Weekly Fishing Report

Each week, catch up on a full report on where to fish, popular baits and lures, weather conditions and upcoming fishing tournaments and derbies. So whether you packed your tackle box, or hire a charter captain in Niagara Falls USA, a fishing adventure awaits – along with that catch of a lifetime!

Niagara Falls USA Weekly Fishing Report for October 9, 2019

If you are looking for salmon, the best area in Niagara Falls USA would have to be Olcott. Karen Evarts at The Boat Doctors in Olcott reports some fish being caught off the piers by spoon chuckers. A few have been caught on J13 Rapalas, rattle baits (like Rat-L-Traps) and spinners. Drifting egg skein is also a good approach. You can do the same thing from small boats and other watercraft in the harbor and up 18 Mile Creek. Trolling, casting or still fishing in some of the deeper holes. At the dam, there was good brown trout action over the weekend, with some salmon and steelhead being caught. However, things have slowed back down again with the warmer weather this week. That could all change with the cold front coming through this weekend. Egg sacs were working best at the dam, with pink being a hot color. If we get some rain, you can look for salmon at Wilson, too. A total of 10,000 kings were put into pens in 2017 and some of those fish could be returning early as 2 year olds. There should also be browns and steelhead around. Warm water fish like bass and northern pike should also be in both Wilson and Olcott harbors. Out in the lake, some boaters have pounded the piers with limited success. Better luck for salmon and trout has been out deep, but no specific details are available.

In the lower Niagara River, salmon action has been poor in the Devil’s Hole area. Very few fish are being caught from shore or from boats. There are fish available, but in limited numbers. Water temperatures are still warm, in the mid-60s, and that could be impacting the run a bit. There are a few browns and steelhead around. Mike Rzucidlo of Niagara Falls caught a musky (on a No. 3 spinner) and a walleye off the NYPA Fishing Platform this week. No salmon. Bass fishing has been good according to Lisa Drabczyk with Creek Road Bait and Tackle in Lewiston, especially by Fort Niagara using crabs, shiners, and tubes. In the upper river, Capt. Chris Cinelli of Grand Island is reporting some of the best smallmouth bass fishing of the year on big minnows.

This coming weekend, Oct. 12-13 is the youth pheasant hunt for Western NY. Also, Oct. 12-14, Columbus Day Weekend, is the Youth Big Game Hunt in the Southern Zone. See more information on these youth hunts here.

Every week The Buffalo News gives outdoor sportsmen (and women) a full page of pertinent material as it relates to Western New York and beyond. Read more here.