Weekly Fishing Report

The salmon season had mixed reviews this year, but it is mostly behind us now. The next big focus is trout, and good numbers of browns are in the lower Niagara River system. However, those fish have not responded to bait or lures on a consistent basis. There are also some steelhead showing up with numbers on the increase, while bi-catch lake trout are making their annual spawning run up the river. Release all lake trout quickly, as they are not in season until December 1.

The best baits to target steelhead and brown trout are eggs and egg imitations, such as beads and yarn, while drifting from a boat. Try presenting those offerings on a three-way rig. Some shore anglers are drifting beads under a float while adjusting the amount of line between the float and the bottom. The best colors have been chartreuse and yellow, which mimic the color of an egg.

The Joel Nelson family from Minnesota sampled the Niagara Bar over the weekend, and it was a very productive trip, putting walleye up to 11 pounds into the boat. They also caught smallmouth bass up to six pounds. The bait of choice was a minnow fished off a three-way rig. In addition to the fish of a lifetime, another 10-pound-plus walleye was caught, and several bass over five pounds were also taken.

Jordan Albertson and Kazu Nakamura from Spro Corporation visited the Niagara River last week to test new baits, and they were rewarded with several species that were fooled by their Rockcrawler and McStick stick baits. The species list included walleye, smallmouth, musky, brown trout, and salmon. It was the new Coike Thunder Elastomer bait that produced most of the smallmouth action, with a dozen fish over four pounds being taken.

Capt. Tyler Siegmann of CGF Guide Service was on the water recently and had a few steelhead hook-ups along Artpark. There were lots of fish jumping. He also fished the Fort Niagara drifts and saw a few boats hooking and landing brown trout. He managed to hook up with an 8-pound walleye on a bead while targeting browns.

Mike Rzucidlo of Niagara Falls switched over to No. 5 spinners in the murky waters and caught a 24-pound king, two rainbows, and many bass in the gorge from shore. Visibility was six to seven feet on Sunday. Mike Ziehm of Niagara Falls said that the water is clear again after all the wind and rain recently. It brought a huge improvement to the river, and it got the fish moving. With more wind and rain in the forecast, look for a great start to November. There are plenty of brown trout and steelhead in the system. He’s been catching everything on No. 4 chartreuse or red spinners.

Mike Marisa with Niagara River Adventures reports he had an awesome day on the lower river water recently. The bite was steady throughout the morning and early afternoon, with plenty of hookups. The most productive window was between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Most of his bites came on Pro-Cure Red Hot Double Stuff cured skein. Water visibility held around five feet.

Karen Evarts with The Boat Doctors and Tackle Barn in Olcott reports there was a decent run of salmon that came into 18 Mile Creek after the rain last week. However, brown trout action has taken over, and large numbers of fish are being reported at Burt Dam. Salmon and trout are in the harbor. Kayak and boat fishing have been good. Skein and sacs produce fish under floats. Wilson Pier fishing is good for steelhead and brown trout.

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