Waverly Shoal and Roses Reef (Fort Erie, Canadian side of the Niagara River head)
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.
WaterOntario
Depth10-25 ft
BottomShoal, least depth 10 ft (Coast Pilot); rock (GLAHF)
CurrentYes
River plumeNo
Well-known spotNo
Position42.867, -78.953 (approximate center)
1.3 km from the international boundary, Ontario water; current-washed rocky humps (Bassmaster preview, 2007); the Fort Erie sanctuary lies 3 km west (June 1 to July 15)
Run from each launch
| Launch | Run | Open water | Crossing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Harbor State Park boat launch (New York) crosses the U.S.-Canada boundary | 4.7 mi | 2.8 mi | Yes |
| Erie Basin Marina boat launch (New York) crosses the U.S.-Canada boundary | 3.5 mi | 0.5 mi | Yes |
| Sturgeon Point Marina (New York) crosses the U.S.-Canada boundary | 13.0 mi | 11.7 mi | Yes |
| Sunset Bay State Marine Park (New York) crosses the U.S.-Canada boundary | 22.7 mi | 12.2 mi | Yes |
| Dunkirk Harbor boat launch (New York) crosses the U.S.-Canada boundary | 32.6 mi | 30.1 mi | Yes |
| Barcelona Harbor boat launch (New York) crosses the U.S.-Canada boundary | 48.8 mi | 45.0 mi | Yes |
| Presque Isle State Park, Niagara Boat Launch (Pennsylvania) crosses the U.S.-Canada boundary | 78.0 mi | 74.0 mi | Yes |
| Presque Isle State Park, Lagoon Launch (Pennsylvania) crosses the U.S.-Canada boundary | 75.9 mi | 74.0 mi | Yes |
| Presque Isle State Park, West Pier Launch (Pennsylvania) crosses the U.S.-Canada boundary | 77.0 mi | 75.0 mi | Yes |
| Lampe Marina public launch ramps (Pennsylvania) crosses the U.S.-Canada boundary | 75.7 mi | 73.8 mi | Yes |
| East Avenue Boat Launch (Port Erie) (Pennsylvania) crosses the U.S.-Canada boundary | 75.5 mi | 71.6 mi | Yes |
| Shades Beach Park boat launch (Krupinski Launch Facility), Harborcreek (Pennsylvania) crosses the U.S.-Canada boundary | 69.5 mi | 64.1 mi | Yes |
| North East Marina public launch (Pennsylvania) crosses the U.S.-Canada boundary | 60.1 mi | 58.5 mi | Yes |
| Walnut Creek access (PFBC) (Pennsylvania) crosses the U.S.-Canada boundary | 85.4 mi | 74.5 mi | Yes |
| Sugarloaf Marina public boat ramp, Port Colborne (Ontario) | 15.4 mi | 0.0 mi | No |
| Esplanade Park boat ramp, Port Maitland (Ontario) | 31.5 mi | 0.8 mi | No |
| Port Dover Harbour Marina boat ramps (Ontario) | 63.9 mi | 27.8 mi | Yes |
| Port Rowan Harbour Marina public ramp (Ontario) | 77.9 mi | 67.9 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
- Top 5 Patterns from Lake Erie Day 1 (Wright, 2nd) Fri, Jul 27 2018Ben Wright (2nd, 24-3 in the one-day event) dragged a drop shot around the Waverly Shoal area: a rocky shoal where the bottom changes from gravel to chunk rock, with a breakline at 31-39 ft; bite best early, slower by midday.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
- Closing in on a win (Iaconelli, day-2 leader, 2008 Empire Chase) Wed, Aug 13 2008Mike Iaconelli (4th after day 3 with 62-1; day-2 leader with 44-5) drop-shotted all his fish at places within 5 mi of the Buffalo weigh-in site, while the leaders ran 45-70 mi. Areas listed are those within about 5 mi of the Small Boat Harbor; no spot named.Source
- Lake Erie/Niagara River (Bassmaster preview of the 2007 Empire Chase) Tue, Apr 17 2007Preview, not a catch report. Names Eighteen Mile Creek, Seneca Shoal and the rocks along Buffalo Harbor as known smallmouth spots, and Waverly Shoal farther out as a series of current-washed rocky humps. Tubes the most used bait, then jigs, spinnerbaits and jerkbaits. Eighteen Mile Creek mapped to EE-NY04 (Hamburg shore) and Waverly Shoal to EE-ON01 (Ontario water) as assumptions.Source
- NOAA U.S. Coast Pilot 6, chapter 6 (Lake Erie), edition of 27 Sep 2026, paragraph 150 Numerous unmarked detached shoal spots under 30 ft in the east end of Lake Erie, in the approaches to Buffalo Harbor and the Niagara River; Waverly Shoal, least depth 10 ft, 1.9 mi west-southwest of Buffalo Harbor LightSource
- 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
- Canadian Geographical Names Database: Waverly Shoal and Roses Reef (Niagara) Waverly Shoal (42.862 N, 78.937 W) and Roses Reef (42.876 N, 78.950 W), shoals off Fort Erie in Ontario waterSource