Buffalo Bassman Charters

Well, well, well. Sometimes the fish just don’t want to cooperate. Today was one such day! Early on, repeat customers Eliot, Brooks and Pete were finding it difficult to catch anything. A drum here, a rock bass there. The few smallmouth we did hook came off during the fight. But, as on their prior trip, these three just wouldn’t give up. Even young Eliot kept up his focus and, after several tactic changes, he caught not only his biggest fish ever - a 12 lb 14 oz monster drum, he also boated his first walleye ever - a 6 lb giant! He mixed in a few smaller fish along the way and had himself a great day. Brooks also took a while to get started and he too got a decent drum to start then followed it up with a decent 6 lb 8 oz channel catfish! He also lost a keeper walleye right at the boat. Pete was steady Eddy in the back of the boat catching many rock bass, a few perch, a couple drum and our got our one and only smallmouth to the boat. During the day this family lost about as many fish as they caught. The bite was tough, the fish really weren’t committing to much. But it goes to show what determination can do. We all agreed it was a great day after all!

1/2 Day Trip with Joshua and Alex today, up visiting from Florida. Our plan was to fish smallmouth and given time and favorable conditions, try for a walleye. With Erie laying flat and playing nice for once , we headed out in the main lake and started on the walleye. Joshua didn’t waste any time and hooked a beautiful 4lb + walleye shortly after we started. Wanting to get Alex her very first walleye we continued on. On the very next pass, after catching a drum, she hooked, battled and landed her very first keeper walleye! Plan A - successful. Off to smallmouth fish. Once again, not wasting any time, Joshua hooked into a beautiful smallmouth immediately upon dropping his jig in the water! He remained steady the remainder of the day boating several nice fish including doing battle with an 8 lb drum! Took Alex a bit longer but, when she caught her first smallmouth ever , it was game on! She boated several nice fish including the two biggest of the day! All in all a very success 4 hours fishing on the big E. Two more friends added in!

Well, the very busy summer continues! I was “entertained” by two extremely talented fly fishermen this week. They came onboard two days and went after the smallmouth with streamers then caught a couple walleye night fishing for their dinner! Although the shallow bite for smallies can sometimes be slow with the water temperature nearing 80, these guys boated a few, had many chase and actually take the streamers but lost a few when they inevitably jumped. Fishing barbless streamers on acrobatic fish makes it very difficult to get them to the boat. However, my clients were extremely happy watching them chase and take the baits! The actual landing of the bass was secondary! Here’s Daniel with one that we actually boated! I learned a lot and had a ton of fun with Daniel and his father, Jack. Can’t wait to see this in the spring!

My new lil buddy Grant with a STUD!

A last minute cancellation allowed for my favorite trip of the year so far. My son and daughter in law accepted my last minute invite and brought my boys to the boat. Everybody caught quality fish. Ended up with 7 beautiful walleye, several nice smallmouth and the boys LOVED the epic battle the freshwater drum gave them! Then, when it was just getting a bit warm out there, they cooled off by jumping or getting thrown into the refreshing water. I’m convinced Papa had more fun than they all did!

Took a couple local guys, Jason and Nick, out for a night walleye trip last night. Although it wasn’t the best bite ever, we had a ton of fun and plenty of action. Jason had the hot hand boating 3 beautiful walleye (the first he’s ever caught). Nick never boated a walleye but seemed to hook every other species including a couple nice smallmouth bass! Couple of good dudes for sure.

Buy that boat they said! And I do love her! The Ol Stump Jumper has treated me well BUT just like any boat, she needs her maintenance!

Carol, husband Jason and son Brennen came from Arkansas to test their angling skills on Erie. Jason started off hot and maintained a steady catch rate all day! In all my years on the water I’ve never seen hooksets like his! Not only did he lose very few fish, the ones he did land were most likely suffering from mild concussions! Carol just stayed steady all day catching many quality fish. In the process she hooked and eventually lost not only the biggest fish of the day but one of the biggest hooked on this boat in quite some time! Brennen had a good day as well, boating several quality fish. Perhaps the story of his day is how he lost several quaity fish early then kept up his patience, improving his technique - eventually landing the majority of his fish including two smallies on our final drift! All in all a great day with a wonderful family! Three more friends gained!

Ryan booked a trip hoping to get into a few smallmouth bass. Coming along for the trip were his Dad and nephew Asher. On a tough bite (post spawn) and limited time (half day trip) the boys did great! Ryan was steady all morning, Asher went on streaks and Grandpa (John) seemed to only catch the bigger fish. Asher caught a 3 lb + smallie and a 10 lb + freshwater drum that seemed nearly as long as he was! Ryan seemed to only catch smallmouth with several beautiful fish weighing in at weights up to 3.5 lbs. But Grandpa John was not to be outdone and his patience was rewarded withe the biggest smallmouth of the day, so close to 5 lbs thst were calling it a 5! Just another fantastic day on the water with a wonderful family.

Well it’s been a LONG week! Was on the water last Thursday, Saturday (Sunday was a weather cancellation), Monday, Tuesday and Yesterday! Clients came from as far as Oklahoma and Mississippi and as close as East Aurora NY. We battled pretty strong winds and what I consider a tough bite. I was fortunate to have some pretty experienced anglers whose talents helped coax several good fish to the boat in spite of conditions. We caught fish on every bait we threw just not a bunch on any one type. Poppers, spinnerbaits, soft plastics, multiple styles of jigs and even worm harnesses when we tried for walleye. I slept well last night! More new friends gained!