Buffalo NY Fishing Report – Observations from 10/06/2025 – 10/12/2025
Here’s our latest Buffalo NY fishing report: It was an emotional week with challenging weather, high highs, and low lows. We caught fish every day—nearly every species within reach this time of year. But more often than not, it was a grind. I did manage to experiment and went on some big fish missions with the right folks, which paid off big time. Salmon are in the tributaries, and walleyes remain strong in the eastern basin. As temps drop, expect lake trout, brown trout, and possibly steelhead to show up in good numbers soon. And yes, the bass bite is picking up too. I’ve already shaken off the tough days—there are too many awesome ones ahead to let them get to me.
Days on the water: 6
Who we fished with: friends/clients
Where we fished: Lake Erie, Upper Niagara, Lower Niagara River
What we caught: king salmon, lake trout, steelhead, walleye, smallmouth bass
Tactics: Trolling downriggers, divers and planer boards with harnesses and spoons; drifting live bait; casting deep diving crankbaits
Detailed Reporting/Daily Observations
10/06/2025 – Day 1 of Harry and Kenny’s Visit
Capt Joe Srouji of Anglers Edge Outdoors brought me aboard for a 2 boat, 3 day trip on the Lower Niagara. I fished with Harry and Kenny for all 3 days. On day 1 – we had OK conditions with our only obstacle being a strong wind from the south with commensurate fast current. The bite was OK for bass – nothing big – no pictures taken.
10/07/2025 – Day 2 of Harry and Kenny’s Visit
Pouring rain and big wind from the start had these guys curled up and miserable. They didn’t last very long – maybe a couple of hours before tapping out. So, I dropped them off at the dock and Joe did the same with his folks. Wet, but warm – I didn’t want to go home just yet. So, I asked Joe to join me in Devils Hole for an hour just to mess around. In that time, I managed to land 3 nice walleyes and a king. 
10/08/2025 – Day 3 of Harry and Kenny’s Visit
A stiff N wind kept Kenny, Harry, and I up in Devils Hole for most of the day. The walleyes cooperated.
In summary – these gentlemen endured some rough conditions during their 3-day visit. Both are in their late 70s, and their health isn’t the greatest. However, they’ve led a long life chalked full of hunting and fishing trips around the continent. What they just experienced wasn’t the worst by any stretch. Still, they enjoyed themselves enough to get them back up here next spring. 
10/09/2025 – Rest Day
After 17 days straight – I was happy to take the day off. I had it blocked to fish for muskies with my buddies Nate and Nick. However, work got in the way for Nate and sickness got in the way for Nick. I slept in, went to the gym, and got some boat maintenance done.
10/10/2025 – Another Grind Session
Fished the Lower and Upper Niagara with John and Tony. It was a grind, and I don’t know why – the guys performed admirably, and conditions were good. They put casts where they needed to be but weren’t rewarded very much.
After experiencing a slow morning on the Lower, we moved to the Upper. Unfortunately, we had a couple obstacles up there. For one – MANY bass boats were pre-fishing for a Canadian Tire Tournament. There wasn’t a stretch of river that wasn’t occupied. Secondly, the weeds were a mess. The fall die off is well underway leaving the water column loaded with debris. 
10/11/2025 – Looking for (and finding) Larry
Fished Lake Erie for walleyes and lake trout out of Barcelona Harbor, NY with Ryan and Jack. I’ve been out with this father/son team more than a handful of times over the past year. Of late, big fish are what they’re searching for. I had an idea that would surely please if I could find them – Lake Erie lakers. Also, Jack had never caught a lake trout – making this option even more enticing for these guys.
I pulled up to the harbor around 8:45AM and much to my excitement – there was NOBODY there. 2-4’ waves with the occasional 5’er is likely what kept folks at home. Personally, I love those conditions – the challenge, the excitement, fleeting moments of fear, the solitude, the freedom to go wherever you want without worrying about other boats getting in the way. Plus, the Warrior is made for that stuff.
The boys rolled in at 9:00ish. Within 30mins, we caught our first lake trout (and more than a handful of walleyes) and the action didn’t stop all day. We were sweating, shedding layers, and getting covered with slime for hours before finally tapping out. Here are some pics of the bigger fish we landed. Awesome session.
Side note on catching lakers in deep water: I love native fish – specifically smallmouth bass, walleyes, and lake trout. I’ve always had immense respect for lakers – they live almost as long as humans, have huge and very toothy mouths that can handle just about any prey item, and are gorgeous creatures. I make every effort to take care of these fish when I land them – always wet (from unhooking to preparing for a photo). When I take a photo, I hand the fish to the client, quickly take a shot, and have the client release them headfirst back to the depths. All swim away strong. I encourage you to do the same (if you’re not keeping them). 
10/12/2025 – Whispering and Assassinating
Fished Lake Erie for walleyes and trout out of Barcelona Harbor, NY with the Whisperer and the Silent Assassin. The Whisperer was nursing a wrist injury so he showed up to count fish, watch the rods from his throne in the bow, and to reel in the occasional walleye. That left all the reeling up to the assassin. In short – his arms and shoulders were trashed by the end of the day.
There was a BIG NNE blowing – kicking up 1-3’ waves all day. So, I went out deep, turned around, and began trolling back to the harbor. The lake trout were on fire out deep and we picked up the occasional walleye in the mix. However, as we continued to troll into shallower water, the trout bite died off and the walleye bite picked up. We even caught a bonus steelhead who was hanging around with the ‘eyes. As per usual, we ended the day with our limit of ‘eyes and a couple of bonus trout for the smoker.
NOTE: the cleaning station at Hanover (the Catt) closed today and they are pulling the launch docks at the end of the month. If I’m not mistaken, the cleaning station at the Buffalo Safe Harbor closes on 10/15. Although the walleye bite is still ridiculous, plan according when it comes to cleaning fish.
Seasonal Assessment/General Observations
As you likely noticed from the play-by-play above, I spent most of my time on the lower Niagara this past week and dabbled a little bit on Erie. Not much has changed since my last report, but here are a couple of notes:
- Salmon are thick in the tributaries now from the Oak to 18. I wouldn’t say they’re thick in the Niagara – but if you put in a day’s work, you’ve got a good chance at catching one or two, maybe three.
- The water temperature dropped a few degrees this past week. If that trend continues, I wouldn’t be surprised if a couple of lake trout, brown trout, and maybe even steelhead get caught in the Lower Niagara this upcoming week. If not, almost definitely the week after.
- There was a Canadian Tire bass tournament on Saturday. 100 boats participated. The weigh-in station was on the Chippewa Canal – just upstream from the falls. Everyone caught 5 fish – so that’s 500 bass that were brought from spots as far as Point Breeze over into Canadian water just above the falls. So, the bite was good. Who knows what kind of damage that just did to the population though. I’ll be avoiding bass fishing out there for a couple of weeks.
- Walleyes are still thick in the western basin. I didn’t fish out of Buffalo, NY this past week so I don’t know if they’re there still. However, a couple of my colleagues fished out of the Catt and Dunkirk and got easy limits.
Buffalo NY Fishing Report – Forecast for 10/13/2025 – 10/19/2025
Forecast Commentary
The forecast for this upcoming week is typical fall weather – wind from every direction – but not prohibitive on hany of the days. I’ll be out there daily. Stay tuned.
Stay healthy my friends – mentally and physically,
Ryan