Syracuse.com - June 6-8: Great chinook salmon fishing on Lake Ontario; water fleas on Owasco and Cayuga lakes

[HuntingNY-News]

Trout streams are low and clear. We need more rain. CNY FISHING FORECAST Bait stores (list and map). CAYUGA LAKE There are continued reports of water fleas. They can make trolling frustrating, so be prepared with flea flicker line. Lake trout are being caught on spoons and Spin Doctors and flies fished 50 to 200 feet down over 50 to 250 feet of water. Vertical jigging has also been good for lake trout in 75 to 95 feet of water. Bass fishing continues to be good at both the north and south ends. CROSS LAKE/SENECA RIVER Anglers are catching some nice bass and crappies on bass minnows. INLAND TROUT STREAMS Streams are low and clear. We need more rain. To find out how many trout (and what kind) are stocked in your favorite Onondaga County stream, call 689-0003. To hear the DEC’s weekly fishing report, which includes a list of streams that have been stocked in Region 7, call 607-753-1551. LAKE ONTARIO Chinook salmon fishing has been good lately, particularly in the Mexico Bay and Oswego areas. Fish are being caught in 150 to 300 feet of water, fishing down to 100 to 125 feet in those waters. Anglers are getting them on flashers and flies and some spoons. For those anglers targeting brown trout, fish in 80 to 100 feet of water, tight to the bottom.ONEIDA LAKE Walleye anglers continue to do well, but the fish are starting to move to deeper water with the warm weather. Good baits continue to be bucktail jigs tipped with a minnow or night crawler, spinner-and-worm rigs, Dixie spinners and worms and other blade baits. Bass and pickerel fishing also continue to be very good in most of the lake. OSWEGO RIVER Smallmouth bass bite has been good with artificial and live bait both working. Anglers are also catching sheepshead, white perch, catfish and rock bass are active throughout the river using crayfish or worms.OTISCO LAKE Reports of some big smallmouth bass being taken this week on plastic baits. OWASCO LAKE Warm weather has slowed the bite this week. Reports of water fleas have started on the lake, particularly on the west side of the lake around Fayes Point. Water fleas can make trolling difficult; try flea flicker line or vertical jigging. Lake trout are being taken in 65 to 85 foot of water on alewives. Apart from the trout, anglers have been enjoying some good bass and perch fishing this past week.SALMON RIVER Flow is low and slow. Some reports of smallbass being caught, along with an occasional skamania steelhead or Atlantic salmon. SANDY POND Northern pike fishing continues to be good for anglers using Rapalas and spinnerbaits.SENECA LAKE Reports of lots of northern pike being taken around the Watkins Glen, Dresden and Sampson State Park areas of the lake. Best technique is to float a sawbelly minnow underneath a slip bottom about 15 feet down. Also, lake trout are being taken about 100 feet down, using streamer flies behind Spin Doctors. Salmon bite has been off lately. SKANEATELES LAKE Bass fishing along the shore continues to be good with a variety of plastic baits working. Some perch are still being taken on jigs and fathead minnows in 25 feet of water. Anglers pulling wire are getting some lake trout on spoons, but overall, trout fishing has been slow.SODUS BAY Bass fishing has been good in the shallows, out to about 12 feet of water. Good lures have been spinnerbaits, topwaters and a variety of plastics. ST. LAWRENCE RIVER Bass are biting on spinner baits and crayfish in about 30 feet of water. Northerns are hitting a little bit shallower. Try a bucktail jig or red and white spoon. WHITNEY POINT RESERVOIR Trolling with worm harnesses and night crawlers is still producing lots of walleye action, but many are under the 18-inch minimum. Best times to fish are early in the morning or late in the evening. Lots of bass being taken on stickbaits or crankbaits.

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog