More Niagara River fish tales

Frank Campbell reals in another for Destination Niagara

By Ryan Lilly

Aside from a few trips to New York City, my New York experience is limited to passing through on road trips to and from my home in Maine. When my wife and I moved from Maine to Seattle in 2008, our journey took us through Western New York, and we made the obligatory stop at Niagara Falls, marking our first and only visit to the area. Experiencing the enormity of Niagara Falls – the impressive drop, the sheer volume of water, the mist – is something you’ll never forget. It’s no wonder why millions of people make the pilgrimage each year.

As the largest state in the Northeast by landmass and population, New York is as diverse as its population. It offers much, from the Big Apple’s concrete jungle to the Catskills and Adirondacks’ rolling hills.

As a marketer for Old Town Watercraft, I have the incredible fortune to fish near and far. From fresh to saltwater, I’ve experienced much of what North America offers for angling opportunities, especially from a fishing kayak. Many trips are memorable, like fishing in the Marquesas Keys off Key West or trolling for King Salmon on the Columbia River.

Although I’ve lived in the Northeast most of my life, I have never fished in New York State. Friends told me about incredible fishing adventures in northern New York, where they caught massive brown trout on the fly and others who caught large migrating stripers in Long Island Sound. Until last week, that was what I could surmise of the area. I had little knowledge of its potential and diversity, and it was only a day’s drive from my doorstep.

A few months ago, Destination Niagara’s Frank Campbell asked if I’d attend his annual fishing media event. The event attracts writers and media groups nationwide, allowing attendees to experience the area and the fishing and interact with participating manufacturers, from electronics to bait and tackle. With the rise of interest in kayak fishing, Frank felt it essential to include a fishing kayak manufacturer, allowing his media guests to experience the Niagara fishery from kayaks. With open water season just starting in Maine, I was anxious to jump-start my fishing season in an area a few weeks further into spring. It didn’t hurt that Frank promised a chance to catch jumbo smallmouth, and other species like walleye, musky, king salmon, steelhead, brown trout, white bass, and northern pike, so with a trailer loaded with four Old Town Sportsman kayaks, I made the 700-mile drive on Sunday, excited for a new experience.

Destination Niagara hosted everyone at the beautiful and historic Niagara Crossing Hotel, steps away from the Niagara River in Lewiston. A quaint and historic border town, Lewiston is incredibly picturesque. Although situated a convenient 20-minute drive from downtown Buffalo, Lewiston has a low-key, down-to-earth feel and is exceptionally welcoming. Harkening a mid-century feel with streets lined with craftsman-style homes and an aesthetically pleasing and walkable main street, Lewiston combines Midwest hospitality with classic New England architecture. But the best part is that Lewiston is within the epicenter of the most diverse freshwater fishing destination I’ve experienced in the Northeast.

Upon arrival, Frank and Destination Niagara treated us to a mandatory Buffalo pizza-and-wings dinner as we discussed the week’s itinerary. Since I had to head home Wednesday, I crafted a game plan with Frank to specifically target smallmouth for those interested in trying the most innovative pedal and motorized fishing kayaks on the market: the new Old Town Sportsman BigWater ePDL+ 132 and the Old Town Sportsman AutoPilot.

Although the lower Niagara River teems with fish, we worked for every fish we caught, given it was early season pre-spawn bass fishing. However, the fish we caught were handsome four to six-pound smallmouth. Unlike the smallies I’m accustomed to in northern Maine, these bass were lighter-colored and much chunkier, likely from feeding on smelt. Aside from bass, I had caught a 14-inch white bass and foul-hooked a brown trout. Others in the group caught pike and walleye. After an 8-hour float, we arrived at our take-out at Fort Niagara, situated at the very end where the lower Niagara River flows into Lake Ontario.

Once off the river, we met up with everyone else at Fin, Feather, Fur Conservation Society (also known as the “3F Club”) in neighboring Youngstown for supper. The 3F Club is on 402 acres and offers shooting sports, archery, fishing, and hunting. Their VFW-like hall with a full bar and indoor shooting range was a perfect place to gather for a bite to eat as we shared fishing stories from the day’s adventure. The 3F Club’s local sportsman vibe was down-to-earth and blue-collar, like a refreshing step back in time.

After a hot breakfast rendezvous at the local Tops grocery store, our group ditched a shuttle vehicle at Fort Niagara, a beautiful sprawling state park with trails, sports fields, and a boat ramp at Lake Ontario’s inlet. We headed for the boat ramp across from our hotel to float our kayaks six miles downstream toward Lake Ontario and our shuttle vehicle.

After slipping into my brand new AutoPilot 136, I familiarized myself with my new fish finder setup—a networked dual-screen Humminbird Helix 9s with side imaging and MegaLive. Up to this point, I had only dabbled with forward-facing sonar and was eager to spend some time with it, having hurried my new kayak build the week before the trip. Using the slick, new Sniper Marine transducer mount, it took no time to spot fish and see my lure presentation dancing in front of their faces.

It was a gorgeous, partly sunny, breezy 60-degree day. The river current on the lower Niagara is powerful, traveling at 4+ knots down the main channel and causing strong eddies around each bend. A motorized kayak with GPS spot-luck offered a distinct advantage, allowing me to work with and against the currents, anchoring where I needed to cast.

Providing one of the media guests with a BigWater ePDL (who had no experience in it ahead of the trip), he quickly learned how to leverage the platform to maneuver in and out of the main current and eddies with e-assist and cruise control features to position himself for his cast.

With the right gear, we worked our way down the lower Niagara among deer and migrating waterfowl of many species. The crystal-clear water clarity enabled us to spot fish on sandbars and flats, creating a fun sight-fishing element I hadn’t expected. Since it was early-season bass fishing, jerkbaits were most effective. We did catch some fish using blade baits and Z-Man TRD ned rigs, but the Spro smelt-like jerk baits consistently produced them for us.

On day two, we drove 30 minutes south to Lake Eerie to fish Buffalo Harbor’s breakwater for smallmouth. Launching from the Buffalo Small Boat harbor ramp, we concentrated on the outer harbor, quickly finding feeding fish in the rainy, foggy conditions. As we had seen on the river, the jerkbait reigned king, catching numerous 4-pound-plus smallmouth with a few bonus northern pike. With miles of breakwater to fish, I set my kayak to autopilot, trolling slowly along the wall, sending cast after cast along the riprap walls. My heart would skip a beat each time I saw a large smallmouth false strike or chase my lure on the jerk-jerk-pause retrieve, enticing another cast. My shoulders would be sore for days following.

Since it was my first fishing experience in the area, I was amazed by the ocean-like harbor and clear, blue water. Buffalo Harbor lies three miles south of downtown Buffalo, bounded by the highway and industrial complexes—a strange setting with multimillion-dollar yachts in the foreground.

As our day ended, an impenetrable fog bank descended on the harbor, closing the curtain on my first Western New York fishing experience and an incredible day of fishing.

Although Niagara Falls may be the “crown jewel” of Western New York, I’d argue the fishing isn’t far behind. Fewer places offer as much year-round freshwater diversity and opportunity within a 50-mile radius. Although my group focused on smallmouth, others caught musky, walleye, and king salmon.

As I recounted the adventure on my long drive home, I considered how the angling possibilities are endless in New York, whether from a kayak, a boat, or on foot. Admittedly, western New York had yet to be on my radar before this trip, leading one to believe that’s how the locals want it—under the radar. But after the incredible hospitality, there’s no way that’s true.

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Ryan Lilly (@ryanslilly) is a registered Maine guide who works for Old Town Watercraft. He’s a multi-species angler, fly angler, and big game hunter residing in Hampden, Maine.