Upper NY, Lake Ontario Tributary Update.
Posted on November 2nd, 2010
I took the morning to drive down to Oak Orchard at Seabreeze, NY to check-out the conditions with my good friend Aldo Nava of www.niagarafishingadventures.com . We stopped in Olcott, NY to pick up some supplies from the Slippery Sinker and confirmed that flow-rates in Eighteen Mile Creek was still low. We also checked out Johnson Creek and it was also low and clear. We spotted Chinook, browns and rainbows cruising, but most fish were spooked not having deep runs to hold in.
When we arrived at Oak Orchard, conditions were similar. Water was about 2’ lower than normal. Anglers lined up on every run that had more than 3’ of water in it which made for “tight†fishing conditions. Few fish were landed , but I did see several fresh rainbows and a couple of small brown landed. If you are planning on tributary fishing, Port Dalhousie, ON has been producing consistent brown and rainbow trout action.
Ron Bierstine from www.orleansoutdoor.com , reports. The begin of the week fishing report goes something like fair action for Kings with better then average numbers of trout and Atlantics also hooked. Most all anglers are happy with the mixed bag action for still some Kings and trout, especially steelhead. Some Atlantics hooked have been over 30 inches with fish hooked daily. Fishing pressure has been lighter as it seems we are transitioning some from mainly salmon anglers to trout anglers. Some browns that are not behind spawning salmon are showing that typical pre-spawn bite reluctance. Some light precip earlier last week spread out fish and fishermen in the smaller waterways. There are still Kings around and in good shape but many are beginning to show signs of wear. Brown trout, steelhead and even Atlantic salmon hook-ups have been more then might be expected for this stage of the season – so that angling should only get better. Just a few coho hook-ups are now reported too. The nights are colder now and there have been breezy conditions causing some leaf fall. There have been scattered numbers of fish in the smaller waterways, with anglers finding fish usually with a little leg work. Recent reports place more fish migrating in the tribs both east and west of the Oak Orchard. Anglers are encouraged to practice catch and release when they can, this can help provide trout action later in the season and provide upstream action by allowing fish to migrate further upstream and spread out thru the smaller tribs.
There are salmon and more then a few trout in the Oak Orchard River all the way to the dam. Salmon are still making their way upstream from the lower and middle river, but in smaller numbers then earlier Oct. The greatest concentrations of upstream salmon are in the gravel areas with most salmon spawning now. Newly arriving fish will be looking for company on the gravel right away. Brown trout and steelhead are reported mixed in with all the salmon and usually shadow pods of salmon looking for an easy egg meal. A few brown trout may be setting up on spawning gravel. Salmon are in the fast water gravel sections just downstream of the Waterport dam from direct migrations or from dropping back from the dam. Small pods of salmon are still on the move upstream at select times from downstream reaches. Anglers are finding less salmon in the last of the frog water areas, those fish lingering less there, now being more concerned with finding upstream gravel love before their demise. The cooler weather will push fish upstream on a bit faster schedule now differing from the previous slow upstream migration schedule thru Sept and early Oct. Warm and clear weather may stall some upstream movement.
