Weekly Fishing Report

Capt. Dave Scipione of Scipione’s Fishing Charters reports the river and Niagara Bar have been producing BIG walleyes in both numbers and size. When the wind allows, the Niagara Bar has offered consistent limit catches of walleye. His biggest one of the season came recently in the Stella Niagara drift at 10.5 pounds. He has been using his custom worm harnesses with a gold blade and pink or orange beads. On the Bar, work the ledge past the green can, and cover depths from 40 to 17 feet of water. Keep working east and west to find active fish. The fishing will turn on and off throughout the day, so if it’s not spectacular when you first get there, be patient; it will eventually turn better. Try to release larger fish (24 inches and over) as they are almost always female. The larger females will produce many more eggs than smaller ones, and this will help to sustain future populations.

Tommy Holycross of Wheatfield reports that walleyes are his primary target species this time of year and Devil’s Hole, the NYPA Fishing Platform and Artpark locations have not disappointed. He notes decent catches at all three locations with a 7-plus-pound walleye at Artpark as the highlight. Bottom bouncer weights with worm harnesses or paddletail jigs worked best for him.

Fishing doesn’t get much better in Lake Ontario for salmon and trout, according to Capt. Matt Bedient of 716 Sportfishing. The Olcott captain has been running offshore in 400 to 500 feet of water, concentrating in the top 55 feet of water. His catches have included king and Coho salmon, as well as steelhead. In the mornings, typical glow and Carbon 14 spoons work. As the sun rises, go with brighter colors. Standard and magnum sizes are both working.

Karen Evarts at The Boat Doctors and Tackle Barn reports there has been some decent brown trout action both east and west, mostly on a spoon bite. For kings, there is a meat bite that has been very strong. Green colors have worked best.

Capt. Tom Pearse with Reel Adventures Sportfishing reports that fishing has been red hot just east of Olcott in 450 to 500 feet of water. There has been plenty of king salmon action with some steelhead and Coho salmon mixed in. The fish are hitting spoons in the upper part of the water column. Some of the larger king salmon are hitting meat rigs from 80 to 100 feet down.

Over in Wilson, Capt. Joe Oakes of Salmonboy Sportfishing reports fishing is very good right now in 400-plus feet of water for a mix of salmon and steelhead. Spoons in the top 60 feet of water are working best.

In the Niagara SPCA’s Second Annual Fishing Fur a Better Tomorrow walleye tournament held August 1, it was Joe Oliverio of Lewiston winning the $1,500 first-place prize with two Niagara Bar walleyes weighing a total of 14.78 pounds. He fished the Niagara Bar with white/silver worm harnesses with hammered Colorado blades. Second place went to Brad Weigand of Wilson with two fish totaling 14.76 pounds, earning a check for $1,000. He was jigging artificial lures on the Niagara Bar. Third place and $500 went to Pat Foote of Grand Island with 14.52 pounds for two ‘eyes. He, too, was fishing the Niagara Bar using homemade harnesses outfitted with orange beads and chartreuse willow leaf blades. Included in his two fish was the big fish of the tournament, an 8.87-pound walleye. There were 22 boats in this year’s tournament, raising funds for the local SPCA.

Sign up for a fishing tournament or derby in Niagara Falls USA. See the full schedule of events here.