San Juan River

The flows on the San Juan River below Navajo Dam are at a good level for fishing. I’ve been looking into a public fishing area on the San Juan called the Hammond Tract that may be worth a try. It is about 14 miles below Navajo Dam and well below the often-crowded Quality Waters. The fishing here is more for wild brown trout than for stocked rainbow trout and the fishing pressure is much lighter.

Black Hawk Lake

Water temperatures are in the mid 50’s. Bluegill - Good: Action is fast; pick up bluegill just about anywhere along the shoreline in 2- to 5-feet of water. Use a small jig tipped with live bait or a small piece of crawler fished below a bobber off the floating fishing pier, the west stone pier, and the inlet bridge. Black Crappie - Fair: Use a jig with a minnow in 2- to 6-feet of water along Ice House Point, the floating dock and the stone piers in Town Bay. Walleye - Fair: Use live bait fished along the Ice House Point shoreline and near the outlet in the east basin. Largemouth Bass - Good: Use topwater lures, twisters, or live bait to catch largemouth bass just about anywhere along the shoreline. Yellow Perch - Fair: Perch have been picked up in Town Bay and on the north side of the lake. 

The St. Louis River

The St. Louis River is seeing some angling pressure and putting out a few nice walleyes and crappies. Jig-and-minnow presentations have been a good bet, targeting areas near structure or channel turns. Don't be afraid to pitch shorelines with heavy vegetation. Muskie angling has been getting better with lots of reports of follows. We're still waiting for the water temps to continue to drop, though.

Missouri lake

Many walleye anglers have found fall fishing for walleye can be very good if they learn how to pinpoint the fish during this transition time. There are several keys for catching fall walleyes — determining the depth where the fish are holding and, finding active fish.
Stockton has become walleye fishermen’s favorite Missouri lake, along with Pomme de Terre, which is noticeably becoming a good walleye lake as well.
Threadfin shad spawn in late summer or early fall. Their spawning grounds are usually coves off the main lake. These small baitfish in coves come at a time when the spring spawning shad are large enough for walleye to eat, but the new fish draw the walleyes into coves like a magnet. Using lures that resemble minnows can be effective.
Depending on light conditions, walleye move up and down the water column. On cloudy days or when the water is off color, look for the fish in shallower water; but when the sun is bright or the water is very clear, check out deeper water.

Niagara River

Lower river fishing improved for salmon for the shore fishing gang when some stained water came through the system following a recent wind event. Rich Pisa of Kenmore reported that salmon were snapping on Monday where he landed six in the gorge around the Whirlpool. He was using all treated egg skein, fished under a float. Glenn Strzelczyk of the Town of Niagara was also doing well by casting Booker spinners. Ricardo Davila was using Booker’s Little Gem spoons. Boaters were still ripping some lips, too. With the stained water, it force them to drift closer to the shoreline. Some charter captains have stopped running salmon trips but there are still some fresh fish coming into the system. In the Upper Niagara River, Capt. Chris Cinelli of Grand Island reports that some nice bass have been around in the east river on shiners. He’s also been picking up some chunky perch in the same areas. Some musky are starting to hit as well.

Black Hawk Lake


Surface water temperature is 57 degrees. Water levels are near the crest of the spillway. Bluegill - Good: Pick up bluegill just about anywhere along the shoreline in 2- to 5-feet of water. Use a small jig tipped with live bait or a small piece of crawler fished below a bobber off the floating fishing pier, the west stone pier, and the inlet bridge. Black Crappie - Fair: Use a jig with a minnow in 2- to 6-feet of water along Ice House Point, the floating dock and the stone piers in Town Bay. Walleye - Fair: Use live bait fished along the Ice House Point shoreline and near the outlet in the east basin. Channel Catfish - Fair: Use nightcrawlers and cut bait fished on the bottom near the floating dock, Ice House Point, and the rock piles near Cottonwood Point and the east basin. Largemouth Bass - Good: Use topwater lures, twisters, or live bait to catch largemouth bass just about anywhere along the shoreline. 

CANYON LAKE:

 Water stained; 84-88 degrees; 2.42 feet low. Black bass are good on watermelon red Whacky Sticks on jigheads, drop shot rigs, and white spinnerbaits along main lake bluffs in 10-20 feet. Striped bass are slow. White bass are slow. Smallmouth bass are fair on Smokin' Green Devil's Tongues on drop shots over rock piles in 14-28 feet early. Crappie are fair on minnows and pink tube jigs upriver. Channel catfish are slow. Yellow and blue catfish are fair on trotlines baited with live bait.

Brushy Creek Lake Bluegill

Brushy Creek Lake Bluegill – Fair: Use a small jig tipped with a piece of crawler in 5- to 15-feet of water. Drift near deep structure, drop-offs and weed lines. Black Crappie – Fair: Try a small piece of crawler or minnow on a jig in 10- to 15-feet of water. Largemouth Bass – Good: Throw topwater lures, weedless baits, spinners and plastic worms along weed lines, near cover and wood structure. Fish deeper for larger fish. Pick up small fish in the shallows. Muskellunge – Fair.