Looks and feels a bit like summer trolling conditions are finally upon us after a tremendous stretch of consistent great catches. So it seems what many anglers described as "easy catching" has now changed more into "real fishing." That is - you have to work a little bit harder now for hook ups but the chances are still real good for some quality fish. Plenty of big Kings, plump cohos, good steelhead, nice browns and fat lakers are being taken in the Orleans County waters of Lake Ontario.
Probably the biggest change is that warmer water has finally moved in to displace the cooler and baitfish inhabited mid depth waters. Now fish and bait and anglers are more spread out in their searching patterns. No longer are trollers dropping lines before or at the weather buoy and expecting fish. Sure you might still find some cooperative Kings in 100 fow or less, but it's just not automatic anymore. Look for hot and unsettled weather and chance of storms around this midweek and then clearing some - still hot with some humidity but less chance of passing storms thru the end of week.
The summer LOC has concluded and the big money fall LOC Aug 16 - Sep 02 is still ahead. It could be we are looking at the good chance for 30 pounders as top tier fish for that fall action. In the concluded summer LOC, the two die hard steelhead anglers John V. and Edward H. got the 3rd place steelhead weighing 13 lbs 7 ounces about 7 miles east of port in 250 fow on a dipsey rod set 170 ft back on a #2 setting. What a great looking fish!
Cpt. John Oravec (CJO) of Tightlines Charters says "browns have 4 inch alewives in their throats. Humongous fish with the odd King and laker have been on the ledge. The Bald Eagle to Sandy Creek area seems to be turning on! Devils Nose has been a good King spot 120 - 300 fow with flasher/fly and spoon combos 50 - 90 ft down. Slower fishing after a big warm water influx. Hope for some east winds!"
Fishing, trolling, boating in the Orleans County waters out of the Oak and Point Breeze remains top notch! Rec anglers and charters are coming in with great King salmon catches and now, more recently, the bag is filling out with more steelhead and browns. Hawg lakers are still there too for most that want to target them. Summer is upon us with all the hot and stormy weather that can come with that. But it hasn't deterred many anglers as usually, the storms are passing in nature. The boating traffic at times reflects the great fishing, but like we've said before, it hasn't seemed to put the fish that much off the bite. Look for chance of passing storms for this mid week period with clearing for end of week, then continued warm with chance of a break in the humidity for the upcoming weekend.
The King of the Oak (KOTO) second leg of the tourney came off well for this past Saturday, July 20. Competitors filled out their point spread well and coolers were full of big fish! Capt. Dan Jochem with Escape to the Oak Charters brought in the big fish of the tourney. The big handsome King was taken on a greasy chicken wing spin doctor with a stud fly trailer. They found dipsey action in 150 fow 222 ft out. According to the smart troll they were working about 65 ft down.
Capt. Jonathan Forder from Mister Sportfishing says "the fishing has been great. We have had great King, Coho and steelhead fishing. Brown trout are in the mix too when we are working shallower water. Fish are in 80 - 300 fow. Find the group of fish you want to work and go get em!" Dave and Josh from Warsaw, NY just enjoyed a great trip with Mister Sportfishing. Hey they're practically locals! Great to see folks from all over enjoying the open Lake action.
Summer is here and the fishing is hot! Really so far it's a continuation of the good action that started this spring. Nearly all anglers are having good or great outings in the Orleans County waters off the Oak. Hookups are common on hefty Kings and now some immature fish are in the mix too. Good looking steelhead are also in the creel. Some anglers are practicing catch and release and where practical for any survivability maybe you too can practice some conservation minded fishing. Immature salmon and trout can be targeted as older and bigger trophies next year and after!
Charters and recs are all out there active on the open Lake Ontario. Since about the start of this month the fishing pressure has picked up. Can't say though that the increase in boating traffic has put a damper on the action. Even last week's midweek weather threats and wind didn't seem to deter the bite all that much. Sure it might have scattered fish and bait some and sent the good temps slightly farther offshore, but on the backside now thru this week guys are mostly back into consistent action again. There was some heavier rains for the beginning part of this week and a forecasted chance of passing storms thru the midweek. After that, things look clearer and slightly cooler, but do head to the local weather and marine forecasts and/or take the good advice of your local charter captain for trip timing.
Most charter captains are busy running their trips but do give them a call to check for any open dates they may have for you.
Here's some recent intel from the Mike D. family fishing team who enjoys multiple trips to the Orleans County waters. They're serious about fish and fillet handling and appreciate how much harder a King or steelhead fights compared to a walleye!
"For the weekend our fish came in 200 - 300 fow. For the start of this week 300 - 400 fow was better for us. Bait depth was changeable but we mostly targeted the 70 - 85 ft down range. Magnum spoons and flasher/flies and meat rigs all pulled fish when we kept the trolling speed around 2.4 - 2.8 at the probe. There's some floating debris probably from the latest weather and the fleas are mild to moderate."
Here's hoping you can get in on the Orleans County salmon and trout action soon!
Wow! There is some pretty good trolling action in the Orleans County waters at the Oak. By most all accounts both Rec anglers and Charters are into good numbers of fish and real nice quality Kings. Check out Scott and Paige's big King which is good enough for 17th place right now in the summer LOC. The weather has been mostly cooperative and finally the number of anglers out on the water is reflective of the quality fishing. Even with a few more anglers out like over the previous holiday weekend there seems to be lots of hookups all around. With strong numbers of willing biters and seemingly lots of bait to hold the fish in mid depth waters the fishing may be as good as it can get! Summer warm weather is forecast ahead with always the chance for passing storms. Remnant precipitation from the hurricane Beryl is expected to hit mid week with the chance for significant precipitation. Monitor local and marine forecasts for safe operation.
Cpt. Lou Borelli says "fishing continues to be real good, fish are being caught anywhere from 80 - 300 fow. A good mix of Kings and steelhead are around. Spoons, meat, flies are all getting it done. Run your go-to lures and most likely you're gonna get bit."
Cpt. John Oravec has been limiting out on nice Kings and the occasional hefty Coho or steelhead. He too is excited to see all the trollers finally out after previous lackluster fishing pressure. "The fish seem to be going for flasher/fly rigs especially on the wire dipsey. A deep rigger has been real good. A stud fly behind a chartreuse and green nuclear 8 inch paddle has been my best."
Another local veteran rec angler says "it's a 90% spoon bite for me. Normally it's more a flasher/fly or meat bite this time of year but the spoons keep producing. There's a ton of bait, big pods suspended and in 50 - 70 fow the bottom is loaded. Brown trout in that zone should be getting fat. I've been having some of my best action out of preferred temp and in the warmer water."
Trolling action out of the Oak right through the past beginning part of the weekend was real good. Most all boaters were catching Kings and steelhead and lakers. The fish look good, especially the Kings which are plump. Stomach contents are showing they are feeding on big alewives. A few browns are starting to show up in the creel too. All this good action has mostly been in mid depth waters. Maybe the far offshore action is good too, but I don't know anybody running out there when boxing out has been pretty much the norm in 90 to 200 fow or less! Different tactics have produced hook ups but the predominant method has been the old steady spoon program on riggers.
Alas though, conditions they may be a changing! Stiff WNW winds that looked and felt more like September or October swept in yesterday and today. It does seem to be laying down now and the forecast is light and variable for the mid week. Next chance of precipitation is also mid week after about 0.50 - 0.75 inch of rain we received a few days ago. Look for chance of all that favorable cool water that was hanging near shore to be blown out with hotter water replacing it. If so, all the bait and temp that the salmon and trout were keyed in on may be moving farther offshore. So there's your next fishing challenge, find the good down temps and bait and you should find the fish! We've had a few fair blows prior that didn't seem to change things all that much, but this last bit of wind may have been enough to flip the script.
Showing the versatility that the Oak and Orleans County waters provide, the NYKBF (New York Kayak Bass Fishing) club has been out and about and visible on the lower Oak Orchard River flat water areas doing a bit of pre-fishing for their upcoming tourney. Check out www.NYKBF.com and their social pages. The Glenwood to the Lake tourney will take place July 13 with the awards ceremony at the Black North Inn at 3:30PM. Come check out all the neat tricked out kayaks and learn more about this style of angling. The method could translate well to tributary and near shore trout and salmon fishing.
