Fishing Report
Niagara Fishing Forecast for Friday, Sept. 3, 2010
Lake Ontario and tributaries - The final weekend of the Lake Ontario Counties (LOC) trout and salmon derby is here and Niagara County waters have produced the current Grand Prize leader yet again. Earlier this week, Richard Priest of Blossburg, PA reeled in a 39 pound, 8 ounce salmon to take over the lead for the $20,000 check. Rumor has it that he was fishing between Four Mile Creek and the Niagara Bar with a spin doctor, sushi fly and cut bait combination to take the huge fish. He was fishing with Al Bodolus of Pennsylvania aboard the Big Fatty boat. If this fish holds on, it will be the first time that the grand prize catches for the spring, summer and fall derbies all came from one county – incredible. A three-peat; the triple crown of fishing. The top brown is out of the Niagara Bar – a 14 pounder – caught by Andrew Costa of Virginia this past week. The top steelhead is out of Niagara, too, weighing in at better than 18 pounds out of Olcott. It was caught by Catherine Sylvester of North Tonawanda. There was also a 20 pounder caught this week, but they weren’t in the derby. The top lake trout is from Henderson Harbor at 19 pounds, but the derby isn’t over yet. The 2nd and 4th place fish come from the Niagara Bar. It would be cool if it was a sweep of all the categories, too! As far as fishing action, king salmon have been reported off the piers in Olcott, as well as browns and steelhead already. Lake trollers have been targeting 80 to 120 foot depths with cut bait, j-plugs or spin doctor and fly combos to take mature fish getting ready to stage. Fish are also being taken out deep, with a focus on steelhead and a mixed year class of salmon. Nothing at Burt Dam yet other than warm water species like northern pike and a mix of bass. Ditto for Wilson Harbor, but the crappie bite at night continues to be good. Tip of the week comes from John Raschi of King Temper Charters in Olcott. When mounting any kind of electronics onto your boat, make sure you measure twice and drill once – not the other way around!
Lower Niagara River - The Niagara Bar has been producing some salmon in the trench and at the drop off. In the lower river, walleye and bass have been spotty. Fishing was tough for smallies at mid-week and walleye have been finicky – although some nice ones were caught for the Niagara River Anglers walleye contest last weekend. Randy Litten won the contest with two fish totaling 16.68 pounds, taken on the Niagara Bar with a worm harness rigged with No. 5 green blades and yellow beads. Included in his catch was the biggest for the tournament, an 11 pound ‘eye. Second place was Charlie Hoy with two fish totaling 15.06 pounds. Third place was Jim Janese with 9.64 pounds. Be sure to mark your calendars for the Greater Niagara Fish Odyssey Derby, set for Sept. 18 to 26. It’s free for kids under 16 years of age; and just $20 for adults. Log on to www.fishodyssey.net <http://www.fishodyssey.net/> for details.
Upper Niagara River – Bass and walleye action has been improving a bit with good reports out of the head of the river in the Emerald Channel and around the round house on live bait like crayfish and shiners. Other good spots for bass and walleye have been around Strawberry Island and Staley’s Reef. A few musky were reported this past week on large tubes, but it’s been more of being in the right place at the right time. Put your time in.
