Buffalo NY Fishing Report – Observations from 06/02/2025 – 06/08/2025
Here’s our latest Buffalo NY fishing report: The first week of June 2025 was a busy stretch on the Upper Niagara, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario, highlighting the region’s diverse fishing and unpredictable challenges. From steady smallmouth bass catches with Dave from West Virginia on the Upper Niagara to 11-year-old Haley outfishing everyone for bass, the week brought plenty of standout moments. Quick switches to walleye on Lake Erie delivered limits when bass were slow, though a tough final day on Erie showed how fast conditions can change. Despite rough winds, caddis fly swarms, and some slow bites, clients from Arizona, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and the Buffalo Niagara Region were thrilled by the scenery and left with fish and great memories.
Days on the water: 6
Who we fished with: friends/clients
Where we fished: Lake Ontario, Upper Niagara, Lake Erie
What we caught: smallmouth bass, walleye, coho salmon
Tactics: drifting 3-way rigs with minnows, casting neds, trolling spoons, bottom bouncing worm harnesses
Detailed Reporting/Daily Observations
06/02/2025 – The Upper Produces Once Again
Fished the 360 program on Upper Niagara for smallmouth bass with Dave, in town for 3 days of fishing from WV. It was a perfect day and action was consistent – with a couple of bigs in the mix. The shaky head ned was the most productive bait of the day. What a way to start his trip! 
06/03/2025 – Ralph “Waldo” Emerson Session
Fished Lake Erie with Dave – day 2 of his trip. We started off bass fishing – it was slow. So, I asked Dave if he was interested in targeting walleyes. He replied with an enthusiastic, “Yes!” We got our limit in very short order – excellent walleye bite – all on worm harnesses.
Fished an afternoon trip on the Upper Niagara with Stephen, Courtney, and Haley, in town visiting from Oklahoma. It was a banner session with 11-year-old Haley racking up the most and the biggest smallmouth bass. Aside from getting covered by caddis flies for the first couple hours of the trip, it was an otherwise awesome session. 
06/04/2025 – Wrapping up the Grand Tour
Fished Lake Ontario for coho salmon with Dave – the last day of his trip. Lake O was rolling due to a big SW wind. We negotiated the whitecaps and managed to get into some fish. It was a slower session than anticipated – with speed control being the biggest challenge in those waves. Still, I’m happy Dave managed to get a solid dose of the region across 3 days and was able to leave with some meat for his freezer.
06/05/2025 – Another Pivot to Walleye
Fished the Upper Niagara and Lake Erie with Terry and Cameron, in town from PA. Our session on the Upper Niagara started off slow. All the areas that were highly productive earlier in the week were super picky. After a couple hours of picking up a few here and there, I asked if they were interested in changing things up and going after walleyes. The response was another resounding, “Yes!” So, we made the move to Lake Erie and picked up a 2 man limit in short order. 
06/06/2025 – Maintenance Day
I had some corrective and preventative maintenance work done on the truck, so I stayed off the water.
06/07/2025 – Fun with Folks from AZ
Fished a half day trip on the Upper Niagara with Mike, Carter, and Austin, visiting the Falls from AZ. They had never been to NY, nor had they ever seen so much fresh water. Their minds were blown by the scenery alone – let alone the fish. Action for smallmouth bass was consistent – we covered a lot of water and caught fish throughout. 
06/08/2025 – Lake Erie Dud
Fished Lake Erie for walleyes with Kevin, Brian, and Tom. The bite was VERY SLOW – not sure why. I marked a decent number of fish, but bites were few and far between. I’m not sure what changed from outings earlier in the week, but that’s Mother Nature. We pivoted to the Upper Niagara for the last couple hours to bend rods on bass. 
Seasonal Assessment/General Observations
Last week, I mentioned that I was going to start transitioning to walleyes/away from bass and that I would dabble out on Lake Ontario for cohos. Thankfully, Mother Nature gave me the conditions to accomplish just that. It was awesome being able to cover all that water with success in early June. Here’s what I noticed when I was out there.
Smallmouth Bass
The spawn is in full swing throughout the region. I’ve ranted enough about all the problems with spending days on end picking bass from beds. In short – don’t do it – cover as much water as possible or just avoid doing it all together in favor of other species.
Walleyes
It’s on folks. Well, it’s starting to heat up. After spending a couple months targeting bass with a side of salmon, I’m super excited to change things up in pursuit of Lake Erie gold. In later weeks, I’ll get more detailed on the pattern I see. Until then, I’ll keep it vague until the crowds get big and everyone knows what’s going on. They’re “off the windmills” eating every color Colorado blade put in front of them lol.
Salmon
I only dabbled this past week, but there are plenty of fish out there if you know what you’re doing. Cohos are still around, and from talking with some of my “big boat” colleagues, kings are making an appearance more often of late.
Buffalo NY Fishing Report – Forecast for 06/09/2025 – 06/15/2025
Forecast Commentary
Despite some marginally imposing winds from the W and SW early in the week and the potential for some rain here and there, the forecast for this upcoming week looks great. I have one more maintenance day on the calendar (Monday), but I’m booked the rest of the days. I’ll spend nearly all those days on Lake Erie targeting walleyes. However, I likely won’t spend much time fishing out of Buffalo, NY. Barcelona Harbor and Hanover are calling my name.
So, I’ll likely spend at least 4 if not 5 days this upcoming week driving the walleye train down 90 to less pressured and more prolific pastures. I’ve been looking forward to this for a while now. With some of my favorite clients on the docket, it’s gonna be a blast pursuing Lake Erie gold. Stay tuned.
Stay healthy my friends – mentally and physically,
Ryan