Fishing from boat - lower niagara & bar

Hello there...am hoping to get some advice about boating in the area. I have a 17 foot Lowe deep hull fishing boat, very sturdy, 2 downriggers, . I am very new to fishing this area, but was out once last year and then last week Sunday April 6th. We launched at St.Catherines and then trolled over to the bar. We didn't want to launch at the Queenston Docks because were unsure of the safety on the river at this time of year.

The bar had 6 small icebergs floating around and also some small trees. The waves were choppy, frothy, and ever-changing at the bar. I wasn't sure if it was safe to be there so we left pretty quickly.

Was just wondering if it is safe to out in the bar area, this time of year, with all that debris?

Also is the river a better option? For safety. Any advice, guidance or precautions to take would be much appreciated. Cheers

A south-west wind is your best friend at the bar, anything from the north, due south, and especially east is not great. Current coming from the depths of the river, hitting the shallow bar, mixed with even a moderate on shore wind from the north or east causes a standing wave and odd currents in that area, not only making it hard to fish, but also dangerous for the novice boater. Keep an eye on the different wind sites, you can usually find wave heights for the day off the Port Weller buoy , but remember, 2 foot waves from the north or east could be 4 foot waves on the bar .Also, it’s the south west wind that stirs up Lake Erie, and makes the river dirty, which causes a plume Of sediment on the bar, Winds from the south west in excess of 20 km for three days or more will make the river dirty, a Wind from the north or south less than 20 km is usually doable in a 17 foot deep hull boat. As far as floating debris goes, keep someone in the bow with their eyes open, current usually isn’t an issue from Queenston to the bar if you are diligent about boat control, anything above Queenston is not for the novice boater. As far as the fishing goes, it depends on the day. Many different options from three-way rigging bait and lures bottom bouncing the river and the bar, vertical jigging plastics for Lakers on the bar, running planer boards against the shore for browns, or running Dipseys and riggers for the salmon from the bar all the way down the south shore. If ive missed anything maybe Shank and Steve could chime in, hope this helps

you covered it well my friend

All I can add is that it takes practise to fish the Niagara or the bar, but what better way o spend your time

I would re-emphasize…..safety first above all else

If your planning to go next couple days the rivers dirty and slow

What they said... I would add boat control is almost as important as the lure of choice. Controlling the boat in certain winds and different drifts takes practice. Good luck out there.

Read what Oogie said a few times and pick a day with favourable weather. Being out there on a nice day will take some of the mystery out of it. Don't think I'd be deploying riggers anywhere near the bar - at least until you've got a good handle on things. You can go from 80ft to 20ft in a blink and you wouldn't want to hang up a ball in that current. Keep an eye on your chart too if you don't have a NY state license.

Thank you for all the great advice and tips.

thanks oogie...very informative

I wouldn't waste my time at the bar this time of year. Salmon have been stacking up on the southern shore. Launch in Port D and head west towards Jordan. We had a banner day on Sunday with 20 in the boat, all chinooks. Lost a bunch as well.

Well, good luck there this coming weekend then...….should be at least 100 boats there now


got to love board wars

There were a hundred boats out on Sunday, southern shore of Lake O is no secret especially this time of year. I brought the boards but didn't bother with them, riggers and dipsys did all the damage. If you wanna talk combat fishing, try Owen Sound

This post has been edited by BillM on Apr 23, 2019 - 10:34 am

I think Shank was referring to the up coming tournament this weekend.
I’d say it will be well over 100 boats.
Cheers!

It will be a gongshow for sure

There were a hundred boats out on Sunday, southern shore of Lake O is no secret especially this time of year. I brought the boards but didn't bother with them, riggers and dipsys did all the damage. If you wanna talk combat fishing, try Owen Sound

No not a secret.....southern shore spring kings, but you don't have tp be that specific unless you want a ton of boats all over you and FF is correct...the upcoming tourney will put even more there and they will be running boards off of 30-45 foot boats


have fun me, I am going fishing elsewhere


Anyways, you had a great day, the OP was asking about the bar and that is different kind of fishing altogether

thanks for tips BillM and Longshank. I am going to try and get out during midweek to avoid the crowds Cheers