Today, Nov. 11, is Veterans Day. To pay tribute to Veterans and active service members, this is a Free Fishing Day in the Empire State for everyone. Take a Veteran fishing!
As predicted, the water temperatures dropped and the fishing heated up on the lower Niagara River. Brown trout have finally responded to egg sacs and beads presented on three-way set-ups on just about all the drifts north of Lewiston. The most effective colors were yellow or chartreuse. Steelhead numbers have also improved at Artpark and other whitewater areas, but it has sometimes been difficult to get your bait past the lake trout that are spawning in certain areas. If you do hook a laker, please return it to water as quickly as possible as they are out of season until Dec. 1. There has been documented natural reproduction of lake trout in the river. Best baits for steelies have been bright colored beads or egg sacs. Bass and walleye are also still an option, and the best areas are slower moving drifts such as Peggy’s Eddy and out in front of Fort Niagara on the Niagara Bar. Best presentations include shiners for live bait, along with crank baits and swim baits.
The Niagara River was fishing a bit tougher due to the unseasonably warm water temperatures and very clear water conditions reported Capt. Jim Rores of Big Greek Sportfishing. That has already started to change this week with high winds and rain over the weekend. Visibility was lessened on Monday, and the colder night temperatures will certainly help. He was fishing in the lower Niagara River at the mouth with clients Ahmed and Ammar Sultan of Maryland and caught decent brown trout using an 8mm trout bead on a three-way rig over the weekend. Rores also noted that the smallmouth bass fishing on the upper river around Grand Island is steady right now with live golden shiners producing best off three-way set-ups.
The Niagara Musky Association moved its annual Memorial Tournament from last weekend to Nov. 15 from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Entry fee is $25 and you must be a member. Call John Pensyl for more info at 628-9563.
The best spot to be for tributary fishing is Burt Dam and 18 Mile Creek where everyone seems to be doing well according to Karen Evarts at The Boat Doctors and Tackle Barn in Olcott. There have been plenty of fish … and plenty of people! Best baits have been egg sacs, beads, wax worms, crystal meth, wooly buggers and more. A few casters are still pier fishing with spoons and spinners. It’s winding down on the piers, but they are still catching some fish. A lot of yellow perch are reported in Olcott and Wilson harbors. One of the reasons for the success of salmon and trout fishing in the creek is the supplemental water from the Erie Canal that helps to draw in fish from the lake, especially when water levels are lower due to lack of rain. Another reason is the successful pen-rearing projects every spring run by the Lake Ontario Trout and Salmon Association.
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