Buffalo NY Fishing Report – Observations from 11/10/2025 – 11/16/2025
Here’s our latest Buffalo NY fishing report: Hey, folks! This past week was a classic mix of brutal weather and ridiculously good action on the Lower Niagara and Lake Erie. Stiff winds, sub-freezing temps, snow, and 8-9’ waves forced multiple cancellations and turned boat ramps into hazard zones, yet the fish fired when conditions allowed. Trout slams have become the norm on the Lower and Lake Erie biggie smalls have their feed bags on. Reschedules, a little grit, and big-fish payoffs defined a week that reminded everyone why we brave WNY’s November chaos.
Days on the water: 5
Who we fished with: friends/clients
Where we fished: Lake Erie, Lower Niagara
What we caught: walleye, smallmouth bass, lake trout, brown trout, steelhead, freshwater drum (not a typo)
Tactics: drifting live bait and beads; casting deep diving crankbaits
Detailed Reporting/Daily Observations
11/10/2025 – Marine Corps Birthday/Weather Day
Talking with my clients the night prior, we opted to reschedule. Facing stiff N winds, below freezing temperatures, and persistent snow, it would’ve been a tough session. My biggest concern was that the roads and the boat ramp were going to be a mess/unsafe.
11/11/2025 – Veterans Day/Shari’s Belated Birthday
Fished the Lower Niagara with Shari. If you’ve been reading my fishing reports for a while, Shari’s a familiar face. When she’s not fishing with me, she’s walking the tribs bending rods on everything that swims. She and I have been fishing together for more than 4 years now and I’ve watched her get better with every outing.
Shari’s birthday is on 11/10 – so we’ve made it a tradition to get out on her birthday (give or take a day or so) every year since we’ve met. We had near perfect water clarity and a stiff (but not too stiff) W wind blowing – I had a good feeling this was going to be a banner session. It was. We went on a species chasing mission – she managed 6. What a day! 
11/12/2025 – We Gotta Stop Meeting Like This
Fished the Lower Niagara with Alan, Bob, and Ethan. You might remember Alan from one of my reports from last month. He and a buddy endured some rough conditions (cold, wind, and rain) but managed to have a banner session. Well, this time was no different.
Starting late afternoon the day prior, those stiff W winds I mentioned above got bigger. 8-9’ waves rocked Lake Erie late afternoon through the night. When I arrived in the morning, I was dismayed to see that the water clarity took a bigger hit than anticipated. Oh yeah, the wind continued to blow and it was raining.
The guys arrived dressed for battle, so we went for it. The trout bite was kind of grindy due to the stain. The bass and the walleyes were fired up. Prior to this trip, the biggest fish Ethan had ever caught was a small perch. Everything he caught on this day could eat that lol. 
11/13/2025 – Day Off
One of my regulars had 11/12 and this day booked. He was supposed to come in from Florida, link up with his father and brother in PA, and drive up to fish with me for a couple of days. I spoke with him on Sunday afternoon while looking at the forecast – it didn’t look good – so he opted to cancel. It was the right choice. Travelling that far to grind though some tough conditions for a few days – not worth it. I’ll see that crew in the spring.
11/14/2025 – Solo Recon Session to my Happy Place
Earlier in the week, I spoke with my clients scheduled for this day. We decided to cancel as they would be driving up from Pittsburg, PA and I thought for sure the water clarity would be poor due to all the wind/waves from the days prior. Unfortunately, I was wrong. The clarity ended up being fishable. That left me with a day off and nothing to do.
I called a couple friends to see if they wanted to get out for a few hours, but nobody could make it work on that short of notice. So, I decided to fish Lake Erie for smallies by myself. I’m glad I did. I landed 1 fish over 6lbs, a few in the 5lb class, and countless 4lb’ers – and a couple of walleyes for good measure. All on swimbaits and bucktails. It was awesome!
11/15/2025 – From Tampa Bay to WNY
Fished the Lower Niagara with Matt and Dan in town from Tampa for the Bucs/Bills game. 4 other anglers joined these guys – they fished with Mike Trifiletti of Riverborn Fishing Company and Peter Goretti of One More Drift. This crew has a sweet tradition – every year, they go to a Bucs away game with the goal of chalking up all the stadiums. They either golf or fish on these trips. There’s no golfing going on up here in November, so…
These guys were awesome sticks – they quickly managed a trout slam (each) so I made the move to accomplish a super slam (trout slam + 2 more warm water species). They made that happen too. In other words, both got a solid dose of what our fishery has to offer and departed blown away. Awesome day. 
11/16/2025 – All the Shots
When I was preparing to go to Louisiana last winter, I called all my friends to see if they would join me. They were either not interested, or they couldn’t make it work. When I let the guide down there know I would be coming by myself, his response was, “All the shots.” Meaning, I had no competition – every fish I saw would be mine to catch or miss. Sometimes I like fishing by myself – years ago, I used to prefer it. Nowadays, I prefer fishing with at least one person. Preferably a couple.
Well, Rick had a couple buddies that were supposed to join him on this day. However, one backed out due to sickness (seems like there’s a lot of that going around), the other backed out to hunt. When he told me this the night prior, I responded with, “All the shots.” I also gave him a chance to bail on the trip. We were going to battle a very stiff NW wind and 40 degree temps – NOT OPTIMAL. He said that he had the right gear and that the cold didn’t bother him. In fact, it helps his aching bones lol. So, we went for it.
The NW winds were some of the biggest I’ve fished though. Various parts of the river had standing 3’ waves! There were times when the gusts were so big they knocked me off balance. Getting a good drift was difficult to say the least. However, Rick managed a Lower Niagara grand slam. Huge props go out to Rick for giving it a shot – it paid off. 
Seasonal Assessment/General Observations
Well, fall insanity is in full swing folks. Although we’ve had some crap weather so far, when good enough conditions line up, the fishing has been excellent. As of this writing, the water temperature leaving Lake Erie is 48 degrees. That’s colder than it’s been this time of year by more than a few degrees since 2019. No wonder everything that swims is ravenous right now. It’s that perfect temperature where all our regional fish feed with reckless abandon to pack on weight for the winter. This is peak my friends, get after it while you can.
Buffalo NY Fishing Report – Forecast for 11/17/2025 – 11/23/2025
This past summer, from mid-June through mid-September, I didn’t have to cancel a trip due to weather. That was the longest stretch of stability I’ve experienced since I’ve been chartering. Then, late October came around, and all hell broke loose. I always get a little anxious during long periods of stability because my experience tells me what will follow won’t be fun.
Not having to worry about the weather is nice when it’s happening, but I find myself wondering when chaos will ensue – because it always does. “We’ve had such a hot and dry summer.” Remember thinking that only a couple months ago? Now everybody is thinking, “When is the wind and rain going to stop?” In other words, take advantage of stability while you can but don’t get too comfortable – Mother Nature will revert to the mean before long.
I bring all that up because if the forecast for this upcoming week comes to pass, we’re going to get a welcome break from chaos for a bit. Every day looks fishable. Rain will come and go here and there. At the beginning of the week, water clarity will be marginal because of today’s (Sunday’s) wind, but it’ll improve markedly as the week unfolds – stability will calm everything down. I’m booked daily – it’s been a little while since I’ve worked an uninterrupted stretch of days and am looking forward to it! I’ll get back out to Erie at least once. The rest will be spent on the Lower. 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.