“Summer Fishing in the Northern United States with Ernie Calandrelli”

Part 4: Curly Tail Grubs from the Shore

Editor’s Note: Ernie Calandrelli of Orchard Park, New York, the public-relations director for Quaker Boy Calls, has fished below Niagara Falls on the Niagara River for more than 50 years and guided on the Niagara River, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario for 21 years. This week, Calandrelli will tell us where to fish and how he catches, fillets and cooks his catch.

Question: Ernie, I know you fish from a boat, but when you observe the bank fishermen on the lower Niagara River and at Lake Erie, what do they use to catch fish?

Calandrelli: Most of the people I see fishing from shore use white Mister Twister Curly Tail Grubs on jigheads.

Question: What do these shore fishermen catch, Ernie?

Calandrelli: They catch smallmouth bass, one after the other.

Question: How do they catch these smallmouths from the shore?

Calandrelli: The shore fishermen cast out into the current, let their jigs sink down 1 or 2 feet and then start their retrieves.

Question: What time of year is shore fishing the best?

Calandrelli: Shore fishing is productive all year in our region of New York. However, from June through July, this area weeds-up, which is the reason that at the end of July through the first of August, those bass really start hitting those Curly Tail Grubs. August and September seem to be the best months for shore fishermen to catch smallmouths.

Question: What size Curly Tail Grubs do the shore fishermen use?

Calandrelli: The majority of shore fishermen use 4-inch Curly Tail Grubs on 6- to 8-pound-test line. The lighter line allows them to cast the baits out further, get them into the current and swim them back to shore. We perform the same action in the boat that shore fishermen do from the bank. We often drift to different sections of the river in the boat, and if I have a fisherman who prefers to cast, I’ll put a 4-inch Curly Tail Grub on a rod and let him cast toward the shore. Using this tactic, my fisherman often will catch good-sized smallmouth.

The shore fishermen cast out from shore through the current where their jigheads hit and then swim their jigs back to shore. My boat fishermen cast toward shore, swim their jigs away from shore and then let their jigs hit the current. The smallmouths will take the jigs, regardless of from which direction they come.

Question: How many smallmouths do the shore fishermen catch in a day?

Calandrelli: Fishing from the boat, we’ve caught as many as 200 smallmouths in a day. The shore fishermen catch 30 to 50 smallmouths per day on the lower Niagara River.

Question: Are there many shore fishermen on the lower Niagara River?

Calandrelli: No, but there are enough that you’ll notice them. There seems to be more each year.

To fish with Ernie Calandrelli, call Ernie’s Guide Service at (716) 609-3064, or email ernieqv@yahoo.com.