The Lobster season has started once again in Southern California and the catching has been pretty good for scuba divers and shore divers near Santa Barbara.  Several of the dive boats who have been going out on two or three day trips to the Channel Islands have reported many of the divers coming back with limits of nice sized spiny lobster.

Santa Rosa Island seems to be the best island so far in terms of number of lobster being pulled out of the water on any given day.  But San Miguel is not too far behind.  With the calm seas before the recent story, many of the dives for these lobster have allowed some good visibility.

There have been also some reports of some private boats going out to Anacapa Island and taking night dives with flashlights to hunt down the local lobster.  This is sometimes very productive as well, but of course the level of danger involved in a night dive is always higher when compared to the day time.  If you are thinking of attempting a night dive, be sure to dive with others who are experienced with this type of thing.

Much of the rules and regulations for California Lobster fishing has remained the exact same as last year, but be sure to read up on the laws and regulations prior to going on your next lobster trip.

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The beginning of the Crab season is coming, and its pretty clear by the look of the harbors around California.  It seems that right now the commercial crab fishermen have taken over parts of parking lots, especially in Santa Cruz harbor.  Earlier today, there were thousands of crab traps sitting in piles and stacks all over the place.  Dirty crab fisherman were getting their gear all ready for the crab too.

What a great time of year, lets all hope that the crab season turns out to be a great one where all the fisherman can pack in their quota of crab and have a fun and happy catch.

Getting ready to go crabbing is no easy task.   There is quite a bit of work involved in cleaning your crab traps, and also in making sure there are no escape routes for the crab.  Often crab traps will become rusted to the point where some of the trap doors don’t move at all.  This is a big problem for crab fisherman.

The Crab Report:

Currently, local Crab fisherman are having good success down at Pacifica Pier.  Most of the crabbing has been done on the weekend, or at least thats the only time that people have reported their catch back to the tackle shops. Some of the crab fishing at Santa Monica pier has been decent as well.  Many people have been taking nice clean Spider Crab from the Los Angeles to San Diego piers as well.

Fishing in the Sacramento River

Right now, the river is very hot compared to normal, and for that reason you just might want to still hold off a few more weekends if you are itching to take your family out on a nice fishing trip to the Sac.  Rio Vista area was one of the places where the best fishing was noted the week of September 21st-25th, but nothing off the charts was weighed in at any of the local fishing shops so far.  Some of the anglers were able to land some early salmon with lures and there was even a 20 plus pounder recorded which hit salmon eggs of an angler who was actually just fishing for trout.  Most of the anglers are arriving early and claiming some nice spots on the river and pretty much just fishing, drinking, and managing to have a good time even in some of the mid day heat.

SAN JOAQUIN River Fishing:

Striper fishing is really starting to heat up.  If you can get your hands on some nice sized bullheads and either some shiners or anything that smells tasty, you have yourself a good shot at nailing a nice striper to bring home to the wife for your days work fishing. Much of the action is in the less than 20 feet of water, so no need to try and find anything deeper than that in this river.

Sacramento River limits

Kewsick Damn down to the Deschutes Bridge, the river is closed to all salmon fishing right now and for the forseeable future. But, you are able to fish for trout and keep one trout up to 16 inches long, either wild or a hatchery fish.

From the Deschutes Bridge down to Red Bluff Diversion Dam, the river also is closed to all salmon fishing until Oct. 9 through Oct. 31. After that, there is a limit of two salmon and two hatchery trout or steelhead. Note that on page 7 of the booklet there is a chart describing the differences between a plain rainbow resident trout and steelhead. The main difference is that the steelhead migrates to the sea and the resident trout sticks around in the river. If the resident trout gets to 16 inches, it is then classified as a steelhead no matter whether the trout migrates or stays at home.

***Make sure to inform your friends who are fishing for the salmon on the Sacramento of the changes that are going into effect.  It is a hefty fine for anyone caught breaking the fishing rules and regulations whether intentionally or not intentionally***

Below the Red Bluff Diversion Dam there is an open season for salmon from Oct. 9 through Dec. 12, with the same limits as the upstream section of the river. This extends all the way down to Knights Landing.

From Knights Landing to the San Francisco Bay, there is an open period from Sept. 4 through Oct. 3. Again, the same limits apply as upstream.

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Lake Ontario
Brown trout fishing slowed a little last week, but fish are still being caught in 90 to 130 feet of water with spoons working well both off down riggers and Dipsey divers. Dream Weaver and Michigan Stingers in green and yellow shades are working well. The chinook salmon fishing has picked up some with fish being taken 100 to 140 feet down over 180 to 270 feet of water. Salmon are hitting the same spoons as the brown trout and also on green and white E-chip flashers and Atomik flies. Smallmouth bass fishing has been good around Mexico Bay with jig heads and twister tails working.

Oswego River
Sheephead (freshwater drum) continue to hit crayfish and catfish are hitting nightcrawlers and cut-bait. Bass are biting on minnows and crankbaits.

Salmon River
There continues to be a few brown trout and Atlantic salmon being taken in the river.

Oneida Lake
Walleye fishing continues to be better early in the day for anglers trolling with stickbaits or worm harnesses. The deeper water between Buoy 117 to 121 has been good. Smallmouth bass fishing has been hot or cold depending on the day. Fishing around structure with Senkos and a wide variety of other plastic baits are getting some fish. When birds are found diving on schools of baitfish, the smallmouth bass are actively feeding underneath them. Tossing topwater baits and a wide variety of plastic baits is working. Largemouth bass are hitting creature baits fished in and around the deep weed edges.

Sodus Bay
Largemouth bass are hitting on spinnerbaits, crankbaits and rubber worms fished in the deeper water.

Sandy Pond
There has been some largemouth bass and northern pike action along the outside weed edges. Spinnerbaits, rubber worms and crankbaits are working.

Cayuga Lake
Water fleas have died down and are less of a nuisance, but weed mats are still making trolling difficult on the lake. The thermocline is around 65 to 80 feet. Lake trout are being caught in 65 to 110 feet of water by anglers vertical jigging with plastics. They are also being taken 75 to 110 feet down over 180 to 210 feet trolling with flasher & flies or spoons. White or white & green are working well. Some nice brown trout are also being taken down 50 to 65 feet or mixed in with the lake trout.

Owasco Lake
Anglers trolling 50 to 70 feet down with spoons or flasher & fly rigs are still catching some lake trout and an occasional rainbow trout. Anglers are also catching a few lake trout vertical jigging. Though overall, lake trout fishing has been slow. Smallmouth bass are hitting in 10 to 20 feet of water on drop-shot rigs with Berkley Gulp baits. Good colors have been smelt imitating colors and green pumpkins. Look for schools of bait and fish around them for the bass.

Skaneateles Lake
Trolling 25 to 30 feet down with glow spoons is producing some rainbows and 50 to 60 feet down is working for lake trout. Anglers fishing near shore with tube jigs, drop-shot rigs, white Mr. Twisters and night crawlers and are still catching smallmouth bass.

Otisco Lake
Tiger muskie fishing is really starting to pick up with tigers being caught on almost anything from nightcrawlers to swim baits. Smallmouth bass are being taken in 15 to 25 feet of water on drop-shot rigs with darker colored baits working well. Largemouth bass can be found on the outside weed edges. A few walleye are being taken by anglers trolling 35 feet down with stickbaits.

Seneca Lake
Atlantic salmon are hitting Big Weenie flies down 55 feet over very deep water, like 500 feet of water. Lake trout are being taken 75 to 120 feet down by anglers trolling spoons and flasher & fly rigs. Vertical jigging has been producing fish at 75 to 90 feet with chartreuse and white plastics. A few northern pike are being taken off the pier. Anglers looking for large holes in weedbeds and fishing with crayfish are catching perch. They’re not getting a lot of them, but the ones they are getting are big.

St. Lawrence River
Try fishing for smallmouth bass about 35 to 45 feet down, using crayfish or worms. A number of nice northern pike are being caught along weedbed lines, at about 20 feet. Try using minnows or worms. Some nice jack perch are also being caught up in Mud Bay.

Whitney Point Reservoir
Walleye fishing has slowed but some fish are being taken in the deeper water on worm harnesses and jigs tipped with night crawlers.

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Crabbing off of any structure can be quite a bit of fun.  The most common place to go crabbing if you are not in a boat is from a local pier down by the beach.  Most coastal towns or even harbors or marinas have a section of some pier that is available for local fisherman to fish or even to catch crab.

Here is some of the information you should try to find out before you start crabbing off a pier:

1. How deep is the water below the pier
2. When is the high tide going to be
3. What are the current fishing regulations for catching crab, and are there any rules as to what type of traps you can and cannot use
4. Make sure to have enough rope to pull up your crab trap
5. Have some secure place where you can tie up your crab trap on top of the pier, hopefully close to where you will be sitting
6. Make sure to bring an extra large amount of bait (fresh bones from the butcher, squid, chicken parts, etc… any meat)

So, if you are using a hoop trap, you should simply secure some of the bait with string or a bait box to the top side of the hoop net, and then send it over the side.  You should notice a change in the pressure on your crab line when it hits the bottom.  Then, secure the remaining line to some stationary part of the pier.   Then the waiting game begins.  I like to check my crab traps every 45 minutes to see if there are any crabs inside.  Some people that I go crabbing with insist on only checking the crab trap after every hour to hour and a half, but I don’t think that is necessary, and I like checking them often as it is much more fun.

Catching crab from a pier again can be great fun,  you don’t need to worry about getting sea sick, and usually there are some other people around to keep you company.

That’s right, its halibut derby time again in Alaska, and there is not much time left to catch the jackpot halibut this year.  Currently, the leading halibut is coming in at 273 pounds and was caught by Mark Hilts from Grand Rapids, Minnesota.  Also, there are a couple of halibut in the 250 pound range that were landed in July too.

Weather has been typical Alaska weather, tiny bit of sun, tons of overcast and some rain.  Water conditions have been a little bit nasty several of the past few days with quite a few out of town anglers getting a bit sick out there.  But hey, its derby time, and you got to be able to play with the big barn door halibut if you are going to have any shot.

One of the big questions of the year is where the heck is Deep Creek Fishing Lodge right now in this derby?  Haven’t seen crusty man Steve Moe at the weigh in scales yet, so not sure if he has been able to get out of bed to do some fishing lately?  But, knowing him, he will probably be sliding in the winning halibut on the last day of the tournament.

The Stanislaus River appears to have a semi regular trout fish stocking schedule. You can view some of these details on the California Fish and Game site.

And now, in looking back at our horrible fishing expedition last week to the North Fork of the Stanislaus River, I am wondering just how much the fish stalking has to do with our horrible luck.  Someone who we were camping with off the river made mention that if you go fishing right after the river has been stocked….the fish do not bite.  Meaning that it is best to wait for several days after the fish have been stalked before you start fishing for them.

After looking at the fish planting on the Stanislaus, it doesn’t appear that there was any fish stocking or planting going on the week before or after we were fishing the river.  So, now I am more confused than ever as to why we failed to really catch anything.

If you are an expert at fishing the North Fork of the Stanislaus river, please make some comments on what you think about fishing right after or during times when the river has been stocked, because so far, it seems quite a few people are confused as to how the fishing is after that happens.

Another trip to the Stanislaus River has just come to a close today, and here is how the fishing ended up:

For a total of three days spent fishing the river just above and below Boards Crossing near Sourgrass Day Use area on the North Fork of the Stanislaus, we caught a grand total of 1 6-7 inch trout.  Not too great as you can understand.

We used all different types of lures and baits and flies as well.  Compared to last year, the water was noticably higher and several degrees cooler too.

What was impressive was the amount of trout that could be seen breaking water and jumping into the air, but that is only fun for so long. When it gets to the point where you cast our line out and instantly two fish jump right next to it, but nothing hits your lures, then you start going crazy. That is where the funny guys come into play.

The one fish that was landed by Mr B Davis, was taken on a nightcrawler worm. There was one minor strike on the last day on a spinner. One bait that was night tried out were live crickets which seem to work relatively well on this river in the past. We were simply too lazy to go to Ebbets Pass Sporting goods and buy some, as the river is about a 30 minute or so drive to get there each way.

My suggestion to anyone who is headed up to the Stanislaus near Boards Crossing this July is to pick up some live crickets prior to making your way down to the river and seeing what type of luck you have on them. Or, figure out exactly what flies to use, as we surely did not have a clue this year.

Still, fish or no fish, the Stanislaus river is an excellent place to spend some time in the summer. Super nice swimming and beautiful scenery all around.

The Stanislaus is flowing quite heavily this week.  This week may even be the highest volume of water flowing down the river so far this year.  As there was snowfall all the way until the end of May, it appears as though there will be tons of water all summer long in 2010.

Finding some nice slower water is a bit of a challenge right now.  There are several fly fisherman who are having some luck with dry Griffiths Gnat.

Right now, it seems that the fish counts from some of the other locals are less than usual for this time of year, but everyone is optomistic that it will turn into some much better fly fishing on the Stanislaus really soon, hopefully before the 4th of July.

Fishing just South of Boards Crossing on Stanislaus

If you get excited about spin fishing the Stanislaus, you will still have some great luck using live crickets with a bobber or some light weight on 6lb test in many parts of the river.  The water is moving fast, so make sure to use propper hooks so the crickets stay on as best as you can, otherwise you will be casting out your bait all day long without any trout.

And of course, if you land a large trout from the Stanislaus, be sure to make a comment on this post and send the picture on over.

We took hundreds of pictures on the trip to Deep Creek Fishing Lodge in Kenai, Alaska. Here are a few of them.  The pictures are all from early June 2010. During the fishing trip, we fished the salt water for halibut, the river for king salmon, and a remote glacier fed lake for lake trout.  Some of the greatest times were spent just sitting around the fishing lodge which was located just next to Deep Creek, Alaska.  The staff and the guides and the owner of the Deep Creek Lodge are all excellent people.  With the views across the channel that were to die for, it was a vacation of lifetime that will not ever be forgotten.

One of the most spectacular parts of the fishing lodge experience was taking the float plane to the desolate lake to go fishing for trout. We caught all kinds of trout within just a few hours and then we fried them all up afterwards.  It was super tasty and alot of fun at the same time.

The fishing lodge is called Deep Creek Fishing Club and it is located in Kasilof, Alaska.  There is another deep creek fishing lodge so you need to make sure you fish the one with the captain called Captain Crusty.  Otherwise you won’t be getting the same experience you see in the pictures above.  The first night that you spend at the lodge, you will probably dig into a massive dinner of Alaska King Crab legs which should get your fishing vacation started off right.

Here is a brief overview in video of my first fishing trip to Alaska.  We visited the Kenai Peninsula and fished for halibut, trout, and salmon at the Deep Creek Fishing Club.

This place is amazing.  The first day we went out on the ocean and fished for Halibut.  There were two boats of us, 4 people on each boat, and one captain and another crew member per boat too.  All eight of us caught our limit of two halibut each.  The largest halibut of the day was 69.4 pounds on the scale outside the lodge.  It was great fun.  The weather out on the water was a bit choppy, but nothing too bad, infact nobody even got sea sick.  It did get a bit windy towards the end of the day

Kasilof float fishing

On the second day, we went fishing on the Kasilof River on the Kenai Peninsula.  Some of the video is also from salmon fishing on this river.  The fishing that day was pretty good for our drift boat.

We brought 3 salmon to the boat, and had a total of 5 salmon strikes.  We released two of the salmon because they were wild king salmon, and we kept one that was a hatchery fish.  Our guide Todd who works for the Deep Creek Fishing Club was excellent.  He had been guiding tourists who come to Alaska to fish for over twenty years now.

On the final day of our trip, we chartered a small airplane to fly us to some remote lake across the channel.  We landed and started fishing for lake trout.  We were using salmon eggs, and our group of eight caught about 15 trout in about one hour.  Next, our guides and Capta

fly-in lake fishing

in Steve aka Captain Crusty fixed up all the fish on the side of the lake with a bunch of charcoal, and we had some awesome fish tacos.  They setup a nice table and there was everything you could need for a great meal including wine and beer and best of all fresh caught trout for our taco meat.

Please enjoy the video of the fishing trip to the Deep Creek Fishing Club:

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Alaska Halibut Fishing Boats

The first morning of our Alaskan fishing trip, we decided to go out on the salt water and try out halibut fishing.  We were fishing in the Cook Inlet just south of Kenai, Alaska.  We had been told that the halibut fishing was great, and yes, there were tons of pictures of one hundred and two and three hundred pound halibut all over the fishing lodge, but you never really know what you are getting into.

The lodge that we stayed at (Deep Creek Fishing Lodge, owned by Steve Moe and his wife Vivian) has two 28 foot boats that they use on the salt water for halibut. These boats are awesome to say the least.  Below is a picture of the halibut boats so you can get a feel for what I am talking about.  They are perfect for halibut fishing and the potentially nasty Alaskan weather too.

halibut fishing on Cook Inlet

Once we started our journey just a mile away to the launch site, things got really interesting.  I have used many launch ramps before, but nothing quite like the deal they got going in Ninilchik, Alaska.  Basically, you trailer your boat down to the “launch site” and take your boat off your car trailer.  Then the crew down there completely takes over.  What they do is they use a crane that has a trailer hitch on it, and they back your boat up into the water.  Next, you start your engine and pull off the trailer and away you go.
Here is a video of the Ninilchik launch ramp for small boats:

It was wild to see, and amazingly quick and easy.  The same deal when you pull your boat out later in the day.  And the total fee for this service is $55  per day.

Once we got out about 20 miles, we started our day halibut fishing.  The deal was each of us had our own pole.  Our captain Skye and Jeremy did a great job of loading up our hooks with weights and bait all day long.  The halibut bait that we used was cod fish, herring, and octopus.  The fishing line was pretty heavy duty.  The leaders were about 30 feet long and the final portion was some 300lb test line.  So I wasn’t too worried about anything every breaking free on us.  Here is a picture right before we started catching halibut.

We were fishing in about 180 feet of water, and there was about two knots of current.  So we all had some considerable amount of fishing line out.  But, within a few minutes of dropping down our poles, we started noticing that something was beginning to bite on our halibut poles.  My pole was the first to go off, so I began reeling it in.  After a few minutes, and not too much of a fight at all, it was a false alarm, just a couple pound cod.  But we pulled it overboard, and the deckhands began cutting it up and said we could surely use it for bait for the halibut.

It wasn’t too much longer until some of the other fishing poles went off, and this time it was halibut action.  Some of the halibut that we caught were between 20-50 pounds.  No 100 pound halibut today, but we limited out our 2 halibut per person within two hours, and that was pretty good.  The weather was starting to pick up with some relatively heavy winds and some light rain and moderate seas, so we decided to call it a day right after landing the final fish.  And back in we went to put our boat back on the trailer.

Alaskan Halibut Fishing near Homer,AK

A super great day halibut fishing, and I was most excited about being able to bring a ton of fish home and share it with family and friends, and especially my wife who told me to make sure to come home with some halibut or else… Here are some more fishing pictures from the day we caught all the halibut in Alaska.

Deep Creek Fishing Club

Fishing in Alaska is something brand new for me.  Going to a true fishing lodge is also something brand new for me.  It’s been just about 7 hours since we landed, and I think I just might be hooked for life.

Alaska is such a beautiful place, and by the looks of all the pictures on the walls of the Deep Creek Fishing Lodge, we are probably going to be in for some super great fishing over the next four days.  Tomorrow we are heading out on the ocean or salt as our captain Steve who is the owner of the Deep Creek Fishing Lodge says.  We are going to be in search of some halibut, which he says we will be sure to catch within minutes.  Our plan is to go salmon fishing in the local river the next day.   I can’t wait, this is exactly what I have been waiting for, the chance at catching a monster halibut up here in Alaska.

So here is the quick summary of this Alaskan fishing trip so far.  1) We left San Francisco airport for Seattle, then took a second plane to Anchorage, then a final 3rd small plane to Kenai.  All of the travelling was a total of about 9 hours.  Once we landed in Kenai, a woman from the lodge picked us up and we took the Hummer about an hour until we arrived at the Deep Creek Fishing lodge.

The Deep Creek Fishing Lodge is amazing in many ways.  First off, it is a true wooden log lodge.  All of the smaller cabins that are for guests to sleep in are wooden logs too.  And it sits on a bluff which is about 50 feet above the sea level, so you have a perfect view across the 38 mile channel to the other side where there are several 11,000 foot peaks/volcanoes to look at.  Please enjoy the pictures of the lodge as well as the videos, its super impressive.  If the views and the background aren’t enough for you, you will definitely be impressed with the staff and owners of the lodge.  Steve who is the owner is full of all kinds of fishing stories. Tonight at dinner (king crab legs and a massive mix of cold seafood for starters) Steve said that he has been fishing these exact waters for over 25 years now and is one of the top captains in the area.

He said he won 9 derbys within that time period, so I am feeling pretty good about our chances at a nice halibut or two or five.  The rest of the staff is also super great, and very helpful and there to help you out whenever you need anything.

Since it is early June, the one odd thing so far has been how light it is.  It’s 11:30pm right now, and although I know I need to go to sleep to be rested for fishing in the morning, I just can’t.  It’s so light outside, and I am getting ready to take some pictures of across the channel to get some good sunset shots of the volcanoes…. Who could blame me.

Some good stories to come soon, I’m not sure if I will be able to sleep at all tonight.  Sarah is coming to wake us all up tomorrow moring at 5:00am for a 5:30 breakfast…. life is great up here at this Alaskan fishing lodge.

Here is a photo looking past the Deep Creek Fishing Lodge and out over the water.  The mountains with snow on them across the channel are 38 miles away.

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The halibut fishing has been pretty hot. Take a look at the guys filleting their day’s catch below. This group of guys went out on their private boat on Sunday before Memorial Day and caught 4 halibut. This was their first day fishing for halibut of the season, so my guess is that fishing must be pretty good right now if you know where to go for the halibut. They mentioned that they caught the fish just right off the Santa Cruz point, which I think is just south of Santa Cruz harbor less than a few miles.

Some other halibut fishermen from santa cruz harbor said they too had some good luck over the past few weeks fishing for halibut at the Santa Cruz Point. Most of them seem to be using live bait when its possible to get that. Others are using dead anchovies or sardines as bait and then just bouncing that off the bottom until the fish strike. The guys from the halibut video said that all of the fish gave them a pretty good fight, so get prepared for a little workout.

One quick fishing tip, be sure to only gaff the halibut that you are positive are legal fish. If you are bringing up a fish and you are not sure it is of legal size, you are better off netting it, and then measuring it. That way, it will if the fish is undersized, you will have a better chance of releasing it alive compared to if you have gaffed a hole inside of it already.

Good luck with the halibut fishing!

That’s right, its time to get your salmon gear together and make your way down to Santa Cruz or Monterey California to get your 2 daily salmon limit.  The fishing has been the best its been all year for several days now, and its not too far of a crawl to get to the fishing grounds.

Most of the anglers are choosing to fish salmon at the Soquel Hole which is just a 30 minute run for most boats from the Santa Cruz harbor.  If you are planning on coming from Monterey it will be a bit longer run to the fishing grounds.  And of course if you are making the trip by boat from Half Moon Bay harbor, it will be even longer again. The Soquel Hole is known for great salmon fishing because it is a collection pot for all types of bait fish with the massive depth changes it has.

The sea conditions the past few days have been relatively nice and calm compared to several weeks ago.  There has been a really nice calm feel out there early in the morning, and of course the afternoon winds have kicked up every single day so far this week, so get your fishing done early.

As the fish are now being caught closer to the surface, mostly between 30-80 feet of water, more and more people are stopping the trolling and opting to save some gas and energy with their mooching gear.  Of course, you won’t escape the numerous troll fisherman who are have tons of success with rigs like pulling a anchovy around or pretty much any other lure these days.

Most of the fish that are showing up at the docs in Santa Cruz have been in the 8-14 pound range, with 20 pound fish coming in daily as well.  Good luck, and if you are going out for the whole day and don’t catch anything, we’ll, better luck fishing next time.

Fishing In Central New York:

information below provided by:  http://www.dec.ny.gov/index.html

April 30- May 7

Walleye, northern pike, pickerel and tiger musky season opens on Saturday, May 1st. Good opening day locations in Central New York for walleye are: Oneida Lake, Whitney Point Reservoir, Susquehanna River and Otisco Lake. For tiger musky try Otisco Lake, Cross Lake, Madison Reservoir and Lower Lelands Ponds. Northern pike can be found in Owasco Lake, Cayuga Lake and most Lake Ontario Bays. For pickerel try Big Bay on Oneida Lake, Tully Lake and Madison Reservoir.

Anglers may be interested in Stream Trout Fishing Techniques. Also, remember that Finger Lake tributary fishing is from sunrise to sunset from April 1 through May 15, see Finger Lakes Tributary Regulations.

Some sections of area streams and lakes will have been stocked by Saturday May 1st. These streams and lakes are:

Broome County – Artic Lake, Finch Hollow, Greenwood Lake, Little Choconut 2e, Nanticoke 7a, Nanticoke Lake, Palmers Pond, Patterson Pond, Oquaga Creek, Chenango Lake, Dudley Creek, Nanticoke Creek, and East Branch Nanticoke Creek

Cayuga County- Fall Creek, North Brook, Owasco Inlet, and Salmon Creek

Chenango County- Bowman Lake, Jeffrey Pond, Mill Brook Reservoir, Pharsalia Y Pond, Guilford Lake, Genegantslet Creek and the Otselic River

Cortland County- Casterline Pond, Little York Lake and the Otselic River

Madison County- Upper Lelands Pond, Eaton Brook Reservoir, Lebanon Reservoir, Beaver Creek, Canastota Creek, Chittenango Creek, Canasaraga Creek, Cowaselon Creek, Limestone Creek, Old Chenango Canal, Oneida Creek, Chenango River, Payne Brook, Otselic River, Stone Mill Brook and the Sangerfield River

Onondaga County-Green Lakes, Poole Brook, Spruce Pond, Limestone Creek, West Br. Limestone Creek, Furnace Brook, Spafford Creek, Fabius Brook, Geddes Brook, Butternut Creek, VanBuren Pond, Onondaga Creek, West Br. Onondaga Creek, Tannery Creek, Carpenters Brook, and Skaneateles Creek, Onondaga Counties carpenters Brook Fish hatchery stocking Hotline: (315) 689-0003

Oswego County- Black Creek, Rice Creek, North Branch of the Salmon River, Salmon River, and the West Branch of Fish Creek

Tioga County – Catatonk Creek, Cayuta Creek, East Branch of Owego Creek, Owego Creek, and West Branch of Owego Creek

Tompkins County – Enfield Creek, Virgil Creek, Buttermilk Creek, Salmon Creek, Fall Creek and Sixmile Creek.

For more stocking information view Spring Trout Stocking.

Region 7

Lake Ontario

When the weather, mainly the wind direction, cooperates near shore brown trout fishing has been good from Oswego to Mexico. A few coho salmon are also being reported. The early morning bite has been best. Flat lining with stickbaits like Smithwick Rogues, Rapala’s, and Storm ThunderSticks are producing fish. Color preference has been varying with bright colors like orange and firetiger working one day and more natural colors like black & silver or black & blue working the next day. Some fish are also being taken on spoons such as Stingers and Dreamweaver. The lake level is low at this time so use caution when trolling near shore. The lake has been pretty clear this spring and normal “mudlines” or cloudy water near shore and off river mouths hasn’t been stable. This has made finding the brown trout more difficult.

Oswego River

The river flow is back down and is currently at 1,460 cubic feet per second (cfs) as of 04/29. All areas are fishable but anglers fishing from the Utica Street Bridge to the harbor are catching brown trout, steelhead and even a few Atlantic salmon. Good baits remain the same with stickbaits, worms, minnows, egg sacs and pink PowerBait trout worms working. Sheephead (freshwater drum) are hitting crayfish. Some bullheads are still being taken around Wrights Landing on leeches. Walleye season opening Saturday, fishing large stickbaits (like Rapala #18′s) is a popular method of catching walleye in the river.

Salmon River

The river flow is running at 285 cfs as of 04/29. There are a few steelhead still spawning but most fish being caught are drop backs (fish that have finished spawning). Spawning fish can be found in the riffle areas and drop backs are being taken throughout the river. With the low water, fishing the heads and tails of the deeper pools is working well for the drop backs. Good baits are beads, egg sacs, pink PowerBait trout worms, streamers and egg imitating flies. There are continued reports of Atlantic salmon being taken in the lower section of river.

Oneida Lake

Walleye season starts Saturday. With the early spawn this year fish should be spread out more. Start your search shallow (5 feet of water) and work deeper until fish are found. Crankbaits, stickbaits, jigs and live bait should all work. Anglers fishing Toad Harbor are having good luck for black crappies on small minnows. Bullheads are being taken in bays and river mouths on worms and leeches.

Sandy Pond

The water level is low in the pond at this time. A few anglers are getting out in boats are getting yellow perch and crappie on fathead minnows fished under bobbers.

Cayuga Lake

Brown trout and Atlantic salmon are still hitting stickbaits fished off side planers on the south end. The early morning bite has been good in 10-20 feet of water. As the day progresses moving deeper to 50 feet of water and fishing with spoons has extended the action. Lake trout are being taken around Deans Cove in 140 to 180 feet of water for anglers vertical jigging or trolling. Yellow perch are being caught on the north end on fathead minnows in 10-15 feet of water.

Owasco Lake

Anglers fishing the north end are still getting some yellow perch on fathead minnows in 15-20 feet of water.

Skaneateles Lake

Anglers trolling with streamers are getting a few Atlantic salmon and shore anglers are still getting rainbows with marshmallow and worm rigs. Yellow perch are hitting in the south end in 15-20 feet of water on fathead minnows.

Otisco Lake

Smallmouth bass fishing has been good for anglers using Berkley PowerBait grubs and craws. Just a reminder that it’s catch and release and artificial lures only for bass until the 3rd Saturday in June. A few crappies and bluegills are being taken on the north end on fathead minnows and worms. Walleye season starts Saturday, May 1st, trolling with stickbaits or casting stickbaits after dark from the causeway are methods that often work on the lake. Fishing with large live minnows or casting with spinnerbaits or stickbaits works for tiger musky.

Whitney Point Reservoir

There are plenty of walleyes in the reservoir and it should be a good opening weekend. Bullhead and channel catfish fishing has really picked up in the last week. A 14-pound channel catfish was caught recently. Night crawlers and cut-bait have both been working. Crappie fishing remains slow but some nice sized yellow perch are being taken. Anglers are not getting many of them but when they get one their big.

Susquehanna, Chenango, Tioughnioga and Unadilla Rivers

Anglers using dark colored tube jigs are having good luck on the smallmouth bass. Just a reminder that it’s catch and release and artificial lures only for bass until the 3rd Saturday in June. Catfish were hitting well around the Nichols area on cut-bait. No bullhead activity to report.

Eastern Region 8

Sections of the following waters will have been stocked by Saturday, May 1st:

Chemung County -Elbridge Lake, Park Station Pond, Post Creek, Sing Sing Creek, Newton Creek, Cayuta Creek and Wyncoop Creek

Schyler County – Cayuta Creek, Potomac Pond, Foster Pond and Ballard Pond

Seneca County – Canoga Creek

Steuben County – Meads Creek, Canisteo River, Bennett Creek, Canaseraga Creek, Cohocton River and Post Creek

Lake Ontario

Brown trout are hitting real early in the morning for shore anglers casting spoons like Cleo’s, Krocodiles and Cyclops from Webster Park and the mouth of Bear Creek. The bite seems to end around 8:00 am as the day brightens. Anglers trolling with spoons and stickbaits are also getting brown trout close to shore in 15 feet of water. Spoons seem to be working better than stickbaits at the moment. A few coho salmon are also beginning to show up. Browns are also being taken from real shallow water, 3-6 feet, from Brockport Marina to Hamlin Beach for anglers casting blue & silver Cleo’s.

Genesee River

There are brown trout being taken in the river on spoons and egg sacs. Smallmouth bass fishing has been good in the river. Just a reminder that it’s catch and release, artificial lures only for bass until the 3rd Saturday in June.

Sodus Bay

Anglers fishing around the bridge are getting bluegills, rock bass and bullheads. Anglers getting out in boats are catching yellow perch, bluegills, rock bass and bullheads. The bluegill and rock bass bite has been very good on jigs and spikes. Bullhead fishing has been good one day and slow the next, the best bite continues to be after dark on night crawlers.

Irondequoit Bay

Yellow perch fishing has picked up during the last week for anglers fishing small minnows. Shore anglers are catching fish as are anglers getting out in boats.

Seneca Lake

Lake trout are being taken in a variety of ways; down riggers, Dipsy divers and wire. Spoons and flashers and flies are working. Fish are being taken 50-100 feet down over 100 to 150 feet of water. Anglers using wire are letting out 200-250 feet. Some Atlantic salmon are still hitting stickbaits trolled on the surface.

Canandaigua Lake

Anglers fishing on the south end are still getting yellow perch and crappies. Small minnows and spikes are working. Anglers top lining with spoons and stickbaits off planer boards are getting brown trout in the south end. Lake trout are hitting flashers and flies fished down 75-100 feet. Like last year Spin Dr’s. (flashers) and flies (like Big Weenies) in shades of green are working well.

Keuka Lake

Lake trout are being taken 80 to 110 feet down over 150 feet of water on flasher and flies and spoons. Anglers using wire are letting out 200-250 feet. Spin Dr’s. and Big Weenie flies in a variety of colors are working, with green still being productive.

Waneta and Lamoka Lakes

Bullheads are hitting before and after dark on night crawlers. A few yellow perch are being caught on small minnows.

The Salmon fishing has been luke warm still in the Monterey Bay.  The bets have still been the Soquel Hole off of Santa Cruz with some anglers catching their limits of reasonable sized salmon.

monterey bay

The fishing a bit north in Half Moon Bay has continued to be less attractive to the small skiff fisherman, and many have opted to launch their boats out of Santa Cruz in search of a faster ride to the more productive fishing grounds.  But, this surely doesn’t mean that fishing has been a complete waste out of Half Moon Bay.  There have been a few limits of salmon reported there as well.

The fishing out of Monterey has been reasonable, just under one fish per rod on some of the boats, and of course some limits and some skunked salmon fishermen mixed in too.  Most of the party boats are dropping anchovies and sardines down to relatively low depths of 150 feet or more to find the salmon while on the mooching rigs.   Overall, there seems to be a very high percentage of fisherman trolling hoochies and all sorts of other rigs for the salmon.  One of the common lures last week was a yellow Crocodile lure.

This week coming up should have some decent days for getting out and making another stab at the salmon if you are still in search of your first fish of the season.   There were several reports of boats who kissed their first salmon of the season over the weekend, and if you are still searching, don’t get discouraged.

The 2nd Week of April, 2010:

A salmon dodger used for trolling for salmon

Well, the salmon fishing has been decent for most people fishing near and around the Soquel Hole.  But, weather has started to take the fish counts down.  As the weekend went on, there wind and the waves and the rain made fishing conditions not worth it for many of the anglers, and the launch ramp at Santa Cruz harbor became a ghost town.  A big difference from opening weekend a week ago.

The overwhelming majority of salmon being caught from private fisherman is happening with trolling gear.  Most of these fish are being hooked at depths ranging from 120-200 feet down.  There was even a report of a kid fishing for halibut near the Soquel Hole bouncing a anchovy off the bottom who landed a keeper salmon (not confirmed though)

It’s too difficult to say what is working best, there is the usual mix of hoochie and dodgers/flashers and dead bait being dragged off the downriggers for the trollers.  And the few fisherman who are mooching are doing the typical sardine/anchovy rig with anywhere from 2-8 ounces of weight depending on the conditions.  If you asked me, mooching with anything over 6 ounces is not too much fun, especially if you are down deep.

So here’s the deal, we are all going to hope for some good weather these next few days off of the coast of California, and if that works out, there just might be some reports of some 30 plus lb. salmon next week.  If anyone has any reliable mile buoy reports for salmon fishing from either Monterey or Santa Cruz of even Half Moon Bay, please submit them via comments below.  There are quite a few smaller craft fisherman who are dying to know if they can just creep out of the channel and have some decent luck at catching their first salmon of the season.