Estuary Perch

Stan Oulette of Deer Creek Motel; Pulaski, N.Y.

Back in the early 1960s, catching Pacific salmon and steelhead in Lake Ontario was just a dream entertained by fish and game officials and dreamy-eyed anglers, many of whom had fished out West.

To your average local angler, the targets of choice were warm-water species like smallmouth bass, northern pike and yellow perch. The estuary, the slow-moving, lower stretch of the Salmon River running from the last set of rapids to the mouth, was one of the best spots around to catch ‘em all, especially a bucket of yellow perch.

“Still is” boasts Stan Oulette of Deer Creek Motel, located on State Route 3, a couple miles north of Port Ontario. “In fact,” he claims, "it’s Oswego County’s best kept secret.”

Stan and his brother David are local experts on the lower river. With good reason: both, along with their families, love to eat fish, and perch are their favorite. 

“The estuary always holds fish,” claims Stan, “but they change with the seasons… northern pike are plentiful in the spring, bass are in all summer long, salmon and brown trout come through in the fall, steelhead in winter and spring, and perch…ahh, perch,” he goes on, dreamlike  “… they’re always around.”

The bait of choice for these tasty panfish is a minnow fished on bottom or suspended a few inches off the floor below a bobber. Squeamish anglers and those who prefer artificial lures will catch a batch by jigging a Berkley Atomic Teaser tipped with a Power Honey Worm.

An angler inexperienced in the ways of Lake Ontario tributaries would probably conclude the perch—indeed, all panfish—flee the estuary at the first sight of a salmon.

The exact opposite is true; panfish are drawn into the estuary and spurred into a feeding frenzy by all the salmon eggs and tiny life forms that feed on salmon cadavers.

 

Best Downtown Fishing Around

By
Spider Rybaak

City mallards and anglers: Varick Dam.

The city of Oswego’s miracle mile boasts the greatest trophy fishing in the country.

Lake Ontario’s second largest tributary runs through the middle of town. Draining Oneida Lake and the Finger Lakes, the Oswego River is a magnet for bank anglers targeting warmwater species like catfish, walleyes and smallmouth bass in summer. But when October nights stir autumn’s chill into the rapids, massive quantities of the lake’s biggest salmonids move into downtown’s caressing currents to find mates under the neon.

Currently, king salmon are the rage. They hang out anywhere there’s fast-water, from Bridge Street all the way to the pools below Varick Dam.

The main stage for anglers trying their luck at landing one is the Linear Park lining the west bank. Running from the power house to just south of the silos looming over the harbor near the river’s mouth, a distance of almost a mile, the fence-lined, concrete wall offers a safe platform for battling these brutes.

Action is fast and furious along the northern half of the park, particularly from the power house to the end of the middle wall channeling the deep tailrace, roughly behind, and a little north, of Larry’s Oswego Salmon Shop (315-342-2778). Larry offers advice, a full line of tackle and a fish cleaning station.

This year, the most productive bait is skein and eggs cured with Pautzke Fire Brine. Most guys float-fish the stuff; suspending it anywhere from 3 inches to a foot off bottom on a slip bobber, and ensure their bait stays at the proper depth by walking the wall at the same pace as the current.

Fly-fishermen targeting steelhead in the rapids between the dam and the north end of Leto Island (access from Leto Island is closed, so you’ll have to wade to get to the east bank), are getting more kings than chromers on estaz flies and streamers, but the number of ironheads promises to increase dramatically from now through November. Some browns are also in the fast water.

Walleyes are still in the river, too, mostly in the deeper water downstream of Utica Street. They’ll hit floating crankbaits like Bass Pros XPS Minnows and Thundersticks, and worms rigged on Dixie Spinners and dragged slowly on bottom. Be prepared to tangle with incidental steelies and brown trout.

Anglers must wear personal flotation devices to fish the river upstream of the power house.

Below the signs announcing the power company's dress-code requiring personal flotation devises beyond this point.

Charter Captain Andy Bliss unhooking a nine-pound domestic rainbow taken below the power plant.

Mike Viggiano, Nanticoke, PA, carrying a steelie he took in the rapids a little downstream of the dam.

Father and son team from Long Island and their kings.

Josh Collette (left), president of the Oswego State Fishing Club, Phil Jenkins (center), interim treasurer, and club member Jordan Rabinowitz discussing fishy subjects at West Linear Park. Sanctioned by the Student Association, "the club is for recreational purposes and to further educate the student body on ethical and sustainable fisheries," explains Collette.

Yellow Perch Triangle

By Spider Rybaak

Dave France with a nice jack perch he took at the entrance to Big Bay.

David France and James Daher are fishing buddies. They love perch. And their best spot in autumn is Oneida Lake.

Thirty years of working in the bait and tackle business has taught James a thing or two: “The lake turns over in August. By the end of the month, an algae bloom usually turns the water into pea soup and the perch all but shut down. By mid-September, the bite starts turning around again, slowly at first, accelerating as water temperatures drop. When the water hits the mid-50s, instinct tells the fish to prepare for winter and they go on a feeding binge. My magic formula at this time is: wind, weed edges and 13-foot depth,” says the colorful bait monger.

He and Dave like the west end of the lake, an area they call the “triangle.” Dave claims one of these spots usually produces.

“You gotta have a gentle wind,” says Dave, who spent his youth in Constantia. “You want it to blow just hard enough to agitate the surface into a ripple or slight chop. North and west winds are best.”

Launching at Oneida Shores County Park on the South Shore, they head due north. At the edge of the weed bed carpeting Big Bay, they search for the magical 13-foot depth. When it appears on the depth finder, they run along the line looking for fish. When some appear, James lowers the anchor, and both toss their bait over the side, weighed down with enough split-shot to get to bottom.

“When the bait touches down, I crank it up three to five inches off the floor,” says Dave, “and still-fish. I call this system vertical fishing; the only action the worm or minnow get is what the waves give ‘em.”

If they go without a hit for a half hour or so, they move east about two miles to Three Mile Bay and repeat the procedure. When the hits run out, they move again, this time south, to the weed edge crowning the channel drop-off at the western tip of Frenchman Island.

Minnows and worms work equally well for perch; but worms allow you to catch sunfish, too.

James Daher with a super smallmouth he took on a fathead minnow.

Moonrise over Wantry Island.

High Water Eyes

By Spider Rybaak

Pennsylvania native Robert Entler with the 18 incher he took with a tube.

Cousin Staash called Thursday afternoon. “The rain just keeps coming,” he complained. “The National Weather Service has issued flash flood warnings for Oneida Creek until 7:30 p.m. That means the little creeks on the north shore should be roaring, drawing the walleyes in close.”

“Wanna go fishin’ tonight?,” I asked.

“Can’t,” he replied, and hung up.

He’s always been stingy, even with words, I think, and brush off the tinges of hurt and anger his curtness sends creeping into my head.

A couple hours later I’m at Cleveland Docks. Black Creek is high, its mouth roily; the boats in the harbor are rocking.  The current is so strong, it sweeps my 3-inch Berkley Power Grub, tipped on a 1/8-oz jighead, a full 90 degrees, from east to south, by the time I work it in.

Still, the weight is enough to get it down and after about 15 minutes I’m into a 20-inch walleye. A half hour later, I’m into another but he gets off. 

A group of bass tournament anglers from PA were renting the grey house with the pink shutters looming over the harbor. A couple of them see me land the fish.  The heavy rains sweeping the area earlier discouraged them from going out to practice for the weekend’s bass tournament. But my fish spurs them into reconsidering.

They start throwing bass baits.  Half an hour later, hitless, they leave.

Another couple of guys renting the house across the street come over. Hailing from PA, too, they’re there for the tournament as well.

One of ‘em, Robert Entler, a contractor, strikes up a conversation with me and casts a 3-inch tube parallel to the north shore. After a half dozen casts, he nails an 18-inch walleye.

I get another hit but lose it.

In the span of two hours, I land two walleyes and lose two; all from shore.

 High water conditions like this don’t happen often and when they do, they don’t last long. After the smaller creeks return to normal flows the walleyes will move back into deep water. Large streams like Scriba, Chittenango, and Oneida creeks will remain high until the middle of the week, and their plumes should be loaded with fish.

A nice 20-incher that took a 3-inch Berkley Power Grub.

Early June Yellow Perch and Walleyes

David Oulette unhooking a juicy Salmon River jack perch.

Brothers Dave and Stan Oulette invited me to go for perch in the Salmon River last Thursday.

Launching at Pine Grove, we headed downstream. Just past the bend in the river, we anchored 10 yards from shore, in 12 feet of water and cast upstream between the two islands.

Using a 2-inch YUM grub, I caught perch ranging from eight to 11 inches in each of my first 10 casts, and then it was every other throw after that.

The brothers kept pulling in perch in rapid succession on minnows. In less than two hours, we had enough to feed us and our families a couple times over; and that's after releasing the 20% that was less than eight inches.

"Spring perch fishing used to always be like this," claims David. "Then the cormorants did a number on them. The DEC's cormorant controls reduced the birds' numbers to the point perch populations are coming back."

Stanley says they'll be here as long as the water is relatively cold, for another week or two.

While we were getting the minnows, Karen Ashley, employee at the local bait shop on NY 3 in Port Ontario, told us she and a some family had good luck with walleyes ranging from 18 to 22 inches in Sandy Pond last week. As proof, she showed us the fillets.

"Troll worms on Stico Spinners in front of Carnsey's Wigwam restaurant," she advises.