Syracuse.com - The late fall fishing in CNY is something to be relished.

[HuntingNY-News]

"Late fall is the best time to go fishing – for everything."

Professional fishing guide Justin Winkle, center, with Chris, left, and Joe, right, Zogby on the Salmon River in Pineville. Dick Blume/The Post-Standard

Sure, it’s hunting season. But don’t put your fishing rod away just yet.

Thanks to a stretch of warm, sunny days, the late fall fishing season in Central New York continues to be hot. This time of year fish are aggressively feeding in preparation for the winter.

“Late fall is the best time to go fishing – for everything,” said Charlie Coleman, of Bearwood Bait and Tackle in Mottville.

The following is a wrapup of the fishing opportunities that anglers have been tapping into the past week.

Steelhead and big browns

Despite low water levels, the Salmon and Oswego rivers tops the list of places to check out if steelhead and big brown trout are your preference.

“The fishing is right where it’s supposed to be for this time of year. There’s lots of fish in the river,” said Kevin Foster, a guide with Salmon River Outfitters.

“The upper and lower fly stretches are doing well. Down below the bridge in the Lower Fly Fishing area anglers are using natural egg sacks under a float with trout beads. The (artificial) pink worms are also doing working.”

Dave Paro, a guide with Dave’s Executive Guide Service, said there’s currently “a lot of brown trout” in the Oswego River.

Joe Brown, from Poughkeepsie, wets his line on the Salmon River in Pineville. Dick Blume/The Post-Standard

“There’s a mix of rainbows and steelhead in there, too,” he said, adding the most successful anglers are using trout beads and regular egg sacks.

“Mother Nature has been kind. Even with the warm fall and the low conditions, the salmon run didn’t seem that affected this year,” he said. “It was actually one of the best years in 20 to 25 years that I’ve seen.”

If you go to the Oswego River, Paro cautioned, make sure to wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket if you wade out into the water. If you don’t have one, the Oswego Fire Department is providing loaners.

Walleye/perch fishing

By all accounts, the late evening shoreline fishing scene on Oneida Lake for walleye was a disappointment this fall, due to the large numbers of gizzard shad and other baitfish that kept the fish fed and elusive.

“There still are a bunch of guys eking out a few walleyes,” said James Daher of Mickey’s Bait and Tackle in North Syracuse. “A good spot is underneath the Route 81 bridge in Brewerton and up the river at the Caudenoy Dam.”

Meanwhile, the Oneida Lake perch fishing has been on fire lately.

“Especially on the east end on the lake You need a boat. You can launch at the state launch there,” Daher said. He said the perch are schooling, but anglers have to search a little to find them.

“They’re getting around the deep drop-offs from a point or a shoal in about 20-plus feet,” he said. “They’re big and their hungry.”

Bass fishing

The regular bass fishing season continues until Nov. 30 and bass anglers are taking advantage of the warm weather.

“There’s still tournaments going on Oneida Lake. I fished one last weekend,” said Dereck Bigford, of Cicero on Wednesday. “The winners turned in five fish weighing 21.69 pounds – all smallmouth. The biggest one was about 5.3 pounds.”

“In regard to absolute numbers and sure size of fish, the fall is really hard to beat,” said Mike Cusano, of Clay.

Cusano said he fished a tournament on the Mohawk River a couple of weeks ago, and planned to fish the Oneida River and Onondaga Lake during Thanksgiving weekend.

“You have to put in a little work to find the fish. But once you find them, you can catch a pile of them,” he said.

Dan Morgan, of Cazenovia, with a nice fall brown he caught on Chittenango Creek.

Courtesy of Dan Morgan

Stream trout fishing

The regular trout season in Central New York closed Oct. 15.

However, there are three, local, year-round streams currently open for fishing – Chittenango, Limestone and Butternut creeks.

“In the fall, the fish are starting to spawn and want to put on some winter weight. “With the water getting colder, the fish get more aggressive,” said Eric Stanczyk, of Baldwinsville.

Most of the tributaries on Skaneateles, Owasco and Otisco lakes are open for trout fishing until Dec. 31. In addition, West Canada Creek, which offers a catch and release “trophy section” in Poland, is open for angling until Nov. 30. Another section of that waterway is open year-round for catch-and release fishing.

For those willing to drive, the West Branch of the Delaware River is open for catch- and -release fishing now and through the winter.

If you open the DEC fishing regulations book, you can find some other nearby streams that are open this time of year,” Stanczyk said.

Skaneateles rainbows

As the weather cools, the shoreline fishing for rainbow trout and landlocked salmon on Skaneateles Lake picks up.

Popular spots include Lourdes Camp and downtown in the village in the park next to the Skaneateles Episcopal Church – along with various other spots up and down the lake.

The most productive technique is the worm/marshmallow rig. The rig basically consists of a bell sinker or some other weight at the end of the line. Anglers then put a leader off the main line, and attach a hook with a night crawler and a marshmallow on it.

The marshmallow floats and keeps the worm and hook off the bottom – making it an appetizing treat for a hungry rainbow or landlocked salmon cruising by.

Kevin Bohemier, of Baldwinsville, holds up an impressive, 25-plus inch rainbow trout he recently caught from shore at Lourdes Camp on Skaneateles Lake. Submitted photo

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog