Weekly Fishing Report

As waters began to clear in the Niagara River, the bite improved dramatically according to Capt. Joe Srouji of Angler Edge Outdoors. However, the winds this past week made it difficult to get out into the lake on the Niagara Bar some days. When Srouji could get out there and found somewhat cleaner water, the fish did not disappoint. Both trout and salmon were taking MagLips and stickbaits by trolling, and they also took fish on emerald and golden shiners. There are fish everywhere at the Bar. Concentrating your efforts in cleaner water close to mudlines is a good bet for both trout and salmon.

Capt. Frank Campbell of Lewiston coordinated a media event recently for members of the Association of Great Lakes Outdoor Writers. The group did well on salmon, trout, and bass despite less-than-ideal conditions. The Niagara Bar is giving up a few Kings and a better number of brown trout. On most days you can add some lake trout and an odd Coho salmon here and there. The best presentation has been drifting or pulling Maglips or minnows. The best is still yet to come with the rising water temperatures.

Campbell also reported that lake trout and steelhead are available in the Devil’s Hole area on minnows, MagLips, and egg sacs. The middle section of the river has been a grind due to the presence of smelt. Some diehards are still dipping a few of the tasty baitfish.

Mike Ziehm of Niagara Falls did hit some steelhead his last trip into the gorge, using No. 4 blue and chartreuse spinners and ¼-ounce white jigs. Wind and rain this week could impact water conditions again and we will have to wait and see what the results are.

Capt. Mike Johannes of On the Rocks Charters fished Sunday for about 5 hours in Lake Ontario. He started in 6 to 10 feet of water with planer boards, riggers, and divers. His crew quickly picked up a few quality 6 to 8-pound browns on stick baits and spoons, using mostly green and or chartreuse colors. After that they slid out to greener water in the 25 to 35-foot depth range and started picking up kings on 28 size spoons, mostly greens and blacks. They also picked up two beautiful Atlantic Salmon that weighed near the 10-pound mark. There were plentiful lake trout near the bottom in that depth as well. They were eating pretty much anything that moved slowly in front of them. Additionally, a few smaller cohos were caught on 1 and 2 colors of lead core line and orange or pink colored spoons.

Capt. Matt Yablonsky of Wet Net Charters was out recently with John Jarosz of Lakeview and his two sons Matt and Dave from Elma. Targeting 65 feet of water, just outside the mudline, they managed to catch a limit of chinook and coho salmon within three hours of fish. It was primarily a spoon program that produced the salmon, but they did catch a fair number of lake trout in the process that were all released. They did not target brown trout, but reports say they are still available at the mudlines all along the south shore of the lake with the occasional salmon mixed in.

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