Bug Eyes

Well the big news is pike season is now open!  Get out there with your big flies and heavy rods for some nice pike action.  Lakes like Conesus and Silver are hot right now with active fish over the weeds and weed edges.  Look for them to be sunning themselves in the morning and moving to the edges and weed pockets throughout the day.  This is the time to get out and fish the weeds since they have not cut much of the weeds yet.  But come early June the weeds are gonna get a hair cut.  Don't overlook the tributaries for pike either.  The warm waters in the estuaries will hold pike into the middle of June before the high tail it into the lake.

The tributaries are going to still have a mixed bag of things.  The persistent angler still might hook into a steelhead on the larger streams like the Genny, Oak or Salmon river but the steelhead action is definitely on the last few days.  The waters are getting too warm for the chromers and they won't tolerate it for very much longer.  The smallmouth fishing can be good if you can find the spawning beds and get a good drift or a slow retrieve through the bed.  Smallmouths are very territorial and will be aggressive to anything that moves through the nest.  Clousers, jigs, and streamers can be very effective at times.  Just like swinging a big fly in the winter for steelhead to trigger their aggressive instincts, the same can be done with the smallies.

For inland trout the weather has still had its cold days but day by day the hatches have been better and better.  Fishing nymphs in the morning works well and switching to dries in the afternoon once it warms up usually is the ticket to a successful day.  Keep in mind that if a fish continues to surface and take flies but refuses yours that its time to switch up.  You might have the right pattern but wrong size or vice versa.  BWO, Hendricksons, and Caddis have been good choices for this early season but also keep an eye out for March Brown and even maybe some Sulfer hatches starting.

Remember the summertime is the best time to brush up on some casting techniques and presentation practice for the fall salmon and brown runs.  If you're interested in lessons you can email me at wnyflyguy@gmail.com or leave a comment below and I can get in contact with you.  Also If you haven't checked out my YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHV4wVbpaexeCK7aug549YQ) that might be something you find entertaining.  Thanks again for reading and tight lines!

Current Stream Information: 

Oak Orchard (Albion):  May 9th, 2016

No fishing pressure.
Low/Clear flows (CFS unknown)

18-Mile Creek (Burt):  May 9th, 2016

Light fishing pressure.
Low/Clear flows.
85 CFS

Oatka Creek:   May 9th, 2016

Light Fishing Pressure
Med/Clear flows
163
CFS