Boating In Devil’s Hole

[scobar]

10/11/2005 a captain and passenger drowned in devils hole

[whaler1]

Yep!   Usually half of what you catch upstream in the hole, and 99% at the bar, are lakers. 

[McWally]

There was this guy who use to always win the spring LOC centerpinning Niagara shoreline for bows. I tried it from boat with a slip bobber and all that got me was a huge migraine. 

[jimski2]

My experience is that when the stream water temperature reaches 45 degrees F. the trout return to the lakes where they inhabit till next fall when the stream temperatures reach 45 degrees F.

[tuffishooker]

12 hours ago, scobar said:

10/11/2005 a captain and passenger drowned in devils hole

Thanks for the post ! Where there others ? We got as far as the Queenston / Lewiston bridge when a swirl tilted the port stern to about 1 cm. of free board and that was enough for us to back off ! IMO once it starts getting scared it stops being fun ! been there too many times and do not want any others ! Again no fish is worth risking your safety for !

[McWally]

1 hour ago, jimski2 said:

My experience is that when the stream water temperature reaches 45 degrees F. the trout return to the lakes where they inhabit till next fall when the stream temperatures reach 45 degrees F.

It was a sneaky move, but I swear this dude was catching big hens in may off the bank. 

[fisherman21]

1 hour ago, McWally said:

It was a sneaky move, but I swear this dude was catching big hens in may off the bank. 

Guys regularly catch many steelhead in the river all the way till mid June many years

[McWally]

2 hours ago, tuffishooker said:

Thanks for the post ! Where there others ? We got as far as the Queenston / Lewiston bridge when a swirl tilted the port stern to about 1 cm. of free board and that was enough for us to back off ! IMO once it starts getting scared it stops being fun ! been there too many times and do not want any others ! Again no fish is worth risking your safety for !

Another post that triggered a bad memory! This happened to us too!!!!

[jimski2]

The water temperatures in the Niagara River are influenced by the ice cover and its melting condition on Lake Erie. I have seen ice there in early May some years.

[whaler1]

Back out on the 20th, looking forward to it!

[ifishy]

We had to reschedule our trip for conditions I've been looking forward to it for months gotta wait 2 more weeks now

Sent from my XT1080 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[chowder]

On 1/6/2022 at 5:26 PM, whaler1 said:

I personally would only make the run to the hole with an experienced guide, even then it’s pretty spooky. I’ve been there dozens of times but there are plenty of great drifts that are below. 
Some days, when below the power plants the water is stained, the hole is a nice option. 
One weird thing yesterday was that we didn’t catch a single lake trout. 

Well said! I haven't been over in a week, and now I'm coyote hunting for a bit, but when I was last there, the bite was tough due to Erie has not frozen and the water clarity isn't where it needs to be so the steel are negative and very finicky. It's getting colder now and conditions will likely improve. If/when this occurs the steel and bonus fish will be more active and targeting them where there is less pressure is going to pay dividends. This should enable guys and gals to work slower drifts where they can get a handle on boat control and tapping bottom carefully without risking life, limb, vessel and the safety of others. So, before you go: make yourself familiar with tying sacks with different colors and floats, rig a rod with a bead, and have some other bead colors, get your minnow hooking technique down, and get and learn rigging maglips and other plugs. It's an adventure, but it's not a joke!

[whaler1]

I’m supposed to go on Thursday, going to be a cold one!

[McWally]

30 minutes ago, whaler1 said:

I’m supposed to go on Thursday, going to be a cold one!

At least it’s not today. 

[chowder]

22 hours ago, McWally said:

At least it’s not today. 

True but weather lately is increasingly favorable for freezing at least the eastern portion of Erie and that's the key!

[whaler1]

Was hoping to be out in the morning but the heavy southwest wind turned it into chocolate milk. Heading back next to Wednesday’s 

[whaler1]

A recent bow caught and released there. 
Wish it was me lol. 

[McWally]

Monster fish!

[whaler1]

Today

 

 

[whaler1]

Took a video of running to the hole this morning, might be too big to load.