
Lake Ontario Trout & Salmon Association (LOTSA)
LOTSA is a Not-For-Profit group of mainly weekend recreational fishermen who are dedicated to the enhancement and promotion of the Lake Ontario Sport-Fishery. LOTSA places a heavy emphasis on Education including recruiting new Anglers to the Lake Ontario Fishery and providing continual Education opportunities for the experienced Anglers.
LOTSA meetings are held on the 2nd Thursday of certain months (see events below) at 7:00 p.m. at the North Amherst Fire Company, 2200 Tonawanda Creek Rd, Amherst, NY 14228 and usually feature an informational seminar on a particular topic relating to the Lake Ontario fishery. Each meeting also features a sharing of information on the current fishing conditions. Get Directions >>
Latest Club News & Happenings
2025 LOTSA TOURNAMENT
Now that we are in the month of July, it’s time to start talking about our LOTSA Tournament. With the weather starting to get more stable, the lake should start setting up and bring on great fishing. We have been seeing bigger kings this year so far which is exciting.
This years tournament is July 25th for the Curt, July 26th for the Salmon Tournament and both days for the 323 with July 27th as a bad weather day if needed. The format is the same for all 3 Tournaments as previous years.
The Friday FREE Curt Tournament is payouts this year (1st- $400, 2nd- $300, 3rd $200 and Big Fish $150). A free cookout and drinks will be provided at the Town of Newfane Marina. The DEC will be there to take DNA samples from the Kings we bring in. This data will be added to the database that will be used to determine the amount of wild versus hatchery raised kings in the lake. It will also be compared against the data collect the previous years at our tournaments and is extremely important in helping the DEC make management decisions.
The Saturday Salmon Tournament is limited to 60 boats and will pay out 15 places (25%) with a full field of 60 boats. This is a ONE Salmon Tournament so that anyone can win it with just that one special bite! This has a $70 entry fee per boat.
The 323 (3 Fish over 2 days and pays out 3 places) returns for the more competitive members with a $50 entry fee per boat.
Again for this year a free Salmon replica mount donated by world class artist Paul DeAngelo (Home | DeAngelo Fish Art Replicas) who has opened a location in Olcott. This will be awarded to the member who catches the largest Salmon fishing in either the 323 or Salmon Tournament and is valued at over $800!
On Saturday we will be providing our Annual LOTSA Picnic which is a great BBQ meal catered by One Eye Jacks right after the weigh in at the Olcott Fire Hall (inside and air conditioned) just a 5-minute drive from the Town of Newfane Marina. This will happen whether we fish that day or not. There will be thousands of dollars in door prizes that will be raffled off. The picnic is free and available to all LOTSA members and their families. You must sign up to attend and it is limited to 300 people.
The Summer LOC Derby will also be ending this weekend. LOTSA will be providing $750 in cash to the LOTSA member for this LOTSA Tournament within a Tournament event. LOTSA members have won and placed very high with Kings caught during are above events in the past years, Numerous times the winning Summer LOC Kings are caught the final weekend so there is some extra incentive to be on the water fishing our events and the Summer LOC at the same time. Your fish can be weighed into both events.
Once again, LOTSA did an early bird entry/drawing for a free entry for the LOTSA Tournament. We took all the boats that signed up by the end of the February and pulled out a boat name. We are excited to announce the winner for the free tournament entry is Reel Therapy! Team Reel Therapy is led by Earl Vining. Earl is from Newfane and has been fishing the lake for 12 years. He has also been fishing the LOTSA tournament for the last 7 years. Good luck Earl!
Click below for all the details and to get signed up for the 3 Tournaments and Picnic including LOTSA membership if needed. Please remember to sign up your spouse / significant other and kids under 16 years old on the 2025 LOTSA Family membership list so that they are eligible to be on your boat with you. They are all free however you do need to add them to the 2025 list. Let’s make this year’s tournament the best yet!
LOTSA Tournament Participants
The tournament sign up is live and ready to go. We are extending our early bird sign up till the end of February because of some website issues. The early bird sign up will get you a free entry to our tournament if your name gets picked at our May meeting at the back of the boat.

Thanks to Paul DeAngelo the owner of Great Lakes Fish Art. Paul donated a salmon mount to the biggest Salmon in our tournament. The 27.56# king salmon caught by Robert and Team Reel Chaos mount turned out great! The picture doesn’t do justice of the mount.

LOTSA Membership
Register or Renew your LOTSA membership as well as view the current LOTSA Membership list.
Salmon School
The well-known, in-depth salmon school of detailed instruction taught by top captains.
LOTSA Tournament
A fun tournament with simple rules that encourages family participation & promotion of the fishery.
LOTSA Picnic
Picnic and raffle on for this year!
Curt Meddaugh Tournament
Free tournament for LOTSA Members only. 3 Fish tournament – Salmon Only! NEW- BIG FISH FRIDAY! $150 payout to largest salmon weighed in!
323 Tournament
Fishing tournament with 3 fish weighed in over 2 days with 3 winners.
Quick Links
Below you will find a collection of links that the members of LOTSA have found useful, educational and entertaining over the years.
If you would like to see additional links added to this section, please let us know. We will be happy to review the suggested link with the board for inclusion.
Hot Topics
Today's HOT Topics from around Lake Ontario brought to directly by Lake Ontario United.
"Fishing is much more than fish. It is the great occasion when we may return to the fine simplicity of our forefathers... "
– Herbert Hoover
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