Ohio angler catches record 10-pound smallmouth in Lake Erie

Ohio angler catches 10-pound smallmouth

One week ago, Gregg Gallagher and his son Grant, were given a gift when fog cancelled a school day (they are both teachers) and led to more time on Lake Erie. From Ohio, they headed to Canadian waters, an area that looked promising. Their goal was to catch a 7-pound or better smallmouth bass. They reeled a Province of Ontario smallmouth bass record at 10.15 pounds, the largest ever caught in the Great Lakes. Check out Scattershots on Sunday for the rest of the story.

Lake Erie and tributaries

Fishing has been up and down in the tributaries according to Danny Colville of Colville Outfitters in Hamburg. The fish are in specific holding zones. Water was low and clear except on Cattaraugus Creek, but recent rain helped a little bit. Colville reports that DEC recently stocked the Catt and it is extremely pressured. The Routes 5 and 20 bridge area was filled with stockers, so it’s impossible to fish there without affecting the smaller fish. These stockers are such aggressive biters coming out of the hatchery that anglers should avoid that area until they scatter. Steelhead are moving up Cattaraugus Creek according to Shub Stevens at Catt. Creek Bait and Tackle. Lots of great reports from Gowanda to Zoar Valley. The early morning hours are best. Pink and chartreuse eggs sacs under a float are working best. Guide Andy Full of Tonawanda reports that some of the streams were muddy earlier in the week. Small streams will fish well mid-week before becoming too clear. Cattaraugus Creek was muddy, and it should be good again by the weekend. However, that will change if we see the inch of rain that is in the forecast. Look for action to be affected for a few days, if not longer. Fishing has been incredible for Full using egg sacs. He reported double-digit hook-ups with recent customers and there were plenty of fish around.

On the lake, perch are being caught in 50 to 70 feet of water off the Catt according to Stevens. Perch are scattered but they can be caught in good numbers using emerald or golden shiners. Capt. Brent Snyder of Day Five Sport Fishing reports good perch action between Buffalo and Sturgeon Point. Water 46 to 47 feet was the magic depth. Structure is key for this time of year and once he identified the structure he wanted, he needed to find the fish using his electronics. As soon as he identified the fish, he put his trolling motor on spot-lock to keep him in place. In 3½  hours, 179 perch were placed into the cooler for cleaning. Fish were up to 14 1/2 inches long with numerous double-headers and two triple-headers. If the fish shut down because walleye moved in, Snyder motored around until he found them again, never more than 20 to 30 yards away. One of the reasons he fished these waters was because of a daily fishing log that he keeps. He knows where fish can be found based on water temperature and conditions from April to December.

Captain Chris Cinelli of Grand Island has targeted musky around his home base and on Saturday, Vanessa Antone of Sanborn caught a clean 40-inch fish with Capt. Chris and his quick strike sucker rig. On Sunday, Cinelli’s son Parker, fishing with Blake Kenney of Grand Island, hit a 47-inch musky on the same set-up. Water temperatures were in the mid-50s and the best is yet to come. In the Niagara Musky Association’s Tim Wittek Memorial Tournament last Sunday, the fish did not cooperate for NMA members. The winner was Sean Leary with 39-inch and 37-inch fish. He was fishing with Mike Rowan of Lockport. The close-but-no-cigar award went to NMA president Scott McKee, who hooked a big one and brought it close to the boat. As McKee tried to grab the fish in the net, the fish, around 50 inches long, escaped his grasp then disappeared. Niagara River action below Niagara Falls and on down to Lake Ontario continues to offer consistent action for a variety of species. Trout action has been good overall, with a mix of steelhead and lake trout according to Lisa Drabczyk of Creek Road Bait and Tackle in Lewiston. Remember that lake trout are not in season until Dec. 1. An occasional brown trout is being caught. There are a few salmon swimming around, too. Best trout baits are 10 mm beads, egg sacs, No. 4 and No. 5 spinners, Kwikfish and MagLips whether you are fishing from boat or shore. Tommy Holycross of Wheatfield reports that he continues to pick up salmon off the NYPA Fishing Platform, but they look more like zombies at this point. Steelhead are being caught in decent numbers and size with egg sacs or beads in peach or pink. Holycross noted that browns are rare off the platform and no walleyes were caught the past week. Capt. Frank Campbell of Lewiston reports good success for a mixed bag of fish in the lower river. Earlier this week he was fishing with Jeff Samsel of Georgia and Todd Ceisner of Depew and they caught seven species of fish in one morning. Mike Rzucidlo of Niagara Falls picked up a few trout along Artpark (visibility was 5-6 feet this week), but he has seen better success in the upper river from boat docks. His mixed bag included pike, musky and largemouth bass.

Lake Ontario and tributaries

Guide Scott Feltrinelli with Ontario Fly Outfitters reports that water flows in the key tributaries are excellent thanks to the Erie Canal water releases. Releases are now “capped” to shut off flows when it rains, so much better orchestration with the changes in weather says Feltrinelli. With over an inch of rain in the forecast for Friday, smaller streams will receive a big shot of water heading into the weekend. You may have to wait a few days to fish them. Brown trout size and numbers remain on the lower side and Feltrinelli has been seeing mostly 2- and 3-year-old fish. All in all, decent fishing is available. Angling pressure has been low. On the Oak Orchard River, brown trout hook-ups are occurring each day with that action heating up as fresh salmon action begins to cool down reports Ron Bierstine with Oak Orchard Tackle in Kent. Kings are still around, but they are on the way out. Anglers need to carefully spot the places where browns are shadowing kings. Once pressured, browns may move a little distance from the salmon, but they likely will be in the closest broken water downstream according to Bierstine. There’s a chance to catch Atlantic salmon, coho salmon or steelhead, too. In the Burt Dam/18 Mile Creek area, Matt Vogt of Newfane reported decent success on salmon. A few steelhead and brown trout are being caught at the dam and the colder weather seems to make a difference. This weekend should be good. Egg sacs and skein has worked best for Vogt. Egg imitations will work, but the best action has been through using real eggs.

Lake trout fishing has been excellent on Cayuga Lake according to Capt. John Gaulke with the Finger Lakes Angling Zone. Post-spawn fish have been hungry and in a positive feeding mode with steady sunny weather. Targeting 100 to 130 feet of water has been good with an assortment of paddle tail swim baits on 1 1/2-ounce jig heads.

Keuka Lake is producing good numbers of lake trout around spawning areas says Gaulke.

Expect good pike and pickerel action on overcast days with some wind or in the early morning or late evening on clearer days. Weed growth is still green and abundant throughout the region. Seneca Lake is turning on. Expect all the Finger Lakes with pike and pickerel to be fishing well.

Perch fishing should be very good on Cayuga, Owasco, Canandaigua and Skaneateles lakes. Gaulke expects fish to be from shallow water (less than 10 feet) to around 25 feet. Look deeper if you don’t find them shallow.

Walleye fishing is good with most fish caught vertical jigging on the north basin according to Capt. Mike Sperry with Chautauqua Reel Outdoors. From 35 to 50 feet of water around the deeper holes is the best areas to find them. Top baits have been No. 7 and No. 9 Jigging Raps, 1¼- to 2-ounce Gotchas and Snap Raps. The water is clear, so fluorocarbon leader line helps. Sperry advises to bring hooked fish to the surface slowly to avoid air bladder issues, especially with undersized fish or any fish to be released. Musky fishing has been good but trolling and covering water is working best this fall. Short line trolling baits like Llungen 22 Longs, Tuff Shads, and Leo Mojos are working in shallow water, tight to remaining weeds. Long line trolling jointed Stalkers and Wiley’s will pick up fish as well. Don’t be afraid to keep the trolling speeds around 4-5 mph.