Just when things were starting to look up for fishing action in the Niagara River, another high-wind event will be arrive that will ultimately mess things up for a few days, if not longer. It takes a little longer to clear up this time of year because the water temperature had been hovering around the 40-degree mark, when the water is the densest (39 degrees). Water temperatures jumped up a few degrees with the recent warm spell, but we will be dropping again soon. When things do start to clear, shoreline casters will have first crack at the trout. Prior to this last storm, steelhead, lake trout and the occasional brown trout were being caught. Last Friday, Mike Ziehm of Niagara Falls stayed away from the high-pressure area along Artpark and focused on the gorge upstream from the NYPA facility. His lure of choice is a No. 5 homemade spinner, chartreuse and orange and he caught all steelhead, including a few nice ones. Egg sacs, beads and other egg imitations will catch fish, too, when presented properly. Boat fishermen were catching trout prior to the big blow. Drifting the river current with MagLips, Kwikfish, beads and sacs while using three-way rigs is the preferred approach. You want to make sure your lure is working, and if there is any kind of a north wind that will slow you down, you may need to engage your trolling motor to pick up speed until you can feel the wobble of your hard bait. Conversely, if you have a southwest wind and you are fishing eggs or beads, you may have to slow the boat. When the waters do finally start to clear, the trout will be hungry. Musky season closed Dec. 15 in the lower river and Lake Ontario.
Credit: Source link
