By Bill Hilts Jr.
May 08, 2008 07:30 pm
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The Lake Ontario Counties Trout and Salmon Derby continues through Sunday and this is the part of the lake you need to be in if you want your best chance at winning a prize category. Don’t believe me? Just look at the current leaderboard and see where the fish are coming from.
1. Lake Ontario and tributaries
The current grand-prize leader is a 25-pound, 8-ounce king salmon reeled in by Peter Bolton of Averill Park while fishing the Niagara Bar with a flasher-fly. Don Grace of Webster leads the salmon division with a 24-pound, 5-ounce fish he caught while fishing off Olcott using a Stinger spoon. Of the top 17 fish in the division, 14 have come from the waters off Niagara.
In the lake trout division, William Silbaugh of Bath is setting the pace with a 19-pound, 4-ounce Niagara Bar fish caught on one of the new jitterflies. All 20 of the leaders come from Niagara. Only six steelhead were on the board as of Wednesday and only one came from Niagara. The leader is from Orleans County, a 16-pound, 9-ounce fish caught by Larry Daggett of Guilford, Maine off Point Breeze on a Northern King spoon.
Robert Briggs of Belle Mean, N.J., is leading the brown trout division with a 13-pound, 8-ounce fish caught off Port Ontario. The derby continues through Sunday and the awards ceremony will take place Sunday afternoon, starting with the doors opening at 4 p.m. Check out www.loc.org for more information.
Depending on who you talk to, fishing seems to be a bit inconsistent. The secret to success is adapting to changing conditions and if you’re not catching fish, change your water and your program. The three-man crew of Craig Wright, Larry Pritchard and R.J. Cruz, all from Auburn, just came off four excellent days on the water while fishing on the Niagara Bar. Their trip ended on Wednesday. It started on Sunday with a day that saw 10 kings, 10 cohos and bunch of lost fish. They would start each day at the Red Can at the drop off in 50 to 60 feet of water and start to develop their program for the day.
They headed east on this day and ended up fishing in water as deep as 250 feet. Cohos were closer to the surface, using four or five colors of lead core with a small 00 red dodger and a homemade blue fly. Dipsy divers were working, using a Northern King hologram with a brass back. Their best set-up for the four days was a copper line rig that ran a white spin doctor and white fly, running about 300 to 400 feet of copper out from the boat.
Some days, NK magnum spoons were working. Wednesday it was Fishlander glow frog spoons catching the most fish in 150 to 160 feet of water west of the red can. They were on the road by noon after catching 10 kings, two cohos and two lakers.
Several days, finding large pods of bait was the key to finding active kings. One spot that produced was off Fourmile Creek. Mixed reported off Wilson and Olcott. Speaking of Wilson and Olcott, perch fishing continues to be good in both harbors. The best spot in Wilson has been off the east pier and the wall adjacent to the pier, according to Terry Swann of Wilson. Northern pike have been cooperating since the opener, according to Wes Walker at The Slippery Sinker in Olcott. A 14-pound steelhead came from the hole at Keg Creek this week. Don’re forget that the Niagara County Pro-Am Tournament is just around the corner, set for May 31 and June 1.
2. Lower Niagara River
Plenty of trout are still available in the river and if you’re fishing in the LOC Derby, this has to be the real sleeper — especially if you encounter bad weather on the big lake or you just want to catch a fish to place in a division. There are only six fish on the steelhead board right now. Drifting with egg sacks, minnows or Kwikfish is the way to go for steelhead and you have the outside chance of catching a placing lake trout or brown trout, too. Use three-way rigs to get your bait down to the bottom. If you want to try and target bass, some fish are available around Fort Niagara, either in front or around the Coast Guard station with tubes or minnows. If you want perch, check out the new and improved South Waterfront Dock next to Petroy Marina in Youngstown. Quite a few perch have been hanging along the wall eating up schools of minnows — a great spot to bring the kids.
3. Upper Niagara River
Tip of the week comes from Roy Larson of North Tonawanda. If you’re hauling a boat, make sure that the trailer is securely fastened to the ball on your vehicle before you start driving on the road. If you don’t, it won’t be pretty. Heidi at Big Catch reports some trout are still being caught at Squaw Island. Pink or green salted minnows, salmon eggs and Cubby jigs are all catching fish. Perch are hitting at Beaver Island State Park and the Buffalo Boat Harbor on Cubby jigs or minnows. Panfish seem to be everywhere. Don’t forget the Lake Erie Bass Challenge on May 17 to benefit Make A Wish. Visit www.millenniumbassmastersofwny.com for details.
4. Lake Erie and tributaries
The best fishing has been for smallmouth bass with the opening of the special trophy season on the lake. Capt. Bruce Blakelock of Lewiston reports some consistent fishing is available, but you have to work for them. They caught fish up to six pounds on tube jigs and drop shot rigs earlier this week. Best colors have been goby, greens, browns and white. They have fished inside the breakwalls off Buffalo when the winds kicked up, or out in the lake off Hamburg in the humps area and around Smokes Creek. Target structure in 10 to 25 feet of water. Not too many walleye reports since the opener. The water needs to warm up a bit to improve fishing action. Trolling the in-shore areas with stickbaits at night off Hamburg is a good start, as is around reefs and shoals. Perch action off Evangola State Park and Evans Bar continues to be good in 50 to 55 feet of water. Cattaraugus Creek was the best steelhead tributary, but the rain will probably make that unfishable for the weekend.
5. Chautauqua Lake
Craig Robbins reports that the best crappie bite has been from the Celeron launch ramp to the Lakewood Rod and Gun Club in the extreme south end of the lake. Use 1-inch tube jigs in white, pink or chartreuse with a 1/32- or 1/64-ounce jig head. Ashville Bay has been one of the best places to be for the early-season walleye bite. Early morning is best with jointed stickbaits or worm harnesses trolled on the outside of the weed beds.
6. Finger Lakes-Inland Waters
- Honeoye Lake — Dan Sharp at Honeoye Bait and Tackle reports that not too many people were out for the walleye opener last weekend, but those that made it out did pretty well. The average size of fish being caught were in the 17- to 23-inch range, with a few larger being reported. During the day, use jigs tipped with leeches or nightcrawlers. A few people are trolling stickbaits. Frenzy lures are also producing a few fish. Toward the evening, use large bass shiners fished under a bobber or try casting Rapalas from shore. One Rapala angler last weekend reeled in a 40-inch, 14-pound northern pike while walleye fishing. Sunfish and bluegills are starting to turn on as the waters warm. Fish whatever shoreline the sun is beating on for active fish. They are still getting a few perch on fathead minnows or red worms, but fish a little deeper in the 18-to-20 foot range.
- Conesus Lake — Walleye have been cooperating using many of the traditional baits. Rapalas or other stickbaits like Thundersticks or Challengers will produce fish, as will jigs tipped with leeches or nightcrawlers. Frenzy lures have also picked up a few fish. Northern pike have hit buzz baits or spinnerbaits. You can also fish a pike shiner under a bobber for a more-relaxed method of taking a fish.
- Hemlock/Canadice lakes — They are still picking up trout in both lakes, trolling with stickbaits or spoons. Shore fishermen are using nightcrawlers or leeches on floating jig heads, Little Cleo spoons or Roostertails to take their fish.
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Photos
Bill Hilts Jr.