We had a stretch of beautiful weather and excellent fishing now the gail winds are here and we will have to wait for things to calm down. The fish won't go anywhere but they will get a break today.
The past week though has proven once again that Lake Ontario fishing is about as good as it gets. Trout, walleye, pike, steelhead and a few salmon are entertaining anglers in the eastern basin.
For brown trout, we are working 10 to 50 FOW and the best baits are a black silver white belly smithwick, fished on the surface about 150 feet behind the boat and dream weaver spoons in black and silver, glow green, and orange, fished 5 to 30 feet down off of the downriggers.
The walleye action on Oneida Lake is up & down right now. Fish are being taken in the deep water (30 to 38) on the east end at buoys 109 and 111 by the trollers with leadcore and stickbaits. The Rapala Hot Steel floater seems to be a favorite among trollers.
North of Messenger Reef, jigging with black/purple 1/2 to 5/8 oz. jigs tipped with a crawler is also taking a fair share of fish.
I like pulling sonar's and right off of Oneida creek in 21 FOW and the north shore off of the half house and Carbone's in 28 to 30 FOW as been working for us.
There are still plenty of walleye throughout the Oswego River and the flows are up and down. Look for rock bass, perch and other panfish around Wright's Landing and the Coast Guard Station. The same bait continues to be working - worms, minnows, crayfish, bucktail jigs and stickbaits
Sandy Pond fishing has been good for bluegills, perch and walleye, but the Big Northern Pike have been the real story lately. Look for a lot of action with large shiners, large spoons and live bait. Fish the drop offs and weedbeds. I hear reports of numerous fish over ten pounds.
I floated the Salmon River the other day and we had a great trip. We landed about a dozen smallmouth, two real nice river browns and a bunch of chubs and stockies. The river was peaceful and wildlife abounded!
If you are looking to escape the crowds and catch some nice rainbow trout, head up to Altmar and fish the Salmon River right where it dumps into the lower reservoir.
This area was recently stocked with some nice fish. Fish small egg sacs or worms under a float and let the line drift out into the lake. If you prefer fly-fishing an olive wooly bugger would be my first choice, but there has been a good caddis hatch coming off right before dark also. A size 16 has been doing the job.
This is Captain Troy Creasy, Stop wishin and go fishin! God Bless.
