Boating anglers can access the lower Niagara from the docks at Water Street in Lewiston, off Route 18F in Niagara County. If you've never been there, head right across river to fish the pockets and "drifts" on the Canadian side. Of course, you'll need to buy a Canadian license, first.

Shore-fishing is limited in the lower Niagara, but local experts show visitors the way by focusing their efforts at the Devil's Hole and Whirlpool state parks, where steep walking paths lead down to the river, and in the much flatter and easily walked Lewiston Art Park at the end of South Fourth Street.

Niagara County's tourism office, (800) 338-7890, is geared up to help anglers and has a very useful map-brochure on fishing in and around the river.

GENESEE RIVER
Eric Pachilis of Liverpool lives about 30 minutes south of the Salmon River, but his favorite steelhead stream is an hour and a half to the west, in the heart of downtown Rochester. He loves the Genesee River for its subtle urban beauty and especially for its dependable runs of big, hard-fighting fish. Instead of the quarter-size egg sacs favored by most Genny locals, Pachilis often casts gold or silver spoons with single, Siwash-style hooks. He says steelies of 8 to 10 pounds are the rule on the river, although 'bows twice that size are caught every winter.

The Genesee flows sluggishly from Mt. Morris north to Rochester, but in the city the river tumbles over a couple of scenic waterfalls and bounces through a rocky gorge and some lovely pocket water before making its final, flat-water glide into Lake Ontario. Steelhead stack up below the lower falls and in the swift runs and deep pools just downstream. Weather permitting, anglers also catch many bright fish by casting from the piers on either side of the river mouth.

Be forewarned that the gorge section of the Genesee has some treacherous wading. Wear cleated or felt-soled waders, carry a staff for extra stability and use common sense going from one spot to another. Use extra caution when climbing in and out of the gorge.

The safest place to access the prime stretch of the river is via a trail off Seth Green Drive, on the east side of the river south of the Route 104 bridge. You'll see a sign at the head of the trail, courtesy of New York State Electric & Gas Corporation, which has a facility on Seth Green Drive.

By no means should you be tempted to try the broken-up trail on the opposite side of the river in Maplewood Park. Called the "Goat Trail" by locals, it's extremely dangerous, and posted to boot. Yet daredevils tempt fate on the steep path every year.

SALMON RIVER
A writer can get away with leaving one or another of New York's good steelhead streams out of a roundup such as this one -- there's always next year -- but conscience won't permit the exclusion of the Salmon River, even though the quality of its sport has fluctuated considerably during recent winters. The Salmon River was where Eastern steelheading first gained national attention in the early 1980s, and anglers from Maine to Virginia fondly think of it as their home water. Adding to the Salmon's fame and growing sense of tradition is the fact that most of its major pools are named and identified with parking-area signs. When Salmon River veterans bump into each other in distant parts of the country, they can compare notes about fish caught or lost at "the Schoolhouse" or the "Black Hole," instead of groping for explanations of past experiences. That bond makes New York steelhead anglers potentially a strong force for conservation, and in fact, it was Salmon River fishermen who spearheaded the move to slash the daily Ontario tributary limit on steelhead from three to just one a day a couple of years ago.