Buffalo NY Fishing Report – Observations from 10/30/2023 – 11/05/2023
Here’s our latest Buffalo NY fishing report: For once, the forecast for this past week was off…in a good way. Although there were a couple of hostile days, nearly all were fishable – I only had to reschedule one trip. I took a couple of days off mid-week for some boat maintenance, but closed the week strong with some great clients that got to experience fall fishing at it’s finest. Keep reading for more details.
Days on the Water: 4
Who we fished with: friends/clients
Where we fished: Lower Niagara, Lake Ontario
What we caught: smallmouth bass, lake trout, brown trout, steelhead
Tactics: 3-way rig with live bait, beads, or plugs
Episode 67 of Two Angles on Angling: With bronchitis almost behind me and 2 weeks of angling and outdoor activities to discuss, Jordan and I get back together to record our latest episode. https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/two-angles-on-angling
Detailed Reporting/Daily Observations
Monday – With rain and a big NW bearing down on the region, we opted to reschedule the trip.
Tuesday – Gorgeous day – with a light wind from the south, we could’ve done anything. We opted to focus on bass fishing on the Lower Niagara and Lake Ontario. The lake was slowish – likely because NW, N, and E winds dominated the days leading up to the trip. Those wind directions on Lake Ontario tend to push COLD water toward the Niagara. When that pattern of weather unfolds, it usually leads to A LOT of fish moving into the river. That’s what happened. Excellent river bite.
Wednesday – Day off for boat maintenance.
Thursday – Day off for boat maintenance. Woud’ve been a good front half of the day as it was calm, but a big SSW kicked in after noon.
Friday – Fished the lower Niagara. Had some huge SW winds blowing and some raging currents, but the action was incredible.
Saturday – Fished the Lower Niagara. Had perfect conditions – little to no wind, partly cloudy skies, and slightly stained water. Once again, we had incredible action all day.
Sunday – Fished Lake Erie. The day started off with a little N wind that kepy us moving at a good clip. We got into fish right away and the action kept up until the wind died. With no movement, we converted to a slow troll and continued catching. Then, we moved into current to end the day and caught more – excellent session. Not a lot of biggies though.
Seasonal Assessment/General Observations
On the Conditions
It’s fall my friends and the fishing is on fire. We had some incredible fall foliage as a backdrop for awhile, but all the raging winds lately knocked most of the leaves down. Now, we’re left with some yellows, oranges, and a sporadic red. Still, it’s pretty damn gorgeous out there and with daytime highs still in the 50s, it’s been a pleasant angling experience near daily.
Smallmouth Bass
Yep – I’m sure it’s not a shock to anyone that I continue to spend time bass fishing. Why wouldn’t I – look at those fish. With consistent action all day, they’re hard to pass up. Multiple doubles happen on every outing.
I spent most of my time fishing for smallmouth bass on Lake Ontario and on the Lower Niagara this past week. It’s the perfect place to go to work with the elements or stay out of them all together. The fish are almost as wide as they are long from gorging themselves on juvenile alewives.
With the water temperature around 57 degrees (that’s well above the historical average), I’ve been sticking with live bait lately. However, if you’re against that tactic, use something less than 3 inches and white – you’ll be matching the hatch.
Trout
The Lower Niagara is loaded with lake trout – LOADED. I haven’t spent much time targeting them because it’s a near guarantee to boat more than a handful if you spend a couple hours fishing for them. Chartreuse beads when it’s calm and plugs when the wind is pushing you more than 2mph are the best baits.
Steelhead are showing up in increasing numbers. The water is still a little warm for them, but they are around and if you put in work fishing the zones loaded with lakers, you’ll boat a few. It’s early, and with water temps still in the upper 50s, I think we’re still weeks away from the peak of the fall run.
Brown trout are also showing up in increasing numbers. Spend some time on the downstream portion of the Lower Niagara and you’re sure to see plenty of kype jawed bucks jumping out of the water. Although there are plenty of them around, they aren’t biting well just yet. It’s early for them too – any day now they’ll start to fire up.
Buffalo NY Fishing Report – Forecast for 11/06/2023 – 11/12/2023
The forecast for this upcoming week looks erratic to say the least. It looks like we’ll get wind from every direction, but mostly from the W and SW. Precipitation will make an appearance, although mostly at night, so it shouldn’t pose much of a problem. Bottom line, every day looks fishable.
On the N and E wind days, I am going to fish Lake Erie for smallmouth and walleye. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to put in a solid day’s work out there. I have the perfect clients on the docket to help me figure out what’s going on. I’m betting they are on the sand flats in good numbers now. However, I’m going to poke around structure too just to see what’s going on.
On the S and W wind days (those look to be particularly hostile), I’ll fish the Lower Niagara and maybe the Upper Niagara (S wind). Of course, smallmouth will be a target on parts of those days – not just because I love them – but because I’m betting a biggie brown is going to house a minnow soon in the same zones the bass are in now. We dropped a big one yesterday. A poke around the canyon for trout will happen too.
Stay healthy my friends – mentally and physically,
Ryan