Oak Orchard River mouth action for staging Kings is coming on and the open Lake trolling action is still hanging on. Holding on pretty well actually for those charters who didn't put up for the season and now the trailer-able crowd (some trolling, some casting, some jigging) coming on too. All have been up against mostly calm winds and therefore the dreaded clear, clear water. Winds are afoot now with some precipitation though, with medium easterly winds coming up last night and forecast today and tonight possibly going over to strong gusts out of the south. That should make for some wave action and color to the water - some good south winds could help flush a lot of river weeds too.
Staging salmon have been anywhere from 40 - 70+ fow off the Oak. At times the fish finder screens of the boaters has been pretty impressive with lots of marks. One angler reported "the number of fish I saw on sonar was awesome!" Those mature staging fish like in the pic below from Troutman2 are marinating out there and no doubt are going to turn the pier head and lower river action on hot sooner then later! There's a good chance that the gloom and the winds and the precipitation now for this mid week period could fire up a good start to the trib action. So far its been a hunt and peck scenario for action at the dam or at the piers. The small boat casting or jigging crowd does a little more of their thing under the radar somewhat but good reports tell of some bent rods and nets dipping out there!
Regarding last week's report for new rules at the Waterport dam, the signage that was posted refers only to the Brookfield Renewable Power Company property. That new signage is on the fence at the dam. The parking lot at the dam is NYSDEC property and administered as such. We are aware of no new major changes at the NYSDEC parking area. No overnight camping at the NYSDEC parking area was in effect previously so there is no new change there. Anglers should still be able to arrive early without expectation of a closed gate. NYSDEC ECO's will be responsible for rules and regulations enforcement as in the past. Further access onto the Brookfield Renewable Power Company property at the dam for overnight access is what is addressed on the new signage. Be aware legal fishing times are one half hour before sunrise until one half hour after sunset. Orleans County Tourism is seeking to find out at what time prior to sunrise and after sunset anglers will be able to access the Brookfield Renewable Power Company property. Any new information will be posted as soon as we are made aware.
Wow, what a stretch of warm and dry weather lately. Its maybe the driest period we've had all summer. High pressure is in control with calm or light onshore winds, warm if not hot temps and mostly clear and sunny. The near term forecast is pretty much more of the same! Trollers are primarily looking for staging Kings but are up against the calm and clear water conditions. Tributary action is starting off with a few fish in the Oak, but no great concentrations yet in any one spot. Pier head action is starting out slowly. A few fish are crashing around like at the Bridges, especially in the low light. There are likely a few fish at the Waterport dam with most of the early running fish moving through the downstream fast water stretches and going straight to the dam.
According to Mike Grager of Get Hooked Charters "fish are in 50 - 70 fow. They are biting best the last hour of dusk and the first hour of dawn. J-plugs and flasher flies and some spoons have all produced. The water is clear thanks to no real chop or wave action for days."
Capt. John Oravec of Tightlines Charters says "there are mature salmon bound for the Oak. The staging hawgs are in 45 - 70 fow. Light winds are keeping the fish at depths of 40 - 50 ft. Best rigs are paddle/flies and spinny fly combos off riggers. There are bonus lakers and browns coming off the bottom too. We recently boated a 6 fish catch including two 24 lb Kings. Outlook is stable weather with steady action!"
New Rules at the Waterport Dam
For anglers who will be fishing at the dam this fall, Brookfield Renewable Power will be enforcing some new rules at the Waterport site. See the new signage posted at the dam below. One main take-away is that there will be no overnight access. Anglers therefore can no longer camp on site or claim spots along the fence by camping out in chairs. Brookfield wants to clean up some of the unruly behavior sometimes exhibited there and make it an inviting and fun place for all anglers. We know the majority of folks fishing at the dam want to do the right thing for the private property access for fishing. Lets all treat the opportunity to fish there with respect so that we can all enjoy it for the future! We anticipate some changes as well at the NYSDEC parking area. Stay tuned for more info on that to follow.
Lake Ontario action for the past weekend and beginning part of this week was mostly shut down thanks to high winds and storms. Charters and recs are headed back out there today searching mostly beyond near-shore. Warm water be darned though this time of the year, Kings could be found staged up in 60 - 80+ fow - or shallower. So watch the temp probe less for matures this time of the year and maybe try a near shore troll. There are some salmon seen crashing outside the rivermouth at the O-dark thirty hours. Hot and dry and bluebird weather forecast ahead and the subsequent clearing water might make it tough in the near future and stealth tactics or casts could be the order of the day. Upstream trib action not taking off just yet, rivermouth casters will be the first to intercept the first scouts of the season.
In the last leg of the King of the Oak (KOTO) Capt Chris Vogt and the U-Betcha Team took the August win. For the KOTO season 3 legs combined the Yankee Troller team took first, U-Betcha second place and Intimidator third place. Congrats to all the winners and thanks to the volunteers and Ernst Lake Breeze Marina for helping and hosting. See you in 2025 for even more Oak Orchard big fish action!
In the Fall LOC Derby that concluded over the past Labor Day weekend, there were some high on the leaderboard fish caught out of the Oak. Bill Hilts Jr. reports that second place in the Salmon Division was Edward Hetrick of Edinburg, PA with a 29 lb 3 oz King. He was fishing out of his 17 foot Sylvan Backtroller with partner John Verba of Zelienople, PA. They won 2,500 and an extra $500 for catching the largest salmon while being a member of LOTSA. "We were trolling a green J-plug 95 ft down over 130 fow on Aug 27" said Hetrick. "The fish hit so hard it almost spooled my Penn 310!" Hetrick has been fishing in the derbies a long time. His best fish was a 35 pounder in the old ESLO Derby. This year he recorded a 5th place King in the Spring LOC, a 3rd place steelhead in the Summer LOC and the 2nd place King this Fall.
Also caught out of the Oak was the first place Brown Trout in the Fall LOC. It was a 15 lb 3 oz beauty reeled in by Kristine Grager of Lyndonville. She was fishing with her husband Capt. Mike Grager of Get Hooked Sportfishing. The big brown was worth $2,500 plus $250 for big fish of the day. "We were fishing in both the LOC and KOTO when storms chased us off the Lake," said Grager at the awards ceremony. "We went back out later for my personal best brown trout. We were in 70 fow and the Moonshine Green Hulk 14 spoon was on the bottom, using our downrigger to get it there. We thought it was a lake trout."
Here's to some quality Orleans County and Oak Orchard fish this warm water season and more big salmon and trout in the cold water trib season upcoming!
Busy times on the water as fall approaches! The open Lake Ontario action is winding down for some and the tributary action is soon to heat up! Tournaments are closing with some impressive leaderboards posted. Check out the LOC Fall Derby results here. Once again, big Kings were caught by anglers that weren't registered in the derby! Always happens - don't be that guy! For the Oak Orchard Big Boy Shootout congrats to team Thrillseeker First place, team Screamin' Reels Second place and team Crazy Yankee Third place. We'll post KOTO results as soon as they get published.
The near shore action for staging Kings is showing good potential. Now if only the water would set up stable. That's not the case lately though as some sporty winds have kept things changeable inside. So far, for the start of this week it looks like warm water has pushed back in. Unconfirmed reports of only a handful of fish actually in the river and a patient O-dark thirty observation at the rivermouth might reveal a couple floppers. Charters today never paused near shore and didn't start to set rods until around 100 fow and most were moving beyond that.
Capt. Chris LoPresti from Maverick Charters says "the weekend was like fishing in a washing machine - current, wind and temps were all over the place. There are some Kings beginning to stage at 80 - 100 fow. For us, the off-shore bite at the 30 - 32 line was good with steelhead, immature Kings, cohos and strangler matures. Seventy - 100 ft down with flasher flies and meat rigs took the most fish with occasional bites on a black/green glow silver spoon. Enjoy the fall everyone!"
Capt. Lou Borrelli from Get the Net Charters didn't push his luck on Saturday with storms looming so he worked 100 - 115 fow. "We found a good pod of mature Kings between Bald Eagle and the glass house. All of our bites came in the top 50 ft. with J-plugs, meat rigs and spoons all working. See you for charter action again next year!"
