Brown Trout

The forecast for fishing in 2023′ is quite bright. Fish species like Brown Trout, Lake Trout, Steelhead and Walleye are all on the rise.  In addition to these species, GIANT Northern Pike reside in our waters and they are a focus of the Saiff Charter Fishing Team!  The photo above is of a young man from Boonville, NY.  This Brown Trout is over 15 pounds and is featured in our latest “Brown Trout Video” on the Bill Saiff Outdoors YouTube Channel where anglers from all over the U.S. study our techniques on catching “World Class” fish!  Currently, there are over 163 videos that feature all the types of fishing that we have to offer.  In the winter of 2022’/2023′, there was a marked lack of ice throughout the Eastern Basin of Lake Ontario.  Consequently, the thousands of ice fishermen that normally ply these waters did not fish!  While we hate to see anyone miss fishing opportunity……. the fact is that, there are tons of all fish species that never got caught this winter.  This should make for exciting “Blue Water” fishing for our fleet this spring!  Come check it out!

Trophy Walleye

Trophy Walleye – May, August and October through November!

Walleye fishing was extremely good in 2022′.  While the spring fishery (May) was not as dynamic as the fall fishery, both were good!  The added bonus was that we took some incredible Northern Pike while pursuing Walleye!  Anglers should expect to see fish in the 5-13 lb. range.  Walleye are tremendous table fare but we always encourage our fishermen to release the largest spawning females.  In 2022′ the October fishery was a little soft!  Lake Ontario rolled over (an event that normally takes a few days) but it took nearly 5 weeks for it to complete its cycle?  The extra warm water kept things quiet in October but by the 1st of November, things were really happening!   We saw vast numbers of Walleye taken that eclipsed the 10lb. mark.  We even took a few examples that reached 13 pounds.  Sophia Derrigo’s 13 1/2 pound Walleye was the top fish during November.  There will be a video coming out on this during the summer of 2023′.  Anywhere you travel in North America,  this is considered top flight fishing!

Giant Northern Pike

Big Northern Pike have long been a specialty of the Saiff Charter Fleet!!!  In 2022′, we took some dandy Pike during our Spring Fishery but out Fall Fishery produced some lunkers as well!  Anglers can expect to take fish in the 8-15 lb. range but plenty of BIG NORTHERN PIKE will be taken each season between 15 and 20 pounds.  This past season, this GIANT came from just 14ft. of water in the mouth of the Black River!  Every season, we will take fish that approach or eclipse the 20 lb. mark!  Anglers will occasionally tangle with Muskies in these runs.  When the fall temps start to fall, Big Northerns and Big Muskies stake out the stretches of shoreline that they will hunt on each fall.  When they take the bait,  it’s top notch action!

Huge Smallmouth Bass reside in Eastern Lake Ontario!  Many anglers enjoyed catches of their Personal Best Bass in 2022′.  There were enough GIANT BASS taken between 5 and 7 pounds that we quit keeping track of them.  Capt. Mike McCarthy is holding a 6 1/2 lb. Bass in the photo above.  This fish was taken during the 1st week of Bass Season on the back side of Galloo Island!    The Fall Fishery is also an excellent time to target Huge Bass!  There is a reason that Pro Bass Tournaments come to our region……”We have fantastic Bass Fishing!”

Lake Trout

May through August is the time to target “Trophy Lake Trout” and these big fish just keep getting bigger!  Last season the Saiff Fleet experimented with Freedom Tackle’s “Cut Herring” Plug Bait and Dave’s “Super Baits” for giant trout.  We still used our traditional methods but rolling plastic Plug Baits was a definite advantage when targeting the biggest fish!  Watch the Bill Saiff Outdoors Channel on YouTube to see some of the incredible Lake Trout that were taken during the 2022′ season.  We also filmed a great video titled “Fishing Dinosaur Lake Trout” that can also be seen on our YouTube Channel.  This video highlights huge Lake Trout being taken on Pro King Magnum Spoons.  Check these out and book a GIANT LAKE TROUT adventure in 2023′!

Mighty Chinook King Salmon

June and July represent the best time to take summer Kings! This Nickel Silver King came during this very time frame!  We refer to the June/July period as the “Hot Zone” because fish are big, plentiful and almost anything can happen!  Angler’s can also target Kings during the “Staging Period” with generally occurs from Mid- August through Mid-September.  The Kings are darker during this time frame but they are at peak weight as they prepare for their return to the tributaries.  In addition to providing “World Class Fishing”, the BSO Team also produces much of the tackle that we use.   Fishermen from all over North America use our Salmon Flies, Wingers and Lake Trout Rigs to catch their biggest fish…… Come visit us in 2023′ and watch us put this gear to use on your next trophy!

-Capt. Bill Saiff III