Weekly Fishing Report

Each week, catch up on a full report on where to fish, popular baits and lures, weather conditions and upcoming fishing tournaments and derbies.

Niagara Falls USA Weekly Fishing Report For July 22, 2026

In the Lake Ontario Counties summer trout and salmon derby, 88-year-old Melvin Adams of Herndon, Pennsylvania, reeled in a 29-pound, 14-ounce king salmon out of Point Breeze to take the Grand Prize lead heading into the final weekend. Top Rainbow/Steelhead came in on Monday out of Olcott when Josh Wittcop of Lyndonville weighed in a 14-pound, 3-ounce steelie. The derby ends at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

Capt. Matt Bedient of 716 Sportfishing has been hitting the waters off Olcott and doing well focusing on 100 to 300 feet of water, 45 to 90 feet down with meat rigs and spoons in targeting king salmon. Capt. Tom Pearse of Reel Adventures Sportfishing reports that this week he is finding plenty of fish out of Olcott in 100 to 300 feet of water. The downside is he is also seeing a population explosion of spiny water fleas. You must remain vigilant on cleaning your lines. Meat is working best on salmon, fishing 40 to 70 feet down.

Karen Evarts at The Boat Doctors and Tackle Barn reports that action has been good between 120 and 200 feet of water – brown trout in closer and salmon out deeper. Meat, flasher-fly, and spoons are all catching fish, but meat seems to be working best.

Alan Raymond with the Wicked Worm in Youngstown reports that bass all along the shoreline are still going strong using Ned rigs. Crabs off three-way rigs are working from boats. Fish are settling into summer patterns on the lower river as both smallmouth bass and walleye are being caught throughout the river system. Bass are falling for a variety of presentations, including drop shots, spinnerbaits, and live bait at various depths from 2 to 35 feet off water. Top choice for live bait is crabs, but shiners and leeches will also produce decent numbers of fish. Try to use fluorocarbon fishing line to combat clear water conditions. Walleyes are being taken on various colored worm harnesses in 20 to 40 feet of water. Drifting the Niagara Bar is a great starting location when targeting walleye. Most drifts are now producing some fish.

The LOC Derby isn’t the only game in town this weekend on Lake Ontario. LOTSA has three club tournaments going on, Sonny’s has a king salmon tournament, and the All Counties Salmon Slam starts Friday and runs through August 16. Stop into the Boat Doctors in Olcott for all the details.

Sign up for a fishing tournament or derby in Niagara Falls USA. See the full schedule of events here.