Days on the Water: 6 Who we fished with: friends/clients Where we fished: Lower Niagara, Upper Niagara, Lake Ontario What we caught: steelhead, brown trout, walleye Tactics: beads, jigs, live bait Commentary for the Week of 03/14/2022 – 03/20/2022 Great week for spending time on the water! There were quite a few sunny/warm days, very little wind, and the water color remained good. It certainly wasn’t on fire out there but we boated some biggies on every outing. Daily Conditions Analysis • Monday – gorgeous day. Mild temperatures in the upper 40s, little to no wind, excellent water clarity. Had some boat maintenance to do so I was off the water. • Tuesday – another perfect day. We fished – action remained consistent throughout the day. We boated some biggies. • Wednesday – yet another wonderful day. We fished – and had to work our asses off for every bite. What we landed were big. • Thursday – warmest day of the year. I spent a lot of time doing some recon work on Lake Ontario – scanning around to see if lake trout are setting up on the flats. You won’t mark many lakers when you do this, because they often hug the bottom and don’t show up well on the sonar. However, every once in awhile, one pops up on the screen. Where there’s one, there’s usually many more. Fishing Lake Ontario will be on the agenda for next week. • Friday – Another perfect day. Did some more recon work with my buddy Mike on the Upper Niagara. Nothing to report. • Saturday – lots of rain and wind with temps in the upper 50s/low 60s plus a big wind at the end of the day. Fished with my buddy Ryan just to get on the water. Super slow and wet. • Sunday – a little breezy but the temps were in the 50s and the water color was optimal. We went for it. Seasonal Assessment/General Observations It felt great not having to wear gloves for most of the week. However, if you’re planning on going fishing in the next couple weeks, don’t get WNY spring syndrome. What’s WNY spring syndrome? If you’re from here (maybe this applies to the Great Lakes region in general), you already have a sense of where I’m going to go with this. However, if you’re not from the area – WNY spring syndrome is the urge to wear tank tops, shorts, and flops because the temperatures finally broke 60 degrees. It happens every year – as reliable as the arrival of the robin. Every year, when the region gets its first dose of warm temperatures (by warm we mean in the 60s), many folks start rocking spring/summer clothing and don’t take it off until the fall. It’s kind of a way to get one’s mind in a better place after having shack nasties all winter. A quick stroll through a park around here will reveal how many folks have been cooped up for the past 5 months. The characteristics of a shack nasty sufferer are easy spot – pasty skin, flabbiness/lack of any semblance of musculature, disheveled clothing (it’s been folded up and stored for 6 months), poor posture from sitting in front of screens/staring at rectangles, etc. It’s time to fix all that folks – spring starts tomorrow. Still, the water is around 33 degrees (that’s why you’re seeing fog every morning when it’s warm around here – warm air is hitting a near-freezing layer of air just above the surface of the lakes). In other words, when you’re on the water, it’s still cold, no matter the air temperature – dress accordingly. Looking Forward to the Week of 03/21/2022 – 03/27/2022 Another good week is in store. The chart above is my prediction. Just like this past week, a majority of the days will be fishable. Wednesday looks a little problematic with a lot rain and considerable east winds. Come Sunday, it looks like we’re going to get another push of winter air and north winds just to remind us that we’re not out of the cold stuff yet. Hopefully, that changes as the week unfolds. I’ll likely split my time between fishing Lake Ontario and the Lower Niagara. Before long, the NYS Power Authority will pull the ice boom off Lake Erie and that’ll become an option as well. We’re at the doorstep of some of the best multispecies action of the year. I’m super stoked – been training for this all winter. Tomorrow is the first day of spring! Throughout the region, folks are coming out of hibernation and craving sunlight. We’ve got the perfect way for you to get some exposure. Give us a call, our calendar is packed but I’m sure we can find a spot. Stay healthy my friends – mentally and physically, Ryan

Days on the Water: 2 Who we fished with: friends Where we fished: Lower Niagara, Lake Ontario What we caught: steelhead Tactics: beads (10mm in pink, orange, and charteuse), white Mr. Twisters Commentary Observations from the Water – this Past Week (10-16-Jan) Well, last week’s prediction was way off. In my defense, the weather we endured wasn’t what was forecasted. More days than not, temperatures were below 20 degrees, winds were gusting in the teens (from a few directions), it snowed, and the water color was off. Brutal. Last Week’s Daily Breakdown Monday – muddy water, highs were in the teens, winds were blowing out of the west over 15mph. In other words, no fishing occurred. Tuesday – muddy water, highs just barely broke the teens, but the winds were minimal. If you recall from last week, when it’s super cold but windless and sunny, I think it’s worth a shot – especially if you can get on Lake Erie or Lake Ontario. Although those 2 factors were in play on Tuesday, the water color was still brown…getting green – but still brown. In other words, I didn’t go out. Wednesday – highs hit the upper 30s, winds gusted into the mid 20mph range for 6 hours or so, and water was “getting green.” If we had the water clarity for it, Wednesday would’ve been a good day to go out. That wind speed would’ve been somewhat problematic (gusts over 20mph from the west, push water across Lake Erie into the Niagara creating a “wind tide” kind of effect – higher water levels and current speed) but with clear enough water, catch rates can be excellent. In other words, the ingredients for a successful day weren’t there – no fishing occurred. Thursday – highs almost broke 40, winds were light and variable, and it was sunny – but the water clarity wasn’t there. Wednesday, at around sundown, I looked at the water and it was starting to clear up a bit, so I called my friend/client booked for the following day to discuss options. We shared the same assessment of the situation – the forecast looks good, and it’ll be nice just to get outside for a bit. Worst case – if the water is still muddy – we’ll try for a bit and call it a day. Well, that’s what happened. In fact, the water picked up some additional stain overnight. We gave it a shot – nothing came of it. Well, we had some great conversations – as we always do. Friday – highs were in the 20s, winds were gusting into the teens out of the NE, water color was greenish – less than 2 feet of visibility. No fishing occurred. Saturday – highs barely broke the single digits, wind was gusting into the teens out of the NE, water color was decent. It was a tough call – but those SUPER FRIGID temps were the nail in the coffin for the day. Sunday – everything came together. See pics \ Looking Forward (17-23-Jan) In short – it all looks dicey – it’ll be a daily call. We’re supposed to get more than a foot of snow tonight though tomorrow afternoon so I won’t be fishing in that. I’m hopeful that snow won’t do much damage to the system – it shouldn’t, considering all the tributaries are locked up with ice. Beyond Tuesday, it’s too tough to call. As long as the forecast holds, I’m sure I’ll be on the water at least one day – likely Friday and/or Saturday. Stay healthy my friends – mentally and physically, Ryan

Our latest observations from the water are live. Tap the link below to see what we’ve been up to. **hidden content**

Cold temperatures = some of the best trout fishing of the year. Spots are very limited but were sure we can find yoa spot if you each out soon

We’ve been plagued by big wind and rain for over a week now. It’s been tough to fish the big water - it’s been very muddy. Although a small break from the water is welcome after fishing for 4 weeks straight - but it’s getting a little too long. The silver lining - all those fish in the Lower Niagara have been hanging out, unmolested by anglers, for over a week now. Once this wind calms down - the fishing will be on fire! Book us soon if you want to experience this first hand. We’d love to meet you and show you what the area has to offer. Spots are limited - but we can almost always accommodate a last minute request.