Syracuse.com - Oswego River angler files comprehensive fishing report

[HuntingNY-News]

"I don't know what it is, but sometimes inclement weather turns the fish on!"

The following report was filed by Ken Esser, of Oswego, a veteran Oswego River fishermen.

Finally there are some fish in the Oswego Harbor behind the motels on both sides of the Oswego River. They were quite late in coming this year for unknown reasons; the low water levels in the early part of December might have had something to do with it.

For the past week or more the bank fishermen have had some respectable double-digit catches, ALL BROWNS. Haven’t seen a rainbow or a steelhead in weeks.

Most of the browns are in the 3 to 4 lb category with a few 5 to 8 lb fish in the mix.

Unbelievable though it may seem, most fish have been caught on jigs, usually white in color; made of soft plastic such as the Berkley power bait realistix, SCM13-SMLT 3” scented smelt model or several other soft plastic models that are probably more often used for bass fishing.

The old reliable 1/8 oz white marabou jig fished under either a stationary bobber or a slip bobber depending on the depth of water being fished is almost always productive.

The same jigs 1/4 oz or 3/8 oz fished using a bottom bouncing technique (No bobber) is often very productive in the deeper water behind the motels which is usually 12 to 18 ft deep at this time of the year.

Bucktail jigs also work well. When the water is a bit cloudy it often pays to use brighter color jigs such as yellow or chartreuse. When the water is clear white seems to be the best.

Back in November and early December BEADS in various colors and sizes was THEEEEEE Ticket for taking all three species of trout and even an occasional Laker; egg sacks and egg imitation flies were probably the number 2 technique to catch the trout.

At this specific time of the year, it seems the jig is in first place, at least in the Oswego River. BTW, small, floating, neutral buoyancy, (suspending), or deepdiving plugs, depending on the depth of water being fished also have their innings. The Pin-Minnow is very effective at times; generally speaking natural colors work the best, however, as with many types of techniques, a change of pattern or color can often make the difference, especially when they are playing hard to get.

Yesterday I landed 5 for 8, on jigs and today it was 6 for 8 all on jigs again. Some anglers have been doing much better than that and of course the drift boats catch incredible numbers.

Before ending this report I have to mention the weather. About a week ago a fairly heavy snow storm (12”) rolled in with approximately 20 to 30 MPH winds. Most people wouldn’t leave the house on a day like this, right?

My friend caught 17 browns that day and another angler caught 11; I stayed home.

Don’t know what it is but sometimes inclement weather turns them ON! Yesterday there were some 1 ft waves on the west side of the river and I was very skeptical about fishing a 1/4 oz white soft plastic jig about 8 ft under a bobber............5 for 8, including two that measured 27”, in about one hour wasn’t bad under those conditions.

After that I decided to call it a day and went home to warm up, or should I say thaw out.

Catch ya later folks..............Ken.

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog