Buffalo Bassman Charters

Chris Abraham gave me a “Cincinnati Care Package” after a recent trip. Finally got around to frying up this concoction called Goetta (get-uh) this morning. Although difficult to cook due to its tendency to fall apart, it is incredibly delicious! Some of you may have discovered this years ago but it was an excellent surprise treat for breakfast for this old dude. Thanks again pal!

Today was a very fun day! Doug, his dad Doug and grandpa Clarence had me laughing the entire day! I can only remember a few trips like this over the years ( Dante Johnson ). Guys were good fishermen too! Fish were very non commital today with just a ton of short strikes. But, if they committed even a little bit more, our guy caught em! Only remember losing one fish the entire day! Great guys made an average fishing day into something fantastic! Eagerly awaiting the next adventure!

So, what can I say? I took a repeat customer out today. He brought along his girlfriend. Chris and Tara are the exact reason I love what I do! The conditions were, shall we say, “not ideal”. Poor, inaccurate weather forests seem to the norm this summer. Wind forecast out of the west at 9-13 mph, was actually out of the north at 25 - 30 mph! 3’-4’ waves in the protected areas of Buffalo harbor made fishing extremely difficult. Add in delays due to lightning and you get the idea! Must have been the reason we were the only two vehicles in the lot! They came all the way from Cincinnati to fish and weren’t going to be denied! Fishing wasn’t great but they plugged along and put together a decent day considering everything. Tara was the “Perch Queen” today boating MANY of them. She ended up hooking a couple drum as well providing her with decent battles. Chris, fishing on his birthday caught a mixed bag himself. He also boated several perch, an undersized walleye and managed to catch a few smallmouth as well. He saved the best for the last drift of the day! Just a couple of super nice young people! I eagerly anticipate their return . Below is a picture of a care package they brought me, with a whole slew of Cincinnati’s delicious foods! I guess I’m dumping chili on my spaghetti soon! What an awesome gift! I was humbled!

This little dude is a HAMMER! He caught fish deep, caught them shallow tossing a crawfish patterned crank bait and caught some in between for good measure. Not bad for a little dude who turned 8 whole years old today! On top of it all CJ was just a great young man, respectful, funny, smart - the whole package. Oh, did I mention his mom Ashley, can flat out boat em herself? She caught a couple giant smallmouth herself today! The fall bite is slowly starting! Great day today and just a great time to be out on the water.

Slow day on the water today but Erie always gives up something. Look at this tank!

Dennis from South Carolina hopped on board today. He is an experienced angler and he needed every bit of that experience with today’s tough bite. He caught fish on 5 different lures today, with a topwater popper, a crank bait, a tube and a Ned rig being involved! He caught smallmouth, drum, a walleye and even hooked a big goby right in the upper lip! Super nice guy. Made another friend today.

Another nice family graced me with their presence on the Ol Stump Jumper today. Adam brought his twin sons Princeton and Kingston on board. Boys did very good today especially considering it was their first time fishing from a boat. They combined for many small bass and a couple nice ones, with dad losing a real giant smallie, a bunch of perch with 5 of those going in the frying pan, a couple silver bass, several baby walleye and Kingston hooked the biggest fish of his young life, a 3 lb 10 oz beautiful walleye which also ended up in the frying pan! They made a pretty decent day out of a fairly stingy bite today. They had a very fresh fish fry this afternoon!

Beautiful evening on Erie last night! Jacobb’s birthday present, brought along his son Cayden. Caught several smallmouth and a couple walleye, the first for both anglers. Once again a solid family makes what I do special.

Well, another day, another fishing excursion. Today I was honored to host an Air Force veteran and her son. With the fish being elusive lately I knew we had our work cut out for us. Jessica and Evan were up to the task. Following instructions to a tee and relying on prior fishing experience they made a successful day out of a finicky bite. Jessica caught her very first walleye ever and several very nice smallmouth. Evan started by catching a few hard fighting drum, each one a little bigger than the last and after a long stretch of no bites, while watching his mom catch several nice fish, he finally set the hook on a beautiful smallmouth! It was the biggest fish he’s ever caught! Super nice family that makes what I do such a pleasure.

Well, I always try to be honest as well as positive in my fishing reports. Here’s another: Last Friday was one of the worst fishing days I’ve had on Erie in over a decade. Salvaged it by having a nice young man catch the biggest fish of his life. Skip a day to today and things improved! Taking a good friend and her dad out, we were bound to have a good day no matter what we did or didn’t catch. And, after a sluggish start, things picked up. Started with a few perch to warm us up. Then, Robert hooked into a decent northern pike of all things! Then, after a location change, Robert again struck catching a beautiful walleye! It was the biggest he’s ever landed. Not to be out done, Michelle hooked and landed two absolutely beautiful smallmouth bass! Also her personal bests! The key today was staying focused while the fishing was slow then actually setting the hook when a good bite occurred. I had a great day and a lot of laughs right along with this close knit father / daughter team! I know Robert will be enjoying his walleye dinner!