Niagara River and Lake Ontario Creek TROUT ACTION is GOOD from Shore and in Boats

Bomber steelhead in a favorite tributary off Lake Ontario ... in Niagara County.

  • Steelhead, Brown Trout, Bass…all hitting with the new snowfall
  • Niagara Falls USA Fishing Forecast for Dec. 4, 2019 from Destination Niagara USA
Scott Feltrinelli of Ontario Fly Outfitters has been catching some nice brown trout like this one in the Lake Ontario tribs.

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.

Tommy and Mac Capen caught some nice steelhead in the lower Niagara River with Capt. Chris Cinelli of Grand Island using egg sacs.

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. Consult the DEC website at www.dec.ny.gov for how you can comment. Deadline is Dec. 14, 2019. Lake trout season in the upper Niagara River and Lake Erie is open all year.

Boat fishermen in the lower Niagara are drifting MagLips or egg sacs to take steelhead with regularity.

Kyle Kraft of Ohio was targeting bass earlier this week, using Rage swimbaits while fishing with Capt. Frank Campbell of Lewiston. They caught some nice ones. Musky season is open in the lower river through Dec. 15.

The John Henning Memorial Musky Tournament set for last Sunday was re-scheduled for Dec. 8 and it looks like a nice day at this point.

All the NYPA fishing facilities such as the fishing platform and the access to the reservoir off Upper Mountain Road are now closed for the season.

Buffy Frank of Lockport with a bomber steelhead in a favorite tributary off Lake Ontario … in Niagara County.

Let’s hope the water clears by Monday because Mark Romanack and Fishing 411 TV will be rolling into town to do a show next week.

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 hunting season is still going on. 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 warm up this weekend, look for a mini-ice out event to take place. Fish should be active.

If you are looking for a stocking stuffer, register someone for the Lake Ontario Counties Trout and Salmon Derbies for 2020. Sign up now at www.loc.org and receive $20 a season pass ($10 less than the normal price.

Bill Hilts, Jr. – Outdoor Promotions Director

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Destination Niagara USA; 10 Rainbow Blvd.; Niagara Falls, NY 14303