Buffalo NY Fishing Report – Observations from 08/26/2024 – 09/01/2024
Here’s our latest Buffalo NY fishing report: There were a couple days this past week where I felt like fall was looming. Cooler temperatures were the trend for most days and rain made an appearance a couple of times (with little effect). I managed to fish everything except for the Upper Niagara, and we had great days on every outing. From trout to bass to walleyes, we boated beasts throughout the week. If this trend continues, fall is going to be wild. Keep reading for more details.
Days on the water: 6
Who we fished with: friends/clients
Where we fished: Lake Erie, Lower Niagara, Lake Ontario
What we caught: smallmouth bass, walleye, freshwater drum, brown trout
Tactics: trolling worm harnesses, trolling spoons, drifting bait, jigging bucktails and blade baits
Detailed Reporting/Daily Observations
8/26/2024 – Fished a half day on Lake Ontario for trout with Rick and Eileen. The brown trout bite was on fire – fish were in shallow – 65-75′. Eileen’s arms were worn out before long. Excellent session. 
8/27/2024 – Fished Lake Erie out of the Catt for walleyes with Ed, Kristina, and Matt. The walleye bite was so good we got our limit before 10:00AM. So, we decided to poke around for some giant smallmouth bass for a couple hours. We found a few. 
8/28/2024 – Fished Lake Erie out of Buffalo, NY for smallmouth bass with Drew, Chrissy, Ro, and Tristan. Drew has been a bro of mine since high school. It had been a long time since I had him and the family on the boat. Tristan couldn’t even walk back then.
Lake Erie was fairly big, but that didn’t bother this crew. The fish were active, rods stayed bent, and good times had. 
8/29/2024 – Fished Lake Erie for walleyes out of the Catt with the Whisperer, the Silent Assassin, and Captain America. There was a big NE blowing and Lake Erie was kinda big – perfect Warrior weather. This crew fears no waves so I knew we were in for a good time. We were the only boat out there for hours. The bite was awesome – got our limit a little after 10:00AM.
As per usual with us, blood lust took over. I took this one picture, but there were bigger ones caught. 
8/30/2024 – Fished Lake Erie for walleyes and bass out of the Catt with Ryan, Chrissy, Ben, and Zach. The walleye bite was slow compared to more recent outings, but we got into them. Not sure why it slowed down – maybe just an off day for me. We were also cooking out there with no breeze and constant sun.
Ryan and I are similar in that we like to change things up throughout the day. So, after picking up more than a handful of ‘eyes, we went bassing and dumming. The kids like that better lol. 
08/31/2024 – Fished a half day trip for bass on the Lower Niagara with Emerson, Joe, and Lincoln. It started off rainy – but the fish didn’t care and neither did we. Action was consistent in the river and on the bar. 
9/1/2024 – Day off – happy to have it.
Seasonal Assessment/General Observations
On the Conditions
I only targeted bass and walleyes this past week. Here are my observations – not much has changed since last week.
Smallmouth Bass
Fishing structure continues to be the game for me. Rock piles as deep as 40’ and as shallow as 10’ have all been productive. The drum are still around but the bass numbers are increasing daily.
Stated a little differently – with less drum present, the bass have a better chance at getting at baits. Don’t get me wrong, drum are still prolific, but it seemed like less so this past week. Which is normal for around now as they start to migrate into deeper water with the approach of fall.
The Niagara River seems like it’s starting to set up in the fall pattern too. As the week progressed, the numbers of smallmouth got better and better on the Lower Niagara. I’m sure the same thing is happening on the upper – I’ll confirm/deny that hypothesis this upcoming week.
Walleyes
All my walleye this past week came out of water deeper than 80’ and in the bottom 30’ of the water column. I ran worm burner harnesses in all 3 sessions – every color got bit. That one slow day I had was the anomaly, not the trend.
A bunch of boats had to grind that day vs. getting a quick box, but there were MANY fish around. I doubt that’s going to change much in the upcoming week as we’re in for another stretch of stable weather.
Buffalo NY Fishing Report – Forecast for 09/02/2024 – 09/08/2024
Forecast Commentary
You know fall is getting close as big wind is making an appearance at least a couple of days per week. That trend will continue for this upcoming week – but nothing too problematic. If you fish the conditions, not necessarily the species, every day will be fishable.
A conversion to N winds late this evening will bring a drop in temperature for Monday and Tuesday. I’m looking forward to fishing in daytime highs in the 60s and low 70s. Wind will be minimal both those days – on Lake Erie that is. So, that’s where I’ll be.
Winds out of the south will start on Wednesday and continue through Friday, bringing the daytime highs back into the upper 70s, and waves on Lake Erie. However, if the forecast holds, those winds won’t be prohibitive – the entire fishery will be in play.
Next weekend looks a little chaotic with rain and a return of N winds. Again, that might be problematic for Lake Ontario but shouldn’t cause much of an issue on Lake Erie. So, that’s where I’ll be.
Walleyes and bass will be the targets throughout the week. I’m booked every day – looking forward to seeing you out there.
Stay healthy my friends – mentally and physically,
Ryan