I just returned from New York where I was able to fish a few bodies of water. All different, all great. Started out fishing the lower Niagara River. What a fantastic fishery! Our boat brought in steelhead trout and a big brown. I fished with guide Jeff Draper, Draper Sportfishing and fellow AGLOW member Curt Hicken and Gerry Benedicto from Seaguar fishing line. We fished using KwikFish baits but the best producers were river shiners on a three way rig.
From there we went to Lake Ontario where I fished with Hicken, Dave Miller from ION cameras and Jeff Fink from Raymarine on the Lone Wolf Sportfishing Charter.
On Lake Ontario we fished from the town of Wilson to the Niagara River. Our catch included Coho Salmon, Brown Trout, and Lake Trout. We caught over 30 fish that morning and I brought home some of the cohos and one of the lakers. I have a great recipe for pickled lake trout. We used an assortment of baits including long minnow baits and spoons. Presentations using flat lines, lead core, down riggers and dipsy divers all worked.
From the Niagara area Hicken and I headed to Lake Chatauqua, about an hour or so southwest of Niagara. What a beautiful lake.
I got to fish in a Hobie Pro Angler along side Morgan Promnitz, Fishing Product Manager for Hobie. Past AGLOW President Jeff Davis and Executive Director Josh Lantz was with us as well. We got largemouth, smallmouth bass and Josh even got a muskie.
It was fun fishing with guide Don S. and Kevin Fahey from Shimano in one boat and Bob Green of Chautauqua Fishing Adventures along with Cory Schmidt representing Aqua-Vu in another. We caught largemouth and smallmouth bass. I must say that Lake Chautauqua is a fantastic smallmouth lake. My biggest was near 5 pounds but saw several come into the boat that were 6’s and near 7 pounds.
Plastics dominated the catch from creature baits to shaky head worms. Craw colored crankbaits also worked well.
Many times I’ve told people that I was going fishing in New York. No one expects NY to be a fishing destination. Well check it out some day folks. The fishing there is incredible. Two sources for more info can be found on these sites, www.Niagara-USA.com and www.TourChautauqua.com.
Local Ponds by Ken HUSKER O’Malley
Hey Don, Good numbers of smaller bass being caught on 4 inch senkos on a 2/0 octopus hook on southern lakes. With the constant changing weather, dropping water levels, and bass in pre-spawn mood, a finesse presentation has been the way to go. TTYL
Lake Shelbyville Fishing Report by Steve Welsh
The lake has risen about 18 inches since last week and this has brought a lot of spawning crappie shallow. We are catching them with my Deep Ledge Jig 3/32oz. under a slip bobber and a plain minnow under a slip bobber anywhere from 18-inches to 6-feet. Water temps are bouncing around the 60 mark and with the warm weather this week they will go even higher. The male crappie are dark as coal and I have seen some females that have already spawned. With this week warm weather the entire lake will have fish moving shallow instead of just up on the north end. The water color is very good since we have missed most of the big rains and this week the fishing should be on fire.
I am seeing bass move up on these same spawning areas so they should be biting very well also. As for the walleye they are still up in the Kaskaskia river and we can’t get a boat to them. The same thing with the
white bass.
Niagara NY Report by Bill Hilts, Jr.
Niagara Fishing Forecast for Thursday, May 8, 2014
1. Lake Ontario and tributaries – Action is slowly starting to heat up as the ice is dissipating from Lake Erie. If you are looking for salmon, you are better off staying away from the colder Niagara River current. While the occasional king is showing up, it seems as to some better action is occurring to the east of Olcott. Capt. Fred Lockwood of Orleans County reported some kings earlier this week from 30 Mile Point to just east of Shadigee Road, targeting 10 to 40 feet of water. His biggest was 14 pounds. Mixed in were some Coho salmon, steelies and browns. Capt. Dan Evans of Wilson was hosting a camera crew from Illinois (Don Dziedzina of Illinois Outdoors) on Monday and they had a banner morning on browns, Coho salmon and lake trout. Best bait was a Long A Bomber in purple and black, fishing on either side of 15 feet of water. Lake trout were a bit deeper, using black and purple spoons in 40 to 70 feet of water. With the LOC Derby going on until Sunday, look for fishing to improve incrementally as the water continues to warm. The big salmon as of this writing was John Tustin of Pennsylvania with a 23 pound, 12 ounce Olcott king. Clair Lawson of Dalton was leading the lake trout division with a 24 pound, 11 ounce fish out of Wilson. Big brown so far was a 14 pound, 14 ounce fish out of Sodus Point reeled in by Jeremy Miller of Pittsford. Tim Queior of Dexter has the first place walleye with a 10 pound, 15 ounce fish from Henderson Harbor. For a current leaderboard check out www.loc.org. The derby ends at 1 pm on Sunday. The awards will follow in Sodus Point starting at 4 pm. Don’t forget that the Wilson Harbor Invitational event is Saturday. Check out www.wilsonharborinvitational.com for details. The deadline for registering online for the Lake Ontario Pro-Am Salmon Team tournament is May 11. Check it out at www.lakeontarioproam.net. You can still pick up some trout in the tributaries, but the warm water fish species are starting to turn on, as well. Cast the piers with spoons or spinners for trout. If you target bass you must use artificial lures. Bob George of Buck Knives and Ray Lynch with Real Tree had an outstanding bass day around Fort Niagara on Tuesday. The hot bait was a new Strike King Coffee Tube, a 3.5 inch bait in watermelon gold and copper flake. Moving the bait slowly along the bottom was the key to success, but snags on the bottom were encountered frequently with a ¼ ounce jig head. Tip of the week from Capt. Dan Evans is always make sure you have a spare set of keys around when driving your vehicle – either to your boat or when hauling a boat. If you lock the only set you have in the car or truck, you will waste both time and money.
2. Lower Niagara River – The big news is that the smelt started to run heavier on Monday night. After we reported that some shiners started to move in, the smelt followed suit and they are in town now! For how long is anyone’s guess. Take advantage while you can. The daily limit is eight quarts per person per day. Trout fishing has been slow in the river but some fish are being caught in Devil’s Hole and along Artpark by pulling Kwikfish or spot tail shiners. Bass fishing around Fort Niagara has been good on tubes. Remember that you must use artificial baits for bass.
3. Upper Niagara River – With the ice still floating down through the system, not too many reports have been coming in. Fishing around Beaver Island State Park at the marina is one option that usually offers up some success this time of year. Holiday Inn is another popular area. With the Erie Canal open, warm water flows out of Tonawanda Creek can help to turn fish like northern pike on at feeder creeks. Look for any place that is shielded from the ice that offers up some warmer water.
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