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FEBRUARY 2024
Thurs 15: Noon-8 p.m.
Fri 16: Noon-8 p.m.
Sat 17: 9 a.m.-8 p.m.
Sun 18: 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Sat 17: 9 a.m.-8 p.m.
Sun 18: 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
LOTSA Salmon School
LOTSA 2024 Salmon School
The Lake Ontario Trout & Salmon Association (LOTSA) is proud to host its in-depth Salmon School on Saturday, February 17, 2024. This highly acclaimed school, now in its 14th year, has become the premier Salmon School anywhere in the Great Lakes. What started out as a local event now attracts many experienced salmon anglers from around the Great Lakes and Canada. This intense school is hosted during the Greater Niagara Fishing Expo, February 15-18, 2024, at the Niagara Falls Convention Center in downtown Niagara Falls, NY. Tickets are pre-sale only, and available for purchase online.
The 2024 LOTSA Salmon School instructors have been selected and include Capt. Pete Alex (Lake Ontario west end and north shore), Capt. Rob Westcott (Lake Ontario central & west ends), and Capt. Casey Prisco (Lake Ontario east & west ends). They have countless hours of on-the-water experience trolling for trout and salmon, along with a proven track record of high placement in the most prestigious fishing tournaments over the years.
The LOTSA Salmon School is customized every year based on input and discussion from the previous year’s event. Each instructor will provide a thorough analysis into the specific tools and techniques they utilize to successfully chase Kings. The focus will be on the three main Lake Ontario Salmon fishing periods (May, July, and August), and dive into the more technical aspects for each of these months relating to location, the ideal water, deep-water king tactics, locating and catching offshore kings, meat fishing bait, and more. The instruction will also include some detailed video footage to assist with the learning process.
The LOTSA Salmon School consists of almost 11 hours of instruction and activities over the course of three days.
Registration is $100 and includes the following:
- Admission to the Greater Niagara Fishing Expo for all four days
- 2024 LOTSA Membership
- A hot buffet lunch, plus beverages on Saturday, February 17
- A goodie bag with a variety of the instructors' go-to baits
Tickets are pre-sale only and will be available until they are sold out!
Schedule Overview
The LOTSA Salmon School begins on Friday, February 16 and ends on Sunday, February 18, 2024. All activities, including the Greater Niagara Fishing Expo, are held at the state-of-the-art Niagara Falls Convention Center in downtown Niagara Falls, NY.
Friday, February 16 | 5:30 p.m.-8 p.m. Opening presentation from instructors highlighting their 2023 season, followed by Salmon Social. The Salmon Social provides attendees the opportunity to meet the instructors and network with fellow anglers. Free food and drinks provided.
Saturday, February 17 | 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Check-in begins at 7 a.m., while instruction begins at 8 a.m. Attendees will enjoy detailed salmon-catching presentations until 4 p.m., with a provided hot buffet lunch break.
Sunday, February 18 | 8:30-9:30 a.m. The LOTSA Salmon School concludes with an open Q&A session with the instructors to cover any remaining questions that attendees may have.
Bios
Meet the Salmon School Speakers
Captain Pete Alex
Captain Pete Alex has been a charter captain since 1988 and began chartering on Lake Ontario in 1990. His home port is Wilson, NY but travels to various ports on Lake Ontario to fish tournaments.
He loves to fish tournaments as well as entertain clients from all over the U.S. He has well over 100 top 10 finishes and numerous big fish and team tournament wins on both Lake Erie and Ontario.
He is a Pro-Staffer for several companies and loves to help educate anglers by doing seminars and posting educational videos on his YouTube site. He also believes we should never stop willing to learn new techniques or patterns as fish habits and lakes evolve.
Two of the topics he's going to bring to the table will be his grind bite tactics and what he does during that tough bite period and his 10 commandments of fishing that everyone should try to adhere to. He may also give you a sneak preview of a new product that is unique and new to the trolling industry. He field tested this in 2022 and will be fine-tuning it in 2023. He hopes to share those results with you.
Pete is looking forward to this year's school and feels it will be both entertaining and very educational. You won't want to miss this year's event in 2024!
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Captain Rob Westcott
Captain Rob Westcott is the owner and operator of Legacy Sportfishing. Captain Rob considers the port of Sandy Creek home but spends at least some time in every west end port throughout the year chasing the bite and fishing the tournament scene. Captain Rob grew up along the shores of Lake Ontario and was introduced to the Lake Ontario fishery at a very young age by his father and has been fishing it ever since. Captain Rob is a Pro-Staffer for Okuma, Blood Run Tackle, Dreamweaver Lures, Bay Rat Lures, Fish Hawk Electronics, Familiar Bite, And Pro-Cure.
Captain Rob loves the spirit of competition and has been very active in the Lake Ontario tournament scene for about 15 years. With numerous wins and tons of top tens, the captain has enjoyed success with not only Team Legacy but with multiple tournament teams on Lake Ontario. Proven tournament tactics and big fish strategy will certainly be something that is shared at this year's salmon school.
Captain Rob has been told he has on-the-water OCD. He will share his belief that adhering to often overlooked fundamentals and how the little things will simply put more fish in the boat. At this year's Salmon School, a big topic will be the seasonal progression of the salmon bite, and he will share the tactics that will put kings in the boat throughout the season.
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Captain Casey Prisco
"I have been fishing Lake Ontario since the age of 4. Over the years, I've seen many of different ways to target king salmon come and go. One of my favorite ways is running cut bait. On average, I will use around 2500 pieces of herring a season. I believe that it's the absolute best way to target salmon. During this Salmon School, I will show you how, where, why and when I choose to run it. After leaving the school I know your meat game will be better. I follow the salmon bite as it progresses down the lake. From Wilson, NY in May to Pulaski, NY in September. While many of the same tactics will work from end to end of the lake there are a few different things that change. I will help you become a better fisherman from one end of the lake to the other. I look forward to seeing you all and helping you put more fish in the cooler."