OBSERVER Photo by Gene Pauszek Fishing has been good lately, but with lots of wind.

The fishing has been pretty good for a lot of anglers and hopefully will improve with the weather. Unfortunately, the wind doesn’t want to co-operate often enough.

Walleye anglers have been reporting a good nocturnal walleye bite at various traditional spawning areas.

Saturday evening there were close to three dozen trailers in the Dunkirk lot well after 9:30 p.m. Jason Robinson, a warm-water species biologist at the Dunkirk based fisheries station commented that the DEC found numerous walleye on the spawning beds across the county, with the majority being males.

The DEC continues to sample and tag walleye and other species for study. The DEC hopes to tag 180 walleye this year with transmitters, which when caught and returned will pay a $100 reward. Metal tags will also be used.

Robinson reported that after Wednesday evening three tags have already been returned.

Stick baits are the way to go this time of year, and one savvy angler commented, “If you are using waders and you are in water up to your waist, you are out too deep!” One angler confirmed that comment, finding a two-man limit of walleyes while casting out of their boat, fishing rocky shoals in three feet of water. Think about it! Why troll around and leave active fish (and put up with boat traffic) when you can stay on active fish. A good head lamp will help.

The DEC also commented that they recently stocked 80,000 lake trout, depositing them about a mile and a half northwest of the Dunkirk Harbor in 70 feet of water.

Bass anglers are having a good time connecting with small mouth bass locally, and yellow perch catches are starting to improve out of “the Cat” in about 50 feet of water just east of the mouth.

Calico are on the feed again on Chautauqua lake in about eight feet of water. Try the Grass Isles, Lakewood Bar, and Shore Acres. Walleye catches are improving near shore and during daylight — head for deeper water. Casting from shore and using waders is also working for walleye at night.

Calendar:

The Southtowns Walleye Association will host their monthly meeting tonight starting at 7:30 p.m. Visitors are invited to attend and also join their annual walleye tournament which is scheduled for June 11 through June 19. Entry fee is $70 which includes a $35 membership. You must be a member to participate. In addition SWA is having a one day yellow perch contest on Saturday, May 20. Entry fee is $10, for members. The contest starts at 6 a.m. and concludes at 2 p.m. All weigh-ins are at the club located at 5895 Southwestern Boulevard, Hamburg. Awards and a fish dinner will take place after the weigh-in. Thursday (tonight) is the last day to enter the perch contest.

The Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy will have a nature Preserve Grand Opening on Sunday May 21 at 1 p.m. at the Chautauqua Creek Oxbow Forest Preserve located on Lyon’s road, Chautauqua N.Y. for more information contact the CWC at info@chautauquawatershed.org or call (716) 664-2166.

The 13th annual “Teach Me to Fish” day at the Bison City Rod & Gun Club is on Sunday, May 28 from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m. The event is for kids 15 years of age and under, who would like to learn about fishing. There will be numerous hands-on learning stations, free prizes hand outs and Sahlen hotdogs. The event is free. Bison City R&G is located at 511 Ohio St. Buffalo, N.Y.

There will be a pistol permit course held at the Northern Chautauqua Conservation Club on May 28 from 2:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. There is a mandatory fee of $75 for the course. For details call Gary Dudek at 366-3397.

A preview of upcoming activities at the Bear Lake Rod & Gun Club include: On May 20, there will be a Rimfire spinner target shoot. Registration for gun events are from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. All events are open to the public.

For more information, contact Rod Becker at 485-2773. The Bear Lake Rod & Gun Club is located at 4391 Cassadaga-Stockton Road, Stockton.

The Northern Chautauqua Conservation Club Take-A-Kid-Fishing Day is Saturday, June 3. Applications for attending this event are now available at the Con Club. New kids get a free fishing rod & reel, and all youths 15 years of age and under receive a t-shirt, grab bag of fishing gear, a morning of fishing and hands on activities at the Con Club from 10 a.m. until noon. Picnic cuisine is also served for all who attend and help. There is a $10 fee to off set the cost, but the smiles and memories are priceless! All kids must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. If you know someone who would like to attend, you can contact me also at 366-1772 and leave a name and phone number and a time you can be reached.

Boating safety courses offered by the US Coast Guard Auxiliary, Flotilla 34 will be held on June 17 Paddle Sports America at CNRC Center from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. and June 24 at the Ashville Firehall, 5338 Stow Road, Ashville from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. For information, or to register, call Judy at 785-2198.

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, N.Y. 14048, or call the Sports Dept. 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.

Gene Pauszek is an OBSERVER outdoors columnist. Send comments to sports@observertoday.com.