Weekly Fishing Report
Each week, catch up on a full report on where to fish, popular baits and lures, weather conditions and upcoming fishing tournaments and derbies.
Niagara Falls USA Weekly Fishing Report for June 29, 2022
With moss restricting fishing activities in the Niagara River, you still have Lake Ontario and the tributaries, Wilson and Olcott harbors, Burt Dam, and Fisherman’s Park, as well as some other inland waters to consider in Niagara Falls USA like the Erie Canal and Bond Lake. They are great spots for the kids or the entire family.
For Lake Ontario, salmon and trout reign supreme, and these are starting to pick back up after a period of transition out in the lake. Capt. Joe Oakes of Salmon Boy Sportfishing reported that fishing was good this past weekend out of Wilson. There were a good number of fish around and bait everywhere we went. Most consistent bites seem to be coming from 100 to 200 feet of water and then 400 plus feet. Good mix of steelhead, kings and cohos were caught. Spoons ran in the top 60 feet seemed to work best. Darker colors like the Seasick Waddler were working best for him.
Capt. Frank Campbell of Lewiston checked out the Niagara Bar drop with twin daughters Marissa and Marina to see if there were fish hanging around. They discovered many small salmon biting just about anything that swam by in the way of spoons. A faster and deeper troll produced some bigger Chinook and Coho up to about 10 pounds, but not what they were looking for.
Remember the next big fishing derby on Lake Ontario is the Summer Lake Ontario Counties Derby slated for July 2-31. That’s this Saturday. You can sign up any time (if it’s before 7 a.m. the same day) to compete for nearly $40,000 in cash prizes. Steelhead has been added to the mix of salmon, lake trout, brown trout, and walleye this year. Grand prize is $10,000 for the largest salmon. Click here for details.
This Saturday, July 2, is the Summer Big Boys contest out of Point Breeze in Orleans County, too.
In the Niagara River, moss is still the issue. In the upper Niagara River, Capt. Connor Cinelli of Grand Island reports that they’ve been getting a few walleyes, but the moss has been making it tough. The smallmouth fishing has been very good around Strawberry Island on both Golden shiners and crabs.
In the lower river, Lisa Drabczyk with Creek Road Bait and Tackle reports that there is still lots of moss. Bass are still being caught down around Fort Niagara and out by the wall on the Bar. Some guys are still catching fish up at the NYPA platform including smallmouth, sheepshead, white bass and the occasional trout on spinners and jigs.
Sign up for a fishing tournament or derby in Niagara Falls USA. See the full schedule of events here.