Latest Club News & Happenings

LOTSA 2027 Salmon School

The Lake Ontario Trout & Salmon Association (LOTSA) is proud to (once again) host its well-known in-depth Salmon School on Saturday, February 27, 2027. This highly acclaimed school, now in its 17th year, has become among the premier Salmon Schools anywhere in the Great Lakes. What started out as a local event now attracts many diehard salmon anglers from around the Great Lakes and Canada to attend. The school, coupled with the abundance of Trout and Salmon exhibitors at the Greater Niagara Fishing Expo (February 25 – 28), makes this a “must attend” winter event for who love to fish for Kings on Lake Ontario.

Each year the School is enhanced based upon the input from those who attended the previous School. Based upon this input, we have selected Captain Dan Keating and Captain Anthony Ellis to be the instructors for the 2027 School. The school will be targeted for the experienced Lake Ontario Salmon Angler who fishes out of a smaller boat (18-25Ft) with 2 – 3 anglers on board.

Trolling for Kings on Lake Ontario can be very complicated when running rods on Downriggers, Divers, Copper/ Weighted Steel and Leadcore.  It is like assembling a puzzle with lots of moving parts. The Salmon School will go into detail on how each of the parts work, tied in with all of the other variables (weather, season, wind, currents, water temps, structure and bait) to make this puzzle much easier for you to put together and be more successful catching Kings in 2027.

Dan and Anthony will provide an in-depth look at how they utilize their electronics on the water, along with the mental strategies they use to prepare for each trip. They’ll discuss their decision-making process in real time, how they adapt to changing conditions, and the lessons they take away from every outing. By analyzing both their successes and challenges, they’ll show how continuous learning and refinement help them become more effective and consistent anglers. Their focus will be on catching Mature Kings during the 3 main (open lake) Lake Ontario Salmon fishing periods (May, June/July, and August/September).

SALMON SCHOOL DETAILS:

The overall School consists of over seven hours of detailed Salmon catching instruction on Saturday in addition to the two plus hours for the Salmon School Social on Friday and one the hour of Q&A with the Instructors on Sunday.  The registration price is $130 and in addition to the knowledge you will gain, includes the following:

1. Free admission to the Greater Niagara Fishing Expo for all 4 days
2. Your 2027 LOTSA Membership
3. Casual style Dinner and Drinks at the Salmon School Social on Friday
4. Hot buffet lunch (or alternative for dietary needs) plus beverages on Saturday
5. Significant “Captains Bag” consisting of the “go to” baits of the instructors
6. The opportunity to win door prizes from the thousands of dollars of Salmon Gear & Tackle donated by our Sponsors

The school begins on Friday Evening (4:30pm to 7:00 pm.) with the Salmon School Social. A unique casual environment featuring short presentation from the instructors along with a condensed presentation by the NYS DEC highlighting the “State of Lake Ontario Kings” including the summary of 2026 and their forecast for future years. The NYS DEC “Decision Makers” along with the instructors and key Lake Ontario oriented manufacturers will be available throughout the event to meet and talk with. This provides a great opportunity gain valuable insights, meet fellow Lake Ontario anglers who have the same passion that you have for fishing Kings and most important, increase your network of fellow anglers to share information with throughout the season. Free Food Stations and Drinks will be provided for throughout the evening.

On Saturday, check in begins at 7 a.m. with the instruction starting at 8 a.m. and completing at 4:30 p.m. The school wraps up on Sunday morning (8:30 to 9:30 a.m.) with an hour-long open Q&A session with the instructors covering any remaining questions that you may have.

The class (and Expo) is held at the Niagara Falls Convention Center in a “state of the art” conference room with a large screen, stage, good seating with tables and a good sound system that all make for a comfortable venue throughout the day for everyone attending. Given the quality of what you will be taught, the hot buffet lunch, the Friday night “Social” with food and drinks, Door Prizes, “Captains Bag”, LOTSA 2027 Membership and free pass to the show for 4 days, it is a terrific value (significantly more than the admission cost for the school) and a great way to start your 2027 season.

The Salmon School is not meant for novices of the Lake Ontario fishery. It is a “hard core” salmon class targeted toward providing the “experienced weekend warrior” / Tournament Angler with additional insights and details to improve their catch in the limited time they have on the water. As the Great Lakes continue to change and become a much more challenging fishery, knowledge is often the difference between having a couple of bites or having steady bites throughout the day.

This is a custom class built from the topics that you want to make sure are included when you register for the school. It is not an “off the shelf” class for the masses. The instructors will use your input to customize the curriculum to cover these areas. This will allow the instructors to limit the questions during the school and make sure that they deliver all the detail that they have prepared by the end class on Saturday.

The School has sold out every year as many of the attendees come back year after year – which is the ultimate testimony to the value of attending the school.