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Sportfishing Along the Seaway Trail: World-Class All the Way!

By BILL HILTS, Jr.

As the name implies, New York's Seaway Trail is blessed with an abundance of water. It's one of the common bonds that is shared throughout the 454-mile long scenic byway, a trail of tourism destinations that's becoming internationally recognized for beauty, history, culture and a long list of recreational activities. At the top of the list is sportfishing as the Trail is quickly becoming known as a world-class angling Mecca.

  The Seaway Trail has it all for the freshwater fisherman as it flows from Lake Erie to the west, through the mighty Niagara River and over Niagara Falls, into Lake Ontario and out through the St. Lawrence Seaway. Nearly every freshwater species of fish is there for the catching. Haul your own boat, charter a captain, hire a guide or fish from the shore off bank or pier.

Big Water, Big Fish

  The Seaway Trail is made up of two major rivers and two Great Lakes, Erie and Ontario. And like the old adage implies, big water means big fish. The trophy aspect of this diverse fishery is probably the most misunderstood aspect of this fishery. People don't realize how big these fish can get. A total of 13 state record catches of the state's 46 freshwater species come out of Seaway Trail waters. Two of them are world records! And this doesn't even come close to recognizing the many line class records that come from these very waters, either. The best this is that many of these records are modern day. Nine have been set—and broken again —in the last 10 years.

The state's Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) coordinates the fisheries management programs in the state, which includes the stocking of salmon, trout, walleye and even muskie in some waters. They also keep track of the state record catches and even conduct an angler achievement award program each year for fish that are both caught-and-kept and fish that are caught-and-released. Complete information on all these programs can be obtained through the DEC's fishing regulations guide, available wherever

licenses are sold.

Lake Erie's Warm Water Magic

  Lake Erie, the shallowest of the Great Lakes, is a magical waters for warm water fish species. The two most popular species are walleye and smallmouth bass. Several years ago, DEC determined that the smallmouth bass resource was an underrated and underutilized fishery. In an effort to help promote the lake, a special trophy season was added that allowed for anglers to catch and keep one fish over 15 inches long starting the first Saturday in May.

  Traditionally, the statewide bass season opens the third Saturday in June. While most anglers have a tendency to practice catch-and-release in the spring with the bass, one fish that was not thrown back was an eight pound, four ounce fish reeled in by Andrew Kartesz back in 1995. Since the special season was opened, the lake has produced five state record bass. Excellent bass fishing can be realized from May through the end of November, when the season closes, if water temperatures hold up.

  Walleye fishing is also outstanding in Lake Erie, with the season opening the first Saturday in May. Early season action is normally concentrated around the shoreline at night, but as the waters warm and fish migrate around the lake, deep-water action for suspended fish becomes a daily activity from June-September, offering up some of the finest walleye fishing in the Northeast.

  Just a quick side note on the cold water fishery. While not as much of a focus, the state does stock rainbow/steelhead trout, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service stocks lake trout. Both can be caught in the open waters, but the best time for trout (especially steelhead) is from fall to spring when the tributaries swell with these fish. Some outstanding stream fishing is available, with not much fishing pressure. From Buffalo to the Pennsylvania line, every tributary with a good flow of water will have fish in them. The best

has to be Cattaraugus Creek, but Buffalo, Big Sister, 18 Mile, Silver, Canadaway and Chautauqua are all good streams when conditions are ripe.

  Lake Erie also holds the state record catch for yellow perch (3 lbs., 8 oz. reeled in by George Boice back in 1982) and pink salmon (4 lbs., 15 oz. caught by Randy Nyberg in 1985).

The Mighty Niagara

  The Niagara River actually offers two distinctly different fisheries: one above Niagara Falls; the other below the mighty Cataracts. Above the Falls, the waters are shallower and therefore warmer. Walleye, smallmouth and largemouth bass, as well as muskellunge, abound. Once the home for the world record walleye, these productive waters are considered some of the finest for the elusive muskie. In fact, the area between Buffalo and Niagara Falls is one of the tops in the country for catching one of these monsters in the shortest amount of time.

  Below the Falls receives the most attention from anglers as both cold and warm water fish species are available. These waters never freeze, so year-round opportunities for salmon, trout, bass or walleye figure into the angler calendar. In the spring, rainbows will cruise beside lake trout until the waters become too warm. The mouth of the river on the famous Niagara Bar offers lots of action, with the chinook and coho salmon at the top of the list.

  One fish deserving of more respect is the lake trout. These fish will stack up in large numbers at the mouth as they gorge themselves on the baitfish attracted by the nutrient-rich waters of the Niagara River. This is where the state record catch comes from, too—a 39 lb., 8 oz. lunker boated by John Mamrak, Jr. in May of 1994.

  As waters warm up, cold water fish are replaced by smallmouth bass and walleye. The sauger, a close cousin to the walleye, are not caught in any real numbers, but the state record was boated here back in 1990 by Darrin Schwenkbeck when he tricked in a 4 pound, 8 ounce fish.

  Come autumn, the salmon will start to run up into Devil's Hole in September, followed by the lake trout and steelhead in lake October/early November. The lower Niagara is one of the top steelhead fisheries in the country right through to spring.

FISH ONTARIO!

  From April through October, it's not uncommon to hear the cry “Fish On!” around the lake. The rest of the time, action is in the tributaries or in the embayments. In the East Versus West battle, anglers must realize that the fisheries are a bit different at both ends of the lake. However, both offer their own peculiar fisheries that are every bit as outstanding as one another.

  For example, let's take the spring action. If you're looking for trophy brown trout, the Eastern Basin is where you want to be. The state record fish has been broken several times in the Oswego/Mexico Bay area, a mark last set in 1997 when Tony Brown out-fought a 33 lb., 2 oz. behemoth. At the same time in the Western Basin, trollers are chasing spring coho and chinook salmon.

  In the summer, everyone seems to be catching a mixed bag of fish. When the salmon start getting their urge to spawn. One of the best spots to be is off the mouth of the Salmon River to the east, home to many of these fish thanks to the Salmon River Fish Hatchery. The Salmon River holds the chinook salmon record for the Great Lakes, a 47 lb., 13 oz. porker landed by Kurt Killian in 1991. The lake produced the world record coho salmon, a 33 lb., 7 oz. giant, caught by Steve Sheets, Jr. last summer. It beat out the previous world record from the Salmon River by three ounces. It might seem as though many of the salmon are from the east, but many of these salmon are imprinted to various sites along the New York shoreline when they are first stocked, so everyone has a built-in run of salmon. Incidentally, the previous record king salmon came from the west, a 47 pounder taken between Olcott and Point Breeze.

  To the west, a big focus is with deepwater trolling for steelhead trout. Action off Wilson, Olcott and Oak Orchard can be outstanding for trout, as well as salmon, browns and lakers. The state record rainbow/steelhead comes out of Oak Orchard, a 26 lb., 15 oz. silver bullet weighed in by Jerry Szmania back in 1985.

  All the points in between, where east meets west, has excellent fishing to offer. Rochester, Sodus Bay, and Fairhaven all have excellent reputations. Probably the most noteworthy from this section of the lake was the state record Atlantic salmon, a 24 lb., 15 oz. fish taken out of Pultneyville by Mike Dandino in 1997.

  Everyone shares excellent lake trout fishing. Those fish seem to be everywhere! The same goes for smallmouth bass, and to a certain extent, walleye. However, the better walleye fishing, on a more consistent basis, is to the east—especially in and around Henderson Harbor and on down to the Oswego area. Many experts predict that this is where the next state record will come from.

  Other state and world record catches include: Terrance Colwell's state record burbot, a 16 lb., 12 oz fish, from Black River Bay in 1991; and Joe Williams' 1996 world record 11 lb., 11 oz. redhorse sucker from the Salmon River.

  On a side note, a 13 pound redhorse was taken in the Niagara River in the fall of '97, but was disposed of before a biologist was able to “officially” identify it. That is not the first time a record catch was lost before receiving certification. Unknowingly, a state record walleye from Lake Erie was cut up for dinner several years ago, a fish that tipped the scales at around 17 pounds. Know your records!

St. Lawrence River Mystique

  As the waters of Lake Ontario flow out to the Atlantic Ocean, they form the St. Lawrence Seaway—home to the Thousand Islands and a rich tradition in sportfishing. The fish that probably contributed most to that reputation was Arthur Lawton's 69 lb., 15 oz. muskie