Salmon fishing on the big open water
of Lake Ontario has no equal. Lake Ontario fishing for
brown trout, steelhead, lake trout and bass is excellent as well.
We fish the Lake Ontario shore from Nine Mile Point, 14 miles south of
Sandy Pond up to Stony Point, 14 miles north of Sandy Pond.
Lake Ontario fishing is similar to ocean fishing; catches increase when
you travel to the hot spots. Many
people ask me, “Where are the fishing hot spots?” The answer is,
“Everywhere at the right time.” For
example, fishing for spring brown trout is best at the mouth of tributaries
(where they empty into Lake Ontario), such as Sage Creek, Salmon River, Sandy
Pond, and Lakeview Marsh (North Sandy Creek and South Sandy Creek empty into the
marsh.) In September, I might fish
for Salmon at the mouth of Salmon River for the first hours of daylight, then
swing up in front of Sandy Pond and fish for the middle part of the day, and
then back to the mouth of the Salmon River for the evening.
Each spot shines at a different time. Of course there are many other factors to success when fishing for king
salmon, brown trout, and lake trout besides where, and what time of day, and the
season. Rods, reels, bait
(artificial and natural), line, speed, and water clarity all have a part in the
Lake Ontario fishing success equation.
Salmon River, Pulaski is famous throughout
the northeast for great salmon fishing and large ‘football’ shaped brown
trout. Pulaski's serious salmon fishing really begins in Lake Ontario in July
when the salmon show up in Lake Ontario’s Mexico Bay and gorge themselves on
alewives. Salmon feed in schools scattered from Nine Mile Point to Henderson
Harbor. As August approaches, more and more salmon move closer to the
Salmon River area. By mid August a few salmon are running Salmon River and
thousands are out in Lake Ontario staging off the Salmon River. Mid August
starts the month long peak of Lake Ontario salmon fishing as more and more
salmon move closer to Salmon River. If you have a larger boat, travel
to your hot spot is best by water.
A smaller boat can be trailered to different areas of Lake Ontario.
Bass fishing in Lake Ontario means smallmouth bass.
Smallmouth bass range normally from 14” to 19” and are plentiful.
The largest smallmouth bass I’ve seen measured 23 ½”.
This huge smallmouth bass was caught in Sandy Pond while trolling for
browns on a windy day. Many smallmouth bass are caught in Sandy Pond’s channel to Lake Ontario.
They can be caught there from the beginning of bass season (the 3rd
Saturday in June) through the season’s end. Many
smallmouth bass are caught in other local estuaries, especially early in the
season but most smallmouth bass fishing is done out on Lake Ontario.
The preferred method is drifting live bait or a tube bait along the bottom. From the
lakeshore you can see boats drifting in 15 to 40 feet of water over all the
known smallmouth bass hot spots. For
many of the local fisherman, smallmouth bass fishing is Lake Ontario fishing. Salmon fishing comes second.
Largemouth bass are plentiful in Sandy Pond and
Lakeview marsh from it's Lake Ontario mouth and upstream.
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