Inland Trout Season Opens Next Friday

1.Lake Ontario and tributaries – With the roller coaster weather that has been going on, anglers will have to pick and choose which days to head out on the water or along the shoreline. A little bit of everything is going on right now. Out in the lake, with water temperatures hovering around the 40 degree mark, shoreline trolling is producing a mix of trout and Coho salmon. Capt. Joe Czyrny of Pendleton has been producing double-digit catches by working the waters in less than 15 feet, especially around creek mouths or muddy water. His tip is to keep an eye on the water temperature. A small increase of a degree or two can make a huge difference. His best baits, fished off in-line boards, has been Challenger Junior stickbaits in hot tiger, fluorescent orange, metallic trout, froggy glow or brown trout color patterns. He’s running the baits 100 to 125 feet back behind the boards. Bob Fronczak of Ransomville was fishing with his dad, Bob, out of Wilson and picked up trout between the breakwalls and the west section of creek in a small, clear pocket of water using purple stickbaits. They also had one fish that straightened out the hooks! When the northeast wind started blowing, though, it forced them off the water. In the creeks, water flow was good and the waters were clear, but that was before the rain hit on Wednesday. That could change everything. Steelheads are still skeined up according to Wes Walker at The Slippery Sinker so the run is still happening. Anglers need to be aware of where they are fishing in some of the streams. At Four Mile Creek off Route 18, there is private land there. You must respect the wishes of the landowers. That's not to say you can't ask permission. Some section do not offer public fishing rights. When the water is clear in the harbors, some perch can be caught. Piers can also see some action, depending on the wind direction. Don’t forget that the Wilson Conservation Club will be sponsoring a Niagara County bullhead contest again April 8 starting at 5 pm and running it through April 10 at 1 pm. Weigh in will be from 9 am to 1 pm on Sunday. Any Niagara County waters are eligible. Online registration is available. Go to the tournament’s Facebook page for more details. Contact Eric at 628-6078 if you have questions.


2.Lower Niagara River – Trout fishing has been decent in the lower river, but you do have to work for them. Outdoor writer Freddie McNight of Pennsylvania brought in a group of Keystone State anglers and they did well on a mix of steelhead, lake trout and browns on Monday. Included in their catch was a 16-plus pound steelhead. Minnows were the best bait, especially baits that have been colored up green using the Pautzke Fire Dye. The Niagara Bar can be good if you can get on the lake based on wind direction and how strong those winds are. No reports on smelt yet. April 1 is also usually when the New York Power Authority opens up the Reservoir and the fishing platform to the public, as well as the stairs to the Devil’s Hole shoreline. This comes at a good time because work on the Whirlpool State Park gorge trail stairs will be started this coming week and that access point will be shut down to July. The lower trail could be impacted during the week below the Whirlpool stairs from Tuesday to Thursday to allow for protection from falling debris. Repairs to the stairs are necessary for safety reasons. Hikers and anglers can still use the stairs at Devil's Hole and at the NYPA access road. Remember that the Aquarium of Niagara will be hosting a Fish Forum with the Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper in March 31 starting at 6:30 pm. Contact Jarrett Steffen at 852-7483 to register. It is near a sell-out right now. April 2 is another About Boating Safety Course with the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary at the Officer’s Club of Fort Niagara State Park from 9 am to 5 pm. Call Bob Hasse at 954-3453 to reserve your spot in advance. This is a required course for anyone who wants to operate a jet ski or anyone who wants to operate a boat that was born after 1996.


3.Upper Niagara River – Waters have cleared and they are catching some fish from shore at Broderick Park and the Bird Island Pier. For trout, use minnows, egg sacs or spinners and spoons. Some perch at the foot of Ontario and Ferry streets. Waters are slowly starting to warm. The stockings of trout in Hyde Park Lake, Oppenheim Park Pond and Gill Creek will probably take place the second week of April like previous years. No announcement has been made yet.


4.Lake Erie and tributaries – Perch action is starting to happen out in the lake. Recent trips by Capt. Joe Fonzi of Gasport produced some nice catches while fishing with Matt Guber. Fish seemed to be in small schools and they worked to stay on them. Best depth one day was 56 foot; next day it was 48 foot. Targeting 45 to 55 feet of water is usually a good bet. Sturgeon Point has a dock in to allow for easier launching. Ditto for Buffalo Harbor. Tributaries have trout in them and flows were good, but that was before the rain. That will probably create some high and muddy conditions. Remember that the smaller streams will clear first.


5.Chautauqua Lake – Anglers are picking up crappies off Rock and Grass islands in 8 foot of water. A few perch are also being reported. You can also catch fish directly in front of the Mayville launch ramp. Crappie is the primary focus. You do have to weed through them to catch legal size fish.


6.Finger Lakes – Inland Waters - April 1 is the opening of the inland trout and landlocked salmon season and don’t be surprised if you see DEC fish stocking trucks around the WNY area. Thousands of trout are stocked into New York’s ponds, streams and lakes – in an effort to help more people catch fish. By inland, I mean away from the Great Lakes. Those big water opportunities are available year-round for the most part. Stocking inland waters like Hyde Park Lake and Oppenheim Park Pond are but a few examples of where the fish are stocked inland. Those smaller waters in Niagara County are usually stocked the second week of April and we’ll let you know an exact date as soon as we know. There are dozens of streams around Western New York that receive hatchery-reared fish in Region 9. To find out more information on stocking, call the stocking hotline for Region 9 at 358-4755.


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Lower Niagara River –  That was until Wednesday when water clarity improved enough to produce a nice mix of fish for Capt. Frank Campbell. His customer Michael Xu from the NYC area managed to catch some nice trout, a musky and a walleye on Wednesday – hitting double digits in the fish department. The secret, according to Campbell, was using the Pautzke’s Fire Brine on his minnows to give the bait a UV glow with a green coloration. Congratulations are in order to Tyler Morrison of Barker who won the Trout Category of the NYS Winter Classic contest with a 16.79 pound lake trout from the Niagara Bar. Some nice fish were weighed in this year. For the final leaderboard check out www.nyswinterclassic.com .