Buffalo NY Fishing Report – Observations from 05/25 – 05/31/2026
Here’s our latest Buffalo NY fishing report: Another week on the books where I managed to fish all 7 days! That’s 47, folks – and I’m feeling great. King salmon, smallmouth bass, and walleyes were the targets. I covered a lot of water to stay in the action and keep tabs on all the changes happening around the Buffalo Niagara fishery. Lake Ontario delivered some arm-burning chaos (and some hard lessons), Lake Erie kept me humble, and a couple 360 programs on the Upper Niagara allowed me to keep tabs on the smallmouth bass spawn. Mix in some familiar faces, some new ones, and a lesson or two I probably should’ve already known — it was great week, especially this late in spring.
Days on the water: 7
Who we fished with: friends/clients
Where we fished: Lake Ontario, Upper Niagara, Lake Erie
What we caught: smallmouth bass, king salmon, coho salmon, walleye
Tactics: trolling spoons, casting finesse baits, drifting live bait, bottom bouncing worm harnesses
Detailed Reporting/Daily Observations
05/25/2026 – Memorial Day Reconnect
Fished Lake Ontario out of Lewiston, NY with Heath and Casey. I’ve been fishing with this father/daughter duo for 8 years now. However, it’d been awhile since I last fished with Casey (teenage life getting in the way). Catching king salmon had been a dream of hers so we set out to make that happen.
It was a gorgeous day – and dead calm on Lake Ontario. It took us a little bit to get into a consistent bite, but once we figured out the pattern, it was chaos. Awesome session – arms were trashed – they tapped out after a few hours. 
05/26/2026 – Recon with the Whisperer
Fished Lake Erie for walleyes out of Buffalo, NY with the Whisperer. It was a recon mission – just poking around to see where we could find fish. Well, we only found a couple. After all the east winds, the water got super clear and a couple of degrees colder around the eastern basin. Not sure if that contributed to the lack of action – but whatever the cause, they weren’t stacked up anywhere we went. So be it – it’s early – and we learned. No pictures taken.
05/27/2026 – Jerry and Mark Trip (Day 1)
Fished the Upper Niagara with Jerry and Mark. I hadn’t seen these guys in more than a year. They usually fish with me in the fall, but weather got in the way last year. I was happy they wanted to give spring a shot. We kicked it off with a little bassing.
I did what I always do this time of year – fished the entire circumference of Grand Island, NY and hit every drift only once. The water was gin clear everywhere except the northern bank downstream of the canal – it’s still burping out mud from the rain we had last week. In all that clear water, I could see beds everywhere in shallow. So, we stayed deep and hunted females. We found quite a few.
Also, small schools of smelt are circulating throughout the upper. Many of the girls we caught threw them up – some freshly eaten. I love it when those big baits are in the system – lots of calories to aid in growth and recovery from the spawn. 
05/28/2026 – Jerry and Mark Trip (Day 2)
Fished Lake Ontario out of Wilson, NY followed by the Lower Niagara with Jerry and Mark. We got into salmon right away and had a consistent bite for the first hour or so. However, the action died off a bit for the second hour – a few bites but nothing landed. Then, another spike in action to complete our box. That’s the emotional roller coaster of salmon fishing for me – lots of talking to myself – “stick it out, man! It’ll happen.”
With our limit achieved, we moved to the Lower Niagara for a short session targeting smallies and whatever else would bite. Jerry managed a steelhead right away. However, it was a total grind after that. Should’ve stayed on Lake O and just released salmon – but you know me, always curious about what’s going on somewhere else after being in a spot for a while.
As always, it was an awesome 2 days spent with these guys. They’ll be back and I look forward to having them. 
05/29/2026 – Getting Humbled
Fished Lake Ontario out of Wilson, NY with Frank and Lois. The original plan was to fish Lake Erie for bass and walleyes. However, as I was getting ready for bed, Frank called to see if we could go for salmon instead. My reply was something like, “Don’t tempt me with a good time. Let’s do it!”
I followed the same route I did yesterday and we got into fish right away—two small ones and one decent-sized fish. Then things got quiet for a while. I should’ve continued my route from the day prior, out into deeper and clearer water. However, I decided to head in the other direction—into the more stained stuff.
You might ask, “Why would you do that?” Good question: because when I ended my day the day prior in that zone, I marked a lot of fish. I marked a lot of fish on this day too. We got bit there, but nothing stayed buttoned—likely because the water clarity had them swiping at the spoons instead of hammering them. Lesson learned: as my friend Matt Yablonsky (Wet Net Charters) told me—during this period of transition, when in doubt, keep going out.
Note: Frank has been a client for five years now and has been up here many times during that period. He always comes up for three days. He booked this trip early spring, when I only had one day open. Since he wanted three, I sent him to my buddy Mike Trifiletti (Riverborn Fishing) for the first two days. I bring this up because he was well-fished from the days prior to fishing with me. So, we decided to cut it off at a half-day trip instead of continuing to grind. I was happy to get a little rest, but it hurt getting humbled like that.
Another note: I consider myself a tourist on Lake Ontario, as I only fish it in the spring. The big-boat guys, like my buddy Matt, spend all their days out there. I can only aspire to know the system as well as they do. However, I learned a lot this spring, as I fished out there way more this year than I ever have in a season. It’s been awesome sharpening the sword on Lake O, and I intend to do more of it in years to come. In the spring, that is—walleyes will continue to be my summer love.
05/30/2026 – Good Times with New Clients
Fished the Upper Niagara with Dave, Josh, and Matt. The weather didn’t turn out as forecasted. The wind was bigger and from a few northerly directions throughout the day. It stayed cloudy until after noon. Plus, it was chilly. Put those factors together and you’ve got a challenging situation for fishing the Upper. Thankfully, these guys were a blast and genuinely happy to be on the water. Fish were caught – but it was a grind for the most part. Still, they had no frame of reference and had a great time. I was happy they were happy – but also wishing they got to see it when conditions are prime. 
05/31/2026 – Welcome to Buffalo, NY
Fished an afternoon trip on the Upper Niagara with Austin. He reached out a few days prior looking for an opportunity to get on the water in the next week or so. I told him I was booked but that if I had a cancellation, I’d give him a call. That cancellation came – and he was ready to make it happen.
Austin just moved here from NC and wanted to spend some time on the water to get a sense of what the Buffalo Niagara fishery has to offer. I was happy to give him that introduction. We executed the full 360 program as per usual. Fish were caught and good times had.
Seasonal Assessment/General Observations
It’s been 47 straight days; I’m booked through 60 – so I’m going for it. On day 61, I depart for Hells Canyon in Idaho to fish for sturgeon for a week. So, that’s a hard stop – only for a day so I can fly to the other side of the country to continue fishing. Feeling good folks!
This “transition” period is emotional for me. Getting into big numbers of big fish becomes difficult (compared to the past month and a half that is). Sometimes I wear those emotions on my sleeve. Most of the time I keep it buttoned up. The irony is that by almost any standard, what we consider “tough fishing” is incredible. That’s a testament to the awesomeness of Buffalo Niagara. We’re certainly spoiled.
Buffalo NY Fishing Report – Forecast for 06/01/2026 – 06/07/2026
The forecast for this week looks excellent – I’m ready to hit 54 so long as my clients are. I’ll spend at least a day on Lake Ontario and the Upper, but the plan is to spend the bulk of the days on Lake Erie in pursuit of gold. Despite my failure to get into a consistent bite that one day last week, I’m confident you’ll be seeing pictures of ‘eyes in my next report. Stay tuned!
Stay healthy, my friends. Mentally and physically,
Ryan
P.S. I only have a couple days open in June. July is filling up but concerningly lean considering it’s only a little more than a month away. I’m not too worried (yet), we’ve only had small doses of pleasant weather so I’m not sure how many people are thinking about summer. In other words, I have plenty of openings for summer walleye trips. Call soon and pick your date before there aren’t many left.