This week was a wild ride on Lake Erie, fishing out of Barcelona Harbor, NY, for walleyes. Early in the week, despite a couple days of small craft advisories, we crushed it, hauling in limits of walleyes on every session, mostly trolling for suspended fish feasting on smelt. A special trip with a client honoring his late father stood out, making for unforgettable memories. Boat maintenance and a last-minute cancellation gave me a couple of days to hit the gym and recharge. Then…Lake Erie flipped – dashing any hopes of an awesome Father’s Day. Dive into the full report for the highs, lows, and my ongoing battle with “gold fever.” 06/09/2025 – Maintenance Day The Warrior needed some TLC – oil changes, livewell repairs, some electrical work – nothing crazy. These issues popped up through all the hard usage over the past few months. When “ankle biter” problems emerge with the boat, it’s almost like I sustain a small injury too. When she’s not running 100%, I can feel it – but that’s likely my obsessive-compulsive disorder kicking in. Many thanks to the crew at Collins Marine for getting it all done in one day. **hidden content**, it Felt Good to be Back Fished Lake Erie out of Barcelona Harbor NY with Mike, Michael, and Frank – Buffalo Niagara locals and first-time clients. First – it was kinda big out there. SW winds gusting into the mid-20s had it rolling. The day started off with 1-3’ waves and quickly escalated to small craft advisory conditions. The guys didn’t care (my kind of people) – we caught the hell out of some walleyes and called it a little early. As much as I love fishing out of Barcelona, the only problem with the place is that there’s no cleaning station on site. So, I usually take the boat out and drive to the Hanover launch on Cattaraugus Creek to clean my fish. However, the lake was so big that nobody was at the Hanover launch/the cleaning station was locked. Thankfully, Mike had a place close by where we could make it happen. 06/11/2025 – Day Off Another day of strong southwest winds, with gusts hitting the mid-30 mph range, kept me off the water. A small craft advisory was in effect from morning through midnight. I made the most of it, hitting the gym and taking some time to relax. 06/12/2025 – Whispering and Assassinating Fished Lake Erie for walleyes out of Barcelona Harbor NY with the Whisperer and the Silent Assassin. She was rolling when we first got out there from all the wind raging through the area. However, as the morning went on, it laid down nicely and ended up being a gorgeous day. We started off bottom bouncing structure, but action was sporadic at best. Getting impatient, I decided to move out to deeper water to hunt suspended fish. That ended up being the right call as the bite was very consistent. We got our limit in a couple hours and rode the walleye train back home. No pictures taken. 06/13/2025 – Making Memories with Tom Fished Lake Erie for walleyes out of Barcelona Harbor, NY, with a new client, Tom. This trip was special—Tom recently lost his father and wanted to honor him with a walleye fishing day, inspired by a cherished memory of a great session they shared on Chautauqua Lake years ago. Despite the emotional weight, we had a fantastic day on the water, getting our limit with ease. We battled big NE winds and some huge waves, but that just seemed to activate the fish. No photos this time, just the memories. A fitting tribute. 06/14/2025 – Last Minute Cancellation Had a last minute cancellation that I couldn’t fill. So, I stayed off the water, went to the gym, and otherwise relaxed. 06/15/2025 – And then it Flipped Fished Lake Erie for walleyes out of Barcelona Harbor, NY, with Terry, Chris, and Riley. Two days in a row of BIG NE winds caused the lake to flip. For reference, earlier this week when I fished out of here, the surface temperature was 63-64 degrees. Today, it was 49-50 degrees – I even went a couple miles offshore looking for warm water and it was only 54 degrees. A 10 degree drop like this messes everything up – fish scatter, trying to follow the warm water. In other words, it was a dud of a session…soul crushing. You can read more about this phenomenon at this link. Seasonal Assessment/General Observations Spent four days on the water this week, fishing for walleyes out of Barcelona Harbor, NY. Apologies for the lack of photos—gold fever hit me hard. For those unfamiliar, gold fever is my annual obsession when walleye season kicks off. With fish aplenty, I get consumed with dialing in the perfect trolling spread, prioritizing quick, efficient catches over a laid-back day. It’s a blast, though I’ll admit my clients might start noticing my OCD quirks if I don’t rein it in soon. I’ll make a point to snap some pics in upcoming sessions. The walleye fishing out west is excellent right now – minus the lake flipping – but that should right itself in the next couple of days. Most fish were suspended, feas

The last week of May 2025 was a wild ride on the waters of the Buffalo Niagara Region. It was a week filled with challenging conditions, memorable moments, and a mix of fishing fortunes. From a grind on Memorial Day to a thrilling ride through crashing waves on the Upper Niagara where an 8-year-old outfished everyone, each trip brought its own story. Slow days tested patience with young anglers, while veterans and college-aged crews brought lively conversations and decent catches. Some massive winds over the weekend kept me off the water/provided opportunities to rest. Here’s a glimpse into the highs, lows, and everything in between from a week of chasing fish and making memories. Seasonal Assessment/General Observations Smallmouth in Spawn Mode: Keep it Moving The smallmouth bass are almost entirely in spawn mode – hence all the smaller fish you likely noticed in the photos. The water is still chilly (Lake Erie June Temperatures Buffalo), but right in the sweet spot for them to get their “spawn on.” As I mentioned in last week’s report, if you target bass right now, you’re going to catch some spawners whether you’re trying to or not. Please, do something like what I do – cover a lot of ground/don’t soak areas. Let them breed with as little interruption as possible. Here’s an example of what not to do: for 2 days in a row, I watched 2 bass boats from West Virginia spot lock in a small nook on the lower Niagara for hours each day. By a small nook, I mean an area no bigger than 40 sq ft…and they stayed there for hours…both days. I drifted past them a couple times. Then I fished downriver for a while. Then I came back upriver to take the boat out of the water – they were still there. Please, don’t do this. It’s super greedy/gluttonous. The main counter to my position is that people really want to catch fish. Those WV boys trailered their boat all the way up here – they’re likely thinking that they’re gonna do what it takes to bend a rod. My response? Sorry, it sucks that you planned your trip here when you did. Play the hand you’re dealt – cover water and stop beating up on the same fish over and over and over. Transition Time With the bass on beds, my program for the next few weeks will incorporate a mix of activities. Walleyes are starting to show up more often – so I’ll spend part of the beginning of nearly every session targeting them. They aren’t schooled up in our basin by any means. However, there are enough around on structure that you can catch a “family fish fry” worth in a morning before transitioning to bass fishing for a bit. Following my big humbling on Lake Ontario this past Monday, I need some revenge. By all counts, the coho bite out there has been excellent with more and more kings showing up. I’ll get that dialed this week – and it’ll become part of the weekly plan until the big schools of walleyes make their way into NY waters. Fingers crossed – we’ll start seeing that happen in a couple weeks.

Buffalo NY Fishing Report **hidden content** by brookdog | May 22, 2022 Days on the Water: 7 Who we fished with: friends/clients Where we fished: Lower Niagara, Lake Ontario, Upper Niagara, Lake Erie What we caught: coho salmon, king salmon, smallmouth bass, walleye Tactics: neds, jigs, flies, jerk baits, crank baits, blade baits; trolling spoons and stick baits Commentary for the Week of 05/16/2022 – 05/22/2022 It was a week of spring weather – rain, wind, some cold, some heat, and some sunshine. The water warmed up rapidly due to all the 80+ degree days. That heat turned the bass toward the spawn and pushed the kings all over the place. In short, we’re past peak but there are still some great days to be had over the next week or so. Tap the icon below to listen to our latest podcast or subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts. **hidden content** iOS - Buffalo NY Fishing Report - 05/22/2022 Daily Conditions Analysis Weather Breakdown Monday – Tough day. Wind, rain, and a big drop in temperature. Most folks would opt to reschedule their trip facing those conditions. The guys that fished with me Monday (and Tuesday) have been fishing with me for years. Rain, sleet, hail, snow, they’re down for the adventure. We made it work/fish were caught. Tuesday – At least it was sunny…but the wind was a bit intense. The Upper Niagara had 2-3′ standing waves throughout the day. Opted to power fish/throw crankbaits all day. It worked…VERY well. Wednesday – Perfect conditions all around – mild temps, small breeze, partly cloudy. Fished Lake Erie – numbers were OK but the size was incredible. Picked up a walleye in the mix too. Thursday – Fished the bar in the morning for cohos. Picked up a few and saw a few busting bait. Not a ton around anymore but they’re there if you want a great meal. Transitioned to the Upper for a short crankbait session. Friday – half day trip. Spent it in the harbor bassing. Nice day until the rain showed up. Saturday – sunny and warm but big winds out of the SSW. Had a last minute cancellation but was able to fill the date with one of my friends/clients that’s been dying to catch a king so we pushed through waves onto Ontario. Mission accomplished…and then some. Sunday – Fished Lake Erie and the Upper Niagara. Forecast turned out far worse than projected. Fog, rain, and extreme wind made it tough. We had a small window in the morning where we had a steady bite then things got tough. Seasonal Assessment/General Observations Water temperatures in the river are in the mid 50s now. The last time it was this warm this early was 2012. That’s crazy considering how behind things were only 2 weeks ago. The water temperature increased 10 degrees in 10 days due to all the 80+ degree temperatures we’ve been experiencing – it’s a little unsettling watching the rapid climb. Things chilled out a little bit this past week and flattened the curve but the rise continued nonetheless. Throughout the system, smallmouth bass are starting to get on beds. Not a shocker considering they to convert to spawning when the water temps hit the mid 50s. They’ll be in full spawn mode within days – in the river that is – the Lake Erie spawn seems to be spread out a little more – probably because of the deeper/colder water. You’ll notice from the pics that although we’re still getting great numbers in the river, the size isn’t what it was a week or so ago. Biggies are still coming out of the lake but the catch rates have been a little lower lately. It’s an interesting pattern I see year after year both with smallmouth bass and steelhead – the biggest/oldest/most mature fish show up to the spawning grounds first, followed by their younger peers. It makes me wonder where the biggies go when the younger fish arrive. Figuring that out is always on my mind but it’s hard to do recon with clients in the heart of the season. Stated differently, there’s always a little experimentation going on but my priority is to keep rods bent unless someone requests something different (like monster hunting). I only spent a couple days fishing Lake Ontario this past week. Cohos are still available on the bar – it’s wild watching them blast bait on the surface. The Niagara is still dumping emeralds into Ontario so although the coho bite is waning, you can still pick up a limit with a little bit of work. Over the past few outings, we’ve seen numerous kings and cohos smash bait right next to the boat…like…I looked down off the side of my boat, and watched fish come up, eat, and swim back down…awesome. Because the Niagara is running fairly warm now, pursuing king salmon action in the river plume isn’t a reliable play. The fish are spread out a little more so covering water is key. Looking Forward to the Week of 05/23/2022 – 05/29/2022 Weather Breakdown Fishing Conditions Looking Forward This upcoming week is looking OK. The beginning looks great. The middle looks dicey with a lot of rain and wind. Memorial Day