Salmon River, Oak Orchard, Oswego River, Oneida Lake, Niagara River, Fishing Report 3/24/08
Easter weekend 2008. One of the coldest Easters I can remember. Brian and Eric made their annual trip and the agreed, it was cold.
Friday we took a road trip and found good conditions but not many fish. We hit five different streams and only found fish in two of them. Saturday we were back in the boat, with the heater running and we managed to get a few. Most people we talked to concurred, it was slow.
Eric with the largest fish of the trip. Hit it in the first stop Saturday am. Guess where?
We are taking mainly dropbacks and a few fresh fish. The spawners appear to be in lock down mode, as I can barely get a bite fishing the gravel. This will all change soon, if it ever warms up.
Welcome to spring in the North Country!!
 | Tonight Partly cloudy in the evening...then becoming mainly clear. Lows 15 to 20. West winds 10 mph or less...becoming south. |
 | Tuesday Partly sunny in the morning...then becoming mostly cloudy. Not as cold with highs in the lower 40s. South winds 10 mph or less...increasing to 10 to 15 mph with gusts up to 30 mph. |
 | Tuesday Night Rain likely with a chance of snow in the evening... then snow and rain likely after midnight. Lows in the lower 30s. South winds 15 to 25 mph...becoming southwest 10 to 20 mph. Gusts up to 30 mph. Chance of precipitation 70 percent. |
 | Wednesday Mostly cloudy with a chance of flurries. Highs in the lower 40s. Southwest winds 10 to 20 mph...becoming west. Gusts up to 30 mph. |
 | Wednesday Night Mostly cloudy with a chance of flurries. Lows in the lower 20s. |
 | Thursday Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of snow showers. Highs in the mid 30s. |
| Thursday Night Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of snow. Lows in the lower 20s. |
| Friday Partly sunny with a chance of snow and rain. Highs in the upper 30s. Chance of precipitation 50 percent. |
 | Friday Night Mostly cloudy with a chance of rain and snow. Lows in the upper 20s. Chance of precipitation 40 percent. |
| Saturday Cloudy with a chance of snow and rain. Highs in the lower 40s. Chance of precipitation 50 percent. |
| Saturday Night Mostly cloudy with a chance of rain and snow. Lows in the mid 20s. Chance of precipitation 30 percent. |
| Sunday Partly sunny. Highs in the upper 30s. |
The Oswego River is on the drop, but even at 18,000 it is very difficult to fish. Work the edges near Lock 7 and above the powerhouse on the west side. Use caution when wading.
Behind the Hotels, browns are being caught on egg sacs, hair jigs, nightcrawlers, wax worms and stickbaits .
Western New York fishing report by Jay Peck – www.jaypeckguides.com
This is March, and as I have said conditions can and do change fast this time of the year. Here we go; Judging by how fast everything has flooded and the weather forecast, my best guess the smaller creeks and steams should be coming back into fishing conditions by today or tomorrow. The Oak Orchard River should be coming back into fishing conditions by mid week. As for the Geneses River, this river is not going to fish in tell late spring at pest. March floods in the past, have always produced excellent fishing once the River settle back into fishing conditions. This should be the blast of high water we need to kick off the spring steelhead run.
According to Bill Hilts Jr the trout fishing on the Niagara River continues to be outstanding, but run off could put a stain to the water that could slow things up. There was pockets of stained water reported on Thursday. It all depends on how Mother Nature handles this rain. At mid-week, most anglers were reporting double-digit catches on egg sacks, Kwikfish and the occasional minnow. Steelhead have been the top target, but a few lakers and browns have been reported, too. There’s also been some walleye being caught by drifters using minnows. Just remember that walleye season is closed right now.
The higher water levels are affecting the ice in some areas of Oneida Lake. Ice-fishing anglers should use extreme caution. Big Bay has been producing nice catches of crappies and good catches of yellow perch and panfish have also been reported from the lake.
There is still good ice on Sandy Pond and it is expected to last through the weekend. The perch bite on the pond has been good; blue gills and panfish have been active especially on Renshaw Bay and the crappies are doing fairly well. Remember that the northern pike and walleye seasons are closed until the first Saturday in May.
Open dates
Due to a cancellation I have this weekend March 29 & 30 open. Call if interested.
April 3, 7, 8, 9, 13.
That is it for the Spring river season. If you want to take advantage of what may be the best April in years, give me a call right away!!
May 8 LOC Derby. May 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 26, 27, 29, 31.
See you out there, Troy