FishUSA Staff 
Traditionally speaking, flies should be fished with fly rods. However, fishing flies from a spinning system is deadly technique for both salmon and steelhead. Spinning flies can provide more opportunities as an angler can fish any type of water. The average fly fisherman will have trouble fishing deep pools with a fly rod. When the … Read more
1. Safety Many of the rivers in New York State that have Pacific salmon runs can be dangerous to wade in. Rapidly rising water levels, slippery rocks, deep drop-offs, and strong currents are all things the angler should be on the look-out for. The sight of a school of huge salmon moving past has been known … Read more
Paul MooreSenior Fish and Wildlife TechnicianNYSDEC, Cortland, NY Steelhead Strains New York State Department of Environmental Conservation currently stocks two distinct strains of migratory rainbow trout called “steelhead” in Lake Ontario. These are Skamania (a summer run strain) and Washington (a winter run strain) which both originally came from the State of Washington. A small … Read more
A good strategy when fly fishing the Erie tributaries in the spring is to concentrate on the upper halves of these streams or their feeders. The majority of spring steelhead will be found here because of the presence of ideal spawning riffles. Spawning activity can also occur very close to the lake in some of … Read more
CHINOOK SALMON Chinook or “King” Salmon are the largest of the Lake Ontario trout and salmon. These highly coveted trophy fish are available to anglers year round in the lake. The majority of the fish, however, are caught from early spring through fall. There is an outstanding lake fishery which develops from mid-to-late August and … Read more
prepared in 2000 byThe New York State Department of Environmental Conservation The Lake Ontario ecosystem is very complex and dynamic. Phosphorus is the nutrient which limits the amount of primary productivity (phytoplankton or algae) which ultimately determines how many fish the lake can produce. Long-term downward trends in phosphorus loading resulting from the ban on … Read more