Published November 8, 2026 · 3 min read · By Lucas Pijl and Zion Koudijs

Lower Niagara River Drift Names

Heard someone mention the Coast Guard Drift or the Stella? Find the drifts anglers talk about on maps of both sides of the Lower Niagara River.

Someone tells you they caught brown trout on the Coast Guard Drift. Another angler says the steelhead were biting on the Stella. If you’re new to the Lower Niagara, where are those spots? The maps below show which side of the river each drift is on and what you can catch there, from Lake Ontario south to Queenston and Lewiston.

Canadian side (Ontario)

Fort George Drift (along the Fort George shore) has smallmouth bass.
Jackson Drift (across from Johnson Drift) has steelhead and walleye.
Pine Drift (across from Upper Stella Drift) has steelhead, walleye, northern pike, smallmouth bass and panfish.
Bullhead Bay (between Pine Drift and Queenston Long Drift) has smallmouth bass and panfish.
Queenston Long Drift (downstream of Queenston Drift) has steelhead, walleye, northern pike, yellow perch and panfish.
Queenston Drift (near the Queenston Sand Docks) has steelhead, smallmouth bass, walleye, yellow perch and panfish.
Queenston Back Drift (upstream of Queenston Drift) has steelhead, brown trout, lake trout, Chinook salmon, coho salmon and walleye.

American side (New York)

Red Can is a summer trout and salmon spot off the river mouth, where the map shows a drop-off in 100 to 300 feet of water.
Green Can and the shore toward Four Mile have smallmouth bass near the river mouth.
Coast Guard Drift (near Fort Niagara State Park) has steelhead, brown trout, Chinook salmon, coho salmon, lake trout, walleye, yellow perch, smallmouth bass and panfish.
Johnson Drift (across from Jackson Drift) has steelhead and walleye.
Peggy’s Eddy (near Joseph Davis State Park) has steelhead, lake trout, yellow perch, smallmouth bass, walleye and panfish.
Lower Stella Drift (upstream of Peggy’s Eddy) has steelhead, coho salmon and Chinook salmon.
Upper Stella Drift has steelhead, Chinook salmon, coho salmon, walleye and panfish.
Perch Beds (downstream of Lewiston Landing) has yellow perch and panfish.
Artpark Drift (upstream of Lewiston Landing) has steelhead, lake trout, yellow perch and panfish.
Devil’s Hole drifts are farther upstream, beyond the mapped section.

Lower Niagara Map A showing the Lake Ontario river mouth, Coast Guard Drift, Fort George Drift, Jackson Drift and Johnson Drift — Map A covers the river mouth at Lake Ontario south to Jackson and Johnson drifts.

Lower Niagara Map B showing the drifts from Jackson and Johnson south to Queenston and Artpark — Map B continues south from Jackson and Johnson drifts to Queenston and Lewiston.

This guide draws on Maps A and B of Outdoors Niagara’s Lower Niagara River Hot Spot Fishing Map (2007). The original Outdoors Niagara website is now defunct.