Buffalo Bills wide receiver Jake Kumerow spent part of his bye week fishing when he had free time with local guide Justin Warriner of North Tonawanda. Here, Kumerow shows off a steelhead he caught.
Every once in a while, everything falls into place with water conditions, the sun and lunar phases, and being in the right place at the right time. A fish was caught Saturday in Buffalo Harbor that could be called a once-in-a-lifetime catch. It will help reinforce the validity of solunar tables.
Monster musky caught and released
Capt. Hans Mann of Alden believes in the effects of the sun and moon in fishing for muskellunge, and it was no fluke that he chose Saturday morning for his trip in Buffalo Harbor to pursue these elusive fish. There was a midday major phase going on, and he wanted to be there for it. Accompanying him were friends Josh Ketry of Hamburg and Dan King of Orchard Park. At 10:15 a.m., a big fish hit Mann’s homemade 9-inch Deep Carver, a crank bait he called a Night Shiner (orange belly, black sides and gold flecks). He runs it 42 feet behind his boat, giving him a dive of 15 to 18 feet. They were in 26 feet of water near the north gap, starting to navigate nasty 3-foot waves. King was on the rod, and the fish screamed out 100 feet of line on a tight drag. It was a big fish. When King finally reeled the musky to the boat, and they were able to visually see it for the first time, it was eye-popping and jaw-dropping. It measured just under 55 inches long (on a bump board) and the girth was crazy big. They didn’t have a tape measure and used a 30-inch cable for a guesstimate. It was bigger than that. Mann guessed it was 50 to 55 pounds, but he didn’t want to speculate further. Earlier this month, he caught a 55 1/2-inch musky on the St. Lawrence River, but it didn’t have the girth this one did. He was prepared for that trip and was able to weigh it on a net scale. That one was 44 pounds. He didn’t have the scale this time. It was his first trip of the year in the harbor. It was the biggest musky he had ever seen, and he’s caught a lot of muskies. The fish was quickly released to fight another day.
How does Buffalo Bills wide receiver Jake Kumerow spend his bye week? He fishes the waters of Western New York. Guide Justin Warriner of North Tonawanda reports he had Kumerow on some Lake Erie tributaries last week, catching steelhead. He made Jake’s acquaintance through Gabe Davis, another Bills receiver who also enjoys catching fish. Stream fishing has been good lately and is getting better every day, Warriner says. Float fishing with egg sacs is the way to go. He insists that the fish seem to be bigger this year. The creeks are getting low and need rain right now, but most still have fish in them. Shub Stevens with Catt. Creek Bait and Tackle of Irving reports that steelhead are still piling into the local tributaries. On Cattaraugus Creek, trout can be found from the Route 5 and 20 bridge and upstream. Pink egg sacs are working best. On average, anglers are reporting 10 to 15 trout catches a day through his shop. Matt Wilson of Wheatfield hit Lake Erie on Sunday, and he went to the sand flats. First fish was a 6.2-pound smallmouth bass. That was followed by E.J. Wilson’s personal best 6.3-pound bass. The best approach was a drop shot with a Baby Z Too and Berkley Flatnose Minnows. The lake flattened out and Wilson used 2D imaging to target schools of fish. They bumped into some big groups of walleyes on the northwest side of Seneca Shoal and they caught walleye on drop shots. Waneka was holding a good number of fish, too. Drop shot, chartreuse tube jigs and single swimbaits also caught fish. They caught bass in 12 to 49 feet of water. The perch bite has turned on with crews catching their limits before noon, reports Stevens. Most action has been around 60 to 75 feet of water west of Cattaraugus Creek. Emeralds and Golden Shiners work best. Steve Brzuszkiewicz of Marilla hunted for perch in front of the Catt, and he also went to Sturgeon Point. Bait was everywhere. Sturgeon did not produce, but he pulled out 32 mixed-sized perch in 64 feet in front of the Catt. The next day, the 60-foot depths produced nine perch right away, but the action died. He ran back to the 55-foot area where his friend was having success, but then vertical jigging stopped producing. He switched to cast-drag-retrieve, which produced in an area that contained jumbo perch feeding on gobies. He yanked 42 jumbo perch, including fish that measured 14-15 inches, into his boat. He worked the technique hard, and it resulted in eight double-headers. On Tuesday, he was back at 50-55 feet of water, and the perch were on fire first thing, pulling in 23 perch in short order. It was a good day, and using a dead stick approach was working well. Capt. Hans Mann took a break from musky fishing to target perch in the lake. After a good day on Sunday out of the Catt, where he caught 67 perch in 66 feet of water, Monday was a struggle. By 1 p.m., his crew only had 15 perch. Fish seem to be scattered, thanks to recent winds. He ended up finding a hump in front of Evangola that was holding fish. He would slowly back into the hump, and when they hit a fish, he would hit the spot lock on his trolling motor. They caught 30 fish there before calling it a day.
Mike Rzucidlo of Niagara Falls reports that water has cleared quite a bit, with 7 to 8 feet of visibility. He hit some bass below the falls on Tuesday, catching double digit bronzebacks. Action has been consistent for salmon and trout, according to Capt. Frank Campbell of Lewiston. There are some late run salmon still available on treated egg skein, and steelhead are starting to show up. Out of season lake trout are showing up, all in the Devil’s Hole area. Lisa Drabczyk with Creek Road Bait and Tackle in Lewiston reports that salmon and trout are appearing along Artpark and at the Whirlpool. Salmon are hitting treated eggs and spinners; trout are hitting beads, skein, egg sacs and Kwikfish. Bass have been hitting chubs and spinners. Walleyes are hitting worm harnesses or jigs. Bass fishing was good around the fort.
Ron Bierstine with Oak Orchard Tackle is thankful for the continued Erie Canal water feed for select tributaries such as Johnson, Sandy, and the Oak. He reports good numbers of salmon at the Waterport dam and in the overflow. At least in the turbine channel, some fish should drop downstream, filling in the fast water gravel sections. More green or fresher fish are being encountered. Anglers are catching browns, and Bierstine reports we are likely on a trajectory to outpace last year’s brown trout action. When coupled with Atlantic salmon, steelhead and cohos, the catch chances look pretty good. One hotspot for salmon and a few trout has been Burt Dam on 18 Mile Creek. Karen Evarts at the Boat Doctors in Olcott reports that the dam has plenty of fish. Egg skein and egg sacs are working in the creek. Spoons, spinners, and eggs are catching fish off the pier at night. Some trollers are using banana baits such as Kwikfish or J13 Rapala stickbaits. Some of the smaller tributaries, including Keg Creek, are low. Rain is expected Wednesday night, and that could help.
Lake trout action was fair for Capt. John Gaulke with the Finger Lakes Angling Zone and his guest John Sander on Canandaigua Lake. Work points and shelves from approximately 75 to 125 feet of water. Skaneateles Lake is providing good fishing for bass, perch and rockbass, with occasional walleyes mixed in. Work in 10 to 25 feet of water. Hair jigs, tube jigs, jerkbaits and bladebaits will produce fish, according to Gaulke. Expect some rainbow and lake trout to show up inshore as water temperatures continue to cool. Owasco Lake lake trout action is fair to good. Fish are on points in spawning mode. Plastic (rubber) jigs and jigging spoons are producing fish in 65 to 120 feet of water. Expect fair to good bass, pike and perch fishing there. Cayuga Lake lake trout action is fair to good. Steady, sunny weather makes for a better bite. Fish are being caught in 70 to 120 feet of water. Expect perch and pike/pickerel fishing to be picking up in all the Finger Lakes that have those species, Gaulke says.
Get local news delivered to your inbox!
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Bass action continues to be great off Buffalo in Lake Erie and the upper Niagara River, perch chasers are picking up decent numbers in Lake Erie, and lake trout spawning is underway in the Great Lakes.
After three years of a “trickle rut,” when hunters seemed to experience a lackluster chase period when the rut seemed to be on-again, off-again, Peter Fiduccia believes that all indications are pointing to a strong rut this year.
We live in a special place for fishing. This area within 30 miles of Buffalo recently was named in the Top 10 for bass fishing by Bassmasters Magazine.
While angling effort was down from the 20-year average, the survey showed that there were more than 13,000 hours of fishing effort over 2021.
Check out our calendar of events for outdoors enthusiasts.
Check out our calendar of events for outdoors enthusiasts.
If you are looking to put some venison in the freezer, there is an opportunity to pick up more Deer Management Permits starting Nov. 1, when the Department of Environmental Conservation releases leftover antlerless tags to the public through license-issuing agents across the state.
Crossbow season will open Nov. 5 and conclude Nov. 18.
Check out our calendar of events for outdoors enthusiasts.
Buffalo Bills wide receiver Jake Kumerow spent part of his bye week fishing when he had free time with local guide Justin Warriner of North Tonawanda. Here, Kumerow shows off a steelhead he caught.
Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.