Buffalo NY Fishing Report – Observations from 08/04/2025 – 08/10/2025
Here’s our latest Buffalo NY fishing report: This past week on Lake Erie was a good mix of familiar faces, first-timers, and repeat offenders chasing walleyes out of Buffalo. We started with a reunion trip for some old college buddies, followed by a crew of 10-year-olds who fished hard and complained only that the day was too short. Midweek, the Whisperer and Captain America pulled off another pre-work limit, then I took a quick family break in Ellicottville. We wrapped things up with a long-overdue trip for clients years in the making, finding fast action once we got on the fish. Ended the week with a day off to recover and recharge. Keep scrolling to read all about it.
Days on the water: 4
Who we fished with: friends/clients
Where we fished: Lake Erie
What we caught: walleye, freshwater drum
Tactics: bottom bouncing worm harnesses, trolling divers and planer boards with harnesses and spoons; casting finesse baits
Detailed Reporting/Daily Observations
08/04/2025 – Old Buddy Session
Fished Lake Erie for walleyes out of Buffalo, NY with Jim, Andy, and George – college buddies/friends for many years. Andy fished with me back in June and we had a banner session. Andy’s long-time buddy, Jim, heard about this session and had to experience it for himself. Jim gave me a call a few weeks prior to set something up. He used to live in WNY but moved to Minnesota a while ago and was only going to be in town visiting for a couple days. Luckily, I had an opening to accommodate the group.
It was a gorgeous day – partly cloudy, not too hot, with a light and variable breeze. We got on the fish quickly and landed our limit with ease. The guys were blown away by the action – especially Jim, who said something like, “We don’t get this kind of walleye action back home…incredible!” 
08/05/2025 – Crushing it with the Boys
Fished Lake Erie for walleyes out of Buffalo, NY with Enzo, Stanly, and Grayson – all 10-year-old boys with a desire to pursue some Lake Erie gold for the first time. When Enzo’s father called to set this up, he asked if I could accommodate 4 anglers. I told him that I don’t normally take 4 anglers and besides, if 3 of the crew were to be young boys, he’d be better off leaving them with me.
Understandably, he was a little hesitant about dropping kids off with a stranger, but I asked him to vet me and read about my experience hosting kids fishing camps. He agreed to give it a shot.
These boys knew their way around a rod and reel and were excellent students. They absolutely hammered walleyes. Their only complaint about the day – it was too short. Enzo’s dad assured them and me that next time would be a longer session. Good times! 
08/06/2025 – Challenge Accepted – Round 2
Fished Lake Erie for walleyes out of Buffalo, NY with the Whisperer and Captain America. After last week’s insane session out of Hanover where we were able to limit out fast enough to get Cap to work in time for his first meeting, we decided to try it again. I was a little more anxious this time though – the walleyes in front of Buffalo weren’t as stable as those in front of the Catt a week prior. Turns out, there was no reason for anxiety. Mission accomplished – for a second time. The Whisperer and I dropped Cap back at the dock after about an hour with his fish and we went back out to do a little recon – searching for fish where we hadn’t caught them yet. We accomplished that too. 
08/07/2025 – Vacation
Short family vacation to Ellicottville, NY. We rented an Airbnb some family friends and spent a couple days relaxing and playing games. By the way, the Sky High Adventure Park at Holiday Valley was a blast – physically and emotionally challenging to say the least.
08/08/2025 – Vacation
Slept in. Toured around Ellicottville, NY. Took our time getting home. From what I heard, Lake Erie was kinda big so I was happy to spend time relaxing.
08/09/2025 – Finally!
Fished Lake Erie for walleyes out of Buffalo, NY with new clients Tim, Dave, and Mike. Almost 4 years ago, Tim’s wife purchased him a gift certificate to fish with me. Poor conditions, schedule conflicts, and bad luck forced us to reschedule more than a few times. However, everything finally lined up and we made it out.
It took us a little bit to get on a consistent bite, but when we found them in big numbers, action was wild – to the point where I neglected taking pictures. Anyway, we got our limit in a few hours and made it back to the dock in time for lunch and an afternoon nap. 
08/10/2025 – Day Off
Attended a party the night prior. My wife and I had this party on the schedule for months and I knew it would be the kind of get-together that would necessitate a day of recovery immediately following. So, I slept in, went to the gym, and relaxed.
Seasonal Assessment/General Observations
On Taking a Break
As you likely noticed from the daily commentary above, it was a light week for me on the angling front – more focused on relaxation and family time. Those of you who have been reading these reports for a few years know that I usually take at least 8 days off in August for a big family vacation. Many factors prevented us from doing that this year (we’ll make up for it this winter). However, after having a HUGE July where my wife and I worked all but a handful of days, we needed to take a small breather – so we did.
I’ll say this much about taking a break in the middle of some of the craziest walleye fishing anyone in this region has ever experienced – it’s unsettling. After fishing walleyes 6, sometimes 7 days a week for more than a couple months, missing days makes me feel like I might “lose the school.”
I found myself continuing to wake up at 4 and getting tired/ready for bed around 8. I had a 10-mile stare when sitting on the back deck of the Airbnb – trying to feel the wind and determine how the fish were moving around. I can go on and on about all the actions captains execute from intuition and what our senses are telling us to do outside of “conscious thought,” – but I’ll save that for another day. However, after being in that operating mode near daily for months, it’s hard to calm the brain down when you’re outside that environment.
On the Walleyes
Nothing much has changed on the angling front. Walleyes in front of Buffalo continue to be a moving target – they’re rarely where you leave them the day prior. Spending some time at the beginning of every session looking around for large schools has been key. Once I find them, bottom bouncing a couple baits and fishing a couple baits suspended has been the daily play. Efficiency is paramount to me, so I usually only run 4 rods. I’ll put a couple boards out there if I want to complicate my life a little bit – but it’s totally unnecessary – I do it for practice if nothing else.
There’s also a ton of bait in all that shallow water in front of Buffalo – mainly juvenile perch. So, the ‘eyes have plenty to eat. I’m just not sure how much longer they’ll want to hang out in that hot water when there’s a thermocline set up further to the west where they can chill out a bit. Only time will tell, but I bet we’ll see some migrations to the west in the upcoming days.
The water west of Buffalo – from Sturgeon Point to Barcelona is almost fully recovered from the thermocline flip we experienced a little over a week ago. Some of my colleagues have been fishing out of these locations lately – mainly focused on deep water – 80’+ – all have been doing very well too.
Buffalo NY Fishing Report – Forecast for 08/11/2025 – 08/17/2025
Forecast Commentary
Other than continued heat and maybe a little rain, the Buffalo Niagara Region is looking at another near flawless forecast where every day will be fishable. That’s great news because I’m booked every day. The pursuit of Lake Erie gold will continue, but the Lower Niagara and Lake Ontario will get some attention too. I’m looking forward to a little diversity this upcoming week. Stay tuned!
This will be the last time I mention this/stop bothering my readers with this reminder – MY FALL IS ALMOST ENTIRELY BOOKED. Thank you to all the readers that heeded my calls to book days in advance for fall insanity. For those of you that haven’t but want to, call now or forever hold your peace.
Stay healthy my friends – mentally and physically,
Ryan