CHAUTAUQUA LAKE

Walleye fishing has been decent to good in 25-50 feet of water around the deeper holes in the north basin. Jigging with bladebaits, jigging minnows, and spoons works well. Trolling is a better tactic for those targeting walleye in the south basin. Yellow perch and sunfish are available in nearshore areas around weed beds. Small minnows, worms and small ice fishing jigs tipped with a grub work well. Muskellunge and regular black bass seasons closed on Nov. 30. However, anglers may still target bass by catch and release only, artificial lures only.

LAKE ERIE AND TRIBS

Lake Erie tributary flows came up a bit on Wednesday and peaked Thanksgiving morning, but levels have been falling rather quickly over past 24 hours. The smaller creeks are in good fishing shape at present. Streams such as Cayuga, Buffalo, Eighteenmile and Chautauqua Creeks are running slightly high and stained, but should be in prime fishing shape this weekend. Cattaraugus Creek is too high to fish at about 900 cubic feet per second. Flows under 500 cubic feet per second are best on Catt Creek. Anglers report decent steelhead action on the streams lately. Fish are spread throughout the creeks’ reaches, however recent concentrations and catches have been better in the lower sections. Fly anglers typically target steelhead by drifting egg patterns, trout beads, nymphs and woolly buggers or by swinging streamers. Egg sacs, trout beads, pink plastic worms and jigs are common offerings by spinning or center pin drifter

LAKE ONTARIO AND TRIBS

Many of the tributaries off Lake Ontario have been fighting a little slush in the morning with the colder weather this week. If there is an issue, the streams have been opening a bit more by the afternoon when things warm up. Jim Evarts at The Boat Doctors in Olcott reports that there haven’t been too many people out the past week due to the cold and the fact that big-game season is still going on. Jigs, flies, wax worms and eggs have been catching fish when the conditions are right. Scott Feltrinelli with Ontario Fly Outfitters has been picking up some browns and steelhead in the tributaries, bouncing around from stream to stream in order to locate active fish and open water. With the warmup this weekend, look for a mini ice out event to take place. Fish should be active.

LOWER NIAGARA RIVER

Lower Niagara River trout action was getting back to good again and then for some reason the bottom fell out. Water clarity in the river was trashed on Wednesday for no apparent reason according to Capt. Chris Cinelli of Grand Island. Yesterday the action was almost back to normal with shore anglers tossing spinners, jigs or drifting eggs or egg imitations like beads to take steelhead and the occasional brown trout. Some lake trout are also being caught. Lake trout season is closed in the lower Niagara River and Lake Ontario until Jan. 1 in New York. However, lake trout season on the Canadian side of the lower river opened on Dec. 1. If you would like to see this season changed, there is an opportunity to extend the New York season by a month. There is currently a proposal in place to open New York’s season on Dec. 1, the same as the Province of Ontario for the lower river and Lake Ontario.