Lake Erie Fishing Hotline
July 3 to July 10, 2009
Saturday, June 20th was the statewide opening day for both bass and muskellunge. A 5 fish daily creel limit and 12" minimum size goes into effect for bass anglers fishing on Lake Erie, the Upper Niagara River, Chautauqua Lake, and most other inland lakes in Western New York. Anglers fishing on the Cassadaga Lakes should also be aware of the special slot limit that allows no harvest or possession of bass between 12" and 15". Muskellunge creel limits are 1 fish per day, but minimum size limits vary by waters with a 54" minimum size limit in Lake Erie, 48" minimum size limit in the Upper Niagara River (north of the Peace Bridge), and 40" minimum size limit on Chautauqua Lake.
Lake Erie and Tributaries
Yellow perch anglers have enjoyed two of the most productive months of fishing in recent record. According to the preliminary angler survey data generated by the DEC Lake Erie Fisheries Unit, 2009 yellow perch fishing effort, quality and harvest totals are exceptionally high in May and June, compared to long term averages. Good ringback sites have been in 44-55 feet of water (fow) between Sunset Bay and Evangola State Park, in 45-55 fow off Sturgeon Point and near the red channel buoy outside of Dunkirk Harbor. The early morning or late afternoon bites are best on emerald shiners, salted shiners, fathead minnows or golden shiners.
A week of lousy weather has made trolling for walleye quite difficult. However, the bite seems to be picking up to the west. Barcelona anglers are heading to 60-70 fow and fishing the top 30 feet. Worm harnesses are tops in black/purple or blades with silver backing rather than gold. Near Dunkirk, anglers see better results in 60-65 fow with gear between 20-50 feet down. Worm harnesses in chartreuse, copper/melon and pink have also been mentioned.
Smallmouth Bass are post spawn and 68 degree surface temperatures have bass migrating into their deeper water summer zones. Overall bass fishing has been slow as a result. Nearshore reef, rock and rubble areas in water depths of 20-35 feet are your best bests to target hungry smallmouths looking for shiners, smelt and round gobies. Best bets include Seneca Shoal, Meyers Reef, Evans Bar, Battery Point, Van Buren Reef, Brocton Shoal, and DJ's Campground. Scented tube jigs in crayfish, motor oil, and black are good bets, but twisters, plastic baits, and crankbaits will catch their fair share as well.
The few anglers that are targeting lake trout are having action packed outings. Recently, trollers reported double digit catches in 100-120 fow between Dunkirk and Barcelona. Spoons or peanuts fished near the bottom is a good bet.
Upper Niagara River
Since the opening of muskellunge season on June 20th, some anglers have seen decent action on the upper river. Drifting with tube jigs in front of Strawberry Island and over on Canadian side has produced some nice musky catches. On the Upper Niagara River there is a daily creel limit of one musky, minimum size 48". Anglers have been catching perch on the down-river side of Strawberry Island and at the foot of Ontario Street. Anyone fishing the upper river will have to contend with filamentous algae or "moss".
Chautauqua Lake
Anglers are just starting to pick walleye up on the troll, as walleye move toward deeper areas. Walleye should still be available along the weedline in 12-18 fow as well. Jigging with leeches or worms has been productive. The bass bite has been fair along the weedline and in open pockets within the weeds. Live minnows and leeches or plastics work well. Anglers report plenty of yellow perch between 15-35 fow throughout the northern basin. Shiners or minnows fished near the bottom is a good bet.
Inland Trout Streams
Due to heavy rainfall, most streams in the region are high and muddy. The smaller creeks should settle out quickly without additional rain, but the larger waters like the Genesee River and Cattaraugus Creek will take longer to settle. When waters do clear, Upper Cattaraugus Creek and Ischua Creek should still be great bets for brook trout. In early June, Cattaraugus Creek was stocked with 7,500 yearling brook trout and Ischua Creek was stocked with 4,000 yearling brook trout.
Trout Stocking 2009
Many of the region's streams and lakes are stocked each spring (March through May) with thousands of yearling brown, rainbow and brook trout. In addition to the traditional stocking of yearling trout, many waters also receive generous numbers of two-year old brown trout that average 14 inches in length. All of the region's trout stocking waters have now been stocked, though select waters will receive a second stocking during May. For a complete list of stocked waters by county and number of trout stocked, view the Spring 2009 Trout Stocking pages. Public Fishing Rights Maps are available for many stocked trout streams and wild trout streams in the region.
If you need more fishing information or would like to contribute to the fishing report, please call or e-mail Mike Todd (716-851-7010; mttodd@gw.dec.state.ny.us) or Jim Markham (716-366-0228; jlmarkha@gw.dec.state.ny.us). Good Luck Fishing!
The fishing hotline can also be heard at (716) 679-ERIE or (716) 855-FISH.
