Buffalo NY Fishing Report – Observations from 03/23 – 03/29/2026
Here’s our latest Buffalo NY fishing report: This past week was defined by cold snaps, big wind, and a lot of adapting. A couple of days were blown out completely, a few were spent grinding on the Lower Niagara, and one turned into a full‑on Lake Ontario ice bath. When the weather cooperated, we put in the work and scratched out some fish; when it didn’t, we stayed off the water and lived to fight another day. Classic late‑March Buffalo Niagara—unpredictable, uncomfortable at times, but always worth showing up for.
Days on the water: 5
Who we fished with: friends/clients
Where we fished: Lower Niagara, Lake Ontario
What we caught: brown trout, steelhead, walleye
Tactics: drifting live bait, trolling stick baits and spoons
Detailed Reporting/Daily Observations
03/23/2026 – Day Off
I had the day off and was happy to take it. Big wind and frigid temperatures made it a good day to hit the gym and relax.
03/24/2026 – Fly Fishing the Lower and the Bar (Day 1)
Fished the Lower Niagara with a new client, Chris—a recent Buffalo transplant from the Olympic Peninsula. It’s been a minute since I’ve guided someone who wanted to challenge himself with a full day of fly fishing. I’ve spent years doing it myself and have caught just about everything that swims around here on the fly (still missing walleye…one day), but I don’t get many fly‑focused calls anymore.
There’s a reason for that.
Sure, we have a solid local fly fishing community, but the Buffalo Niagara Region isn’t exactly a fly‑fishing destination. Think about it: if you’re a traveling fly angler with money to burn and steelhead on the brain, you’re heading to Alaska or the Pacific Northwest. Salmon? Same story. Lake trout? Northern Canada. Muskies? Wisconsin, Minnesota.
Smallmouth bass…well, I’ll challenge anyone to find a better place than WNY. Central Michigan is a contender, but it’s a different game altogether.
Bottom line: this isn’t a region fly anglers flock to, so I don’t get a ton of calls. Which is why I get stoked up when one emerges. I grill all of them to determine their skill sets and only take those I believe have what it takes to close the deal around here.
Enter Chris.
Like me, he’s traveled, he’s put in the reps, and he’s caught a ton of species on the fly. He’s an excellent caster and has the right mindset for making things happen around here. But the day started brutally cold—and windy. At the start of the day, there were sheets of surface ice coating the river in spots – brutal. He worked his ass off from start to finish, making great shots and covering water with intention, but the fish just didn’t cooperate.
I’ll admit I felt a tiny bit better knowing my colleagues weren’t doing much either—even with three anglers drifting bait. It was tough – but we bonded over stories and I had the pleasure of teaching him a lot about our fishery.
03/25/2026 – Success on the Fly
Fished the Lower Niagara for a second day with Chris. Sun and very little wind made it a far more comfortable session. The action picked up a little bit, and Chris was able to close the deal on a couple of browns that smashed his fly. Although not an action packed session, we were both relieved to get rid of the skunk. We had a blast over those couple of days and are making plans for warmer weather.
3/26/2026 – Weather Day
Chris was on the docket for this day too. However, the forecast called for big SW winds and rain, so we stayed off the water. I’m glad we stayed home too – the deluge began around noon, and the rain didn’t stop until early evening.
03/27/2026 – Day Off
I considered fishing the Upper Niagara on this day. However, when I pulled up to the Sheridan boat launch at 7:30AM to check things out, it was 25 degrees out and there was a stiff N wind blowing. Plus, there was a lot of mud and debris coming down the river from the rain the day prior. Between the cold, the wind, and the chocolate milk conditions, it was an easy call. Another day off.
03/28/2026 – The “Bear” Ate Us
The day started fishing Lake Ontario out of Olcott with Alex and Shawn. When I arrived at the launch, I quickly realized we were in for an adventure. The forecast was wrong for one – the wind was blowing BIG out of the NW and there were scattered flurries blowing. There was also supposed to be some sun – there wasn’t. It was 25 degrees out too.
We pounded through 2–4’ waves on the run out. At one point I glanced back at the starboard side and everything was encased in ice—gunwale, downriggers, rods, reels, rod holders. Solid. That left me with one functional rigger, which is far from ideal.
Then things got even more interesting: Alex started turning green. He fought it as long as he could, but after about thirty minutes he was hanging over the side. That was our cue. Time to pull the plug.
We regrouped on the Lower Niagara, only to find it crowded and picked over. The flurries kept coming, temps stayed below freezing, and the NW wind never let up. Eventually we called it early and headed home to lick our wounds.
A tough session all around, but I give these guys credit—they showed up, gave it a shot, and handled a brutal day on big water.
03/29/2026 – The Reunion
Fished the Lower Niagara with Terry. If you’ve been reading these reports for a while, you’ve seen this man’s face—he’s been with me since year one. He took last season off to tackle some health issues, and I won’t get into the details here, but after ten years of fishing together, he’s in the best shape I’ve ever seen him. I always close my reports with “stay healthy my friends, mentally and physically,” and I mean it. Terry’s in his early 60s and living fuller now than at any point since I’ve known him. It’s never too late to turn things around.
The fishing was a grind. We put a few walleyes and steelhead in the net and got in line on most of the drifts, but it wasn’t easy. Still, it was great spending the day with him, catching up, and getting him back on the river where he belongs. Expect to see his face on some of my adventures in the not so distant future.
Seasonal Assessment/General Observations
Not much has changed. The water coming out of Lake Erie is still 32 degrees, and there just aren’t many fish hanging around the Lower Niagara right now. The few that are there get pounded every time the weather gives folks a window, and some are getting harvested. It’s legal, so no judgment—but when the population is already thin, every fish kept makes the grind that much tougher. Fish are being caught, but more often than not, you’ve got to work for them.
Frustrating? Sure. But I’m not discouraged. We haven’t had many days where Lake Ontario has been a viable option, and there are plenty of fish out there once we get the right wind and some clarity.
We also need the Lake Erie ice boom to come out ASAP. I’ve seen claims of 900 square miles of ice still on Erie, but that’s hard to believe when the boom camera shows mostly open water. Once that boom gets pulled, a lot more options open up. Until then, it’s all about playing the wind on Ontario and hoping the Lower gives up a better bite.
Buffalo NY Fishing Report – Forecast for 03/29/2026 – 04/05/2026
Next week’s forecast looks warmer—more like spring—but it’s going to be very dicey. Tomorrow should be fishable, just extremely windy. After that, we’re staring down a couple straight days of heavy rain and big wind. Tuesday and Wednesday are calling for a couple inches of rain and SW gusts over 40 mph, followed by huge east winds on Thursday. I don’t put much stock in anything beyond a 3–4 day window, but if the weekend forecast holds, we might get a shot.
All that wind and rain is going to mess things up bad for a few days. The water just cleared from the last round showers, and it’ll go right back to being stained until late in the week. The upside: the warm temps, rain, and wind should melt most—if not all—of the remaining Lake Erie ice by the weekend. That’s a major silver lining. We’ll see how it plays out but expect a lot of last‑minute calls.
Stay healthy, my friends. Mentally and physically,
Ryan