Anglers should be able to find a cure for the ill winds that crossed Western New York waters throughout the Labor Day Weekend.

Boaters on Lake Erie could not search for perch; most boaters on Lake Ontario were shore-bound while trout and salmon schools tightened and moved closer to shore this past week.

Breezes continue, but not the 40-plus mph blasts that pushed waves over breakwaters and stained and stirred shoreline waters on the big lakes.

Experts on both Erie and Ontario look to good conditions for fishing later this week. Prevailing winds should allow boaters to prevail on perch, work walleye waters, and go about trolling for trout and salmon this coming week.

Lake Erie

Before the weekend winds, boaters had had all kinds of fun with perch schools. The bite turned on from just east of Sturgeon Point to well west of Cattaraugus Creek.

For the first time in decades, vehicles with trailers filled the Sturgeon Point Marina parking lot and spilled out way up the hill on Sturgeon Point Road several days last week.

Crowding also occurred at Cattaraugus Creek ramp sites last week, but, Tuesday morning, as had been true all weekend, rough waves kept perchers sitting on shore.

Perch fishermen discovered schooling at depths from 40 to about 70 feet off Sturgeon Point, Evangola State Park, and The Catt. A fair amount of perch packing showed west of Barcelona Harbor, but the Buffalo-area bunch finally got the good bite closer to home.

What sparked the perch fireworks were several reports of ringbacks caught not only on salted emerald shiners, but also a good number of hits and hogs taken with nightcrawler sections, and artificial baits resembling emerald shiners.

Now, it's a waiting game to see if the perch will still play. Rick Miller at Miller's Bait & Tackle had gotten word of a few smaller steelies running up the Catt. Casters have yet to connect off the break wall and most of the activity is below the Routes 5 and 20 Bridge, but the rainbow/steelhead trout run has begun.

Walleye trollers were having trouble dotting the 'eyes before the wind storm. Last word was at least 80 feet well west of Cattaraugus Creek and just east of Dunkirk Harbor.

Niagara River

Perch have made a fair showing at sites around the upper river this past week. Look for open-water casting sites and try smaller minnows.

No word on musky activity for trollers or casters, but Strawberry Island had been a focal point for boaters most of last week.

Lower river waters have cleared, and a few kings were caught off the power plant pier. But that fishery is at early stages.

Bass are a blast for drifters virtually anywhere on the lower river. A drop-shot rig, tub jigs or live bait (minnows of crayfish) are big items for smallmouth bass as waters remain at summer temperatures.

Lake Ontario

Winds kept most boaters off Ontario's open waters, but the kings are moving in along the entire Western New York shoreline.

Olcott has been the hot spot for salmon and trout trollers. Oak Orchard Point drew salmonids well for the past two weeks. Now, the Niagara River/Fort Niagara Bar offers good opportunities to hook a Chinook.

Trollers bucked high waves late last week to reach salmon cruising the bar. Both spoons and a flasher-and-fly rig caught kings -- when boaters could get on the water.

Chautauqua Lake

Perch remains the lead species for Chautauqua anglers, but musky regulars see this as one of the best seasons in recent years.

Yellow perch -- and schools of sizeable sunfish -- have been the staple catch along weed edges in both the North and South Basins of the lake.

Musky trollers and casters have hooked up with tons of teeth this past summer, and the mid-depths fishery continues for boaters working long, minnow-type baits -- both those with lips for wobbling and stick baits for the "injured minnow" look.

Summer heat has also provided a good smallmouth and largemouth bass fishery.

Bait regs remarks

Anglers interested in restoring bait transportation along Great Lakes corridors have until Friday to submit remarks on proposed baitfish regulations changes.

To submit remarks, write to: Shawn Keeler, NYSDEC, 625 Broadway, 5th Floor, Albany, N.Y. 12233-4750 or email: sxkeeler@gw.dec.state.ny.us.

Plotting the fish odyssey

Lower Niagara River regulars recall the fateful day in the fall of 2005 when Capt. Steve White, working a charter, was drowned. This year's 34th Annual Great Niagara Fish 2010 Odyssey will be dedicated in memory of White.

Entrants in the Odyssey can win prizes in divisions for salmon, steelhead/brown trout, lake trout, smallmouth bass, walleye, and carp taken from waters of Orleans, Niagara, and Erie Counties.

For more details on the Fish Odyssey, call 282-8992 (ext. 303) or go to fishodyssey.net.

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