Marissa Campbell of Niagara Falls with a small salmon. Submitted photo

Some say that it all started in 1678, when a French priest named Father Louis Hennepin was the first European to lay eyes on the Great Falls during a trip visiting local Iroquois tribes and talking to them about Christianity, a missionary trip of sorts.

What many seem to forget is that Samuel de Champlain wrote in 1604, “That there was a fall about league wide and a large mass of waterfalls in said lake, that when this fall is passed one sees no land on either side but only a sea so large that they never see the end of it.”

While Champlain made the first drawing of note in 1632, a drawing and reports were made with the help of local Indians, and Champlain never laid eyes on what was later known as Niagara Falls.

My first experience fishing the Lower Niagara River was an eventful one, not for any of the reasons one would hope for. It all happened many moons ago, when I was testing my skills, or lack thereof, on bass tournament trails.

During one such tournament, I was teamed up — as a non-boater — with a local angler who just purchased a new bass boat. This was back in the day when bass boats had not gained popularity, due to their high price. I knew I had no skills fishing the river, so I chose non-boater for this event.

The one thing I learned quickly about the river is to never turn your big engine off, because the current on the River is strong and fast. The next thing I quickly learned was that, generally, fish hang close to the bottom, which means long-line drift fishing, and one can’t go back when you get a snag because the water is too fast.

Overall, it was an interesting and fun outing. I learned much about this historic fishery. While it’s always best to go with a guide or charter captain on any new body of water, the Lower Niagara has proven that point many times over the years to more than one angler looking to test their skills on the mighty Niagara.

While lakes Erie and Ontario gain well-deserved angling kudos for their diverse fishing opportunities, the mighty Niagara, especially the lower river, offer a wide array of angling opportunities and difficulties.

There are folks who know more about the past and current state of the Lower Niagara River than Frank Campbell. We first crossed paths when I shared a boat which he captained during a writers get together. I soon learned that when it came to fishing the Lower Niagara, Captain Frank knew the fishery.

Years later, he has turned that knowledge and experience into helping Niagara County promote not only the Lower River, but also Lake Ontario and other fisheries in the county. As director for Outdoor Promotions of the Destination Niagara USA (Niagara County), Frank spends his days sharing current information about the river.

I have been blessed to share a boat with Frank on many occasions. We have fished the mighty Niagara in just about every condition, from dodging recreational boats in the summer to bumping into float ice chunks in January. There are few I would trust on Lower Niagara than Captain Frank Campbell. Niagara County is lucky to have a man with such knowledge and experience helping promote Destination Niagara USA.

Recently we sat down to catch up on how the new position is going, but more importantly, I wanted to know how the fishing has been this season.

“If one is looking to shore fish in Niagara County, anglers are blessed with 10 miles of access to some fishing,” says Campbell. “Three boat launches along the Lower Niagara River, Lewiston, Youngstown, and Fort Niagara State Park. The docks in the village of Lewiston, and shoreline of Joseph Davis State Park, also in Lewiston, are great spots to shore fish.

“From shore, anglers can catch smallmouth bass, trout, lakers, silver bass and a variety of panfish,” continued Frank. “The smallmouth will bite — depending on time of the year — jigs, tubes, grubs’ emerald shiners. For trout and lakers, spinners – that match local bait fish — mostly black/silver. Silver bass offerings like Mr. Twisters and swim baits need to be bounced off the bottom.”

Boat anglers can find bass in the shallows around the beds this year, Campbell added.

“Staying on the outside of the beds, casting toward shore, is your best bet with spinnerbaits and tubes,” he said. “What we have seen the past couple years is the increase in walleye numbers and size. When we are drift fishing for trout, we have been picking up good-size walleyes. Of course, the trout that the lower river is known for are still holding their own. Depending on time of year and water temperature, anglers never know when they are going to hook into a monster.”

During this past week, in the lower river, Lisa Drabczyk with Creek Road Bait and Tackle reports that there are still reports of moss. But bass are still being caught down around Fort Niagara and out by the wall on the bar, with good reports of anglers still catching fish at the NYPA platform, including smallmouth, sheepshead, white bass and the occasional trout on spinners and jigs.

Out on Lake Ontario, salmon, and trout reign supreme and these are starting to pick back up after a period of transition out in the lake. Capt. Joe Oakes of Salmon Boy Sportfishing reported that fishing was good this past weekend out of Wilson. Most consistent bites seem to be coming from 100 to 200 feet of water and then 400 plus feet. A good mix of steelhead, kings and cohos were caught. Spoons run in the top 60 feet seemed to work best. Darker colors like the Seasick Waddler were working best for him.

Early this week, Captain Frank was out fishing the Niagara Bar drop with twin daughters, Marissa and Marina. What the girls discovered were small salmon biting just about anything that swam by in the way of spoons. A faster and deeper troll produced some bigger Chinook and Coho up to about 10 pounds.

Remember the next big fishing derby on Lake Ontario is the Summer Lake Ontario Counties Derby slated for July 2-31. That’s today. You can sign up any time (if it’s before 7 a.m. the same day) to compete for nearly $40,000 in cash prizes. Steelhead has been added to the mix of salmon, lake trout, brown trout, and walleye this year. Grand prize is $10,000 for the largest salmon. Visitloc.org for more information. Today is the Summer Big Boys contest out of Point Breeze in Orleans County, too.

For more information about fishing the historic and Charter Captains for Lower Niagara River, check out www.niagarafallsusa.com.