Weekly Fishing Report

The fishing on the lower Niagara River has been consistent with good numbers of fish spread throughout the system. The area around the green can on the Niagara Bar upriver to Youngstown has been mainly brown trout caught on minnows, MagLips, and jigs. Only a few steelhead and lake trout have been caught in this area. The best bet to target steelhead is from Devil’s Hole to the Stella Niagara area. Eggs, minnows, and MagLips have all been producing fish. Lake trout have been cooperative in the Devil’s Hole area on minnows and MagLips.

A few walleyes are available throughout the river, but keep in mind that the season closes on March 15. Until then, the limit is one fish over 18 inches per angler. If you do happen upon a trophy female ‘eye, please release them gently back in the water as the spawn is near and it will help ensure good walleye numbers for years to come.

On the Niagara Bar, there were plenty of lake trout and browns using live golden shiners or 3.0 MagLips and Kwikfish reports Capt. Dave Scipione of Lewiston. Longer leads with live bait and gold patterned plugs seemed to work best with the clear water conditions. In Devil's Hole, recent south winds have Maglips and kwikfish producing well in gold and silver/chartreuse colors off 3-way rigs according to Scipione. When fishing live bait in clear water conditions, use a smaller hook size and a quality fluorocarbon leader in a thinner diameter. Also, when conditions allow, using a lighter sinker (3/4-ounce) with longer length leads to allow your presentation to get further from the boat. This can increase hookups according to Scipione.

Alan Raymond with The Wicked Worm in Youngstown reports the warmer temperatures are bringing the anglers back out. Brown trout are still smashing the shiners from the Coast Guard Drift to the tackle shop. You can also use white swimbaits off jig heads for lake trout. Artpark is still doing well on steelhead using egg imitations and smaller baitfish presentations.

Capt. Chris Cinelli of Grand Island reported good conditions on Monday, but there was some ice to deal with at times. He says that brown trout numbers around Fort Niagara have been the most he can ever remember seeing.

Shore anglers up the gorge are still doing well on trout. Mike Rzucidlo of Niagara Falls reports good action using white jigs for lake trout and steelhead. Visibility was around 8 feet. His safety tip of the week is to find an area that has exposed rocks along the shore to help land fish. If the ice breaks away, it can help you to get out quickly.

The tributaries are slowly starting to open back up again. Ken Jackson of Sanborn reports water flows were up this weekend, bringing in fresh fish into places like 18 Mile Creek and Burt Dam. Egg sacs and beads were Jackson’s ticket for trout. With heavy rain in the forecast for midweek, look for streams to be high and turbid, but they should open back up and allow for good access when waters recede. It won’t be long before boats will be hitting the lake for shoreline trolling, especially since we “spring” ahead this weekend.

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