Salmon River, Lake Ontario, Oak Orchard, Oswego River, Oneida Lake, Fishing Report 9/20/09

The past week has been up and down for both lake and river anglers. The lake has plenty of fish but they continue to play cat & mouse. They move around a lot and bite great one day and refuse to bite the next.

Most of the fish are in 20 to 50 FOW. J-Plugs, spoons and flashers and flies all produce when the bite is on.

Same deal on the river. Earlier last week we had several good day but things slowed down and there was little or no movement on Friday and Saturday. That all changed today as the lower river received a real good push on kings, Coho’s and some trout!

The middle and upper river remain quiet except the normal crazy spots, (Sportsman’s Hole, Trestle and Schoolhouse). They all have fish but more people than fish. Although overall the crowds remain very light and our gloomy economy has to be responsible for that.

Suggested patterns are egg sacs, weighted comets, nymph's, large stoneflies and streamers.

Salmon fishing at the mouth of the Salmon River in Lake Ontario has been good at night. Trolling or casting glow plugs and spoons has been producing some nice catches.  With the water flow from the river, the fish are hanging up outside the mouth. The water temp is 60 degrees, and very clear. We need some heavy rain to get things stirred up.

On Oneida Lake, Night casting for walleyes is just beginning with access points such as launch sites, bridge abutments and marinas seeing some activity.  Stickbaits have been working well. Deep water trolling for walleye during the day has been successful using lead core and downrigger techniques.  Smallmouth bass have been active over the rock piles and perch can be found in 12-15 ft. of water using fathead minnows.

Some recent pics.

Marcus & John came from Atlanta Georgia for their bi-annual fishing trip. They had a mix of big chinooks and some nice trout.

He is Back, The legend, 80 yr old Fritz Becker is in my boat for the week. Stay tuned for more!