Weekly Fishing Report

Cool weather and rain are just what the doctor ordered for local salmon and trout fishermen. Karen Evarts with the Boat Doctors and Tackle Barn in Olcott reports that salmon that were stacked up off the mouth of 18 Mile Creek have started to make the run to Burt Dam and fish were snapping Tuesday morning to the delight of anglers. Treated egg skein or egg imitations under a float are working for drifters at the dam and casters off the pier are using spoons, spinners, and rattlebaits. In the harbor and up the creek, try drifting some treated salmon eggs under a float from your kayak or small boat to find deeper fishing holes that harbor salmon.

Out in the lake, there are salmon and trout still available, but weather will dictate whether you can make it out or not. Capt. Joe Oakes of Salmonboy Charters ended his lake fishing season this past week and found a good bite for steelhead on spoons in the top 60 feet over 400 plus feet of water. However, salmon - both mature and immature fish - seem to be missing in action.

In the Niagara River, Capt. Jim Gordon of Appleton has been working hard for salmon in Devil’s Hole and it has paid off with 3 or 4 fish a day for customers. Treated egg skein fished off three-way rigs is the way to go. Shore casters are using spinners and spoons to catch some salmon, trout, walleye and smallmouth bass.

Tommy Holycross of Wheatfield reports that fishing off the NYPA fishing platform has been slow. Jigging spoons in silver/blue seem to be working best, but that is no guarantee. Power Authority turbines aren’t helping the usual flow either. There are very few center pinners this year. With the weather change, that could help matters this week.

Capt. Dave Scipione of Lewiston reports catching a few salmon in Devil’s Hole early and then switching gears to head down river for walleye and bass. He did manage to catch several nice smallmouth using crayfish and shiners in Devil's Hole, as well as in Stella and Joe Davis drifts. However, bass fishing has been tough.

Bass and walleye fishing has been hit or miss according to Capt. Joe Srouji of Angler Edge Outdoors. Winds have been a huge factor this past week. Big south winds made drifting difficult as the river was just too fast. On the other hand, big north winds and your boat is crawling. Search for manageable water with some form of wind block. There are fish everywhere in the system. Choose drifts where you can use wind to your advantage. Boat control is key. Use your trolling motor to increase your speed or slow you down whenever needed.

Matt Wilson of Lewiston was catching some big bass over the weekend in both the upper and lower rivers. Swim baits at first light was the ticket in the upper river. Find the areas where the weeds are dying and use your Sidescan. That’s most important where the hard bottom is showing. He was tossing a 3/8-ounce football jig head hand-painted Bass Pro max action swimbait in shad colors and used that heavier head to slow roll that bait on bottom. When the sun rises high, those fish go deeper to 18-20-foot and run drop shots tipped with a Maxscent flatnose minnow. In the lower river, casting a Rat-L-Trap on the weed edges produced smallies to 6 pounds.

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