Lake America · formerly Lake Ontario
This guide covers ten species across all twelve months. Every month has fishing worth launching a boat for, and a few months are worth flying in for.
Biting now · Sep
The best two weeks of the yearTwenty-pound-plus Chinook are stacked off the Salmon River and Oswego in 60–120 feet, and the first fish are already in the lower river. Troll the lake in the morning and fish the river from a drift boat in the afternoon.
| Species | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinook SalmonKing · to 35 lb | ||||||||||||
| Coho SalmonSilver · 6–15 lb | ||||||||||||
| SteelheadLake-run rainbow | ||||||||||||
| Brown TroutNearshore · to 20 lb | ||||||||||||
| Lake TroutDeep · to 25 lb | ||||||||||||
| Atlantic SalmonRestoration fishery | ||||||||||||
| Smallmouth BassEastern basin | ||||||||||||
| WalleyeBays & rivers | ||||||||||||
| Northern PikeWeed edges & bays | ||||||||||||
| Yellow PerchSchooling · bays |
Anglers often confuse two of these ten species. The drawings below show the features you use to tell each fish apart.
King · Commonly 15–25 lb, over 30 lb in a good year
How to tell Black gums and a black mouth, and spots on both lobes of the tail. The gums are the giveaway. A coho has white gums.
Offshore June-August, staging off the river mouths August-September
Silver · 6–15 lb
How to tell White gums with a black tongue, and spots on the upper lobe of the tail only. Stockier and smaller than a king.
Building through summer, best August-October
Lake-run rainbow · 6–15 lb
How to tell Spotted all over, tail included, with a pink stripe down the side. Square-ish tail rather than deeply forked.
Tributaries November-April, peak March
Nearshore · Commonly 5–12 lb, to 20 lb
How to tell Golden-brown with black and red spots, many ringed by a pale halo. Almost no spots on the tail.
Shallow on the west end April-June
Deep water · 8–25 lb
How to tell It has the deepest tail fork of any trout here, and pale spots on a dark body. The other trout and salmon here have dark spots on a lighter body.
Bottom in 90–140 feet, May-August
Restoration fishery · 4–12 lb
How to tell Black spots shaped like Xs above the lateral line, and a slim wrist where the tail joins. Few spots on the tail itself.
Scattered, best May-July
Eastern basin · 2–5 lb, and plenty of them
How to tell Bronze with dark vertical bars and a red eye. The jaw ends below the eye. On a largemouth it extends behind the eye.
June-September around shoals and islands
Bays and rivers · 3–8 lb
How to tell A glassy, reflective eye and a white tip on the lower lobe of the tail. Two separate dorsal fins, and real teeth.
May-September, rivers and bays
Weed edges · 4–15 lb
How to tell Duck-bill snout and pale bean-shaped spots on dark green. One dorsal fin, set a long way back.
Year-round in the bays, best spring and autumn
Schooling · Half a pound to a pound and a half
How to tell Golden with six to eight dark vertical bars and orange fins. Two dorsal fins.
Best in the bays November-March
These are original illustrations. We drew the markings that tell these fish apart, such as the Chinook and coho gums and tail spots, the lake trout's forked tail and the walleye's white tail tip.
What the charter boats are doing each month, and where.
Anglers are on the ice at Chaumont Bay for perch and pike, and winter steelhead are holding in the deep, slow water of the Salmon River and Lower Niagara.
Cape Vincent & Chaumont · Pulaski & Mexico Bay · Niagara Bar & LewistonWalk-out perch fishing peaks in the eastern bays. Drift boats run the Salmon River every day the flows allow.
Cape Vincent & Chaumont · Pulaski & Mexico Bay · Niagara Bar & LewistonWarmer water brings a second run of steelhead into every tributary. The Lower Niagara is at its best right now.
Niagara Bar & Lewiston · Pulaski & Mexico Bay · Point Breeze / Oak OrchardFishing picks up on the west end. Brown trout gather at the warm creek mouths at Olcott, Wilson and Oak Orchard in 8–25 feet of water, and captains catch them on planer boards and small stickbaits.
Olcott · Wilson · Point Breeze / Oak OrchardBrown trout fishing near shore is at its peak, and the first young kings show up on the temperature break. The spring LOC Derby runs this month.
Olcott · Rochester · WilsonThe thermocline forms and the charter boats move offshore. Lake trout hold on the bottom in 90–140 feet, and smallmouth season opens on the east end.
Rochester · Fair Haven · Henderson HarborOffshore trolling is at its peak. Captains run downriggers at 70–130 feet, looking for 48–52°F water. The summer derby is on, and the east end has plenty of fish.
Oswego · Sodus Bay · Fair HavenMature kings start moving toward the Salmon River and Oswego harbor. Anglers catch the biggest fish of the year over the next six weeks.
Pulaski & Mexico Bay · Oswego · Sodus BayTwenty-pound-plus Chinook are stacked off the Salmon River and Oswego in 60–120 feet, and the first fish are already in the lower river. Troll the lake in the morning and fish the river from a drift boat in the afternoon.
Pulaski & Mexico Bay · Oswego · RochesterSalmon are running up every tributary, and steelhead follow behind them. Oak Orchard and the Salmon River are crowded because the fishing is that good.
Pulaski & Mexico Bay · Point Breeze / Oak Orchard · Niagara Bar & LewistonThe salmon run is over, and steelhead and lake-run brown trout take over. If you don't mind the cold, it's some of the best fishing of the year, with few other anglers.
Pulaski & Mexico Bay · Niagara Bar & Lewiston · Point Breeze / Oak OrchardThe Salmon River and Lower Niagara fish well all month. Perch gather in the eastern bays before the first ice.
Pulaski & Mexico Bay · Niagara Bar & Lewiston · Cape Vincent & ChaumontPlanning note
Mid-September to mid-October is the best-known fishing on this lake and the hardest time to book. Captains fill those weeks a year ahead, and Pulaski lodging prices triple.
The staging kings in late August and the November steelhead run are nearly as good. They cost far less, and you'll have more of the water to yourself. If your dates are flexible, pick one of those instead.