Upper Niagara River teems with angling possibilities
In an area blessed with a long list of fishing choices, it's not surprising the upper Niagara River's exceptional largemouth bass fishery is largely overlooked.
Within a half-hour of the Buffalo-Niagara Falls area of New York, angling options include pursuing overstuffed Lake Erie smallmouth bass, upper Niagara muskies and smallies, lower Niagara/Lake Ontario steelhead, lake trout, salmon and walleyes.
Found far from center stage as it is, the upper river's green bass fishery is flourishing, ready to provide outstanding action for those who make the effort to pursue it.
Such was the case last week when Captain Frank Campbell (www.niagaracharter.com) and I ducked out of strong northeast winds to spend a few hours exploring a network of canals and backwaters loaded with chunky largemouths.
"Largemouths really pack back into these areas in the spring to spawn," said Campbell. "But you'll find some largemouths using these areas throughout much of the year."
In the first canal we fished, pitching Yum tubes and twitching XCalibur 4-inch jerkbaits, we caught upward of 50 largemouths in about 1Z\x hours. Even though the wind had blown cold river water back into the canal, lowering the water temperature by about 10 degrees, the bass were eager biters.
Longtime tournament angler and Buffalo-area bass guide Terry Jones (www.1stclass-bass.com) is a veteran of the upper Niagara largemouth bass scene. According to Jones, the river holds some bubba-sized largemouths. The biggest upper Niagara largemouth he's aware of tipped the scales at 8 pounds, 6 ounces.
At about 2 pounds, the average green bass runs a much more modest size. But trophy potential is there. And with the large numbers of smaller fish, anglers can anticipate excellent largemouth fishing for many years to come.
Jones said the upper Niagara offers excellent bass action from early in the spring until late in the fall. And while bass do move around, since they occupy a rather well-defined niche in the upper Niagara system, finding them is rarely a problem
"Pretty much any area that backs off of the main current areas has the potential to hold largemouth bass on the upper river," said Jones. "Canal areas with docks, marinas, any of the creeks that empty into the river, they all can hold largemouth."
Being more current-shy than its bronze cousin, largemouths typically won't be found in heavy current areas, which eliminates a fair amount of river.
A major portion of the upper Niagara splits around Grand Island. Known locally as the East and West rivers, based on the geographic location of each stem (the river flows from south to north), Jones finds the largemouth habitat much better on the east side.
"The East River is a much better largemouth section than the West River," reports Jones. "There aren't nearly as many docks and incoming creeks on the West River. Plus, the East River is all within American boundaries, an important consideration for anglers lacking a Canadian license. You can get into Canadian waters pretty fast on the West River."
The largemouth fishing isn't limited to the East River/Grand Island area. Upriver of Grand Island, he singled out Motor Island and Strawberry Island as providing good largemouth water. Warm-water discharges, often found in conjunction with power generating facilities, can also draw in big largemouths, particularly early in the spring.
Location-wise, Jones says some of the first bass action of the year will occur back in protected canals, such as the ones Campbell and I fished. These waters warm quickly and are semiprotected from wind.
While an early season hot spot, canals will hold some fish throughout the year. Docks and weeds, along with an occasional rock pile and piling, provide the bulk of the cover back in canals. As the spring progresses, most docks will also feature moored boats.
Upper Niagara River public boat ramps are located at: Big Six Mile State Park, Isle View Park, Niawanda Park, Ontario Street and Sheridan Drive.
