Hotline to Oswego County Fishing

Lake Ontario Brown Trout Forecast Now that life is starting to get back to normal , I hope the fishing on Lake Ontario will follow suit. As I write this, we are currently in our summer transition. The lake is starting to warm up and the fish are starting to slide out to find the water that they prefer.   With the events of the spring of 2020,   the fishing pressure on Lake Ontario was very minimal. This creates an exciting summer. I am anticipating larger than normal brown trout and great salmon numbers! With back to back years of incredible salmon fishing, a lack of pressure this spring and lots of food available, the summer brown trout fishing on the eastern end of Lake Ontario should be one for the record books. If you’re looking to get that wall hanger brown trout, 2020 should be your year! Once the lake has settled into its summer time condition, has a set up thermocline and the fish have settled into their summer homes, it’s time to start hunting the football br

The April showers remind me of the next great fishery here in Oswego County that is about to kick off, the nearshore brown trout bite. As soon as the ice clears the ramps, brave souls launch their boats in search of the first open water trolling on Lake Ontario in over six months. They are typically greeted by aggressive, hungry brown trout searching for the warmest water around. The water along the shoreline warms the quickest. Whenever the water along the shoreline is stained or cloudy, it warms more quickly under the sun’s bright rays. On a typical day chasing early trout, you find a mix of year classes. Most of your bigger fish will be “post spawn” fish. You will be able to tell by how skinny they are, along with being more colorful. While many that you catch are on the smaller side, they are the best eating! A typical day trolling the shore will include running multiple lines of planer boards, in-line or fixed mast style, shallow down-riggers or even just flatlines.

As Winter refuses to let go of her hold on the Northeast, we have had a few reminders of Spring. This has brought about thoughts of drag screaming, line-peeling king salmon!!! It has long been said that the King is the engine that drives the Lake Ontario fishery. In those terms the 2017 King Salmon fishing was an engine out of a race car! Every year since 1985, the DEC has conducted a survey of boats fishing Lake Ontario between April and September. The summer of ‘17 was one for the record books. According to the DEC’s preliminary Lake Ontario Fishing Boat Survey for 2017, “Despite limited access to the lake, those able to fish experienced good to excellent fishing quality. Chinook salmon catch rate reached a record high, and coho salmon catch rate was among the highest in the 33 years surveyed. Rainbow trout catch rates improved from recent years across much of the NY shoreline. “ Chinook Salmon – The 5.5-month lake-wide catch rates for Chinook salmon were at the high

Now that the holidays are over and the winter doldrums have set in, anglers in many areas have accepted the long hibernation until spring. Meanwhile, anglers in Oswego County are busy enjoying themselves chasing steelhead in the many tributaries that empty into Lake Ontario. The two major rivers in Oswego County -- the Salmon and Oswego rivers -- are both hydro-release rivers. This means that neither completely freezes over even during the coldest of winters. Steelhead enter the tributaries in Fall, but remain there until Spring, creating an incredible open water Winter fishery. Steelhead can be taken by a variety of methods. Fly fishing, drift fishing and float fishing are the most popular. During the winter the water typically runs low and clear, forcing anglers to lighten leaders and downsize their baits. This makes for some exciting battles with these spectacular fish. When float fishing, suspend your bait under a fixed float, keeping your bait off the bottom and