Taking A Close Look At The Niagara Area Fishing Waters
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Fishing Reports

Capt. Matt  (716) 550-0413

Captain Matt's Fishing Report

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Captain Matt's  Fishing Reports Archive
2012   2013

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First two trolling trips of the season... 4/23/13

Had a great day on the lake today. Both of my trips today had a good time and caught plenty of fish. The afternoon would have been more enjoyable with out the 20 mph NORTH EAST WIND and 3-4+ foot waves. We even had a coho and a nice king today! Felt good to back on the the BIG pond. The lake bite is real good and is only going to get better! The kings are on their way! LETS GET THE NET WET 716-550-0413

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Bill Hilt's Fishing Reports

FRIDAY MAY 10, 2013

  Lake Ontario and Tributaries

To help celebrate some of this great spring fishing going on around Western New York, some big name media are in town representing publications like In-Fisherman, Outdoor Life, Field and Stream, Bassmaster, On The Water and The Fisherman to name a few. There's also some TV shows like Big Water Adventures, Mid-West Outdoors, and In-Fisherman that are on the water shooting shows for the future. Lake trout fishing has been very good on the Niagara Bar, but they are catching a few kings, cohos and a mix of other fish. Mark Davis of South Carolina had the big laker for Tuesday while doing some filming on the Bar, a 25 pound, 12 ounce lake trout. His highlight, though, was a 5-1/2 foot sturgeon that hit his bait. Jeff Pierce of Scottsville, National Sales manager with Mustad Hooks, also caught an early season bass off Fort Niagara on the Bar that tipped the seven pound mark a few weeks ago, too. In Wilson and Olcott harbors, bass, pike and panfish are all being caught along with the occasional trout according to Wes Walker at The Slippery Sinker. A few straggler trout have been reported at the dam, too, but that run is nearly over. Water temps were over 60 degrees.

  Upper Niagara River

Decent yellow perch catches are still being reported around Broderick Park, Squaw Island and around the Ontario Street launch area, as well as around Grand Island. Panfish are also starting to turn on with the warming waters. Bass fishing is catch and release and both largemouth and smallmouth are available. You must use artificial baits to target bass. Some crappies have been reported where the Canal and Tonawanda Creek come together in Pendleton.

  Lower Niagara River

Trout are still hanging on in the river, offering a mix of steelhead and lake trout with the occasional brown trout. Devil’s Hole and Artpark offer some of the best chances for trout from boat or shore. Minnows or Kwikfish are the best baits to use, fished off of three-way rigs if using a boat. Shoreline casters can use twister tails, spoons, spinners or egg sacs fished under a float. Warm water fish are starting to turn on, too, with bass, suckers and sheepshead all being caught with the trout. Niagara Bar action was good over the weekend for three generations of Fekete's - Bill, Bill and Corey of Ransomville. Nine year old Corey caught his first lake trout and coho salmon while using black and silver spoons in 30-40 feet of water at the mouth of the river and in front of Fort Niagara.

  Lake Erie and tributaries

Some of the national writers have sampled the early bass fishing on Lake Erie that opened last weekend. While a few fish over six pounds have been caught, the magical fish over seven pounds is still waiting to be caught. Well, at least with the media contingent. One was caught the day prior to the May 4th opening by Michael Webb of Toronto while fishing with Capt. Bruce Blakelock of Lewiston - a 7 pound, six ounce smallmouth that hit a tube jig in the south gap area. Bob George, National Sales Manager with Buck Knives was out with Capt. Terry Jones to take 60 bass on Tuesday using a mix of tubes and stickbaits. Targeting the middle gap along the break walls and off Hamburg Beach in 8 to 12 feet of water was producing the most fish. Most of the tributaries are over as far as the trout run. The only exception is Cattaraugus Creek. Smallmouth bass are moving into the lower sections of streams and so have some catfish. The lower section of the Catt and 18 Mile Creek are good spots to target for channel cats. Yellow perch action continues to be good in 45 to 55 feet of water near Cattaraugus Creek. The Sturgeon Point launch is closed for dredging. Some walleye action is being reported at night along Hamburg Beach with trolled stickbaits.

Bill Hilts Jr. is a past president of the New York State Outdoor Writers Association. Hilts is an avid outdoorsman, an outdoor writer who has contributed articles to numerous national and local magazines, newspapers, and other publications. Hilts is also responsible for Niagara County Tourism Sportfishing Programs. He freelances from his home in Sanborn N.Y. Hilts was inducted in the New York State Outdoorsmen Hall of Fame in the Spring of 2007!
His column is seen in the Niagara Gazette on Fridays. The Niagara Gazette is the area's leading outdoors sports information newspaper.

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NYSDEC Fishing Report

May 10 to May 17, 2013

  Lower Niagara River

Because of the cold waters sent down by Lake Erie, the trout run in the lower river lasts through May. The trout bite has been fair lately and anglers report a mix of steelhead and lake trout with the occasional brown trout. Boaters normally drift with live minnows, egg sacs or Kwikfish lures on a three-way bottom bounding rig. Shore anglers can target trout from Whirlpool, Devils Hole and Artpark State Parks. Live emerald shiners, salted shiners or egg sacs fished under a float work well. Trout will also take egg flies, trout beads, jigs, spoons and spinners. The smelt run is over. The fishing pier at the base of the New York Power Authority's Robert Moses Power Plant has opened for the season.

  Lake Ontario | Tributaries

It was a slow week for most Lake Ontario trout and salmon anglers. On the other hand, those who targeted lake trout did quite well. Off Niagara and Orleans Counties, anglers saw good lake trout action in 50-150 feet of water, with spoons run within 20 feet of bottom. Anglers connected with a few king salmon in the 50-100 foot zone, while slightly better immature king salmon catches came in 150-250 feet of water on lures run 80-120 feet down. Gear run in the top 50 feet produced some catches of smaller coho salmon. The nearshore brown trout action fizzled out due to very clear water, with virtually the only brown trout catches coming at first light. Reports indicate that alewife schools have moved closer to shore. Hopefully, hungry king salmon are not far behind.

Action was good on the Niagara Bar last weekend, but has been hit or miss since then. On the bar, outside of the green buoy, anglers can target lake trout and coho salmon. Along the ledge, anglers have been catching some king salmon and the occasional steelhead. The steelhead run is over on the Ontario tributaries and the latest rain induced runoff likely chased any remaining steelhead out of the creeks. Now is a good time to fish the lower, slow moving sections of creeks such as Eighteenmile and Oak Orchard Creeks for largemouth bass, rock bass, sunfish and northern pike.

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NYS Fishing Reports courtesy New York State Department of Environmental Conservation website. Visit them at NYSDEC


If you need more fishing information or would like to contribute to the fishing report, please call or e-mail Mike Todd (716) 851-7010. Good Luck Fishing!

The fishing hotline can also be heard at (716) 855-FISH.

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Capt. Matt Yablonsky

Cell: (716) 550-0413

Email: e-mail Wet Net Charters

Our Clients say ...

"I wanted to thank you for the great day of fishing we had on Sunday. We had over 30 lake trout on, and boated 21 of them! You were great to work with! What amazed me and my friend Mark the most was how there were over thirty boats fishing that day and the most we saw any other boat pull in was two to three fish! It seemed we were constantly drifting by the other boats with fish on while they watched. We enjoyed ourselves tremendously and look forward to many more trips with you"
Randy Hastings | North Tonawanda, NY

  A New York State Freshwater Fishing License is required for adults
(16+ years old).

They can be easily obtained at any Walmart Store in New York State or at
Lewiston Town Hall, Lewiston, NY. (at the 'Red Brick School House').
Ask Captain Matt to help you get yours, when you call to book your fishing charter!

You can also get your licenses online.
For New York State. For the Province of Ontario.
And yes... you may need both!

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