Cast Adventures

September 16 2010 Fishing Report

2010-09-16T06:58:00.000-07:00

Salmon Season is here! Interested in doing battle with one of these dogs!? So Strong!!!

1-888-512-8127

With these cooler nights and some of the recent rains were having, the steelhead are starting to show up in areas already. Now booking 1/2 day morning trips for steelhead!

Smallmouth bass fishng on both the river and Lake Erie have been outstanding with these cooling water temps! The Fall bite has started! Good numbers and bigger fish last week, with a few over 5lbs.

"If you like getting lots of big bass, book a day this month for some of the best action i've seen in a long time!!!"

See you on the river,

Paul Castellano
Cast Adventures

River Report 04/05/2010

2010-04-05T04:12:00.000-07:00

Rivers's been hot past three weeks! water temps are on the rise, currently at 39-40.......steelhead have started spawning, with fresh silvers moving into the system everyday. Just added a few pictures, have a look....these are from late March and the 1st week of April.....If anyone was interested in fly fishing (or gear fishing) on the Niagara this spring, i have limited days still open for both april and may......for more info contact me at info@castadventures or 1-888-512-8127

If you wanted to see more fishng pictures from March and April, be sure to visit our Cast Adventures FaceBook page.

See you on the river,

Paul Castellano
Cast Adventures

Fishing Report 01/29/2010

2010-01-29T01:21:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone!

Haven't posted anything for some time now.....As of Monday afternoon the Niagara blew out again, right now its brown and packed full of ice......Lake Erie hasn't locked up with ice yet so every time we get strong SW, W winds conditions turn for the worst. Erie's water temps are 32 and only 20% of the lake has ice.....kind of a wacked year to say the least..If the winds will just stay down for a bit, the ice will have a chance to set up....But we have had some great fishing, last week conditions were prime and the anglers were doing well both from shore and from the boats. Classic winter steelhead persentations are producing fish! The bite can really change from day to day.....even hour to hour! A good mix of darkies and fresh silvers are in the system now, seems to be more brown trout this year in the river. Mostly smaller browns with the odd 8-10 lb fish in the mix.......one report of an 18lb brown from a few weeks ago!

I've attached a just few pictures from last thurs-to-Monday morning. Just something to help with the winter blues! :)

Winter steelhead fishing is just starting in the Niagara region with the best part of the season still to come! 2010 has been outstanding, both for fly fishing and gear! Good fishing to all!

see you on the river,

Paul Castellano

Niagara Fishing Report 01/11/2010

2010-01-11T04:24:00.001-08:00

01/11/2010

Weekend Report

Water was perfect this weekend! Sat, had some motor trouble because of the cold weather, when i did fix the problem, my freakin boat was stuck to the trailer because of all the ice build up LOL......never could get in the river that day.......BUT, sunday, got the boat in, water was great colour, and the steelhead were good and stupid!

1st Few hours were slow, COLD, but after that sun warmed up just a bit......... :)
Lots of ice moving around now, steelies were all over the roe bite yesterday! No need to talk numbers........ but the fishing was really good!

Steelhead were in the 5 to 8lb class, we did land a few over 10lbs and lost one pig!!

Can't wait for Erie to lock up!

guessing the wind last night messed things up again.......hope i'm wrong!!

See you on the River,

Niagara River Conditions 01/08/10

2010-01-08T11:57:00.000-08:00

01/08/10

Road and Ramp have been cleaned, but it's been snowing pretty good here all day. By morning expect the hill to be slick...... Went down to see the water today. Only a foot of vis and brown/green in colour. Tough bite over the past few days.....anglers from the boat reported really slow bite yesterday. Strong North winds today could help improve the river conditions for the weekend!

A Fishing Guides Day Off....

2010-01-04T08:30:00.000-08:00

Fishing guides day off......

The fall season was really busy this year, conditions were the best they’ve been in almost a decade. I didn’t really get many days off or much time to go fishing myself. Half way through the month of November Josh from OFF (Out Fly Fishing Outfitters) in Calgary Alberta calls me to talk about coming down to Niagara for a visit and to do some steelhead fishing. We decided to go around the 2nd week of December. The Plan: some friends from different areas get together and fish our butts off!

Weather had been stable, above seasonal temperatures all fall, until the day of Josh’s flight to Toronto, lol....The 1st cold snap of winter had arrived! Strong winds gusting to 80km, -18 with the wind chill, blowing snow at times......Perfect conditions for playing with your fly rods! (Ya right)....Not everyone was willing to brave the elements and venture outdoors after seeing the local forecast, can’t say I blame em! But both josh and i weren’t going to let alittle weather stop us!
The Strong winds really kicked up the waves on Lake Erie causing the Niagara to get too muddy for us to fish, so now were face with all the above and fishing in my backyard is out of the question......road trip! After picking up josh at the bus station, we headed to a friends place that lives close one of the great lake tributaries. This river was still running ice free for the most part, high and with a nice stain to the water colour.

Day one:

I’ll sum it up..... gusting winds up to 80km, -18......fly fishing LOL oh ya, to get to this spot we had to wade out into the river waste deep........we stayed for only 2 hours, no fish hook.....we had showed up late in the day, after trying another location 1st.....our 1st spot was a smaller river that had too much slush running to fish......wasn’t looking good. Company was great, fishing and conditions......super tough! We headed home and talked about tomorrow’s plan. We were headed back to our 2nd location again, but going to try some different areas.....despite the weather, river conditions here were almost perfect, almost.....

Day Two:

We arrived at the river just before 11am.....way too cold to start earlier! Today we were walking out to a spot closer to the centre of the system.....crazy agreed.....Weather this day was much the same as yesterday. High winds, some snow, cold......Hey have you ever tried roll casting with an 80km wind on your back? LOL finish with the rod tip high and watch it go! Lines, rod tips, fingers, toes ...everything was icing up after 5 minutes, but we still had a blast! No other anglers around plus we hooked and landed fish!!! Josh landed two chunky walleye and lost another one on streamers, and I hooked and lost one steelhead! It was around 3pm when we packed it in......Josh was flying out tomorrow night, one more day to get him a Steelhead! The river was starting to clear, water was dropping, we shared stories and talked about a different technique that may work better for the conditions at this location. We were pretty pumped; it looked like the weather was going to break! No winds for the next day, but still cold.....this could help.

Day Three:

After a good rest, some breakfast and few coffees we hit the road for the final day of josh’s arctic steelhead adventure! When we pulled into the parking lot, geared up and headed out into the icy river. Temperatures were much better today, only -6, water was clearer then the pervious days. We worked the water hard, trying different leech and egg patterns with no avail......josh changed back to the same streamer from the day before that he landed the walleye with and connected with the 1st steelhead! I hear “fish, fish” look over and sure enough, josh is into a good steelhead. Reel in my line, start to walk over towards him.......the fish comes off!
I still haven’t touched a fish on this day......a few hours have already passed, lots of moving around, casting, changing patterns......Going through my fly box I grabbed on of my small mouth bass files and tied it on. A Streamer, bigger in size than other patterns we’d both tried, “why not” I tell myself while double checking my knot and running my fingers down the leader checking for any damaged sections. 1st cast, fish on! This didn’t last long, three head shakes, gone!...... all that I could do was laugh..... 10 minutes later, I hook up again, this one I landed with josh’s help. Our 1st steelhead of the trip~! Quick picture and back it goes. Now, were running out of day light, only have two files like this, I cut mine off and give it to josh to try.......”looks like we might be on to something” I tell him while tying on the other bass streamer I had. No sooner did josh cast out and start to work the fly, “fish, fish” he calls out! Here we are hours away from driving to the airport, on the last day, in the last hours of day light, hooking into steelhead! After a good battle, josh’s has done it! Against all the odds, weather, flights, hours of casting, tails his first steelie!!! A few pictures and released. High fives all around, now were not even thinking of the cold or the fact that neither of us haven’t been able to feel are fingers for the past three days.......in a flash josh is back at it.....we stayed almost until dark. I hooked one more and lost it and Josh ended up landing two more steelhead! Even in the toughest conditions, you can get out and learn something new, share some great laughs with friends and do your best to make the most of a situation! It always amazes me how you never stop learning about this sport we all love so much! I guess the moral of the story is to dress really warm and never give up! Keep in open mind, and don’t be afraid to change flies and try something totally different when all else fails!

See you on the river!

Paul Castellano

www.castadventures.ca
www.flymaxfilms.com

Niagara River Report Jan.03 2010

2010-01-03T04:50:00.000-08:00

O1/03/10

Cold snap here right now! Strong NW winds with snow. -20 something.....Road and Ramp need work.....Road was icy slick yesterday afternoon.......Water was green/brown with 1.5 feet of vis at 1pm....But just got word that conditions up river were not good and most likely today will be toast....The steelhead in th...e pic above was taken Jan 1, early morning before the snow started.......Niagara has nice fresh blanket of snow on the ground now. River conditions are poor, but fish are still being caught by anglers from the boats and on shore.

Today is a good day to tie flies and keep warm!

Niagara Grand Slam!

2009-12-04T11:16:00.000-08:00

Niagara Grand slam,

November 27, 2009-12-04

I 1st met Paul and Gail last January at the Somerset fly fishing show in New Jersey. I remember talking with them about the Niagara River and different species available from my home waters. We shared stories of salt water strippers and powerful fall steelhead found in the mighty Niagara.

Almost a year later my phone rings, it’s Paul and Gail wanting to book a trip!.....he asked if I remembered talking with them, I continued with “ Gail had the really nice puglisi files” Paul, let’s out a loud laugh and we quickly get caught up.....not sure how I remembered, but hard to forget Gail’s files she ties! Very nice work!
They tell me about a trip there planning down to the Niagara Region and we set up a date to do some fly fishing on the big river. I was really looking forward to this one! Hey, I don’t know many anglers that are as crazy about fishing as me! Paul and Gail may like fishing more!
The morning of our scheduled trip, the conditions are perfect! Almost no wind, water’s clear, and very few boats out.....you really couldn’t have asked for a better day. After a quick how-to, we rigged the rods, and headed out. We started targeting deeper fish, running egg files and trout beads. Both of them hooked, landed and released some bigger lake trout, which is always a blast on the fly gear! They can really test your leaders’ strength, and push your gear to the max......
Paul and Gail were excellent at casting, and after seeing this I put them both to work! “The Streamer bite is my favourite” I tell them. You could see the excitement in Gail’s eyes. “let’s get one angler swinging streamers, and the other using the indicator rod” Paul really wanted to try out the New LOOP Opti Switch rod matched with a Loop Opti Speed runner reel i had on the boat. It doesn’t get much better for an indicator combo! This rod and reel is a roll casting machine!
I was really impressed by how well they adapted to the fly fishing equipment and methods we use here on the Niagara! They both had excellent days on the water, landing and losing lots of great fish! But Gail had one of those magical days that the Niagara is known for! She almost had the rod ripping out of her hands when the trout smashed the streamers, both on the swing and stripping it back to the boat......

She is the 1st female angler to ever get the Niagara Grand slam on the fly rod with Cast Adventures!

~ Steelhead – Brown Trout – Lake Trout ~ , all in the same day. Her smile tells it best.......

Congratulations Gail !!!

See you on the River,

Paul Castellano
Cast Adventures
http://www.castadventures.ca/
http://www.flymaxfilms.com/

Showcasing the biggest fish in 2008 from each species

2009-01-12T06:21:00.000-08:00

I just spent the pass few days sorting out all the fishing pictures from 2008. What a Great season! TONS of big smallies, steelhead, lake trout and walleye!

We’re showcasing the biggest fish in 2008 from each species below.

Carp: Jo landed this 24.15lb on the Niagara River, Summer 2008

Steelhead: your guide with a winter Niagara Steelhead!

Lake Trout: Donna with a monster from the Niagara river Fall 2008

The Simmons's surprise while steelhead fishing on the Niagara, Spring 2008

Smallmouth: Taro Murata of Fish City with a skinny 5.13lb from Lake Erie Fall 2008!

Perch: Fadi with a 15.5 “ Jumbo perch from Lake Erie Spring 2008!

Largemouth Bass: Grant’s LMBass from the Niagara River Summer 2008!

Brown Trout: Peter with his fish, Niagara River Winter 2008!

Walleye : Jason with a 10lbs from the upper Niagara river Spring 2008!

See you on the River,

Paul Castellano

Cast Adventures

December 5 2008, Fly fishing and light tackle report.

2008-12-05T03:52:00.000-08:00

Well, 2008 is almost over.............. What a Year! We haven't posted a report or pictures for the past three months. Below is a huge collection of pictures from September to December 5th, enjoy!

Please feel free to contact us any time for current fishing or river conditions! We've been lucky for the most part with good fishing conditions this fall. The steelhead fishing has been unreal and Lake Erie has produced some really nice smallies for us. Fly fishing on the lower river from the boat has been a blast! Steelies and lakers love to eat minnow patterns in the big river......

The Winter season on the Niagara River is just starting to heat up!

See you on the River,

September 4, 2008

2008-09-04T08:19:00.000-07:00

The Canadian Fly Fisher Magazine and Fly Max Films came down to Niagara Falls for a visit last week. We spent four days fly fishing the Niagara region for Smallmouth bass and Muskie. For all you readers that have never tried this before, you don’t know what your missing~!

Oh ya, and if you fish bass tourney’s, this is way super sneaky way to catch huge smallmouth bass when the bite is tough or your dealing with pressured waters.

The first two days were on Erie. Conditions were near perfect, light winds with just a sight chop on the water. You could see the bottom in 12 feet. The game plan, run and gun areas looking for schools of bass. This is what made it so much fun for me, sight fishing!

With the Electric motor on high, we searched the flats for the bronze backs. Good polarized sunglasses are a must. It takes a little getting use to, but spotting these fish on the bottom is easier then you think. Once you have one in your sights, getting them to take your fly is another story. This is when the Adrenaline would kick in and your heart rate doubles. Steady hands and good fly placement will determine the number of opportunities you get thought out the day. These bass will spook, it is best if you can make the right cast on the first try.

You don’t want to cast right on top of the fish you’ve spotted. Try and put the fly slightly ahead of the bass. This really helped us. I found that the best flies on this trip were ones that looked like gobies and fished right on the bottom.

I haven’t had this much fun bass fishing in years! It was really challenging, but very rewarding. For equipment we used 7 and 8wt rods in lengths from 7”11 to 10 feet.

Sage has designed a new line of bass rods that meets the requirements of Canadian bass tournaments (not permitted to use fishing rods greater then 8’ length). Presenting a fly to smallmouth bass in a tournament……hmmmm……that could just be the ticket at times. What’s the difference if you cram a few more rods and reels in the rod locker……Trust me, learn how to cast and try it on your favorite smallmouth waters. Small baits catch big bass!

We caught some fish deep, fishing depths from 20 to 27 feet. Here we used full sinking lines with weighted flies but the shallow bites was on! and sight fishing for Smallmouth was extremely exciting!!! There is nothing like watching a huge bass swim over to your fly and suck it up off the bottom, man it’s cool!!!

Fly fishing for smallmouth on the flats of Lake Erie is right up there with any style of fishing I’ve ever experienced, I highly recommend this! This whole trip was captured on camera by Fly Max Films. Lots of high flying jumps and big smallmouth! If you like the pictures in this blog, Be sure to check video when it’s out! http://www.flymaxfilms.com/

I’ll leave the Muskie story for next time……..(chucking 14” bucktail streamers with a fly rod!!!!! SICK!)

Don’t underestimate the power of the fly rod…………

See you on the River,

Cast Adventures

1-888-512-8127

Fishing Report August 6 2008

2008-08-06T20:00:00.000-07:00

Niagara Region Bass /Walleye Report

August 6 2008,

Hopefully you've all had a chance to get out to your favorite fishing hole this summer and enjoyed some time on the water. Lake Erie and the Niagara River have been producing great fish for anglers from all corners of the globe. The Smallmouth bass fishing has been outstanding this season!

Top baits for catching bass have been the drop shot with Strike Zone Slammers, tubes, Senko's ,deep diving crank baits, Jerk baits, top water lures like the Pop R and spinner baits. Having ALL of these baits/lures rigged and ready will allow you to cover different depths and conditions effectively.Experiment with different colors and location/depths each trip for best results.

Two patterns have been holding up for us. Fishing for bass in shallow water: 5 to 15 feet (sight fishing) and deeper rock flats/ humps: 25 to 45 feet. Change baits even if you're catching fish. Example: you get on a spinner bait bite in 12 feet of water, try ripping jerk bait or working a crank bait though the same water. At times you might trigger some bigger fish that are using the same area. Or slow right down and use the Slammers or tube before leaving to look for new/more fish. We have seen this many times over the summer. By taking the time to change presentation and colors, it may result in more/bigger fish to the net from each location you try.

Keeping an open mind and trying both shallow and deep each day on the water will help you find and stay on top of active fish. Weather/waves also will determine where you can fish.

The Walleye fishing in the river is starting to slow down. The bigger fish seem to be moving out into the lake. Were still getting smaller walleye 2 to 6lbs at 1st and last light on worm harnesses and jigging with grubs and buck tails. The best depths have been 17 to 25 FOW. Harnesses colors: gold blade with pink or orange beads. Silver blades with green and orange beads. When faced with off colored water. Orange blade with orange beads seems to work best for us.

Here are a few more pics of those other fish you get while fishing the niagara region: Man these guys pull hard!!!The best fishing of the summer is yet to come! Get out when you can and enjoy your time off on the water!!!

See you on the River,

Cast Adventures

1-888-512-8127

http://www.castadventures.ca/

2008-07-28T19:56:00.000-07:00

July 28,29

2008-07-21T19:50:00.000-07:00

July 21,22,23 2008

2008-07-18T19:46:00.000-07:00

July 18,19 2008

2008-07-14T19:37:00.000-07:00

July 14,15,16,17

2008-07-11T19:33:00.000-07:00

July 11,12,13 2008

2008-07-09T19:29:00.000-07:00

July 9 2008

Fishing Erie with Grant and Donna

2008-07-06T19:26:00.000-07:00

July 6 2008

2008-07-03T19:22:00.000-07:00

July 3,4,5 2008

2008-06-27T18:15:00.000-07:00

June 27,28,30 2008

2008-06-20T20:58:00.000-07:00

June 20 & 21

2008-06-09T20:53:00.000-07:00

June 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

Bass & Walleye

2008-06-07T19:15:00.000-07:00

June 7 2008

2008-06-06T20:48:00.000-07:00

June 5 6 7 2008

June 4 2008

2008-06-04T20:44:00.000-07:00

Fly Fishing the Niagara River

May 18 2008 video

2008-06-01T19:12:00.000-07:00

May 18 2008

Niagara River:

Check out some clips from this day:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knBtGi-9OG4

See you on the River,

Paul Castellano
Cast Adventures
1-888-512-8127
www.castadventures.ca

May 25 2008

2008-05-26T05:30:00.000-07:00

First time fishing! I'd say they are hooked now! :)

May 24 2008

2008-05-24T05:25:00.000-07:00

This Sturgeon was landed on a size 12 hook with 6lb leader!

May 22 2008

2008-05-22T05:19:00.000-07:00

Great day on the Lower river, we had a steelhead jump right into the boat!

May 16 2008

2008-05-16T18:59:00.000-07:00

With the Steelhead season winding down in smaller tributaries of the great lakes, the Niagara River is still in full swing! This monster of a river connects Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, and always seems have steelhead around longer. Unlike most rivers in the province, the Niagara is still getting fresh fish entering the system, with a good mix of spawn and post-spawn (or drop-back) fish still present. The current water temps in the Niagara are 49 degrees - perfect for some steelhead on the Fly!

This week I called Nick Pujic of The Canadian Fly Fisher magazine and Mike Verhoef of http://www.flyfitters.ca/ to join me to fish the mighty Niagara River for some late season fly fishing for Steelhead from the boat. Once I told them of the recent success my clients have been having on the river, they both jumped on the opportunity, and were on the road that same day. The night of their arrival was spent tying different egg patterns, streamers, rigging equipment and trading stories of past fishing adventures!

We were slow to get going in the morning, enjoyed a good breakfast and a few cups of coffee before making our way to the boat ramp (Only 10mins from the house). We had the boat in the water and were off fishing by 8:30am. For those who’ve not been to the Niagara Gorge before, it is absolutely stunning each and every time you see it! At this time of year, the trees are green and the flowers are in bloom; what a nice warm welcome after a long winter. No float suits needed either, with daytime temps in the teens, a fleece and a hoodie will keep you nice and comfy! Having said that, please keep in mind that the water is still cold and currents are extremely powerful! Always use caution, and think safety 1st when fishing the Niagara River, please. This is not a place for inexperienced boat handling and I strongly recommend fishing with a guide or a friend that has run this river before to learn how to operate a boat in the powerful current!

It didn’t take us long to locate active steelhead and boat our first fish. The action was steady all day and between the three of us we hooked 17 and landed 11 rainbows…with the best steelhead to the net in the 8-to-10lb class! The fish were nuts! Strong, fast runs and lots of high flying jumps! Nick also captured the whole trip on film, which will make for some great footage that hopefully you’ll all get a chance to see. (If you haven’t heard of Fly Max films, check it out! Very original, Exciting Fly Fishing Video’s http://www.flymaxfilms.com/ )

The river still has a lot of fish spawning. The hot patterns for us this day were glo-bugs and sucker spawn tied on size 12 hooks. I was running an 8lb floro leader and Mike was using 12lb floro – it really didn’t seem to matter. The key was to make sure your offering was getting down to the bottom. We did have to use one # 5 split shot along with a 10’ ex-fast sink tip to fish properly in this location.

I’ve been using a new rod and reel combo this spring on the Niagara River that I want to share with you all. The G-Loomis, GLX Native Run 11’#7 rod http://www.gloomis.com/ , matched with a Loop, Speed Runner Fly reel http://www.looptackle.com/ . The longer Native Run switch rod makes casting effortless and is great for tight spots with very little room to back cast. Perfect for roll casting & double handed spay casting! This rod will handle larger flies use for swinging, but will also fish a light 6lb floro leader, and size 12 egg patterns if needed. What’s great about the Loop Speedrunner is it allows for very quick line retrieve due to the larger diameter design and the super smooth drag system! Perfect for the big waters, and hard fighting steelhead found on the Niagara!

The Niagara late season steelhead fishing is the best in Southern Ontario! We offer boat trips plus walk and wade adventures in the gorge. If you want to experience the Niagara region for yourself, please contact us for more information.

See you on the River,

Paul Castellano
Cast Adventures
1-888-512-8127
www.castadventures.ca

May 15 2008

2008-05-15T18:54:00.000-07:00

May 15 2008,

Niagara River:

Fly Fishing/Hiking the Glen.

May 14 2008

April 26 2008 Fly Fishing the Niagara River

2008-04-26T19:47:00.000-07:00

April 26 2008,

Hiked the river with only my Fly rod and one small box stuffed with different flies that i tied over the winter. The walk down into the Niagara Glen is unreal! Today was my Personal Best day with a Fly rod for steelhead, ended up hooking 22 landing 16! Talk about being at the right place at the right time! :)

Tested out one of the Loop Fly Reels matched with a Gloomis Native run GLX, sweet combo to fish with. The oversized Loop reel really picks up the line in a hurry, perfect for the Big water and strong steelhead of the Niagara River. Roll casting with this outfit worked great. The area i fished had no room for back casting. The longer 11' rod help turn over line, and move fish when needed.

Egg Flies took all my fish,

Water temps are now 44 degrees. Fish are Jumping and fighting like CRAZY once hooked! Several steelhead took me well into the backing during the fight!

If you've never Fly Fished Big water before, You've gotta try it on the Niagara River!

See you on the River,

Paul Castellano
Cast Adventures
1-888-512-8127
http://www.castadventures.ca/

April 24 2008

2008-04-24T20:20:00.000-07:00

April 24 2008

We Found the bass much deeper today, 27 feet of water was the best bite for us. Drop shotting Strike Zone Slammers on ultra light combo's was hot! We also found a good school of Jumbo Perch in the same area as the Smallmouth bass. The Jumbo's all hit small live minnows.

Another good day on the Lake Erie, water temps were 48 degrees, sunny with light east winds.

See you on the River,

Paul Castellano
Cast Adventures
1-888-512-8127
www.castadventures.ca

April 22 2008

2008-04-22T11:06:00.000-07:00

We fished the US side of Lake Erie yesterday for Smallmouth Bass (Open Year Round). WOW what a fishery! We started in the Upper Niagara. Water Temps were 36 degrees, with too much ice floating around still. Moved out into the Lake and found some pockets of water that were 53 to 55 degrees! This was the key.

Took us a few hours to local the warmer water and fish but when it was over we boated 64 or 65 smallmouth up to 4.5lb! We found the bass in 3 to 8 feet of water! all sight fishing.

For tackle we started with tubes 10lb test, 6.6 foot rods, but found the best bite was using mini crank baits with ultra lights and 4lb line. Talk about FUN!

See you on the River,

Cast Adventures

April 19 2008

2008-04-19T11:20:00.000-07:00

Ice is now gone on the lower Niagara. River is super clear and the Bite is back on after a few slower days on the river last week. Upper River still has some ice floating around, That may find it’s way below the Falls. The Weathers been really nice here in Niagara Falls, flowers are poppin
up, Finally Winter is OVER!!!

Water temps are now 37 degrees. This is the beginning of some of the best steelhead fishing of the season! Fly Fishing on the Niagara will kick into high gear with these warmer temps. Walk and Wade adventures are at peak season.

Small roe bags, yarn flies and small minnow are producing fish for us.

2008-03-10T07:13:00.000-07:00

Well, were more then half way through the winter season and this will be our first report for 2008. The Fishing in the Niagara Region never stops! The seasons just change and we target different species over the course of the year.

If you enjoy to Fly Fish, or have always wanted to try it, the Niagara River offers some fantastic Fly Fishing opportunities for Steelhead and lake trout! Trout remain very aggressive during the winter months and there is no closed season. In addition, it may be one of the only locations which doesn’t freeze over. The minnow bite on the Niagara River is very good! Stripping streamers and different minnow patterns produces explosive strikes!

Last Week I made a trip to a local river with the Fly rod.

The Smaller river is open year round for fishing. It was on Groundhog Day, the day before the area was hit hard by a snow storm. When I arrived the location was covered by a fresh blanket of ice and snow, making for some beautiful scenery.

Walk and wade Adventures is another way to explore the Niagara gorge and get out of the house for the day. Great alternative to ice fishing!

The River has been stained or muddy for the past month, resulting in many cancellations during January. Fishing the Niagara from the boat this time of year is always an Adventure, here are a few pictures from Saturday February the 9^th 2008.

This young angler landed an incidental out of season Muskie that was quickly released unharmed after a few photos of his catch!

One Bonus walleye,

The Steelhead fishing was good to us and the biggest trout landed was 11lbs.

The best cure for the winter blues is to get out side and enjoy the great outdoors! The best place in Southern Ontario to cure the winter fishing bug is the Niagara River along with a handful of hard fighting Lake trout or Steelhead! Book your Winter Fishing Adventure today!

See you on the river,

Paul Castellano

Cast Adventures

1-888-512-8127

www.castadventures.ca

Seasons Greetings!

2007-12-24T07:12:00.000-08:00

Season Greetings! What a fantastic year! We would like to thank each and everyone of you for your support over the 2007 season.

It’s been almost a month since our last report and we’ve had our ups and downs with the fishing conditions in the past 30 days. The Niagara River has been dirty a lot this month making for some challenging fishing at times. Walleye fishing is a great back up plan when conditions are less then ideal for steelhead.

The Walleye don’t seem to mind the dirty water and still willingly eat jigs, regardless of how dirty the water is. Now you won’t get the same fight that a lake trout or steelhead will give you, but the Niagara River produces HUGE Walleye every year. Our biggest last week was 12lbs!

The current world record at 22.5lbs is from the Niagara River!

For those anglers that did time the conditions right this past month, we had some big number days for steelhead! No need to get into how many…………….but the fishing was great!!!

If your on the river and faced with dirty water conditions, don’t get frustrated. Try some of these tricks that have produced well for us in the past and keep producing fish each trip out!

1) Tie roe bags slightly bigger then normal. The size of a quarter or bigger will work best. Stick to brighter colours, like hot pink or flame orange and try using hot pink floaters inside the roe bag mixed in with the eggs.

2) Run a corky or spin’n’glow on the line first and run this with your roe bag. This will bulk up your presentation and give extra colour in the stained water. Again brighter colours.

3) A small piece of bright coloured yarn attached to your hook.

4) Live minnows with a corky or spin’n’glow in front.

5) 3-to-5” grubs in bright colours combined with a bright jig head has saved the bacon more then once.

If you have any questions regarding muddy water steelhead fishing, drop us an e-mail. We’ll be happy to help you. Don’t give up on fishing the Niagara just because the conditions are dirty! You can still catch fish on the river, with the right presentations.

Merry Christmas everyone!

See you on the river,

Paul Castellano

Cast Adventures

1-888-512-8127

www.castadventures.ca

November 29th 2007

2007-11-29T07:10:00.000-08:00

What an amazing run we had since the last report! In the past two weeks the river conditions and fishing have been outstanding! The Niagara River has been running clear with current water temps in the 40’s. Bigger steelhead our now being landed each trip both from shore on Float Fishing trips and from the boat.

Roe bags and yarn files have taken the “bulk” of the fish with Kwick fish boating there share as well. From the boat depths of 10-30 feet is where we focused our efforts depending on daily conditions. On bright sunny days with the clearer water we found the steelhead holding in the deeper sections of the drifts, 22-30feet. When faced with overcast skies, fish were found in all depths, with shallower breaks like 10-to-15 feet producing good fish.

The weather has been all over the board, from warm and sunny, wet rainy days that never seem to let up, to the first snow fall of the season. Despite the constantly changing weather the fishing has remain very consistent!

We had our first “Grand Slam” of the season ( when an angler lands a Brown trout, Lake Trout and Steelhead all in the same day) accomplished by a 10 year old angler last week. Well Done!!!

On the last trip we pulled out the Fly rods and caught some beautiful steelhead and one nice lake trout from the boat! Lots of high flying jumps and we also did battle with a BIG mystery fish for 20 mins that almost spooled all the backing off the fly reel before hanging up on a ledge and breaking the line. This is truly “Extreme Fly Fishing”!!! What an exciting way to fish the Niagara!

Yarn files accounted for all the fish except for one silver steelhead that took an egg sucking leech. All this great Fly Fishing action was captured on film by “The New Fly Fisher” television show. The show will air in spring 2008. Stay tuned for dates.

For more information on Winter/Spring Fly Fishing opportunities on the Niagara River for Steelhead and Lake trout, contact us.

For those of you thinking of fishing the Niagara River this weekend, save the gas and time and wait for conditions to improve. With the strong SW winds in the past 48 hours the river is currently running muddy with very poor fishing conditions. You can contact us any time for the latest and current river conditions by e-mail.

See you on the river,

Paul Castellano

Cast Adventures

1-888-512-8127

www.castadventures.ca

November 14th 2007

2007-11-14T07:08:00.000-08:00

If you’ve been waiting for conditions to improve for Steelhead fishing to book your Adventure, IT’S TIME!!!

The Niagara River fishing has been outstanding this past week! Steelhead are moving through the system in big schools. We’ve had great trips while float fishing during walk and wade adventures and fishing from the boat. Lots of high flying jumps and strong, powerful runs from these fall trout!

Current river conditions: water temperature is 51 and clear. Perfect!

Salmon and Brown trout roe tied in sizes 4 to 10 eggs. Colours; White, yellow, hot pink have been working well lately.

Planning your next fishing trip, Niagara River steelhead fishing is happening big time right now!

See you on the river,

Paul Castellano

Cast Adventures

1-888-512-8127

www.castadventures.ca

October 31st 2007

2007-10-31T07:05:00.000-07:00

There have been some pretty windy days on the Lower Niagara, Upper Niagara and Lake Eire making for some challenging fishing conditions, But have still managed some nice fish on some recent trips.

Salmon fishing on the lower river has been tough with the warmer water temps! This is extremely late, on some trips we were faced with temps of 63. Water temperatures this week has finally hit the 50's. Last reading we took was 58. This will really get those trout moving up the river and start off the new season.

Muskie and Pike fishing on the upper river are good with reports coming in from other anglers of some giants being landed! We've landed some good Muskie and lots of smaller pike casting spinner baits and top waters.

Bass fishing this past few weeks has been hit or miss and Lake Erie has been too rough to venture far out in search of those big schools of feeding smallmouth.

Currently the River is dirty from the crazy winds we had last weekend, but improving . Top wind speeds on Saturday were 70km! We will post the river conditions when things improve. Hopefully by the end of the week it will be fishable!

Thanks for reading,

Best Regards,

Paul Castellano
Cast Adventures
1-888-512-8127
www.castadventures.ca

September - October 2007

2007-10-14T07:01:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

It’s been an outstanding season! Lake Erie and the Niagara River have been nothing short of spectacular living up to their reputation as one of the greatest bass fisheries in the world! When weather conditions are good and the winds are light or off shore we’ve had great success fishing shallow on Lake Erie. With the clear water in the western end of the lake you can see bottom in 15 feet and less making for ideal sight fishing opportunities.

There is nothing more exciting than watching these big bass smash top waters! Poppers and zara spooks are excellent search lures when conditions are clam. Allowing you to cover lots of water, hunting for active schools of bass. If you’ve faced with wind and smaller waves, use jerk baits and spinner baits as your search baits.

Once you’ve located these schools of bass with top waters or other fast moving lures, working the area thoroughly with tubes and drop shot rigs will allow you to pick up the less aggressive fish. This one two punch has proven it’s self over the years and continues to catch bass for us each trip on this amazing body of water.

Cast Adventures picks for Bass on the Niagara and Lake Erie

Top waters:

-Poppers in blue/silver, black/silver (see page 274 in the 2007 Bass Pro Shops fishing master catalog)

-Zara spooks in silver, clear plastic, white, fire tiger (see page 270 in the 2007 Bass Pro Shops fishing master catalog)

Spinner Baits

-Bass Pro Shops Lazer eyes pro series: Double Willow ½ oz, 3/8 oz in white, white/Chartreuse (see page 302 in the 2007 Bass Pro Shops fishing master catalog)

* Always use a small trailer hook with your spinner bait to increase hook ups

Jerk baits

-Rapala X-raps in White, Hot pink, Clown (see page 277 in the 2007 Bass Pro Shops fishing master catalog)

Tubes and Drop shot bait

-Bass Pro Shops Tender Tubes in smoke/purple/black flake, Green Ppkn./pepper, Watermelon candy, green pumpkinseed/orange flake, Amber/black/green flake, Dark melon orange/copper, Neon salt&pepper. (See page 333 in the 2007 Bass Pro Shops fishing master catalog)

-Rig these on tube jig heads in 1/8 to ½ oz depending on depth, wind and waves

* These are just a few tubes that have worked well this past season. Always experiment and carry a good selection of different size and colour tubes when bass fishing on Lake Erie. Every day can be different, let the bass tell you what colour is working best!

- Drop shot baits: Strike Zone Tournament Tackle; Slammers in watermelon/black/red flake, Smoke/purple/silver flake

-we rigged these on red octopus hooks in size 4,6 with 1/8 to ½ oz drop shot weights 12-24inches below the hook. (See Page 382 and 378 in the Bass Pro Shop fishing master catalog)

Fall Bass fishing on the Niagara River and Lake Erie is on FIRE! This is one of the best times of year to land a monster smallmouth! The bass are staring to really bunch up and feed heavily before winter. Don’t hang up the bass tackle yet, some of the best bassn’ is yet to come!

Niagara Salmon

It’s that time of year again! The big kings of Lake Ontario are in the river and are STRONG fighting sport fish!!!

In addition to the King salmon, we’ve landed some nice Coho salmon which tend to run smaller that their bigger cousins, but make up for it with high flying jumps and super aggressive feeding behavior.

We’ve had several excellent trips casting glow spoons at night from the boat. 3/4oz no name glow spoons in glow/pink, glow/orange dots and 1/2oz Glow little Cleo’s work well with a super slow retrieve. We use a camera flash every ten casts or so to charge the glow spoons at night. During the day Float fishing with treated roe is the deal!!! Float fishing can be very exciting, but challenging to land these powerful salmon from shore.

The Niagara River is just starting to heat up; Steelhead and Brown trout are showing up and with the cooler nights were getting in the Niagara region, the fishing will only get better! Don’t miss out on the super hard fighting fall Steelhead and Salmon fishing on the Niagara River!!!

Thanks for reading and Best regards,

Paul Castellano

Cast Adventures

1-888-512-8127

Cast Adventures

September 16 2010 Fishing Report

River Report 04/05/2010

Fishing Report 01/29/2010

Niagara Fishing Report 01/11/2010

Niagara River Conditions 01/08/10

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Niagara River Report Jan.03 2010

Niagara Grand Slam!

Showcasing the biggest fish in 2008 from each species

December 5 2008, Fly fishing and light tackle report.

September 4, 2008

Fishing Report August 6 2008

June 4 2008

May 18 2008 *video*

May 25 2008

May 24 2008

May 22 2008

May 16 2008

May 15 2008

May 14 2008

May 10th

May 8 2008

May 7 2008

May 6 2008

May 1 2008

April 28 2008

April 26 2008 Fly Fishing the Niagara River

April 24 2008

April 22 2008

April 19 2008

March 24,25,26,27 2008

March 20&21 2008

March 17 2008

Winter Fly Fishing and Niagara River Report

Seasons Greetings!

November 29th 2007

November 14th 2007

October 31st 2007

September - October 2007

May 18 2008 video