It was noted today in a The Buffalo News report that during a recent outing, a Vermont angler caught a smallmouth bass in the lower Niagara River, but upon closer inspection, the charter captain in the boat noticed the fish had a green tag attached to its back.
Upon calling the phone number on the tag, Capt. Chris Cinelli was informed the bass had been tagged during the Canadian Tire Lake Erie Classic Bass Tournament in October of 2015. According to the tournament director, they tagged and released it in Chippewa Creek – off the Upper Niagara River.
So that begs the question, how did this fish get from the upper Niagara to the lower Niagara? Could it have survived a plunge over Niagara Falls?
There are two viable options, according to Cinelli.
"It either swam upriver into Lake Erie, took a right and made another right at the Welland Canal, then proceeded to swim the canal to Lake Ontario, take a right and then take another right into the Niagara River, again swimming upriver, or …
"It took a short cut and dropped over the falls and ended up just north of Lewiston. I believe it’s the latter."
To read more, click here.
