The fishing begins after the ice melts off the rivers and bays of Lake Ontario. The many tributaries in our area warm the water close to shore luring the fish in. Spring fishing is close to the shore to take advantage of this situation. We even use planner boards to help bring the lures closer to the tributaries. This time of year gives you the chance to catch a variety of fish.

Our brown trout fishing is second to none!

April, May and June are prime brown trout time. Imagine catching brown trout ranging in size from 8 to 20 pounds, with the state record being over 32 pounds! Acrobatic steelhead and Coho salmon, and occasional Chinook (king) salmon are also taken this time of year.

As the weather gets warmer the increased temperature moves the fish away from shore. When the thermal cline sets up, we move off-shore to start looking for the  trophy trout and salmon. July is the start of Chinook season. With the average "King" weighing between 18 and 22 pounds, but landing a 40 pounder is not uncommon. In previous Fall ESLO derby's the Top 10 placed fish all exceeded 40 pounds! New York's  Chinook record is a whopping 47lbs. 13oz.!!!

The Coho Salmon are not as large as the "King" salmon, but they are great fighters. When you hook into one of these fighting fish at 100 foot down, they can be on the surface dancing before you can even get up to grab the rod! Coho's average around 12 to 16 pounds, with the state record at 33.7 pounds.

Lake trout are very plentiful in Lake Ontario. The "lakers" average between 8 and 12 pounds, with the occasional 20 pounder. The state record on "lakers" is held at 39lbs. 8ozs.

Lake Ontario Salmon Fishing Season

Many articles have been written about Salmon River and Oswego River fishing in New York. What most people do not realize is that most of these articles are written about stream or river fishing in the late fall. Some people do not realize the salmon are in the lake all year long. Summer and fall is when the fish are feeding and growing getting bigger before they make their migration to the streams. In August a salmon can gain up to 2 pounds a week in size because of increased feeding in preparation of spawning.

When we catch the salmon in July, August and early September the fish are in their prime. They are bright silver and strong fighting fish capable of making long runs. The meat of the fish is bright pink, just like you see in the fish markets. As opposed to later in the season when the salmon begin to spawn, and they quit feeding. Instead of being bright sliver and a great eating fish, the salmon change to a darker looking almost black in color. This change also affects the meat of the fillet that changes from a bright pink to a grayish color, which is much stronger tasting.

Don’t wait until September to start calling charter captains and asking if the salmon are in yet, as by then most of the trips on Lake Ontario have already been booked. If you want to get in on great salmon fishing on Lake Ontario our fishing season ends by mid September on the lake. If you wait to long many of the salmon are already heading into the streams to spawn and are not feeding like they were out in the lake. If you want to get in on some great salmon fishing action book a trip early.