30 Local Sports
CHAUTAUQUA STAR
FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2014
Lake Erie Fishing Hotline
The area's trout
streams are in good
Crappie catches have
fishing shape. Henbeen good at times
drickson hatches are
in the canals and
just getting started
from some shore sites
on some of the creeks
around the south bathat have them. Some
sin. Boaters have had
to do a little searching blue-winged olives and
around
Upper Niagara River to find active crappie stoneflies aremajority
as well. The
schools on the open
There is still plenty
of action is below the
lake. Target crappie
of ice on Lake Erie,
surface on nymphs
in areas with green
and as a result river
such as stoneflies,
waters remain a frigid weeds in 6-10 feet of
water in sheltered bays pheasant tails and
33 degrees. Harbors
caddisflies. Small
and around strucand around stream
streamers and buggers
inlets are a good spots ture. Recent crappie
also work. Productive
catches have come
for yellow perch and
offerings for spinning
from Ashville Bay,
sunfish. These areas
anglers include worms,
warm quicker than the Burtis Bay, Lakewood
Bar, around Rock and salted minnows and
main river channel,
small inline spinners.
Grass Islands and off
attracting both bait
If you are a catch-andand panfish. Emerald Mayville. Jig heads
(1/32 and 1/64 ounce) release angler and use
shiners are the top
spinners, it is a good
bait for perch and sun- with one inch tubes,
with or without a min- practice to outfit your
fish, but other small
now, have worked well. spinners with a single
minnows and worms
hook rather than a
A small minnow on a
will work too. Look
treble hook.
bare hook is another
for crappie schooling
Western New York
in the backwater areas simple, but effective
anglers have a variety
of Tonawanda Creek, method for crappie.
of Wild Trout Streams
Bullhead are hitting
between the confluence with the Erie Ca- well in the canals and and Stocked Trout
Streams to choose
along shoreline areas.
nal and the Niagara
from. In addition, PubRiver. Anglers usually Worms, leeches or
lic Fishing Rights Maps
chicken livers fished
catch some rainbow
on the bottom at night, are available for many
trout at this time of
of the are I