Niagara Steelies are ONLY just Spawning Now!

[Aaron Shirley]

I enjoyed a fun day on the Niagara River with a friend Chuck. We got into lots of steelhead and many hens were fat and dropping a stream of eggs into the bottom of my boat! Yes, the steelhead are right in the middle of spawning on the Niagara River! It is very late for them this year, but the water temps are only just hitting around 47F. I have never seen them spawning so late. Steelhead will be in the Niagara River well into June this year, and maybe even into July!

The water colour was heavily stained below the power dams, and we only hit one fish, a nice brown that nailed a 6 inch pink worm. Above the dams had several feet of beautiful green "slaughter water". We caught fish drifting three-way rigs and pink worms, roe bags and beads. Chuck had a certain hot bead that was on fire. He must have had 8 fish to the boat before I asked for a bead. The bead is a unique colour that was chartreuse with a hint of pearl white to it. We pegged the bead approximately 2 inches from our hooks with a rubber bead peg. Roe accounted for a lot of bites as well in natural peach tied in bags smaller than a dime.

We didn't take many photos, we were busy catching fish Enjoy the few pics we did take.

Good fishing!

Aaron

[davey buoy]

Some nice fish sir.Your off to a great start!!!!

[wildeye rainbow]

Nice pics!

 

I was out last weekend on a small trib and saw 3 redds with rainbows on them. It's awfully late to see them doing what they're doin'

[dave524]

Nice fish Aaron. I'm surprised the water is that warm, I saw a picture of Point Abino Bay and launch with a date May 6th and the bay is full of ice still, The boom came out real late this year.

[RiverRuns]

That first fish looks like an Atlantic!

[Aaron Shirley]

Dave, the water warmed up quickly, and the rain run off helped. The Niagara was ice water only a couple weeks ago.

 

River runs, the first fish is a Brown trout, not an Atlantic. They look very similar.

 

Good fishing!

 

Aaron

[Joey]

Well you seem to have that river dialed in Aaron! Good stuff. Some real beauties there.

[Old Ironmaker]

A very interesting report sir. A very productive day in the river. As for the success, now that you are a TV celeb angler, it's expected. Keep up the good work. I actually watched the entire show regardless of who the host was. He and I go back a long way since he was calling himself a golfer as well.

 

I live on the lakeshore of Erie. At this time of year we sit on the deck and watch the male Smallies guard nests, the spawn is over by now. Usually the Gar are here as well making little Gar between the monster Carp that can keep you awake at night as they too are in the mood for love. There are zero Bass here as of today. I did see one Sheepshead a few weeks back that was scooped up by an Canadian Bald Eagle 25 feet from shore. No one home this year other than that unlucky little farm animal.

 

Launched from Nanticoke this AM to escort a pal that rebuilt his Mercruiser over the winter. Temperature of Nanticoke Creek was 54F, the bay between Peacock Point and the US Steel pier showed temps at 47F. One mile out temp was 42F this morning. Last year was a colder spring as well but temperature of the main lake was 52F if my memory serves me. 1st week of June temps were 60F at Port Bruce. We said in February we were going to be 3 weeks behind, how about a month or more. Those Bass will still be on beds for opening. Same thing happened in 02 or 03, smallies were guarding beds a week past opener.

 

As Dean Martin once sang " Baby it's cold outside".

Edited May 20, 2014 by Old Ironmaker