Another Labor Day has passed, another summer season is winding down, but this season in WNY will be forever remembered as the “Year of the Walleye,” as the bite on Lake Erie continues its mind-boggling frenzy that seems to have been sustained since the walleye opener on May 1.

The 2025 season started as they all have in the past, with a solid night bite in the shallows, with a twist – usually these post spawn feeding areas have defined sections, such as from Woodlawn to Wanakah, or Barcelona to the PA line.  Little did the night anglers know the stage was being set, with fast limits and consistent action evening to evening.  Even the Upper Niagara River saw a night bite accessible from shore from places like Freedom Park and the foot of Ontario Street’s Black Rock Park.  As May progressed into June, and the night bite gave way to the daytime activity, the walleye fishing seemed to only improve.

Catch rates this year seem to have remained consistent and steady, cross the NY waters of the Eastern Basin, and according to DEC Lake Erie Fisheries Unit personnel, this year’s catch rate has broken every record since records have been kept.  Anglers have been taking to social media, charter captains and hobbyists alike, showing off the photos of limit catches achieved in 2 hours of fishing, or less.  This June success continued – throughout July, throughout August, and now into September, the action has not slowed down.

Historically, the eastern basin of Lake Erie has truly relied upon the annual migration of western basin walleye that follow the baitfish each summer as they move to the cooler, deeper waters the east side of this Great Lake offers.  Historically, the eastern basin has had low levels of resident walleye, and if you were fortunate to find an active school of “resident” fish, it was somewhat normal to see trophy class fish, but very few smaller walleye, until the migrating fish arrived.  Limits were nowhere near as common, until those western fish arrived as well.  Once summertime hit it stride, and our local waters warmed, many of the fish found near Buffalo would move to deeper waters offered further west, from Sturgeon Point to Barcelona.  Some years anglers would need to work west of Sunset Bay to find good fishing from mid-July – end of August. 

It would appear the eastern basin resident walleye numbers have exploded, and if the DEC telemetry studies inform us, these fish that call the WNY waters home remain in the eastern basin; they do not migrate west!  It seems that spawning success on the eastern basin has improved tremendously, as it has across the entire lake, which, to me, indicates the lake’s health from the days Erie was declared dead, continues to improve, with additional cleanup projects and remediation of old toxic sludge and habitat restoration, has brought a more stable and healthy spawn into play.  Over the past 15 years or so, based on trawl surveys conducted each fall, the annual spawn is appearing more consistent.  Gone seem to be the days when anglers and biologists would see a great spawn year, followed by several year of low production, then another spike.  This condition appears to be giving way to more consistent annual spawning success, and the walleye population estimates, which are truly based on western basin observations, continues to show growth and stability.  The result is a great mix of fish, as multiple year classes of fish are now present.  Throughout the 2025 season, anglers have reported all sizes being caught, but very few of those double-digit wall hangers, which is a more normal condition for a well-balanced, healthy fish population.

As mentioned earlier, this year’s catch rates have broken all records.  Where it once was normal to expect an average catch rate of just under 1 fish an hour – a high-quality fishery by any measure – seems like many boats are experiencing just over 1 fish every 10 minutes!  Participants of the Sunset Bay Walleye Shootout and the Northern Chautauqua Conservation Club Walleye Derby this year reported each day bringing nearly 100 fish caught, with many reporting putting well over 30 on the deck (with most released, due to the 6 fish per man daily possession limit.)  And the action continues, despite the cooling waters and the usual late-summer lull that comes with the western basin fish making their return journey back to Ohio waters.

This bodes well for our region, as walleye is the 2^nd most popular freshwater gamefish in the USA, behind black bass.  Regional tourism, despite taking some hits with cross-border visitors due to the weakened Canadian dollar, has been buoyed by the lure of Lake Erie and the mind-boggling walleye fishing.  Many states’ license plates are represented in the launch parking lots, from Sturgeon Point to Barcelona.  I believe a good 30 of the 50 states were represented at this year’s Sunset Bay Shootout.  Sportfishing tourism in WNY continues to rise, a testament to the marketing efforts of the Eastern Lake Erie Charter Boat Association and their “Come Fish Lake Erie” promotion.  Word of mouth is doing the rest, and with the National Walleye Tour making another stop in Dunkirk this past August, the area can expect more good reports delivered to friends and family back home.  Add this to the incredible bass fishery found nearshore in close proximity to Buffalo, and this region has a one-two punch for traveling anglers to capitalize on.  The private sector is making the most of this opportunity and millions of dollars of economic impact and thousands of jobs for our residents is the result.

The good old days are right now, with a fishery large and healthy enough to share with those from other parts of the country who do not have such quality walleye fisheries back home.  When the fishing is this good, and we show and promote this gift, the entire region rises, increased funding for continued restoration programs and fisheries monitoring through increased non-NY resident fishing license sales, and the many secondary businesses, like restaurants, hotels, B&Bs and campgrounds have all seen this significant uptick in business; and the future is looking very bright indeed.