Tournaments, town festivals, season openers and the best fishing windows on Lake America for the next twelve months.
On dates: entries marked Dates confirmed come from the organizer, with a link to the source. Entries marked Dates TBA are annual events whose organizers haven't published next year's dates. The month shown is when the event usually happens. Confirm with the organizer before you book travel.
Fishing a derby or tournament? Every angler 16 and over needs a New York State fishing license on top of the event entry. Buy it online from NYSDEC ↗. A nonresident 1-day license is $10, and a 7-day is $28.
Peak fishing · Oak Orchard, Eighteenmile, Oswego & Salmon rivers
Salmon run up every major tributary, and steelhead follow them. Oak Orchard and Eighteenmile get strong runs with far fewer anglers than Pulaski.
Pt. Breeze · Olcott · Oswego
Peak fishing · Chaumont Bay
Chaumont Bay has the lake's only major walk-out ice fishing, for yellow perch and northern pike. Ice conditions change a lot from year to year. Go with someone who knows the ice, and don't rely on a forecast.
Festival · Pulaski, Richland, Sandy Creek & Altmar
Four villages hold a winter festival with chili, mac-and-cheese and wing challenges, a craft show, live music, wagon rides and snowshoeing at Selkirk Shores. The 2026 festival ran 16–18 January.
Season & rules · New York State
The statewide inland trout season opens. Lake Ontario and its tributaries have separate rules, so check the current NYSDEC regulations for the water you're fishing.
Peak fishing · Olcott, Wilson & Point Breeze
Brown trout hold shallow on the creek plumes in 8–25 feet. The runs are short and the tackle is light, so it's the best first trip on the lake for someone who has never trolled.
Olcott · Wilson · Pt. Breeze
Tournament · Lake-wide
This is the first of the three Lake Ontario Counties (LOC) derbies. The 2027 LOC derbies offer $140,150 in cash prizes in total.
Tournament · Wilson
This long-running salmon tournament at Wilson Harbor usually includes daily big-fish and Salmon Slam contests.
Tournament · Lake-wide
The lake's best-known team salmon tournament usually pays back 100% of entry fees.
Tournament · Wilson
Two memorial contests, one for the biggest fish and one for the best three, run back to back. Entry is usually $100 per boat, and all of it is paid out in cash.
Season & rules · New York State
The regular statewide season for smallmouth and largemouth bass opens. Catch-and-release fishing is allowed before it. The rules change, so confirm them with NYSDEC.
Peak fishing · Lake-wide
The thermocline forms and the charter boats move offshore. Captains run downriggers at 60–130 feet, looking for 48–52°F water.
Oswego · Sodus · Fair Haven · Rochester
Tournament · Lake-wide
The month-long summer derby runs through the peak of offshore king fishing.
Tournament · Oswego
Anglers fish the Oswego round of the Lake Ontario Pro-Am series out of Oswego harbor. The 27th annual ran 11–12 July 2026.
Tournament · Lake-wide
The Lake Ontario Trout and Salmon Association runs this one-day king tournament, which usually pays back 100% in cash.
Tournament · Wilson & Olcott
Women anglers fish this charity tournament out of Wilson and Olcott harbors.
Tournament · Niagara County waters
This long-running Niagara County derby has large cash prizes and free entry for kids.
Tournament · Lake-wide
The biggest of the three LOC derbies runs during the staging king run. The 2026 derby ran 21 August to 7 September, and a 30 lb 13 oz king won it. The 2027 end date isn't published yet.
Oswego · Pulaski · LOC Derby ↗
Running an event?
We list tournaments, derbies, festivals and open days on this calendar at no charge. Send us the dates and a link, and we'll add it and mention it in the weekly report the week it runs.
We name an event's sponsors next to it. To put your business on the calendar page itself, book a Port Sponsor slot.
Header photo: Salmon River fishing 2007 by Bill Blevins, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and tinted.