×

Ice or not, good fishing still to be had

Sportsman’s Journal

OBSERVER Photo by Gene Pauszek No ice, no problem. Fishing is still good, weather permitting.

Like the old saying states, “There is no place like home!”

My family and I visited Connecticut over the Christmas Holiday and had a great time. Lots of rocks, boulders, trees and waterways. The highways were smooth for the most part, the buildings and houses were picture perfect, and a noticeable lack of graffiti all added up to a pleasant experience.

Checking in for a local fishing report, I found that a week ago during the relatively calm weather for late December, the perch fishing off Cattaraugus Creek was very good for a number of anglers. Several limit catches of yellow perch were reported. Sometimes the fish were scattered, but with a little effort, during the right weather conditions you can still connect with these tasty panfish. As a bonus, several anglers reported hooking up with walleye in the same area.

The walleye fishing has also been very good for anglers fishing out of the Buffalo Small Boat Harbor. Captain Larry Jones, the president of the Eastern Lake Erie Charter Association, reports that on several occasions, weather permitting, anglers have been launching out of the B SB Harbor and heading out to the North and South Gap. There is an area that has been dredged out to 30 feet deep. As the depth decreases to 26-27 feet, the walleye are stacked up like cord wood. Captain Jones reports, the anglers anchor over the fish and jig for them. Sonics and jigging Rapalas are the go to baits with fire tiger always a good starting color. The guys have been limiting out with most of the fish in the 18 to 21 inch range.

The Niagara River has also been producing nice catches of steel head and walleye. For the walleye, try drifting small blade worm harnesses tipped with an emerald shiner. Trolling kwik fish along the bottom at Devil’s Hole and the Art Park has been producing numerous hook-ups on steelhead. Locally the steelhead fishing has been slow, especially with the dirty water after the recent wind storm. Smaller hard bottom creeks have offered some action, and Chautauqua Creek has been the most productive of the local creeks lately.

Calendar: There will be a pistol course on Sunday, at the Northern Chautauqua Conservation Club from 2:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. There is an $85 fee for attending this course. Contact Gary Dudek at 366-3397 for registration and details.

The Greater Niagara Falls Fishing and Outdoor Expo will be held on Jan. 18-20. This is a great way to start of the new year with three days of intense walleye education from over a dozen regional and local experts. Many of these seminars are free. Look for the latest in fishing gear to be on display and for sale. For more information go to www.NiagaraFishingExpo.com. The Lakeshore Longbeards, our local chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, will be having their next meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 2 at Liberty Vineyards Winery, located on Route 20 in Sheridan. The agenda will include the introduction of the new Regional Director Brian Gottfried, as well as a look at what will be available for the 2019 membership drive/fundraiser. The banquet date has been set for Saturday, Jan. 19. The meetings are always open to the public. Tickets are on sale, by contacting Rich Lazarczyk, Gary Dudek, Gary Burmaster, Bob Turk, Leroy Franklin, or Scott Dibble. A ticket would make a great Christmas gift for the turkey hunter(s) on your gift list. Tickets must be paid for and turned in by Jan. 12 for early bird prize consideration.

There will be a Gun Show on Jan. 19-20 at 11861 Sportsmans Road, (off Route 18), Conneaut Lake, PA. The show on Saturday will be from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. Adult admission is $5, children under 12 years of age free with an adult. For more information go to LRsportingevents.com or call Larry at 792-9972.

Free Monday night fly tying instruction has resumed on Monday nights at the Northern Chautauqua Conservation Club, located at Mullet Street in Dunkirk. Classes are for all levels of fly tying, but especially for beginners. No equipment is necessary. All participants get to keep their productions. Classes are from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. The classes are open to the public. Sometimes they even have homemade cookies! Note that the Monday night fly tyers will be taking a break over the Christmas holiday. Con Club Fly tying will resume on Monday, Jan. 7.

The Children of the Stream Youth Fly Fishing Program will be starting its 18th year of providing weekly free fly tying and fly fishing classes to both youths and adults in our area. Note that classes will switch from Wednesday evenings from 7 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. to Tuesday evenings at the Costello Community Room (P84) in the new addition to the Rockefeller Arts Center at SUNY Fredonia. You do not need any prior experience to attend these classes, and the course is geared towards ages 10 and older. For more information contact Alberto Rey at 410-7003 or alberto@albertorey.com.

If your club or organization is holding a hunter safety training/trapping course or a turkey shoot or any other outdoors event, and would like to see it posted in the calendar, send information to the OBSERVER, 10 East Second Street, Dunkirk, NY 14048, or call the sports department at 366-3000 ext. 5 after 6 p.m.

Note: If you have a big game fishing or trapping success story you would like to share, call 366-1772, or 467-2079 and leave a name, phone number and a time you can be reached. You can also call 366-3000, ext. 5, after 6 p.m. or email sports@observertoday.com.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today