Niagara River

[Cudz]

I am thinking of going down to the Niagara river on Wednesday. I have never fished it but I will have a boat.

I will be very green on the river so any help would be appreciated. (I believe I am talking about the lower river.)

 

1. Is the river navigable by boat right now or are there loads mini icebergs? (This is probably a stupid question)

2. Where would I launch from?

3. Do people mostly drift fish or anchor or troll (This is probably a stupid question as well)?

 

Any help would be great. Not really looking to have an "epic" day, I just want to learn about that river. Seems like such a fantastic place to fish. I will be driving from Barrie so a fish on the day would be a bonus.

thanks

[Fang]

Launch is at Queenston or you can put in from Port Dalhousie and make the run down. Queenston puts you right on 2 of the most popular drifts. I learned a lot from

 

http://www.outdoorsniagara.com/

 

look for the map to show more popular drifts. I've only made a few trips and still in learning mode. Watch boundaries that put you in US waters and make sure you have everything in your boat for a safe trip. DO NOT ANCHOR!!!!! It's drift fishing with roe, streamers, minnows mostly.

 

Get your bait on the bottom. You'll loose a fair bit to snags first few trips.

[rippinlipsfishingteam]

There are no fish in the Niagara and all species are closed right now !!! hahahahaa

 

If you are gonna fish the lower from the Canadian side you will likely launch at queenston (I am sure you can find directions online)

The street to the ramp is Dumfries (I think) if that helps....

 

Depends what you are gonna fish for but u will likely be drifting.....

 

Anchoring can be tricky down there unless you are down river in a really slow pool.

 

The water breaks and goes from 20 feet down to 100 in some spots quickly so I would say drifting is your best bet if its ur first time fishing.

 

As for ice...that is day to day...you gotta be careful because some of these pieces dont look so big until you are next to them. Most of the time even if there is ice it is fishable...just be careful.

You will see where other boats are drifting so you could just follow suit.....just watch for guys from shore chucking lead at you

If you want ...play it simple. There is a good drift as soon as you put ur boat in the water.....

 

Good luck

[Spiel]

I'm not sure of the current conditions Chris but I'm sure someone will chime in. The thing to watch for are west winds which can muddy the river and push ice in though I believe the ice boom is still in place. You can Google that info. But you'll still have ice breaking away and drifting around from the lower river.

 

The launch is located at the end of Dumfires Rd. in Queenston, you can Mapquest that.

 

The popular method is to drift with the current using a bow mount mount to slow the boat and control the drift direction. Best advice......don't try to anchor!

[Spiel]

Wow, I need to hone my typing skills.

[tightline]

I'm thinking of doing the same thing next weekend so I was looking around and found these maps...hope they help...please keep me posted on your results as like I said I'm going to try it for the first time next weekend...heres a link to the maps...

http://www.outdoorsniagara.com/Maps.htm

[NAC]

Either bring an experienced person who has navigated the lower or take a guided trip first. Launch at Queenston and stay on the Canuck side unless you have a US license too. The dams have been pumping mud for the past few days and the ice pack below the falls has or probably will let go shortly.

It's all vertical drift fishing, unless you are experienced enough to backtroll.

Big thing to not do is run through the drifts to reposition yourself. Just pull out of the drift and motor back upstream, then drop back in on it.

 

The upper or Port D are probably a better options right now.

 

Good luck!

[Cudz]

Thanks for the info guys. I will do my best to make it out there on Wednesday.

[Cudz]

One more silly question.

Is this a good time of year to go fishing in the lower? Will there be much in there? Like I said I am a total noob when it comes to this river.

[Joey]

It's a great time bud, hope my tips help and I want a full report!! Good luck.

 

Joey

[Cudz]

It's a great time bud, hope my tips help and I want a full report!! Good luck.

 

Joey

Thanks for the tips Joey.

[BillM]

Got any giant dead smelts? That's what I'd be using down there....

[Alumacraft]

Cudz I fished the lower last Thursday, the visibility was great but after the rain and melting snow I'm sure that it well be brown. Both of the power plants upstream from Queenston will be spewing out muddy water for maybe a week. I would think that the water upstream for the power plants might still be fishable(Devil's Hole). I don't know how big your boat is, but I would not suggest going up too the Hole your first time on the lower without someone has run up before those waters can be very, very dangerous. I would postpone your trip until the water clears. The best baits lately have been roe bags,streams, and yarn. I had a couple of hits on a couple of the Canadain drfts but all the fish I landed came from the Artpark drift on the U.S. side.

 

Good Luck Rob

[JPD]

Hi Cudz,

 

The Niagara is pretty blown out right now... you may want to postpone your trip for a bit. Later in the week may get better. Fishing in less than a couple of feet viz is almost futile down there.

 

JP

[dobee]

was down last evening. below the dams are blown. almost 0 vis... above the dams was about 5-6 ft and lots & lots of ice.

[bassman87]

-make sure you get NY license

-launch at queenston

-follow the other boats

-catch fish

-????

-profit

[dobee]

-make sure you get NY license

-launch at queenston

-follow the other boats

-catch fish

-????

-profit

 

 

im sure eveyone on the water would enjoy that!

[charlesn]

I can offer one thing not to do:

 

-My first time there as a boater was in the winter and I had an outboard motor that was hard starting - especially in the cold. Got the motor started and then moved off the dock area so that others could load/get in to their boats as one giant guide boat was taking up the majority of the dock as he had tied up and was waiting for clients. Got yelled at by that guide for "spoiling the drift" when all I was trying to do was A) not let the motor stall and end up in Lake O and let people get in and out of the dock area he was monopolizing.

 

Apparently I should have done what he did which is tie up 20+ feet of the dock while waiting for his guide clients and make the others somehow utilize the icy rocks or maybe test their running long jump skills? I'm not a guide, so I guess I was in the wrong.

 

After that I started going down only with people that are big enough that they don't get yelled at nomatter what they do. lol

[danbouck]

That river scares me. I will be going with a guide before I try it out in my boat!

[Cudz]

-make sure you get NY license

-launch at queenston

-follow the other boats

-catch fish

-????

-profit

 

Do I really need NY license? I don't plan on going onto that side of the river.

I can offer one thing not to do:

 

-My first time there as a boater was in the winter and I had an outboard motor that was hard starting - especially in the cold. Got the motor started and then moved off the dock area so that others could load/get in to their boats as one giant guide boat was taking up the majority of the dock as he had tied up and was waiting for clients. Got yelled at by that guide for "spoiling the drift" when all I was trying to do was A) not let the motor stall and end up in Lake O and let people get in and out of the dock area he was monopolizing.

 

Apparently I should have done what he did which is tie up 20+ feet of the dock while waiting for his guide clients and make the others somehow utilize the icy rocks or maybe test their running long jump skills? I'm not a guide, so I guess I was in the wrong.

 

After that I started going down only with people that are big enough that they don't get yelled at nomatter what they do. lol

I rarely get yelled at. I tend to yell back. Not too worried about that but thanks for the heads up.

[Hellfish]

There are "rules" down there that only make the experience better for everyone. Do not motor through the drifts ( should be common sense) drift appropriately speeds, do not get too close to other boats. Try not to follow the boats that are catching fish <--- nothing worse than catching a few then theres 20 boats behind you, in front of you and on top of you. Give space to the shore anglers. The most important thing IMO is drift control, Control the boat to slow the drift down and make sure the presentation in vertical, not slacked or out to the side make the presentation as natural as possible. Have a good variety of baits... About the charter guys, there is a couple that think they own the place, but the regular guides like Paul and the like make that ramp usable for us. They plow and de ice it for everyone. I have only seen the regulars help the new guys and make the launching smooth. I think Charles case was a isolated case cause for the most part people are very willing to help ya out.

[denisk]

Just send cast adventures a PM. The upper is crystal clear and ice free to bad all the trout are in the catt and 18 mile