Greater Niagara Region
Bill Hilts, Jr.
It is the last month of the year, lake trout season is now open in the lower Niagara River and Lake Ontario and it is the last 2 weeks of musky season in those same waters. As luck would have it, a storm blew through Western NY this week and hampered water conditions. In addition, it shut the New York Power Authority fishing platform, the reservoir access, and the upper river at Intake Park for the winter. If the weather turns wintery, those facilities often close Dec. 1.
Gary Laidman of South Wales had another magical musky day on the Upper Niagara River fishing with Capt. Connor and Chris Cinelli of Grand Island just before the last round of wind. After catching fish that stretched the tape at 46.5 and 47 inches, Laidman hit his biggest of the fall this year with a 51-inch fish that sported a 27-inch girth. Musky season is now closed in the upper Niagara River, Lake Erie, and most of the state. The only exception is the lower Niagara River and Lake Ontario into the St. Lawrence River. Remember that Dec. 6 is the date set for the John Henning Memorial Musky Tournament on the Lower Niagara River hosted by the Niagara Musky Association from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. You must be a member to participate. Entry fee is $25. For more info call Scott Kitchen at 939-0006. In the lower Niagara River (and Lake Ontario), lake trout season is now open as of Dec. 1, 2020.
Water clarity was affected by wind recently once again on Lake Erie, but just before those winds arrived Kurt Smutko of North Carolina and his 89-year-old father Dr. George Smutko of Youngstown managed to get out on the lower river with Capt. Joe Marra of Lewiston. The trio had a banner day on steelhead and lake trout using beads off 3-way rigs. MagLips will also produce fish consistently off 3-way rigs. If the winds are not too severe this week, action should be back to normal for trout by the weekend according to Lisa Drabczyk of Creek Road Bait and Tackle in Lewiston. A few browns are starting to hit down river, too. From shore up in the gorge, Mike Ziehm of Niagara Falls reports that fish are available by casting No. 4 spinners. Beads and other egg imitations are available for shore anglers fished under floats. Egg sacs will work, too.
In the Lake Ontario tribs, Scott Feltrinelli of Ontario Fly Outfitters reports that water was high and muddy everywhere after nearly an inch of rain fell on Monday. Small tributaries cleared and dropped Tuesday from high water stages, fishing well for both browns and steelhead. Andrew Mauser of Pittsburgh fished Burt Dam and 18 Mile Creek for a few days prior to the rain, and he enjoyed some good brown trout fishing using zonkers and egg-pattern flies. He reported limited fishing pressure at the creek. Karen Evarts at The Boat Doctors in Olcott reports the same limited fishing pressure with brown trout and steelhead at the dam this week. Best baits were egg sacs, mealworms, wooly buggers, and a variety of flies. Canal water should keep flows up starting on the weekend.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Streams
We have received some rain yesterday which helps the flow in streams, however we need a couple more inches to bring browns into Maxwell Creek looking for salmon eggs.
Currently stream fishing has been productive at the end of Bear Creek, under the bridge at Salmon Creek and at the north end of Maxwell.
Use egg sacs… artificial and real… green beads and bright colored flies.
Fish the channel at Sodus Bay by throwing out heavy chartreuse spoons.
Bays
Perch fishing in Sodus and Port Bays has been exceptional this year. The Port Bay channel has closed with the bay level one foot above Lake Ontario level. The perch have no where to go so go get them.
You can launch at the north end of Port Bay where the ramp is in good shape. The perch have been caught on the east side of Port Bay near the points. Use small bright jigs, 2-inch rubber shad, or live perch minnows.
Sodus Bay also has seen some great catches of perch. Fish off the loop or at the south end of the bay on the east side.
The regular bass fishing season needed November 30th. You can still fish and release bass using artificial lures only.
Remember the important regulation regarding life jackets (PFD’s) : Use must wear your PFD from November 1st through May 1st if your boat is less than 21 feet. This means it must be worn…not lying in the bow of your boat.
The official rule: All persons on board a recreational vessel less than 21 feet in length (including canoes, kayaks, and rowboats) must wear a USCG–approved PFD from November 1 to May 1.
Erie Canal
The Widewaters area has not been drained and you can fish from a boat or from the shore.
Keep informed from the NYS Canal web for changes and restrictions with canal waters.
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.
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.
Orleans County
Ron Bierstin, Oak Orchard Tackle & Lodge
An all day rain yesterday (Monday) and thru last night has given the area the most precipitation the area has seen in maybe months – close to an inch probably. There’s a chance of a changeover to snow showers expected today with lowering temps but little to no significant accumulation expected here on the WNY big Lake Ontario Plain. Mid week weather looks clear and breezy and temps not too cold with highs around 40°F.
Flows in the Oak are up to high with something real close to full bore turbine water and slightly stained visibility of 2 ft. No overflow water. Look for flows to stay up likely at least slightly high and slightly stained. Even as the runoff diminishes thru this week the final draining of the wintertime Canal water should keep flows up starting about the end of this week.
Flows to the smaller tributaries east look high and dirty and surprisingly to the west – like at Johnson Creek – I don’t see a big rise in flows or change in color. Look for moderate to medium flows and just slightly stained there. Previous to this latest rise in flows, the action was tougher for most with best action on the Oak either at the dam or in the downstream frog water areas. At the dam when flows were reduced for routine turbine rack cleaning, guys did see a good number of quality browns and steelhead. Smaller trib guys were able to make light and long drifts and swings were still into some browns.
Now with flows up pretty much all around, look for browns to be redistributed thru all the systems and the good chance for tardy fresh browns intent on spawning quickly and some steelhead. This latest rise in flows should set things up for better action in the December “in between” time frame if reasonable weather and good flows prevail.
For travelers, a reminder that Orleans County is considered part of the Finger Lakes Region and not part of the Western New York region. The Finger Lakes Region, so far, is fairing better then the Western New York region for Covid and Orleans County is doing better then most other counties. Anglers from different areas are here fishing making their own overland travel decisions and taking the relevant safety precautions and social distancing requirements with no particular problems that we are aware of. “Travelers from states that are contiguous with NY are exempt from the travel advisory…” Source NYS website, COVID-19 travel advisory
Update from Canals NY, Dec 2, 2020: Operations has informed us they will begin the 2nd draining of the Erie Canal on Dec 7 instead of the 4th. We should see the result in the base flow at approximately Dec 17-18.