The popular Lake Ontario Counties Trout and Salmon Derby wrapped up May 10 after ten days of thrilling weigh-ins, leaderboard shuffling and enough silver-sided salmon to keep camera shutters clicking from Wilson to Wayne County.

The biggest story belonged to East Amherst angler Joe Yaeger, fishing alongside his brother Paul Yaeger of Grand Island. While trolling the Niagara Bar on May 7, the duo hooked into a heavyweight king salmon that smashed a Dark Hero Salmon Candy spoon, tipping the official scales at a whopping 24 pounds, 5 ounces. The fish earned them the $15,000 grand prize, a $1,000 LOTSA award and a $500 fish-of-the-day bonus — not bad for a morning on the water.

And according to veteran Charter Captain Frank Campbell, the action hasn’t slowed one bit.

“It’s like anywhere else,” Campbell noted. “Fishing can fluctuate from day to day depending on wind and what it does to water temperatures and the Niagara River plume that flows into Lake Ontario.”

Photo by Frank Campbell Joe Yaeger of East Amherst caught the winning LOC Derby fish on the Niagara Bar, a 24-pound, 5-ounce king salmon to win $16,500 in prizes.

Translation? The fish are there. You just have to outsmart them before they outsmart you.

That chess match played out perfectly during the Wilson Harbor Invitational Salmon Tournament last weekend. Captain Pete Alex of Vision Quest Fishing teamed with Kevin McClean of Pittsburgh, Lucas Rupp of Erie and Eric Kelly of Wilson for a strategic two-day gamble that paid off handsomely.

Day one began off the old Somerset power plant in relatively shallow water, 45 to 55 feet deep, where smaller fish dominated. Alex adjusted quickly, pushing into 175 to 220 feet of water and switching from spoons to a meat program. The deeper spread immediately connected with larger kings, and the team boxed enough quality fish to finish third for the day behind Captain Rich Hajecki and the Yankee Troller crew.

On day two, while nearly the entire tournament fleet ran east, Alex zigged while others zagged. Vision Quest headed west to the Niagara Bar and worked 150 to 240 feet of water with a spread that was 75 percent meat rigs and 25 percent spoons. Dreamweaver Spin Doctors and Dreamweaver magnum spoons did most of the damage.

Even with a lighter six-fish box Sunday, the team still posted nearly 300 points and stayed in contention. Meanwhile, Pulaski’s Tom Allen and the A-Tom-Mik team hauled in the day’s biggest catch. Fun stuff with line-stretching action.

Next up on the Lake Ontario tournament calendar is the Skip Hartman Memorial Pro-Am Salmon Tournament out of Wilson and Olcott on June 5-6, with registration due by May 24.

The action hasn’t been limited to salmon, either. In the Upper Niagara River, Marilla angler Steve Brzuszkiewicz discovered that targeting walleyes can become complicated when aggressive bass refuse to leave your lures alone — a problem most anglers would gladly accept. By shortening his trolling lead and lifting stick baits slightly off bottom, he finally connected with walleyes. Shore anglers have also been scoring at the foot of West Ferry Street using swimbaits on heavy jigs.

Meanwhile, during the annual Niagara Falls outdoor media event, Dante Gramuglia of Flambeau Outdoors boated an absolute giant smallmouth bass from Lake Erie weighing 7 pounds — the kind of fish that makes grown anglers giggle like kids at summer camp. With bass season heating up from Dunkirk to Barcelona on Lake Erie, now is prime time for anglers hoping to land the fish of a lifetime.

Gotta love the outdoors.

Outdoors Calendar

May 21: Southtowns Walleye Association, monthly meeting, 5895 Southwestern Blvd., Hamburg, 7 p.m. start.

May 21: Lake Erie Chapter of Fly Fishers International, monthly meeting, Burchfield Center, 2001 Union Rd., West Seneca, guest speaker: Kirk Klingensmith, 7 p.m. start.

June 1: NYS Inland (Chautauqua Lake) Muskellunge/Tiger Musky opening day, minimum length-40″, daily limit-1, season ends Nov. 30. Great Lakes musky season opens June 15.

Submit calendar items to forrestfisher35@yahoo.com at least 10 days in advance.