Fishing and Outdoors in WNY: Keeping our fishery world-class

By Capt. Frank Campbell

Destination Niagara USA Director of Outdoor Promotions

After a number of delays, the fish-cleaning station and the upper bathrooms in Lewiston’s waterfront area are finally open. The fish grinder in the building is now “industrial strength” and should ward off breakdowns in the future; the bathrooms are also very welcome following the remodel’s completion. There are now two separate bathrooms in the building.

Hopefully, the previous misuse and vandalism will not return as in past years. The opportunity to use a clean bathroom facility is big plus for both tourists and locals alike. As far as the fishing community, having two bathrooms and a building available to clean one’s catch is a big plus. Just about every out-of-town angler I spoke with is envious of the heated and running water facility we enjoy here in Lewiston. It really is an added bonus that helps separate Lewiston from other areas of the country when it comes to the way our visiting anglers are welcomed.

That being said, there needs to be some thought given to the next set of improvements, as the project took far too long and the level of inconvenience was great. After all, it is the little things that separate the fishery out of Lewiston and brings anglers back year after year.

On the fishing front, the NRAA held its annual steelhead contest last month and the Niagara River did not disappoint. Over 40 anglers competed and, when the dust settled, it was Jack Mings of Amherst reeling in a 13.72-pound steelie for first place. Mings caught the beautiful fish with Capt. Matt Gantress while drifting the Artpark area. Second place went to Josh Jenney of Sayre, Pennsylvania, while fishing with Capt. Dave Scipione; and third place was hauled in by Dan Hunt of Norwalk, Ohio, aboard Capt. Matt Yablonsky’s vessel.

Both second and third place were caught in the Devil’s Hole area drifting egg sacs. Jenney’s fish was a respectable 11.42 pounds while Hunt’s hit the scale at 10.02. Congratulations to all the winners.

We truly do have one heck of a steelhead fishery. A special thanks need to go out to Alan and Julia at the Wicked Worm in Youngstown for the use of their tackle and bait shop as home base for the tournament.

Next on the agenda for the NRAA and local captains will be the pen project in Youngstown, which is vital to continued great steelhead and salmon fishing here in Niagara County. Every year in April, a group of volunteers gather to set net pens around the north dock area of Youngstown. A week later, the pens receive a stocking of both species of fish to be fed and raised for several weeks.

The fish need daily feeding, the pens need cleaning and, a few times during the rearing process, weights are taken to ensure proper growth rates. The process of pen rearing is both labor-intensive and time-consuming, but also very necessary, as pen reared fish survive at a 2.7 to 1 rate, as opposed to direct stocked fish. In the era of cutting the number of trout and salmon stocked into Lake Ontario, we have to make every fish count.

A yearly stocking of trout was planned for Hyde Park Lake and Oppenheim Park on April 8. The stocking is considered a put-and-take scenario and is meant to offer a more urban trout fishing opportunity. Hyde Park was to receive 2,000 brown trout, and Oppenheim Park a mix of 300 browns and rainbows.

I hope to see you enjoying the local outdoors. Every week, I produce a fishing report – Niagara County Fishing Hotline – that you can access online at www.niagarafallsusa.com or by simply calling 716-282-8992, Ext. 4, to hear what’s up in the world of fishing. It is updated every Wednesday.