Weekly Fishing Report

In the 15th Annual Niagara County Bullhead contest held last weekend, the duo of Brian Moreland of Olcott and his girlfriend, Eloise Farns of Olcott, placed one and two in the adult division with 4.47 pounds and 3.98 pounds, respectively. They were fishing in Olcott Harbor. Third and fourth place were brothers Trevor and Aiden Wilson of Lewiston with 3.93 pounds and 3.73 pounds of bullheads from 12 Mile Creek in Wilson. The top youth was Axel Hallatt, with two fish weighing 3.77 pounds. There were 119 entries this year.

Fishing has been on the tough side in the lower Niagara River with a combination of ice and stained water creating problems for anglers depending on the day. Mike Ziehm of Niagara Falls hit the lower river gorge shoreline for trout with his white and pink No. 4 spinners and managed to get his steelhead hits out in deeper water with the clear conditions. The NYPA platform is open, but the elevator is closed due to some work being performed. It should be available next week. Call 716-286-6662 for updates.

Devil’s Hole is still giving up some lake trout and steelhead when the ice floes allow for good presentations. Minnows are working best with egg sacs and MagLips also taking some fish, fished off three-way rigs. From Lewiston down to the Niagara Bar, brown trout are the most active species, while steelhead will make an appearance every so often. Minnows and MagLips are both producing fish. It seems the bite is on and off with short windows of action throughout the day.

Out on the lake, Matt Vogt did a bit of trolling out of Olcott on Friday. Winds and heavy rain stirred up the water quite a bit. Lots of color in the water outside of the mudline. You must be careful of debris in the water though, a small log may try to steal your setup. Fishing was okay, but you needed to do some searching and adjust accordingly. He had a few bites and landed all 5 browns and released them safely. Spoons were the ticket when we found them. Water temperatures are still quite cold, but things should start to warm up soon with this weather breaking soon.

Josh Farnsworth of North Tonawanda reports he enjoyed a banner day with a couple of his buddies over the weekend at Burt Dam. Small pink egg sacs fished under a float did the trick for a double-digit mix of steelhead and brown trout. Conditions were not that bad as the area didn’t see as much rain as the forecast predicted.

For the bullhead fishing, Matt Wilson of Lewiston reported that it was a family affair for the Wilsons, as he helped his brother Tom and his three boys. The daytime bite was best, and chicken was the secret bait. He emphasized letting your baits sit, even when the fish don’t seem to be biting. If you get a bite and miss it, that’s the only time you should move the rod and re-cast. He uses a simple 2-hook set-up like a perch rig.

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