The Niagara River Angler Page on Outdoors Niagara
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The Niagara Anglers Page
You can
email your question to So Smart and Be sure
to check back from time to Internal problems with the Niagara River Anglers Association Explained |
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So Smart Sez: If you can't trust a fish, who can you trust? So Smart Sez, did you know
this? |
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POST DATE |
If you find
something interesting for this page please email us. SO SMART'S WORDS OF WISDOM |
| THIS PAGE WILL BE CHANGED AROUND AND REVISED SOON SO CHECK BACK - Post: 04/09 | |
| October 2007 |
Jim Markham, senior aquatic biologist at the Lake
Erie Fisheries Unit, reminds trout anglers of two regulation
changes proposed to start Oct. 1, 2008.
One would ban the chumming of trout eggs, a practice that has led to illegal killing of trout (excess creel numbers) and discarding of carcasses. The second proposal would ban the sale of trout eggs statewide and limit possession to one quart per angler.
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| September/October 2007 |
LAKE ERIE 2007 SUMMER STATS RELEASED ~ Bass
fishermen extensively practice catch-and-release. Of the nearly
100,000 caught this year, anglers harvested just 5,960 of those
bass.
Walleye anglers spent a few less hours this year, down about 3,000 hours, which resulted in a drop in harvest totals, 37,167 in 2006 and 28,992 this year. Perch catches showed the most dramatic drop, falling from 41,906 last year to 21,546 for May-September this year
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| June/July 2007 |
Go to the Official DEC
Press release regarding the VHS Disease in fish |
| June/July 2007
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Lower Niagara River Walleye Biologist Wilkinson assisted
Prendergast Hatchery staff during stocking of 20,000 walleye
fingerlings into the Lower Niagara River. The Lower Niagara River
walleye stocking location was changed to a new location near Stella
Niagara where it was felt that aquatic vegetation and shoreline shelter
would improve fingerling survival.
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| June 27 2007 Bloody-Red Mysid
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THE BLOODY-RED MYSID OR THE SCIENTIFIC NAME "HEMIMYSIS
ANOMALA" is competing for the zooplankton along with the Zebra
Mussels and Quagga.
A ravenous shrimp from Eurasia — has been found in Lake Ontario, raising concerns among scientists that the tiny crustacean could mean dire consequences for the lake's food chain. The discovery of bloody red mysid — whose scientific name is Hemimysis anomala — was made in a lake sample taken near Oswego last spring and now one of these creatures was recovered [6mm in length]off the west pier at Olcott NY according to Michael A. Goehle Aquatic Nuisance Species Coordinator – Northeast Region U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. This brings this Great Lakes invader to number 183 in case you are counting! ...........Information forwarded to us by Mike Wilkinson, Region 9 NYS DEC Chief Biologist |
| May 9 2007 |
On Saturday, June 17, the bass season opens
statewide and the sand bar in front of Fort Niagara is where many will
head for. The size limit will be 12 inches and you are allowed five bass
per day. The sand bar is an excellent area to fish for bass as the current
from the Niagara River will carry the boat out into Lake Ontario and if
you’re using plastic bait let it bounce on the bottom as you drift. Any
live bait, worms, leeches, crabs or minnows will take bass all day long
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| April 5 2007 Bass - Walleye Seasons |
Effective Oct. 1, 2006, the Lake Erie walleye creel
limit, previously set at four per angler daily, was returned to the
statewide limit of five ’eyes per day
Bass, during the special early season (the first Saturday in May until the Friday before the statewide opener on the third Saturday in June), remains at a limit of one fish daily, but the length limit has been increased from 18 to 20 inches for those keepers |
| March 20 2007
VHS Update |
The Department of Environmental
Conservation has imposed a series of restrictions to curb the spread
of viral hemorrhagic septicemia, a disease fatal to many freshwater fish
species but not harmful to the public. For
now, anglers cannot transport personally caught bait over land; that bait
must be used in the water body from which it was taken. Anglers buying
certified bait must keep a receipt from the dealer. Quantities of bait
purchases are not limited, but that bait must be used within seven days.
Commercially packaged baits may be transported indefinitely, but they must
remain in a commercial package.
The final version of these viral-related regulations will be issued June 7. |
| March 3 2007 | Prior to 1860 almost all fish were either sold fresh or salted because transportation was not rapid enough to move them to distant markets. By 1870 S. H. Davis of Detroit patented a system for freezing fish allowing access to new markets |
| February 27 2007 |
After an army of round gobies invaded the Great Lakes basin in 1990, concerns arose that anglers were catching fewer sport fish because round gobies competed aggressively with some sport fish for bait and lures. However, data to support those concerns were not found by a recent study. A recent scientific study on the upper Niagara River found that anglers who caught more round gobies generally did not catch fewer smallmouth bass. Yet, anglers felt that catching round gobies reduced their likelihood of catching smallmouth bass because baited hooks and lures were not in the water when round gobies were handled. "It appears that concerns about the effect of round gobies on sport fishing may have been based on perception and not reality," said Dennis Dunning, a fishery biologist who conducted the study. Re: GLSFC |
| February 19 2007 |
Asian carp are voracious filter feeders that could
destroy the $4 billion recreational fishery in the Great Lakes. In the
Illinois River, nine out of ten fish are Asian carp. The
electric barrier in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal is the Great
Lakes' last line of defense. Unless we invest in a solution today, the
price we will pay tomorrow will be much higher and future generations may
never experience the Great Lakes as we know them. Congress must authorize
and fully fund the barrier.
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| January 23 2007 |
Governor Spitzer announced that
he has selected Assemblyman Alexander “Pete” Grannis as the new
Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation. Assemblyman
Grannis has served on the NYS Assembly Environmental Conservation
Committee since the mid 1970s and is a strong advocate for a clean
environment. He is also known as an opponent of trapping. He fly-fishes
and has a mixed record on hunting issues. Outdoors groups are opposing
this Spitzer appointment.
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| January 2007 |
Wilson Pen Project - After seeing successful pen
projects put into place in both the Niagara River and Olcott, the Wilson
community pulled together an impressive effort to rear 5,000 steelhead
in the harbor. Some thought it couldn't be done. Others thought it was
spreading the volunteer efforts for pen rearing projects too thin. The
project came through with flying colors and kudos for a job well
done. Thank You LOTSA! [More on the LOTSA website] |
| January 15 2007 |
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Changes - Our
neighbors to the west and north have a huge impact on local fisheries
matters. Announcements this year included the discontinuation of coho
salmon stockings in Lake Ontario, but a big effort to restore Atlantic
salmon - once an indigenous specie to these waters. A bigger announcement
came at year's end when they announced plans to change their way of
thinking regarding Lake Erie walleye. They are currently considering a
proposal that would change the daily limit to six fish per person and
allow for year round fishing opportunities in this Great Lake. There's
also change of moving the bass opener from the last Saturday in June to
the fourth Saturday, not a big change but a change nonetheless - from a
previously philosophy that was carved in stone.
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| January 9 2007 |
About five years before zebra mussels launched
their invasion of the Great Lakes in the mid-1980s, Canadian researchers
warned it was coming. But neither Canada nor the United States took
steps to stop the tiny mollusk from hitchhiking to the lakes from Europe
inside ballast tanks of oceangoing freighters. Now, controlling the pest
costs taxpayers hundreds of millions a year. "We're paying many
times the price we would have had to pay if we'd taken a preventive
approach," says Cameron Davis, executive director of the Alliance
for the Great Lakes. "The entire history of the Great Lakes is like
that - suspecting a threat but not heeding the warning signs." |
| December 5 2006 |
The mean-looking snakehead fish found in East
Coast waterways recently was imported by Asian chefs as a delicacy that
needs to be transported live. The giant, leaping Asian carp now thriving
in the Mississippi River system and threatening to enter the Great Lakes
is spreading without any help from ships. Imported to the U.S. by fish
farmers to clean fish holding ponds, it escaped during floods. |
| November 27 2006 |
Guess What: In 1898 Lake Ontario Atlantic salmon were extinct!
The last pair of native Atlantic salmon was seen in a small tributary on
the Canadian side of the lake. Lake Ontario had once supported the
greatest freshwater population of the Atlantic salmon in the world. |
| November 23 2006 |
It's illegal to milk the eggs out of a fish and return it
to the water - whether it's in season or not. To report a violation,
call (877) 457-5680. Write that number down! |
| November 1 2006 HOT! |
New Federal Order Issued That Restricts Interstate
Transport of Live Fish....... This is IMPORTANT
to you and the whole the fishing industry! Please go to this
page and find out all about the VHS Disease. Posted November 1 2006
~ Official NYS DEC Press Release. ~ The page will load extremely fast
and there is a link to bring you back here. ..... So Smart wants you to
know!
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| October 21 2006 | DEC recently announced that approximately 26,400 adult pheasants will be released on lands open to public hunting for this fall's pheasant hunting season. The pheasant hunting season begins on October 1, 2006, in northern and eastern portions of New York; October 21, 2006, in central and western portions, and November 1, 2006, on Long Island. Now, Did you know this? The pheasants that are released are raised at DEC's Reynolds Game Farm in Ithaca. The majority are released on state wildlife management and cooperative hunting areas prior to and during the fall hunting season |
| October 14 2006 |
Wal-Mart is cutting back on fishing tackle in their
3,900 U.S. Stores. It is reported Wal-Mart accounts for a whopping 35%
of all tackle sales in the U.S. ............ Independent retailers are
praising this move but manufacturers that depend on the Big Box are not
too happy. Mfgr's inventories will need some serious adjusting. Change
creates opportunities for independents. |
| October 13 2006 |
One year after being introduced and 5,000
reported violations later, the Ministry of Natural Resource's ''tips
line'' is being hailed a success. Fish and wildlife violations make up 71% of the tips, land and water violations 20%, and other violations 9%. Calls have led to 1,410 investigations and 86 convictions, including a $10,500 fine in an illegal deer hunting case. The Ontario toll-free tips line -- (877) TIPS-MNR
(847-7667) -- operates 24 hours a day year round. |
FISHING REPORTS ON THIS WEBSITE:
Upper Niagara River - Lower Niagara River
- Lake Ontario - Lake Erie - Central New York Finger Lakes
bass - muskellunge a.k.a. muskie - walleye - salmon - trout - steelhead - perch
- sturgeon
Ask your questions! Post your questions on our Outdoors
Forum or email us!
So Smart Sez;
"If you can't trust a fish, who can you trust?"
"Gone are the days when we were all on the same track
with the same thoughts
and goals in mind" Mark
Daul
"Liars aren't born, they are self-made" Annon.
