Weekly Fishing Report

The water cleared in the Niagara River for a short period of time last week, and Chris Megan from On The Water Magazine and TV Show was able to take advantage of the conditions and produce a solid segment showcasing lower Niagara River brown trout. Fishing with Capt. Frank Campbell of Lewiston, Megan landed double-digit numbers of fish, as well as fish over 10 pounds, for the brown trout they boated using 3.0 MagLips in gold with a chartreuse lip. The key to success was using the MagLips that were UV enhanced with Mad Scientist Technology, which is more visible in stained water. The most productive drifts were Stella and Fort Niagara in 10-20 feet of water. All baits were fished off standard 3-way rigs.

Last time out, right before the big winds churned up Lake Erie again, Capt. Dave Scipione of Scipione’s Fishing Charters hit the lower river to target trout. He was rewarded with some fast-paced fishing. Starting on the Niagara Bar, pulling MagLips in Double Trouble and Grinch colors, he managed multiple double header lake trout catches sporting decent sizes ranging from 16 to 18 pounds. That worked until the weather chased him off the Bar and forced him upriver to seek shelter from the wind. The Coast Guard drift action was excellent fishing with 8mm and 10mm orange and chartreuse beads on 3-way rigs. He boated a quick half dozen trout, but the wind was making things too difficult. Next, he hit the Stella drift with the same rigs, only this time producing nothing but steelhead. The biggest fish to the net was 11-1/2 pounds. Artpark was slow toward the end of the day, only giving up one nice colored up steelie as the water clarity was declining rapidly.

If you are planning on trying to fish from shore in the gorge, make sure you have some kind of ice grippers on your feet because it is getting slippery due to the cold temperatures and water level fluctuations. There was about one foot of visibility on Tuesday, which is usually a good time to start casting spinners and jigs from the shoreline, but more wind was in the forecast for this week, with some possible rain, so the water could be stained up again.

Ice fishing has started in some of the smaller bodies of water around the county. The only harbor showing any sign of safe ice is Wilson Harbor, but caution is advised. Matt Vogt of Newfane has been keeping a close eye on Wilson Harbor’s back bay. The ice was forming decently there, with about 2.5 to 3 inches of ice at his last inspection. There were many soft spots from gases released from the dying weeds. There seems to be a lot more weeds this time of year than in mid-January. Don’t take any unnecessary chances. You should have at least 4 inches of ice.

At Burt Dam and 18 Mile Creek, Karen Evarts at The Boat Doctors and Tackle Barn in Olcott reports that brown trout are still cooperating, but the average size has decreased. Wax worms and spikes have been the way to go. There are a few steelhead hanging around, too.

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