the Finger Lakes Angling Zone reported that jigging trout in the lake were excellent. He fished from Sheldrake all the way to Ithaca from 65 to 100 feet of water. The fish are getting big and there are quite a few mixed rainbow trout. Darker colors were best for Juulk, such as Black, Arkansas Shiner, and Aleph, as being among the few good choices. The leaves are starting to change color and the water fleas are almost gone. Weed mats are minuscule on the lake.
