Buffalo NY Fishing Report – Observations from 09/28 – 10/04/2026
Here’s our latest Buffalo NY fishing report: This week was a bit of a transition, both personally and on the water. I came home from vacation in a rather unpleasant fashion, then spent the week getting a feel for the changes brought on by Lake Erie’s temperature drop. The Lower and Upper Niagara both produced some solid bass sessions throughout the week. There was also a great opportunity to talk fishing from an anthropological perspective and some much-needed downtime before finishing the week with a couple of family-focused trips. Weather is increasingly becoming a factor—it’s October folks. There are a lot of hardcore anglers on the docket poised for chaos. Time to get after it!
Days on the water: 5
Who we fished with: friends/clients
Where we fished: Lake Erie, Upper Niagara, Lower Niagara
What we caught: smallmouth bass
Tactics: casting finesse baits; drifting live bait
Detailed Reporting/Daily Observations
09/28/2026 – Hellish Vacation Ender
I was supposed to fly home from my bro Brian’s house in Richmond, VA. That didn’t happen.
I boarded the plane in Richmond and sat on the runway for close to two hours. My connecting flight—LaGuardia, NYC—was in the center of that “Nor’easter” that hit the Northeast. Apparently, there were too many planes grounded on the runway, so there’d be nowhere for us to land.
I’m not sure why it took two hours to tell us that, but… anyway, we weren’t going to depart anytime soon.
That messed up my connection. The next available flight was at 9:30 PM. Fearing that would get canceled, too, I opted to get a refund for my flight, rent a car, and drive home. I had a free day with National, so I used it.
And yeah, I drove 9.5 hours home.
I’ve done the drive from Fredericksburg, Quantico, and Woodbridge too many times. It’s very painful. This drive? Add another 1.5 hours to the pain.
I got home at 11:14 PM.
09/29/2026 – Back at It
Fished the Lower Niagara and Upper Niagara with Scott, Brian, and Rich. Since it was my first day back from vacation, I wanted to cover a lot of water to get a sense of what I’d missed.
While I was gone, consistent NE winds caused Lake Erie to flip. The water temperature on our side of Lake Erie dropped over 10 degrees. Our fish tolerate some wild swings in temperature very well, but no cold-blooded creature reacts positively to that kind of temperature drop.
So, covering water is what we did. I wasn’t thrilled with the result. We caught fish, but it wasn’t on fire by a long shot. Maybe it was just an off day. Maybe they’re still settling into the colder temperatures. Maybe I was off my game.
Anyway, it felt good to be back out there—albeit a little frustrating at times. Great company, though!
09/30/2026 – Charity Tournament
Fished the Lower Niagara for Frank Campbell as one of 15 boats participating in a charity tournament supporting Casting for Dreams. I fished with Stan, Stan Jr., and Jim. The bass bite was OK—we caught a lot of fish, but MANY small ones.
I fished with these guys last year and was happy we were able to fish together again. They’re a blast to spend time on the water with. Non-stop conversation.
10/01/2026 – Anthropology and Fishing
Fished the Upper Niagara with Sedonna, an anthropology PhD candidate at UCLA. She’s working on a project that’s trying to better understand anglers and angling across cultures—motivations, behavior, ethics, morality, conservation, etc. She’s been fishing with guides around the country and interviewing (and fishing with) them. I was her latest interview.
As those of you who fish with me know, all you need to do is introduce a topic, pull my string, and I’ll go for hours. Sedonna was a blast to talk with—and she knows her way around a rod and reel!
We caught many. Here are a couple photos of the bigger fish she caught.
10/02/2026 – Day Off
The clients I had scheduled for this day had to reschedule. It was just as well—it rained all morning, and I needed the time to sleep in. After driving 9.5 hours on Monday and getting only a handful of hours of sleep, followed by crappy sleep and a busy schedule for a few days, rest was in order.
So, I slept in, went to the gym, did laundry, cleaned the boat, did a tackle inventory—you know, the basics.
It felt great to recharge.
10/03/2026 – Back at it with Kristina and Crew
Fished the Lower Niagara with Kristina, Matt, and Dave. I’ve been fishing with this crew for a few years now. In that time, Kristina has lost nearly half her body weight. It’s been an awesome transformation to see, and I’m proud of what she’s accomplished. She’s all smiles these days, and I always have a blast with whoever joins her.
We tried kings in Devils Hole for a couple of hours. There were 15, sometimes more, boats up there. It almost felt like the twenty-teens, when the salmon bite used to be good.
I saw four or five connections to salmon during that period. I’ll say this much—it’s certainly possible to have an awesome session targetting salmon on the Lower right now. However, your timing would have to be perfect. In other words, there’s a lot of luck involved. You could go up to “the Hole” and find that a fresh pod of fish just stopped there to rest…and there are only a couple of boats around. If that happens, you’ll slay. You could also go up there and find that very few are in there, plus there’s a dozen boats…and that doesn’t change for hours.
Bottom line, if you really want to connect with a king on the Lower Niagara, you have to be willing to grind. Something awesome will likely happen over the course of a day, but plan on putting in work to make that happen.
Enough of that rant.
Wanting to bend rods, we went bass fishing. They did very well. The sun was out, the weather was gorgeous, and the bass wanted to play.
10/04/2026 – Family Session
Fished the Lower Niagara with Bill, Jim, and Anna. I followed that up with another trip, this time with Bill, Brooke, and Matt. This warrants some explanation.
Last spring, Brooke and Anna, Bill’s daughters, purchased him a gift certificate to fish with me. Wanting to fish with both his daughters, plus Jim and Brooke’s husband, Matt, Bill asked me if I would be willing to do two half-day trips. I said yes, and that the Lower Niagara would be perfect for that.
The morning session was excellent—calm conditions and sunny skies. Action was consistent, and we had a blast.
I returned to the dock to pick up the second crew, and on my way downstream, I noticed some rain coming in from the west. The wind picked up, the clouds rolled in, it rained for a few minutes, and everything changed.
We caught fish, but it was a grind compared to the morning. Still, we had fun, and it was great getting Bill together with his daughters for the day.
Seasonal Assessment/General Observations
I added a lot of detail to my daily reports, which should give you a decent picture of what I saw on the water. I hesitate to provide too much of an assessment considering I was just on vacation and only fished five days this week.
In short, that thermocline flip made things complicated for a little bit. However, the water column has nearly stabilized, and fall insanity is building.
I’ll have more to offer next week.
Buffalo NY Fishing Report – Forecast for 10/05/2026 – 10/11/2026
We are in the thick of the fall pattern right now. Just a few weeks ago, I was able to fish seven days a week without weather being much of a consideration. That’s over. It’s that time of year when weather cancellations become a reality, and enduring a little bit of pain for big rewards becomes a couple-times-per-week situation. This upcoming week is no different.
Wind will be problematic a few of the days. The good thing about this time of year is that regardless of the wind, there’s always a place to fish where you can tuck out of the worst of it and still expect excellent action. That’ll surely happen this upcoming week.
I’m booked daily. I intend to spend time on Lake Erie, the Upper Niagara, the Lower Niagara and MAYBE Lake Ontario. I hope Mother Nature gives me the windows I need to make that happen.
Either way, expect to see some more bass action, some Lake Erie gold, and possibly a king or two.
Stay tuned!
Stay healthy, my friends. Mentally and physically,
Ryan