LEWISTON, N.Y. — It’s been yet another winter that has challenged open-water anglers in their search to find lakes and rivers that were unfrozen.
However, one of the premier fisheries in the Northeast for trout and salmon species is also one of the few rivers and streams with a fast-moving current that allows it to remain open and seldom freeze.
That fishery is the lower section of the Niagara River in New York, whose rushing current is fed by the plunging water from Niagara Falls and assists in keeping the lower river open. New York’s Niagara River Region includes the Niagara River, flowing from Lake Erie to the falls, downstream from the falls to the river’s mouth at Fort Niagara and a portion of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie.
This area is world famous for fishing and the river holds a great variety of game fish that provides year-round fishing opportunities for species including brown trout, lake trout, king salmon, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, walleye, steelhead and a variety of panfish species. At this time of year, however, steelhead — those dime-bright, migrating rainbow trout — is the No. 1 target species of most anglers on the lower Niagara River.
Guide and Capt. Matt Yablonsky of Wet Net Charters is on the Niagara River throughout the year guiding from his StarCraft Fishmaster 2100 boat. His goal is making each angler’s trip is a successful one, getting his clients from ramp to prime fishing areas quickly with his 150-hp Mercury Optimax outboard engine that overpowers the fastest currents.
Drift fishing is the most effective method for catching steelhead, as the fish rise from the deep pools and channels of the Niagara River to feed on egg sacs and minnows. Both baits are presented in the same way using a three-way swivel, from which Yablonsky ties a 1¾-ounce lead pencil sinker attached to a 12-inch leader from one eye and a No. 12 hook tied to the end of an 8-foot, 8-pound test P-Line Floroclear leader from another eye.
This rig is tied to the reel’s 10-pound test braided Tuf-Line XP line, which is loaded on Shimano Sahara 2500 reels. Yablonsky’s rods of choice for steelhead are 7-foot Fenwick medium-action, extra-fast rods.
Yablonsky makes his mesh-wrapped egg sacs using brown trout or salmon eggs, with orange and pink the most popular mesh colors. A chartreuse or other bright-colored bead is often used to attract and is placed a short distance up from the egg sac. Sometimes two beads are used, attaching one to the egg sac and another above the sac.
“One of the most important things to remember when bottom fishing for steelhead on the Lower Niagara is to keep the main line coming off the rod straight up and down and with the sinker two to six inches off the bottom,” Yablonsky said. “This gives the bait a natural presentation, and the less movement imparted by the angler the better chance of getting bites.”
Steelhead feed actively, but may not hit as aggressively in the extremely cold water as they will later in the spring. They often tend to nibble at the bait, rather than grabbing it and producing a solid strike.
Hesitating briefly before setting the hook allows steelhead to engulf the bait, thus creating more hook-ups and providing Yablonsky with more opportunities to wet the net.
If you go
· For information about fishing Niagara County, call (877) 325-5787 (FALLS US) or access the website at
www.Niagara-usa.com/LakeOntario.
· For information about fishing with Wet Net Charters, contact Capt. Matt Yablonsky at (716) 550-0413 or access his website at www.getthenetwet.com.
· For information on lodging packages at Barton Hill Hotel and Spa, call (716) 754-9070 or access the website at
www.bartonhillhotel.com.