Archive : Lake Ontario

The recent exit of Syracuse University in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament put me in a funk that only fishing could cure.  My sympathetic wife, an SU grad, understood my grief.  It was a magical hoops season that ended short of the Final Four.  I’m proud of the SU crew and all the...

It’s fair to say that anytime is the right time to fish for steelhead.  These aggressive, acrobatic and colorful fish are fun to catch, period.  Steelhead are worth chasing whenever you have time.  They are in our tributaries from late September through early May.  On the Salmon River (Pulaski,...

This past week streamer fishing improved.  I managed to fish three times and each trip exclusively swung flies.  Every trip I hooked several fish.  The takes were neither subtle nor casual.  They were aggressive, rod jolting, wake you up and hold on to your rod strikes!  It was the best period...

Our streams barely received a burp of water between the latest snow run off and light rain.  I was hoping for an invigorating push of water  to bring in fresh fish.  I recently scouted several small creeks East of Rochester.  They appeared pitifully low for mid-February.  After driving some distance,...

After my last bumbling episode for steelhead, I figured that I needed angling redemption.  Problem was, I didn’t have much time to fish.  Between teaching, coaching, parenting, fishing presentations and Angler’s Workshop, I just couldn’t finagle time to fish.  Don’t you hate...

Craig and I decided we were going to take a couple hours and do some New Years Steelhead fishing.  We went to one of our favorite Lake Ontario tributaries and was greeted with bright and shiny Posted signs. We found what we believed to be a public section of the tributary and gained access...

Like many Americans, our family recently received boxes of Girl Scout Cookies.  I purchased mine through a Girl Scout in my classroom.  My wife bought some through a local Brownie Troop.  Enjoying these cookies is an annual Fall tradition.  Another Fall tradition is chasing lake run brownies.  Have...

April  delivered a record 5.8 inches of rain.  So much rain, that larger tributaries were rendered not fishable for days at a time.  Cool springtime air temperatures also held tributary temperatures below 50 degrees.  All this rain, coupled with cooler temperatures, work to keep steelhead in tributaries...

Daffodils are blooming in front of the house and birdsong welcomes each day.  It must be springtime!  The soaking rain we enjoyed last night gave a nice boost of water to our tributaries.  Before the rainfall, small tributaries were especially  low and clear.  We’re now into mid-April and...

Steelhead fishing has improved the last two weeks.  The betterment of conditions is most evident in small tributaries.  These clear quicker after snow melt or a heavy rain.  They warm sooner than large systems.  Based on our weather conditions, I’ve focused my attention on two tiny Western...