Fallsnewspress.com - Niagara River provides fishing challenge in all seasons

Most fishing spots have a prime season for catching fish.

For most waters, spring and summer are the common hot times. Mention fall and winter and many anglers just shrug their shoulders.

Well, the Niagara River is a unique fishing spot because it is hot during all four seasons of the year.

Connecting Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, not only does this rather short river have large amounts of resident fish, but it also experiences migrations of fish from lakes Ontario and Erie.

The most common tactic for catching these fish uses a three-way swivel rod with a pencil lead for a sinker. A fluorocarbon leader tied to a hook baited with live bait completes the outfit.

The means angler is actually fishing -- feeling the bite and setting the hook the old-fashioned way.

Here's a brief primer on some of Niagara's top fish:

Salmon

King or Chinook salmon start making forays into the lower Niagara in September.

Migrating upstream from Lake Ontario, some of these fish exceed 30 pounds. These are the giants that test the mettle of the angler and his tackle. Clusters of salmon eggs are the bait of choice for salmon.

During the salmon season, an occasional steelhead (rainbow trout) and brown trout also are landed.

Once in a while, a sturgeon will grab the bait. Though some exceed six feet in length, if landed, they must be released.

The best salmon fishing usually runs from the last 10 days of September to the first few weeks of October.

Trout

As the salmon action slows, trout come into the lower river in increasing numbers.

Lake trout start showing up in late October. They can be caught all winter and into May in both the Niagara and the bar at the river's mouth.

Around Thanksgiving, numbers of steelhead intermingle with the lakers. This has been my favorite time to fish because lake trout up to 20 pounds, along with 30-inch steelhead are caught in huge numbers. Spawn sacks, minnows, and Kwikfish lures are productive trout baits.

The steelhead trout action continues to be good all winter long.

Cold water can be dangerous, but it is why there are trout in the river until the end of April.

Getting an experienced guide is recommended when fishing the Niagara River, because sections of the river have strong currents and rocks.

Bass and walleye

Starting the first Saturday in May to the third Saturday in June, it is trophy smallmouth bass time in the upper Niagara River.

Anglers fish at the mouth of the Niagara River, but only one smallmouth can be kept during this period.

So why fish at this time? Big fish are the answer. Fish weighing in at 3 to 5 pounds are very common and days of catching over 50 fish a day are not uncommon.

A trophy-size bass can be hooked at this time, but be prepared for a fight. Crayfish and shiner minnows are very productive baits.

From June on, smallmouth can be taken from humps and structure at the river's mouth, in Lake Erie and around Grand Island.

To catch walleye, the most common method uses a three-way swivel rig with a spinner and a hunk of crawler. It is drifted and slow-trolled with electric motor.

Walleye are caught into September and smallmouth bass are caught well into October.

Muskellunge

Muskellunge or muskie are the fish of 10,000 casts because they usually ignore angler's baits and are tough to land.

In November, some huge muskie come into the upper Niagara to feed on baitfish. One day, one of my fishing parties hooked seven muskie and boated five.

The biggest that day was 48.5 inches. That's why they're worth the casts.

Big baitfish on a three-way swivel are the most common rigs. However, the day we fished, we also caught them casting crankbaits.

For information on fishing the river and guide service, contact Joe Cinelli at 716-773-7910 or cinellijoe@aol.com. Lodging, restaurants and tourist information may be obtained from Niagara County Tourism at 1-877-FALLSUS.

E-mail: stowsports@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3113