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FEBRUARY 2025
Thurs 13: 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
Fri 14: 11 a.m.-7 p.m.
Sat 15: 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
Sun 16: 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Sat 15: 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
Sun 16: 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
LOTSA Salmon School
LOTSA 2025 Salmon School
The Lake Ontario Trout & Salmon Association (LOTSA) is proud to host its in-depth Salmon School during the Greater Niagara Fishing Expo. This highly acclaimed school, now in its 15th 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 school is hosted during the Greater Niagara Fishing Expo, February 13-16, 2025, at the Niagara Falls Convention Center in downtown Niagara Falls, NY. Registration for the Salmon School will open in mid-September.
The 2025 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 and west ends), and Capt. Casey Prisco (Lake Ontario east and 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 on Lake Ontario 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 of their thought processes along with 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, June/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, electronics and more. The instruction will also include some detailed video footage to assist with the learning process.
Salmon School Ticket Details & Pricing
The LOTSA Salmon School consists of almost 11 hours of instruction and activities over the course of three days.
Registration is $110 and includes the following:
- Admission to the Greater Niagara Fishing Expo for all four days
- 2025 LOTSA Membership
- A light dinner with drinks at the Salmon School Social on Friday, February 14
- A hot buffet lunch, plus beverages on Saturday, February 15
- A "Captain's Bag" with a variety of the instructors' go-to baits
- A door prize ticket for thousands of dollars of salmon tackle and gear
Schedule Overview
The LOTSA Salmon School begins on Friday, February 14 and ends on Sunday, February 16, 2025. 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 14 | 5:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m. Opening presentation from instructors highlighting their 2024 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 15 | 8:00 a.m.-4:00 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.
Some of the topics he's going to deliver will be the mental processes he uses while on the water to make the right decisions for the constantly changing conditions and how to maximize the use of all of your electronics to be successful throughout your trip. Pete is looking forward to this year's school and feels it will be both entertaining and very educational. You will not want to miss this year's event in 2025!
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Captain Rob Westcott
Captain Rob Westcott is the owner of Legacy Sportfishing and fishes mainly from the port of Bald Eagle in Kendall, NY. However, throughout the year, he chases the bite and fishes the tournament scene in every port west of Rochester. Captain Rob grew up along the shores of Sandy Creek and Lake Ontario and was introduced to the Lake Ontario fishery at a very young age by his father.
Captain Rob loves the spirit of competition and has been very active in the Lake Ontario tournament scene for almost 20 years. With numerous wins and tons of top 10 finishes, the captain has enjoyed success with not only Team Legacy but with multiple tournament teams on Lake Ontario. His proven tournament tactics, tournament mindset, and big fish strategy will certainly be something that he will be sharing at this year's salmon school. He will share his belief that adhering to often overlooked fundamentals, as well as having “on-the-water OCD,” simply puts 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 catch more kings throughout the entire lake season from April through September.
Captain Rob is a Pro-Staffer for Okuma, Blood Run Tackle, Dreamweaver Lures, Pro-Cure Scents, Fish Hawk Electronics, and Rigged Cut Bait. Click here to see Captain Rob fishing Lake Ontario.
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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."