Central New York Fishing Hotline
November 6 - November 13
Region 7
Lake Ontario
The Lake fishing report is done for the season.
Oswego River
Water levels are quite high right now, so exercise caution. Anglers are having luck from the Utica St. bridge upstream to the dam with steelhead and brown trout. Good baits to try are egg sucking leaches, egg sacs, Glo-bug yarn, crazy eggs, pink worms and fathead minnows.
Salmon River
The leaves in the river that were causing difficulties are now gone. The steelhead are scattered and are cooperative if not spooked. The Douglaston has been reporting some good steelhead action, as well as the upper end of the river. Blue egg sacs, pink worms, glo roe beads are producing fish on the bottom and under floats. Blue sucker spawn, glo bugs and bright estaz patterns have been the successful flies lately.
Oneida Lake
The nighttime shore bite for walleyes is mixed, some nights are good and some real slow. Casting stickbaits that resemble gizzard shad (blue & silver or black & silver) is producing walleye when they are hitting. Yellow perch are hitting fathead minnows fished in 10 to 15 feet with reports of even out to 30 feet of water around weeds. Smallmouth bass fishing continues to be good throughout the lake.
Sandy Pond
No fishing activity to report on the pond at this time.
Cayuga Lake
Trout and salmon fishing has been slow this past week. Anglers report that there are plenty of fish being seen or marked, but they have lock-jaw. Some yellow perch are being taken in 10 to 15 feet of water in the north end on minnows. There are some brown trout and Atlantic salmon in the larger tributaries.
Owasco Lake
Few anglers getting out so there is no new fishing activity to report.
Skaneateles Lake
Rainbow trout fishing continues to be good for anglers trolling on the surface with planer boards and small stickbaits, spoons and streamers over 60 to 80 feet of water. Streamers are also working for rainbows and worm/marshmallow rigs are beginning to be productive from shore. Lake trout are being taken in 120 to 150 feet of water. Smallmouth bass are hitting in 10 to 25 feet of water on tube baits and stickbaits. Yellow perch are taking small minnows and jigs fished in about 40 feet of water.
Otisco Lake
Few anglers getting out so there is little new fishing activity to report. A few walleye are being taken after dark for anglers throwing stickbaits off the causeway.
Whitney Point Reservoir
Walleye fishing is decent with fish hitting bucktail jigs (yellow or orange) tipped with night crawlers or fathead minnows fished up on the flats and along the old river channel. A few big yellow perch and large rock bass were also being caught along with the walleyes.
Susquehanna, Chenango, Tioughnioga and Unadilla Rivers
Water levels are returning back to fishable levels. The walleye should cooperate if fishing with minnows and stickbaits. Prior to the high water smallmouth bass were also hitting minnows and stickbaits and also on dark colored tube jigs.
Eastern Region 8
Lake Ontario
Some steelhead and brown trout are being caught by shore anglers casting spoons off of Irondequoit Bay, Maxwell Creek, Webster Park, and Bear Creek. Water is still low in Maxwell Creek and other nearby tributaries but a few brown trout and steelhead have been caught this week. A few salmon still remain in some tributaries.
Genesee River
Salmon fishing has been slowing down. River conditions are improving and good numbers of steelhead are being caught.
Sodus Bay
Yellow perch are hitting jigs tipped with spikes in about 8 feet of water. Northern pike are being caught on minnows in about 8 feet of water.
Irondequoit Bay
Some trout are being caught by casting spoons in the bay or drifting egg sacks in the tributaries. Northern pike are being taken by casting or trolling large spoons or stickbaits. Yellow perch are being caught in about 30 feet of water using jigs with minnows or grubs.
Seneca Lake
Yellow perch are hitting in around 30 feet of water. Lake trout are being caught by trolling in 70 to 90 feet near bottom. Some lake trout are also being caught on egg sacks at the pier in Watkins Glen. Landlocked salmon are still being caught on green flasher-fly rigs on the south end of the lake. Some brown trout have been caught from shore on the south end using stickbaits. Bass are being caught at the south end on shiners.
Canandaigua Lake
Lake trout and rainbow trout fishing continues to be good, especially on the north end. Trolling blue stickbaits has been working well.
Keuka Lake
Trolling Sutton spoons over 90 to 110 feet of water is producing lakers. The north end of the east branch (near Penn Yan) is a good place to try for yellow perch.
Waneta and Lamoka lakes
Troll large 5 to 8 inch diving plugs in 10 to 14 feet of water near the Boy Scout Camp for muskies. Bass are being caught with live bait on both Waneta and Lamoka.
Note- we are always looking for new participants in our Angler Diary Cooperator Program for our program on the Finger Lakes. Our numbers have dropped in recent years and we need new cooperators now more than ever. If you fish Cayuga Lake, Owasco Lake, Skaneateles Lake, Otisco Lake or any of their tributaries and want to learn more about this program and how to sign up please contact the Region 7 Fisheries office at (607) 753-3095 ext. 213 or on line at fwfish7@gw.dec.state.ny.us. If you fish Canadice Lake, Canandaigua Lake, Conesus Lake, Hemlock Lake, Honeoye Lake, Keuka Lake or Seneca Lake and want to learn more about this program and how to sign up please contact the Region 8 Fisheries office at (585) 226-5343 or on line at fwfish8@gw.dec.state.ny.us
If you would like to contribute to the fishing report or need more fishing information or have any fishing/fishing equipment related questions you can contact Jim Everard at jfeverar@gw.dec.state.ny.us Good Luck Fishing.
The fishing line can also be heard at (607) 753-1551.
