The Fish

Salmon & Trout

Lake Ontario is home to a variety of salmon and trout. There are many destinations around the lake that offer good fishing for these fish and you will find plenty of fishing charters available to target them. The rivers also provide some very good fishing during the spawning runs. You will also find a good number of boats targeting the mouths of the popular rivers that get good runs of salmon and trout.

Bay of Quinte	Pulaski, NY
Henderson Harbor, NY	Rochester, NY
Niagara Falls Region	Thousand Islands
Orleans County, NY	Toronto, Ontario
Oswego, NY	Watertown, NY

Smallmouth Bass

Lake Ontario is home to some amazing smallmouth bass fishing, however, some destinations are definitely much better than others. It is tough to beat the Thousand Islands and Henderson Harbor if you’re looking to catch some big smallmouth bass. Throughout the rest of the lake, you may have better fishing in the rivers than out in the lake. It all depends on the time of year and the weather conditions.

Bay of Quinte	Pulaski, NY
Henderson Harbor, NY	Rochester, NY
Niagara Falls Region	Thousand Islands
Orleans County, NY	Toronto, Ontario
Oswego, NY	Watertown, NY

Walleye

Walleye are not easy to catch throughout most of Lake Ontario. There are plenty of walleye in the lake to target them, however, this is definitely not like Lake Erie where you can catch walleye in good numbers at just about every one of our featured destinations for Lake Erie. On Lake Ontario, you have some good walleye opportunities in the Niagara Falls Region and then on the eastern side of the lake. You can catch some giant walleye in the Bay of Quinte, Henderson Harbor and the Thousand Islands area, however, they are not easy to catch for most anglers. The walleye charters that have it dialed in will usually stay busy when the walleye bite is going good.

Muskie

Muskie are available in Lake Ontario, but in very limited numbers on most of the lake. There are some areas that have better numbers of them, so if you’re looking to target muskie, take a look at the featured destinations listed below. If you do target muskie on Lake Ontario, there are some very big fish available, so make sure you have the proper equipment to handle a giant muskie.

Northern Pike

Lake Ontario has plenty of northern pike that if you want to target them, you should be able to catch some throughout the lake. There are definitely some better areas to target them. Fishing on the St. Lawrence River is very good for northern pike in the Thousand Islands area. You can also find pike in the various bays and rivers throughout Lake Ontario. Some very large northern pike are caught in the lake every year, so don’t be shocked if you run into a fish in the 40 inch range or bigger.

Bay of Quinte	Pulaski, NY
Henderson Harbor, NY	Rochester, NY
Niagara Falls Region	Thousand Islands
Orleans County, NY	Toronto, Ontario
Oswego, NY	Watertown, NY

Perch

Perch are available throughout Lake Ontario and they can grow very big in the lake. Perch do school up and roam the open waters throughout the lake during the summer months, so they can be difficult to find for most anglers. However, usually experience good perch fishing in the spring and fall as good numbers of perch move out of the main lake and into the bays throughout the lake.

Bay of Quinte	Pulaski, NY
Henderson Harbor, NY	Rochester, NY
Niagara Falls Region	Thousand Islands
Orleans County, NY	Toronto, Ontario
Oswego, NY	Watertown, NY

Largemouth Bass

Largemouth bass are secondary on Lake Ontario, but there are definitely plenty of areas where you can target them and expect to catch some fish. The bays that feature some shallow water cover will give you the best chance to find largemouth bass. The Thousand Islands does offer some good largemouth bass fishing, however, most anglers come to this area to target the plentiful and huge smallmouth bass.

Carp

There are plenty of huge carp in Lake Ontario just like you will find in many of the other Great Lakes. If you are looking to target carp, try fishing the parts of the lake that have access to rivers and bays. As these waters warm in the late spring / early summer, you will usually get a shot at targeting some of these giant fish in larger numbers and in fairly shallow waters. From summer through fall, they can be hit or miss, but if you enjoy carp fishing, there is always somewhere to go to target them as long as the water stays above that 60 degree range. You can catch them in cooler water, but it becomes a little more difficult for most anglers.