Dunkirk Harbor and the Point Gratiot bank
Ranked plans for Lake Erie (eastern basin) are not available yet: its tournament record has 2 events with a known winning area, too few to test the ranking. The areas are listed without a rank.
WaterNew York
Depth8-25 ft
BottomRock bottom in the harbor (Coast Pilot); rock (GLAHF)
CurrentNo
River plumeNo
Well-known spotNo
Position42.486, -79.367 (approximate center)
Harbor and the bank outside it; next to the Great Lakes Offshore Grand Prix safety zone (33 CFR 165.939), enforced on announced August race days
Run from each launch
| Launch | Run | Open water | Crossing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Harbor State Park boat launch (New York) | 35.9 mi | 31.3 mi | Yes |
| Erie Basin Marina boat launch (New York) crosses the U.S.-Canada boundary | 36.5 mi | 33.7 mi | Yes |
| Sturgeon Point Marina (New York) | 21.6 mi | 16.1 mi | Yes |
| Sunset Bay State Marine Park (New York) | 13.1 mi | 0.0 mi | No |
| Dunkirk Harbor boat launch (New York) | 1.6 mi | 0.0 mi | No |
| Barcelona Harbor boat launch (New York) | 15.3 mi | 0.4 mi | No |
| Presque Isle State Park, Niagara Boat Launch (Pennsylvania) | 45.5 mi | 37.4 mi | Yes |
| Presque Isle State Park, Lagoon Launch (Pennsylvania) | 43.4 mi | 37.9 mi | Yes |
| Presque Isle State Park, West Pier Launch (Pennsylvania) | 44.6 mi | 37.7 mi | Yes |
| Lampe Marina public launch ramps (Pennsylvania) | 43.1 mi | 26.5 mi | Yes |
| East Avenue Boat Launch (Port Erie) (Pennsylvania) | 42.8 mi | 24.1 mi | Yes |
| Shades Beach Park boat launch (Krupinski Launch Facility), Harborcreek (Pennsylvania) | 36.6 mi | 22.5 mi | Yes |
| North East Marina public launch (Pennsylvania) | 26.9 mi | 17.3 mi | Yes |
| Walnut Creek access (PFBC) (Pennsylvania) | 52.9 mi | 28.5 mi | Yes |
| Sugarloaf Marina public boat ramp, Port Colborne (Ontario) crosses the U.S.-Canada boundary | 27.7 mi | 24.8 mi | Yes |
| Esplanade Park boat ramp, Port Maitland (Ontario) crosses the U.S.-Canada boundary | 27.7 mi | 24.9 mi | Yes |
| Port Dover Harbour Marina boat ramps (Ontario) crosses the U.S.-Canada boundary | 47.7 mi | 45.2 mi | Yes |
| Port Rowan Harbour Marina public ramp (Ontario) crosses the U.S.-Canada boundary | 56.1 mi | 48.9 mi | Yes |
Run: the distance along the water route. A crossing (the open lake, the border or a long stretch of open water) needs over-water wind under your crossing wind limit (default 15 mph), waves on the route within your wave limit and no small craft advisory.
Evidence
- Costabile leads Erie by ounces (Voyles, 3rd after day 2) Fri, Aug 19 2011John Voyles (3rd after day 2 with 42-0; 5th final with 54-9) fished one area, the slope of a rock pile about 42 ft deep near Dunkirk, with a drop shot (Reins 5-in Bubbling Shaker, watermelon); limits by 10 a.m. on days 1 and 2. The final-day report says he again headed south to the Dunkirk area.Source
- EverStart Northern Division to host event on Lake Erie (Lefebre preview) Thu, Aug 4 2011Preview, not a catch report. Dave Lefebre: long runs toward Pennsylvania, Dunkirk or Barcelona have won many tournaments; Canadian water usually puts one or two anglers in the top 10; humps at the mouth of the Niagara River are a fall-back; bass suspended at 20-60 ft; drop shots with small worms and goby imitations.Source
- NOAA U.S. Coast Pilot 6, chapter 6 (Lake Erie), edition of 27 Sep 2026, paragraphs 203-211 Dunkirk Harbor between Battery Point and Point Gratiot; rock bottom in the harbor (poor anchorage); shoals along the south-west side of the entrance channel; no breakwater protection on the east sideSource
- GLAHF fish spawning and nursery sites (after Goodyear et al. 1982), smallmouth bass records in the eastern basin Smallmouth spawning or nursery records within about 5 km of the areas: Eighteenmile Creek (gravel and stone, 1-2 m), Big Sister Creek (gravel, rock, bedrock), Silver Creek and Cattaraugus Creek (early June), Dunkirk Harbor (prime spawning and nursery ground), Van Buren Bay, Point Gratiot (nursery, 9-18 m), Canadaway Creek and Chautauqua Creek (June, rock and gravel, 1 m), Sixmile, Twelvemile and Sixteenmile creeks (PA), Fort Erie, Abino Bay, Gravelly Bay, Rock Island and the Grand River shore (sandy beaches), Long Point Bay and Long PointSource
- New York Sea Grant: Angling for Smallmouth Bass in Lake Erie (M. Malchoff, 1984, NYEXT-H-84-001; public domain) Eight New York sites near the launches: Seneca Shoal (12 ft, water to 30 ft around it, bedrock common; state sampling found abundant 1-4 lb bass in the deeper water toward Athol Springs), Sturgeon Point east (bedrock) and west (reefs 1.5 and 3 mi south-west of the breakwall, 12-30 ft), Cattaraugus Creek, Dunkirk Harbor (the power plant discharge draws forage and bass; bedrock at Battery Point), reef-type structures about 1 mi north-east of Van Buren Point and peaks and valleys in 20-45 ft west of it, and Barcelona east and west (rock bottom). Bass move to shoals of 10-45 ft in early summer and are most concentrated there from late July through SeptemberSource