Fishing Line /By Will Elliott
Lake Erie
The night walleye bite is just about right for trollers well after dark off much of the Hamburg shoreline and on either side of Van Buren Point west of Dunkirk Harbor. Boaters run long lines and—where boat traffic allows—side planers run at shallow settings. Some of the bigger catches have come with smaller minnow-typebaits— No. 7 or 9 Rapalas, Jr. Thundersticks, etc.
Day trollers have not put good numbers of ’eyes together yet, but sonar screens have shown good views of suspended bait schools east and west of Cattaraugus Creek.
Deeper is dapper for perch prospects. A few boaters have found schools at odd sites in 20-30 feet of water, but the better catches come from far-out depths in the 45-to 55-foot range. The biggest concentration of boats this past week has been east of the Catt to Evangola State Park.
Bass are everywhere. Casters and trollers hit into bigger smallmouths with anything that wiggles and/or wobbles along rocky drop-offs. From the outer breakwaters of Buffalo Harbor to the sunken mini islands around Brockton Shoals, bass are on the bite. Gobycolored (brown/gray/dark green) jigs (lead-head or tube) all bring bass to the surface. For a variety, try either trolling or casting the smaller Hot ’N Tots.
Lake Ontario
Salmon just keep swimming closer to shore than usual for late May. East winds have stirred things up over 100-to 250-foot depths, but trollers still can run spoons, flashers, and stinger rigs for Chinook salmon moving close to the surface at sunrise. Problem is, kings have been chasing bait anywhere from 20 feet down to close to bottom at 150 feet. Even with runs out to 250-foot depths, hits come well most mornings. For spoons, the NK has gotten the most mention this spring season. Along shore, perch have shown best at Oak Orchard and Olcott Harbor, with crappie mainly at Wilson Harbor. But some buckets at Olcott have also seen fair numbers of crappie this season.
Keuka Lake
While shoreline anglers search for perch, catch and release bass, or chase down post-spawn bluegills, the deep-water fishery abounds—especially with live bait, says Capt. Dave Durkee of Finger Lakes Guide Service. Durkee has been anchoring deep for a good assortment of lake trout, with a few good brown trout and landlocked salmon thrown into the mix. He fishes out of Jake’s Boat Livery on the southwest corner of the lake north of Hammondsport. For an update, check with him at (315) 730-8333 or go to flguideservice. com.
Photo that fish
Anglers with good photos of great catches can have their trophy shots displayed on the Fishing Page of The Buffalo News’ Web site ( www.buffalonews.com/fishing ). New photos will be added as they are received. To get your photo published, e-mail it along with a brief description of the catch, including the name and home (city, town or village) of the angler, the location of the catch and how the fish was caught to the e-mail address listed below.
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