ThinkRSX

Managed to pull in 10 smallies on 12 hookups today at the Cat. Largest was 19" about 3 pounds.

I fished the lower Niagara yesterday. I started at Devil's Hole and worked my way down to the power authority. Came up empty handed, not even a bite. Not sure where I'm headed today but hopefully I have better results.

No tournaments for me. I'm like the "Calamity Jane" of fishing. I fall apart when I have more than one person around me, Drop tackle, bury my treble hooks into my gear, spill my split shot, throw birdsnests every other cast. I was using a Centerpin reel in that video with a float rod. I don't have the slightest clue how to fly fish. I, too, always thought they were fly reels when I saw them. They look like oversized Spey reels. I've only been "pinning" for about 3 months. It was mainly for steelhead, but as you can see it catches just about anything. I don't know crap about fly reels but from what I've read, fly reels have a drag system. Centerpins do not have any form of mechanical drag, your hand is the only form of drag, so it's basically just you and the fish. Also, since the reel is just a cylinder on a central pin, the retrieve ratio is just 1:1. The float rod is similar to a spinning rod except for its length. The rod in that video is 13'6". You generally fish everything under a float and let it drift down the entire run. The bait presentation is second to none. I was fishing a white marabou jig under a float in the video. They were just crushing it.

The only thing I ever used was Power Pro until last year. The reason is very simple, it's what my dad used and I was never serious about fishing until last year. Once I became addicted to all things fishing and did the research I switched. Now the only thing I don't use is Power Pro :-D I usually run a 10-15 mono main line with a 2-3 foot floro leader/tippet. Depending on the the clarity, my tippet will be either 4#, 6#, or 8#. For my spinning rods, I run a pure floro 8#-12# main line. Braid certainly has its uses... But being a shore angler, I don't really benefit from 90% of them and the visibility is a killer in the smaller creeks. Here's some video of a few of my catches today. I'm a junkie, I love going over video of previous catches. My g/f, on the other hand, says that it's about as exciting as watching paint dry. https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6FWmY_zBIMUYzJldHJMdUFYdTA

Awesome pic Dave. I don't believe I've ever seen one in the wild. I managed to get out for 2 hours today. I ended up doing pretty well. I went 7 for 8 on Smallies and 1 sucker. They were all little guys, but still had a good time.

Let us know how you made out Dave. Awesome catch jigger. Was that in a creek or the river?

"I go to church in places like this..." If the scenery and landscape doesn't take your breath away, the 8 degree temperature with 25 mph sustained winds whipping through the gorge sure will. I've lived in WNY my entire life. I never knew we had such amazing places. The shale lined walls of 18 mile creek, the 200 ft depth of the Niagara Gorge which you descend into using a "stairway" that looks like it was created in the 1800's, the sunrise/sunset out on Bird Island Pier, gin clear creeks which snake their way down to the lakes. The locations are endless. Steelhead are often stingy fish, but not impossible to catch. You combine that stinginess, with this scenery, my love for the cold weather, and a football team who hasn't made the playoffs in 16 years.. you've got yourself the makings of an avid steelie hunter. Sorry to hear about your financial loss on the house. It seems like all things with a positive impact on fishing have a negative impact on our wallets. G/f often jokes that she knows how much money is in my wallet based on the number of fish I caught that day. Besides the epic bass that was ninja'ed from the jaws of a pike (awesome story btw), did anybody have any luck this weekend?

That's pretty awesome. Wish I had weighed in the "fishability" factor when buying my home. Although, I wouldn't want to be to close to my favorite fishing hole... I have this mental image of my g/f opening our bedroom window and shouting at me down in the creek that I left my socks on the floor again. *Shivers* Depends on the fish you are targeting... Steelhead will be more active with the cold rain and the creeks really could use the added water flow. I know that Bass are the main topic here, but fish are fish and they're all fun to catch. When one species isn't active, target another. That's the only reason I ever started fishing for Steelhead and it has quickly become my favorite. I've never actually caught a pike. A co-worker and I are supposed to go out next weekend for pike and tiger muskie. Not sure what to expect, but I am definitely looking forward to it.

On the reservation. For anyone planing to fish the reservation this year, make sure you don't have ANY lead on your line (splitshot, jig heads, sinkers, etc.). I've heard from a few people that the Senecas have been out with new lead testing kits and are strictly enforcing compliance. Does anyone fish the Upper Niagara? I spent last summer walking Bird Island Pier. I had some success with crankbaits on the canal aside but the my Biggest largemouth was only 3 lbs and smallmouth 4 lbs. I keep going for the exercise and the sunrise/sunsets. (2.5 mile walk one way) I was wondering if anyone had any advice for fishing there. There's a pretty nice spot on the Lower Niagara by the Power Authority. That's one of my "go to" spots for smallies.

Hey guys. New to the forums, but was pleased to see such an active Buffalo/WNY thread. I was down at the Erie Canal overflow pond in Ellicott Creek Park on Tuesday. Spent about two hours there and walked away empty handed. I was throwing tube jigs, finesse jigs, spinnerbaits, cranks, and when things got real desperate I threw on some nightcrawlers but still couldn't get a bite. However, yesterday I went out for steelhead with my friend on the Catt and we couldn't keep the Bass off of our line. We actually had to head to a feeder creek off of the Catt just to have a chance at catch steelies. Hopefully the weather warms up soon and we can start the flip flop fishing.