Buffalo NY Fishing Report – Observations from 10/27/2025 – 11/02/2025
Here’s our latest Buffalo NY fishing report: What a week! Between chill sessions with gorgeous weather to fishing through Mother Nature’s wrath, it was an awesome week on the water here in the Buffalo Niagara Region. Thankfully, I had the weather and some hardcore anglers to explore it all this past week with only a couple of slowish outings. The big bass are on the feed and the trout are “on the breed.” Deciding what to do every day is starting to get challenging. The fall frenzy is almost in full swing. Even better days are in store.
Days on the water: 7
Who we fished with: friends/clients
Where we fished: Lake Erie, Upper Niagara, Lower Niagara
What we caught: walleye, smallmouth bass, lake trout, king salmon
Tactics: drifting live bait; casting deep diving crankbaits
Detailed Reporting/Daily Observations
10/27/2025 – And so it Begins
Fished the Lower Niagara with Steve, Alex, and Nick. The guys put in work from Devils Hole down to the Lake Ontario Bar. It wasn’t an action packed day – but we caught fish at entertaining levels and managed to get a lower Niagara slam in the process (king, bass, walleye – didn’t snap any pics but we caught a few, lake trout). 
10/28/2025 – Recon with the Assassin
Fished the Upper Niagara and Lake Erie with the Silent Assassin. The original plan was for us and the Whisperer to fish smallmouth bass around the area, but the Whisperer ended up staying at home to nurse a cold. So, we covered a lot of ground – and caught very few. I’m not sure why – conditions were near perfect – clear skies, a good chop on the lake, slightly stained water. 
10/29/2025 – Another Lower Grind Sesh’
Fished the Lower Niagara with Dan, Brian, and Chris. These guys grew up on the Lower Niagara. They fished it, swam in it, and hiked along it before the dams, back when there was a wooden Lewiston/Queenston bridge that spanned the canyon. Fishing for trout down there brings them back to their childhood – and the stories flow all day long. I learn something new every time I fish with them.
Unfortunately, it was a grind. Although the bite was tough, time flew by via conversation. 
10/30/2025 – Glory Favors the Bold (Sometimes)
Fished Lake Erie and the Upper Niagara with Greg, Tanner, and Dustin – up from Ohio. I’ve been fishing with these guys a couple times per year for more than 5 years. They’re hard as nails and always willing to endure rough conditions – and man, we’ve fished through Mother Nature’s wrath more than a handful of times. This two-day trip was hardcore…to quite hardcore.
Facing a huge NE and pissing rain, I decided to start the day on Lake Erie until it got too big/untenable. At which point we’d fall back to the river and cover ground there. Action on the lake was awesome for about an hour, then things got weird. I’ve been out there in some BIG waves, what we were dealing with weren’t big by my standards. However, the current out there was raging. I’ve never seen it that fast. It took 2oz weights to stay on the bottom while drifting. Eventually, 5’ waves started to kick up in tight intervals. So, I decided to head to the river before having to deal with a painfully slow retreat – that movement back to the harbor was brutal.
When we got to the river, the NE headwinds denied any way of effectively drifting East River. In fact, I ended up pointing the bow downstream and pulling us along. Despite all the adversity – relentless rain and wind, big waves, and hands so cold they could barely crank a reel – we hammered and had a blast. It was a day to remember. Pics were few and far between due to the rain – but here’s a few. 
10/31/2025 – Glory Favors the Bold Part 2 (Maybe More than Sometimes)
Fished the Lower Niagara with Greg, Tanner, and Dustin. We dealt with almost the same equation as the day prior – except BIG wind from the NW instead of the NE. After the guys got off the water the day prior, they went to Cabelas and stocked up on some additional cold weather gear to ensure use of their hands wouldn’t be an issue due to the cold/wet. In short – they were ready for battle.
There was only 1 other boat on the water, a group of recreational anglers who we encountered sporadically. Once again, action was ridiculous. Through howling wind and pelting rain, the guys pounded and had a blast. Memories made!
11/01/2025 – Post Traumatic Chill Sesh
Fished the Lower Niagara with Brian, Matt, and Braden. It was the first nice day after a few nasty ones. It felt great fishing while being comfortable – but that had its downsides too. It was a Saturday, the weather was nice, and the fair-weather anglers came out to play – in droves. There was even a guy in a kayak trying to drift Artpark.
We caught fish at an entertaining clip, but honestly, I missed the chaos/horrendous conditions of the days prior when nobody was out and we had the place to ourselves. 
11/02/2025 – PBs all Around
Fished Lake Erie with Brian, Matt and Braden. In short – it was my best smallmouth bass session of the season. I don’t know why it was so good – it was dead calm, sunny, and there were a ton of folks out fishing. It didn’t matter – we hammered. All three of these guys landed PB smallmouth bass to include a couple over 6lbs and more than a handful in the 5lb class. Countless 4 and 3 pounders kept us entertained between the tankers. Awesome day!
Seasonal Assessment/General Observations
I’ve been on the water for 10 days straight. Once again, I hope the play-by-play above filled you with enough information to whet your appetite. As you can see – action is getting REALLY good. Water temperatures are falling fast and nearly everything is starting to fire…except for the brown trout. They’ll get going any day now. My personal challenge – deciding what to do/to fish for every day. There are some solid options right now.
Buffalo NY Fishing Report – Forecast for 10/27/2025 – 11/02/2025
It’s November folks, and it feels like it – finally. This upcoming week, as per usual this time of year, looks chaotic to say the least. Monday will be fishable for most of the day – until BIG SW winds show up mid-afternoon. After that, I’m not very optimistic we’ll have fishable conditions until the weekend.
From Monday afternoon through Wednesday…maybe Thursday…maybe even Friday, HUGE winds from the W, SW, and N will make a mess of things. As you saw from my reporting from this past week, you can fish through some nasty stuff – so long as the water clarity is OK. With NOAA calling for waves over 14’ Monday afternoon, there isn’t a lot of hope for having clear enough water for at least a couple of days after.
Hopefully I’m wrong about the forecast. I’m booked daily this upcoming week. If you’re on the docket, please stay flexible and be prepared for some last-minute calls. Stay tuned.
Stay healthy my friends – mentally and physically,
Ryan
NOTICE: I’m not including this note in an attempt to fill my spring calendar early. I’m not trying to create a sense of scarcity to encourage folks to call me ASAP. I’m being completely transparent – if you want to fish with me this spring, please get in touch soon. My calendar is already HEAVILY booked. I’m not sure how/why it happened so early this year, but a lot of folks have been proactive and reaching out well in advance of the season to book a prime date. If you’re interested in experiencing spring insanity and want to ensure you have a date, please get in touch soon.