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A check of the fishing report

Submitted Photo Brian Kempf displays a nice brown trout he caught while drift fishing the Niagara River near the Art Park.

There are a number of people who are enjoying this mild winter. My (our) mother, Anne Pauszek, used to say that if there isn’t any snow on the ground around Christmas, look out because that usually brings sickness. In the meantime, we can enjoy the lower heating bills, lack of shoveling and easier walking/traveling.

There has been some stream fishing locally, with anglers reporting they have to do a little walking to find fish, but in general there has not been a lot of fishing effort. Clear Lake in North Collins has been seeing a lot of ice fishing pressure with 50 or more anglers present daily. The last report was that there is 5 or 6 inches of ice. This area was just made available to the public, so a reminder to please remove litter if you do visit this area.

There is open water reported on the north end of Chautauqua lake and some ice at the southern end. With the recent warm trend you may want to call in advance for ice conditions. Gerri Beiger at Bill’s Hooks reports that a few local anglers have been finding success with salmon, while fishing the tributaries at Lake Ontario. Rick Miller in Irving reports that, earlier in the week, several veteran anglers tried their luck fishing for yellow perch offshore without much success. The wind has been working up the lake frequently. My contact for the Lower Niagara River reports that earlier in the week the water was very muddy, so they opted out early. On the previous trip they did well near the Art Park area, drifting a single bead, egg imitation. Green has been the go-to color, followed by orange, pink and red.

Just a suggestion: With the mild winter we are having, springtime could arrive sooner than expected. Now might be a good time to organize the tackle box, change or sharpen your hooks and fillet knives and check and change your fishing line. Now is the right time to drop off your rod & reels to get the lead core line and leader changed, rather then the day before the walleye tournament starts. Check the boat to make sure the battery charger is working, and the batteries get toasty. Did you remember to add a fuel stabilizer? You get my drift.

This pandemic won’t last forever, so many groups are making plans for the future. The Northern Chautauqua Conservation Club is thinking about re-establishing the Take -A -kid-Fishing for this year. Historically it is on the first Saturday of June. We will keep you posted. Send us information on your planned activities for the spring and summer. Think happy thoughts! GO BILLS!

CALENDAR

Southtowns Walleye Association is making plans for another great walleye tournament in 2021. The pandemic has shut down the monthly meetings for now. There will be a great early-bird prize raffle for the members. You can keep in touch online with other club activities by going to www.southtownswalleye.com/derby.

Gun Shows: Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania, Jan. 23-24, located at 11861 Sportsman Road, Conneaut Lake; Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. For information, contact Larry Spicer at 716-792-9972 or go to LRgunshows@gmail.com Tables available.

The New York State Winter Fishing Classic Fishing Tournament runs from Jan. 1 until Feb. 28. This event is open to all NYS waters. For details, go to www.nyiceproam.com.

If you have a story or a photo you would like to share call, 366-1772, 785-3659 or 366-3000 ext 3 after 6 p.m. Leave a name and number and a time you can be reached .

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