Writing weekly articles for two newspapers is a seemingly never- ending chore.

You finish up one week’s editorials and immediately begin working on the next. Subject matter a challenge also — what’s adventuresome, instructive or interesting?

But writing can have its advantages. Checking my e-mail just three weeks ago, I saw another Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association (POWA) writer had canceled his free, guided trip to the Niagara River. Could someone take his place?

I immediately replied and was thrilled to be accepted. This was an adventure I’d dreamed about and now it was being handed to me on a silver platter. Life was good.

It’s only a two-hour drive to Lewiston, New York, where a reservation awaited at the Niagara Crossing Hotel and Suites, conveniently overlooking the river and adjacent to the boat launch. The handsome hotel was finished in grey stone work, which gave it both charm and character.

I was also impressed with my room’s modest luxury, complete with chandelier, electric fireplace and king-sized bed. I was being entertained in some style.

My host for the trip would be Frank Campbell, fishing guide and Outdoor Promotions Director for Destination Niagara USA, as well as Sports Fishing Coordinator Niagara County. Also fishing with me were Doyle Ditch and Ben Moyer, fellow writers and POWA members.

Frank met us at the hotel around 5 p.m. After introductions, we dined at the Brickyard Pub, BBQ and Brewing Company on Center Street in Lewiston for dinner. This quaint establishment with its warm and friendly atmosphere made you feel immediately at home.

One glance at a passing plate of ribs immediately made my mind up on my choice for dinner. Ben and Doyle sampled the pub’s home-brewed beers, and dinner was a very pleasant and delicious affair. My ribs were simply great.

The next morning, local fishing guide Joe Marra met us at the hotel, his 21-foot Lund already waiting for us on the river. As you would expect, fishing on a windy river in November requires some serious clothing.

I was wearing long underwear, thick socks, hunting pants, heavy shirt, Berber vest, warm bib overalls, a second Primaloft vest and my heavy hunting coat. But, most importantly, over all of this was windproof rain gear. Without rain gear to break the wind, I’d have been chilly despite all my other clothing.

Once settled in the boat, Joe fired up the 200 HP Yamaha and hit the gas. As we roared upstream into the gorge I was able to witness the river’s incredible power first hand; it took my breath away.

The Niagara’s a monstrously powerful entity sweeping inexorably onward, its tortured surface constantly boiling, heaving up peaks of water of every size leaping skyward, swirling with whirlpools of all sizes circling violently, sucking down, eager and hungry. Near the power plants, I stared at a whirlpool some 40 yards wide and 5 feet deep, its sides rimmed with white foam. Hundreds of gulls circled over the maelstrom looking for helpless bait fish trapped in its grip.

Where the waters from the power plants entered the river after their long drop, the surface was in total chaos, a boiling cauldron of tormented water, a mad pandemonium of leaping green and white, insane in its wild disorder.

How do you fish something like this? I soon found out.

Just below the towering power plants, Joe handed us 7-foot rods with Abu-Garcia bait casting reels loaded with 10-pound fluorocarbon tied to a three-way swivel. The bottom swivel held a 1.5-ounce pencil sinker, the other attached to a six-foot leader and our lure, a silver and chartreuse Kwikfish.

The current was so swift we simply let the lure down until we felt the sinker occasionally tapping bottom, letting the wild rapids speed us downstream.

The second drift, my lure stopped abruptly. Was I hung up?

Then, the rod throbbed and the drag screamed, the fish bulldogging deep and stubbornly refusing to come closer. After an intense 10-minute fray, Joe finally was able to net a hefty 34” lake trout. Wow, what a battle — my wrist was feeling it.

The next drift, my rod suddenly whipped double, the fish peeling drag off effortlessly. After 10 minutes, I wondered what I had on.

After 15 minutes, the fish was as strong as ever. Twenty minutes passed before we glimpsed a huge lake trout’s tail. Several boats had gathered round watching the battle.

The constant strain on my fingers and wrist was telling, but the fish showed little sign of tiring. We’d already drifted over a mile downriver when the powerful fish shot off yet again. Sadly, the hook pulled free.

My heart sank. Joe shook his head — hooks often work free during prolonged battles.

A little later, another smashing hit, and eventually I wrestled in a beautiful eight-point steelhead after a spirited struggle. The bright silver fish was beautiful to behold. Later, another large laker tested my stamina.

Trout and salmon fishing is excellent through May, with bass, walleye, muskie, pike and other species available during the summer. So, fishermen, pick a date and give Joe or Frank a call.

Charters run $350.00 and can accompany up to two, three or four fishermen who can split the fee between them. Wineries and brewers also abound. Dress warm and enjoy some wonderful fishing and sight seeing.