Welcome to our Lake Ontario Fishing Home Page
Lake Ontario offers anglers some very good fishing for a variety of fish species. The salmon and trout fishery is what many people think of when they think of fishing Lake Ontario. You can catch Atlantic salmon, chinook salmon, coho salmon to go along with brown trout, lake trout and steelhead. On certain parts of the lake, you can also experience world class fishing for smallmouth bass, walleye, northern pike and largemouth bass. Mix in the perch and muskie and you have so many options for catching fish. Take a look below to learn more about our featured fishing destinations around Lake Ontario.
| Bay of Quinte | Pulaski, NY |
| Henderson Harbor, NY | Rochester, NY |
| Niagara Falls Region | Thousand Islands |
| Orleans County, NY | Toronto, Ontario |
| Oswego, NY | Watertown, NY |
Bay of Quinte
The Bay of Quinte is famous for its outstanding walleye fishery. This bay puts out some very big walleye with 30 inch fish a possibility here. What many people don’t realize is that the bay has become an outstanding largemouth bass fishery as well. This area is big water, but it is protected well for being big water, so you can get out here to fish on many days without having a huge boat. Smallmouth bass, northern pike, salmon, muskie and perch round out the fishery.
Henderson Harbor, NY
Henderson Harbor is a great destination if you want to spend a lot of time on the lakefront. The bay provides good fishing and protection from south, west and east winds. You’re a fairly short boat ride to some other awesome bays and out onto the main lake of Lake Ontario. This part of Lake Ontario is known for its excellent smallmouth bass fishing for good numbers of big fish. You can catch a variety of other species too, but smallmouth bass get most of the attention here for many anglers.
Niagara Falls Region
The Niagara Region is a popular area due to the Niagara Falls. Visitors view the falls from the New York and Ontario side and it is a pretty cool tourism area. You will find plenty to do here from sightseeing, shops, dining and for the anglers, this is an amazing area to do some fishing.
Orleans County, NY
Orleans County is a county in the western part of the U.S. state of New York. It is sandwiched in between the Niagara Falls Region and Rochester, New York. While there are more tourism activities to do in the nearby regions, Orleans County can hold its own when it comes to its quaint towns and villages, beautiful scenery and its excellent fishing. The salmon and trout fishing is very good out on Lake Ontario and this county is home to a large charter fleet that can help put you on the fish.
Oswego, NY
Oswego is a city in Oswego County, New York with a population around 17,000 people. The city is the county seat of Oswego County and is known as the port city of central New York. This area is a popular destination for fishing with anglers having the option to fish out on Lake Ontario or around town in the Oswego River. This gives anglers so many options to catch so many different species of fish. Depending where you choose to fish and what time of year, you may be catching a variety of trout and salmon, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, northern pike, walleye, catfish, perch and more.
Pulaski, NY
Pulaski is a village in Oswego County, New York and it has a population of a little more than 2,300 people. The village lies between the shores of Lake Ontario and the Tug Hill region. This area is famous for the world class salmon and steelhead fishing in the Salmon River. The Salmon River is only 17 miles long, but so many salmon move into this river from Lake Ontario to spawn. This river is stocked heavily with chinook salmon and steelhead to go along with some other species as well. Lake Ontario is also very popular for fishing in this area and you will find plenty of fishing charters that are available out of the Pulaski, New York area.
Rochester, NY
Rochester, New York is a city on Lake Ontario. Rochester is a short drive to the Finger Lakes Region, so you can easily stay in Rochester, but head to your favorite lake for a day on the water. Anglers have a lot of options for fishing this area. Head out onto Lake Ontario for salmon and trout or take a drive to the Finger Lakes to fish for largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleye, northern pike and much more.
Thousand Islands
The Thousand Islands are a group of over 1,700 islands that straddle the United States – Canada border in the St. Lawrence River. The Canadian islands are in the province of Ontario and the islands in the United States are located in the state of New York. This area is a popular vacation destination for fishing, boating and camping.
This area is home to some fantastic fishing for a variety of fish including game fish such as northern pike, muskie, smallmouth bass and largemouth bass. Smallmouth bass do better here than largemouth bass, but there are plenty of places where you can target largemouths and they are under fished here by most anglers. This is big fish country too. If you put in the time, you may find some absolute giants. Big pike, muskie and smallmouth bass are caught here every year.
Toronto, Ontario
Toronto is the capitol of the province of Ontario and it is a major Canadian city. It is located along Lake Ontario’s northwestern shore and it is a beautiful city with tall skyscrapers and tons of entertainment. The CN Tower is the tallest freestanding structure in the Western Hemisphere and it rises well above the skyscrapers in the city. You will find plenty of places to stay plus so many excellent restaurants.
If you are coming to Toronto and you want to do some fishing, you have that as an option as well. Experience good fishing on Lake Superior for a variety of salmon and trout to go along with some big northern pike and more.
Watertown, NY
Watertown is just off the water, but still close to some awesome parts of Lake Ontario. Anglers have a lot of options here with good fishing in the bays and farther out into Lake Ontario. If you come here with a good-sized boat, you’re not too far from the mouth of the St. Lawrence River also. If you come with a smaller boat, you may be better off driving north to launch in the river.
For those of you looking for other things to do besides fishing, Watertown has a lot to offer. There is plenty of shopping here with concerts, trade shows, festivals and so much more. You will find lots of lodging and dining options too.