Hi all - first time poster, long time reader.

This might be long - so bare with me...

I started boating 2 seasons ago. My uncle was in the Coast Guard, stationed in Rochester. He did tours in Iraq during Desert Storm 1, and many other smaller tours in the Mid-East. He had a small, 23ft Celebrity Cruiser that he used on Lake Ontario after he retired. He was an avid boater/mariner. He passed away 2.5 years ago. I purchased his boat off of his estate after he passed away, along with most of his accessories and his (beat up) trailer. He is sorely missed.

When I was young, my father had a smaller 18ft boat that we would occasionally take out on Lake Erie out of Sunset bay. I was merely a passenger at the time. We would fish for small mouth, and land a few, as well as a ton of sheephead.

Since purchasing my uncles boat I have been docked at the Small Boat Harbor downtown. I have read a lot of complaints this year about the new ownership, but I honestly haven't had too many issues myself. Maybe I'm too new at this to know better. I like the location and the general amenities.

My uncle didn't take too good of care of his boat. It was older, and needed some work when I bought it. It has since needed a bit more work. I am not mechanically inclined so I have been paying various places to fix it. I have given up on the boat though, and intend on purchasing something bigger and newer before May.

I love the lake, and I love being out fishing in and around Buffalo. I think the view is fantastic, and the fishing is usually good, no matter where you go. I'm really happy and proud to live here. I wish the boating season was longer than it is. I don't trailer, so I'm stuck with the SBH's schedule.

I've done about as much research on the internet as I can about boating and fishing in and around Buffalo/WNY/Lake Erie/Niagara River. I've found this site and this forum to be the most inclusive, even for non-walleye fishermen. That said, I was looking for a bit of advice for next May - hoping you could help me....

One of my goals when I initially purchased the boat, was to try to land each available legal fish I could in and around Buffalo. I have found a good deal of info on Small Mouth, Walleye, Perch, and a bit of info on Muskies, but that's about it. I have been able to land Small Mouth, Walleye, Perch, Rock Bass, Blue Gill, Silver Bass, Sheephead, and Gobies (ugh) over the past 2 years. I understand that that is what I'm most likely going to find around the Buffalo area. I was wondering if anyone had any pointers to finding any of the following:
  • Trout
  • Salmon
  • Catfish
  • Musky
  • Pike
  • Large Mouth

I recognize that some of these are pretty rare in the WNY area, but was hoping to spend a day tracking one or the other next season.

I typically fish around the windmills, and sometimes up by the roundhouse. I'm obviously done for the season, and I don't ice fish.

Thanks in advance for any info you may have. I'm hoping to be on one of the 30ft docks at SBH next year. I'm a homebrewer and have made some award winning beer - I'm always happy to trade advice for pints! Stop by and say hi! Cheers!