Published: August 21, 2008 10:59 pm         

HILTS: LOC Leader comes from bar; Orleans winner from Olcott

1. Lake Ontario and tributaries

The Lake Ontario Counties trout and salmon derby is underway and the current leader is nearly a duplicate performance from last year. Once again, the leading fish came from the Niagara Bar, just like last year when Mike Fox of Lewiston set the pace with what turned out to be the eventual Grand Prize winner. This time, it was Gary Rammy, Jr. of Appleton fishing the drop-off with a Spin Doctor and Northern King fly on opening weekend to produce a monster — 35 pounds, 12 ounces. We’ll see if that fish holds up. They’ve been catching some nice fish this summer. First place in the salmon division is 33 pounds, 9 ounces and you need better than a 29-pound, 7-ounce fish just to make 20th place. Top brown is 17 pounds, 7 ounces right now, a fish that was caught by Matt French of Hilton while fishing off Hamlin. He took advantage of the two derby weekend last weekend, winning the Orleans County event, too. First place laker right now is Jason Franz of Hilton with a 20-pound, 10-ounce Hamlin fish, but the Niagara Bar owns the next 8 places. First place Rainbow is a 14 pound, 5 ounce fish caught off Olcott by Robert Heary of Cheektowaga. The derby continues through Labor Day. For a complete leaderboard, log on to www.loc.org. For the Orleans County Derby, it was William DelPrince of Ashtabula, Ohio with some last minute heroics to win the event on the final day. He was fishing in front of Olcott in 80 to 100 feet of water with a flasher and A-Tom-Mik fly to catch a 30-pound, 8-ounce fish and win the $4,000 Grand Prize. Top Rainbow was a 16-pound, 2-ounce fish caught by Greg Tingley of Limestone; top laker was 17 pound, 13 ounces and caught by Dave Johnson of Rochester; and French was big brown. Northeast wind pushed the cold water in so fishing for salmon has been inside 100 feet according to Wes Walker at the Slippery Sinker. Use flasher and fly, magnum spoons or J-plug type baits. Steelhead are also available in the top 50 feet of water on spoons — watermelons, raspberries and yellows. Browns were in 45 to 60 foot depths and they could be in closer to that with the recent winds. The Niagara Bar reported lots of small salmon to weed through. Take care of those fish because they are the future. Capt. Mike Johannes of Ransomville sends a tip that if you get into some small salmon on the Bar, get those spoons out of the water and put on Spin Doctors and flies to try and target bigger fish. In the harbors of Wilson and Olcott, bass, pike and panfish are all available. You may catch some trout off the piers, too, with the cold water in tight right now. Be sure to mark the Greater Niagara Fish Odyssey on your calendar for Sept. 20-28. All the details right now are on the www.outdoorsniagara.com website. Down at Point Breeze, Capt. Mike Waterhouse sends word that fishing has been good there as of mid-week. One captain, Dave Siegfried, stayed in close in 70 feet of water to target mature kings, taking 8 on Wednesday. Waterhouse opted to troll north with anything purple and he caught 10 fish — a mix of salmon and steelhead.

2. Lower Niagara River

Bass and walleye are the order of the day, but it won’t be long before the first king salmon is caught in the gorge. Usually, the end of August is the typical timeframe for the first fish. Speaking of the gorge, the NYPA Fishing Platform will be opening back up tomorrow (Aug. 23) for the avid shorefisherman and it could be a good spot for that first salmon of the year. As far as walleye, good reports are still coming from drifters using worm harnesses in the 30-40 foot range in the river and on the Niagara Bar near the green buoy marker. Speaking of walleye, the A-1 Bait Supply and OutdoorsNiagara.com website has announced a lower Niagara River walleye contest for Sept. 20 to be held in conjunction with the Fish Odyssey. Check out www.outdoorsniagara.com for all the details. Bass fishing has also been good throughout the river, from Devil’s Hole to Fort Niagara. Live bait like crayfish and shiners have worked out the best. Don’t be afraid to try a drop shot rig with Berkley Gulp! Leeches or minnows to get them to hit, especially when the bite turns tough. With the east wind we had earlier in the week, bass fishing should be hot for a couple days.

3. Upper Niagara River

Bass fishing continues to be very good throughout the upper river. Live bait like nightcrawlers, leeches or crayfish are the way to go according to Jeff Pippard at Niagara Outdoors. Try places like Staley's Reef, the head of Navy Island and around Sunken Island. Also the foot of Ferry and Ontario streets. Walleye fishing continues to be good at the head of the river on worm harnesses and at the head of Strawberry Island. Perch are being caught at the Small Boat Harbor.

4. Lake Erie and tributaries

The walleye bite has slowed a bit with some reports saying that you have to go after the fish on the bottom is you want more consistent success. Near Buffalo, try trolling or drifting worm harnesses in 35 to 40 feet of water around Waverly shoal and around the departure buoy. Off Cattaraugus Creek and Dunkirk, the best bite has been 50 to 70 feet down over 75 to 90 feet of water. Best color harnesses continue to be black-purple, watermelon, copper and chartreuse. Speaking of Dunkirk, the Masters Walleye Circuit will be invading those waters for one of their tournaments this week. Bass fishing continues to be good all along the Lake Erie shoreline from Buffalo to the Pennsylvania state line. Fish can be found in 10 to 45 feet of water, wherever there is any kind of structure. Drop shot rigs baited with Berkley Gulp! Leads the way, followed by tube jigs, crayfish and shiners.

5. Chautauqua Lake

It looks like a busy weekend there with the New York State Bass Federation Team Championship this weekend. Bass fishing has been good around the lake. Target Warners Bar for smallmouth with tubes or spinnerbaits. Muskie trolling has been good from Tom’s Point to Chautauqua Institution. They’re also been picking up some nice perch between the bridge and the ferry in 8 feet of water.

6. Finger Lakes-Inland Waters

Honeoye Lake — Dan Sharp at Honeoye Bait and Tackle sends word that most of the fishing has been for bass and walleye. For walleye, the best time is after dinner until about 10 p.m. with jigs tipped with leeches or nightcrawlers or worm harnesses trolled or drifted. Fish from point to point in front of Trident Marina, Log Cabin Point, California Ranch Point, etc. Largemouth bass can be found in both shallow and deeper waters and just about any standard bass bait will work on those fish. Some panfish are being caught in 18 to 20 feet of water on small jigs tipped with spikes or wax worms.

Canadice Lake — Smallmouth bass fishing continues to be good in 30 foot depths, trolling with stickbaits or drifting with bass shiners or crayfish.

Canandaigua Lake — Some decent reports of perch are coming from the south end of the lake near the marina. Work the drop off in 30-40 feet of water with fathead minnows. Most of the fish have been in the 12-14 inch range. Cooler weather could play a role in earlier fall fishing in some of these lakes.

Bill Hilts Jr. is a past president of the New York State Outdoor Writers Association. Contact him at bhiltsjr69@cs.com.