Great Fishin’ Hole Capt. Tom Marks
Let’s face it I am used to fishing big water where on the horizon there are not usually any trees or shore to be seen, at least not in any detail. Therefore, when I can cast to a bank I get claustrophobic. Where do I fish, you ask. Eastern Lake Erie. Most days I am out on rocky humps anywhere from a mile to six miles from shore, I have room to stretch. Tossing tubes or drop shot with Berkley Gulp or a Strike King Finesse worm are my usual choices. These patterns work all season long, but when the autumn gales begin to blow and the lake becomes impossible to fish I retreat to the river. The Niagara River can be a good choice but it too can get wild and unruly. The Buffalo River is a well-kept secret and always calm. It is a secret so keep it quiet. The bite here goes until the river ices over so there is still plenty of time to get in on the action. At first glance the Buffalo River is nothing but and industrial wasteland with derelict factories and abandoned grain elevators with a deep dredged main channel from bank to bank. For 200 years it has been a site for commerce and industrial waste. At one time the river was considered one of the most polluted in the world. Like the Cuyahoga in Ohio it too burned back in the 1960’s. Today it is a different story. It still has a lot of reminders of its not too glorious past but it is getting cleaner. The Buffalo Niagara Riverkeepers are working hard to restore this river. It still has a long way to go but I have to return to the secret… it is a dynamite bass fishing location. For the most part it is only accessible from a boat. Lake freighters used the river for the first six miles so its dredged depth is 20 feet deep. Most of this is right up to the banks. To protect the banks and ships, huge pilings were placed all along the shore. Today these hold tons of bass. I charter clients here in the spring and fall and we can catch at least one bass off of each piling. That is a lot of bass! I use spinnerbaits, Senkos or jigs in the spring, in the fall I cast crankbaits, spinnerbaits, drop shot with creatures, Senkos or jigs. The difference in the two seasons in the spring the bass are holding shallow on the structure to stay in the warmer water. In the fall they seem to hug the bottom so you have to go deep. I tend to use more jigs and drop shot because I can get them down and then work the steep drops off the banks. The great feature of fishing the Buffalo River is it is nearly always accessible by boat. The rare occasions usually occur in the spring when we have had very hard rains making the water flow fast and muddy. Autumn the river is generally slow and stained. You can launch at the Erie Basin Marina or the NFTA Boat Harbor. Both marinas are full service with gas, restrooms, and restaurants. They both operate from May 15th through October 15th. The NFTA allows boats to launch after it closes in the fall until the end of November, although if it is exceptionally cold and the shore starts to freeze the ramps could be closed. You always hear car and truck traffic because you are never more than a few hundred yards from a highway. This is city fishing you are in downtown Buffalo, New York. The smell of Cheerios is always in the air. General Mills is located at the junction of the Buffalo River and the Ship Canal and the Cheerios are almost always cooking. There are docks in downtown Buffalo that give you access to restaurants and the Naval Park, which can be a nice diversion if fishing with the family. If the wife has had enough fishing she can always walk a block to go shopping. I seriously doubt anyone will get bored this is as close to catching as possible with only little spurts of fishing. There are lots of fish that are seldom pressured, I know of only a few boats that fish this secret gem of a fishing hole. Now not all bass here are over six pounds but you will catch your share of big ones; you just have to hook them all to sort out the smaller bass. Spring fishing in the Buffalo River is also outstanding. The river warms up early attracting bass from the cold lake waters. I start fishing in the river in April. Huge female bass gather and stage for their spawning run up the river. This is a great time of year and the opportunity to catch a trophy bass is unequalled. If you want more information or to book a trip for the Buffalo River in the Spring or Autumn feel free to email tom@gr8lakesfishing.com
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