Oswego County

This report courtesy of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning. This report was written on July 16, 2019. Notice: Due to high water levels, a local state of emergency order for a “No Wake Zone” has been established for boats 1,000 feet from the Lake Ontario shoreline and tributaries. All motorized boats within 1,000 feet of the shoreline and within these waterways must operate at an idle speed. Lake Ontario/Oswego River report: The east end of the lake is producing some nice salmon in 100 to 300 feet of water down 50 to 100 feet. Spoons are working along with flashers and flies at times. Brown trout continue to be active in more shallow water. Click here to see the rest of this report on ILoveNYFishing.com.

This report courtesy of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning. This report was written on July 11, 2019. Notice: Due to high water levels, a local state of emergency order for a “No Wake Zone” has been established for boats 1,000 feet from the Lake Ontario shoreline and tributaries. All motorized boats within 1,000 feet of the shoreline and within these waterways must operate at an idle speed. Lake Ontario/Oswego River report: Brown trout have been very active the last few days in the shallow depths of the lake. Stingray spoons on riggers and divers have worked well. Anglers are finding salmon in deeper water with spoons, Atomik meatrigs and flies on various attractors getting their attention. Click here to view the rest of this report on ILoveNYFishing.com.

This report courtesy of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning. This report was written on July 8, 2019. Notice: Due to high water levels, a local state of emergency order for a “No Wake Zone” has been established for boats 1,000 feet from the Lake Ontario shoreline and tributaries. All motorized boats within 1,000 feet of the shoreline and within these waterways must operate at an idle speed. Lake Ontario/Oswego River report: According to Capt. Andy Grisenthwaite of Broad Horizons Charters: On Saturday morning’s trip we started out salmon fishing but after a somewhat slow bite and boating a few salmon we decided to switch gears for browns. The size of the browns were a little better than other recent trips with fish of 10 and 11 pounds. My afternoon trip was determined to stay on kings and even though the bite felt a little slow, we ground out a good number of bites and boated some nice fish. For the salmon we worked depths from 150 to 300 FOW with moonshine spoons, Atomik meatrigs and flies on various attractors. Browns were in 50 FOW and eagerly bit stingray spoons on riggers and divers. According to Capt. Tom Burke of Cold Steel Sportfishing Charters: Last Wednesday was kids’ day on the Cold Steel! Lots of memories were made, smiles had and salmon were caught. Building the next generation of anglers one trip at a time! Atommik copper and meat rigs and Michigan Stinger flashers and spoons did the bulk of our damage in 120-160 FOW. Click here to see the rest of this report on ILoveNYFishing.com.

This report courtesy of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning. This report was written on July 2, 2019. Notice: Due to high water levels, a local state of emergency order for a “No Wake Zone” has been established for boats 1,000 feet from the Lake Ontario shoreline and tributaries. All motorized boats within 1,000 feet of the shoreline and within these waterways must operate at an idle speed. Lake Ontario/Oswego River report: According to Capt. Andy Bliss of Chasin’ Tail Adventures: Flat calm to mega salmon chop Sunday morning and the kings were feeding! Targeted water depth was 100-340 feet. According to Capt. Andy Grisenthwaite of Broad Horizons: Fishing on Lake Ontario out of Oswego has been pretty good this season! Salmon are plentiful and there are a good number of browns available also. Meat rigs, moonshines, and stinger spoons are working well. Click here to see the rest of this report on ILoveNYFishing.com.

This report courtesy of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning. This report was written on June 28, 2019. Free Fishing Weekend – New York State residents can fish for free June 29-30, 2019. No fishing license is required. Notice: Due to high water levels, a local state of emergency order for a “No Wake Zone” has been established for boats 1,000 feet from the Lake Ontario shoreline and tributaries. All motorized boats within 1,000 feet of the shoreline and within these waterways must operate at an idle speed. Lake Ontario/Oswego River report: We seem to be going into a more stable weather pattern with warmer temperatures and less rain overall through the upcoming week. Anglers are reporting the activity on the lake is picking up. Salmon fishing has been good in 110-200 feet of water with 130 feet seeing some decent action. Spoons are working well as are flashers and flies at times. Anglers also picked up some nice lake trout last week. Click here to see the rest of this report on ILoveNYFishing.com.

This report courtesy of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning. This report was written on June 25, 2019. Notice: Due to high water levels, a local state of emergency order for a “No Wake Zone” has been established for boats 1,000 feet from the Lake Ontario shoreline and tributaries. All motorized boats within 1,000 feet of the shoreline and within these waterways must operate at an idle speed. Lake Ontario/Oswego River report: According to Capt. Troy Creasy of High Adventure Sportfishing: Mother nature has given Lake Ontario trollers every type of conditions imaginable in the past week. We have seen torrential rains, stiff winds, dense fog and dead flat beautiful sunny days. Just like the weather the catch has been from one extreme to the other. One trip the cooler is full, the next trip you were scratching your head wondering if you are on the same body of water you were yesterday. Click here to see the rest of this report on ILoveNYFishing.com.

This report courtesy of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning. This report was written on June 20, 2019. Notice: Due to high water levels, a local state of emergency order for a “No Wake Zone” has been established for boats 1,000 feet from the Lake Ontario shoreline and tributaries. All motorized boats within 1,000 feet of the shoreline and within these waterways must operate at an idle speed. Lake Ontario/Oswego River report: According to Capt. Andy Bliss of Chasin’ Tail Adventures: Salmon fishing out of Oswego has been good! Fish are being taken from 80-200 FOW. Most bites are from 40-100 feet down. Spoons are still very productive. With a wide color selection working. Dark and natural patterns early with brighter patterns in the sun. Flashers pulling A-TOM-MIK flies and meat rigs are also taking a large amount of our fish lately. Whites and greens are productive early with chrome patterns when the sun appears. Tuesday was the annual veterans trip coordinated by Capt. Tom Burke of Cold Steel Sportfishing Charters. He feels it’s always nice to be able to give back to those who gave so much! Click here to see the rest of this report on ILoveNYFishing.com.

This report courtesy of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning. This report was written on June 15, 2019. Notice: Due to emergency repairs needed on the tainter gate at the Phoenix Dam, the New York State Canal Corporation has closed the Oswego Canal from Phoenix to Fulton. Out of an abundance of caution, Locks O-1 and O-2 will be closed until further notice. The tainter gate is used at dams to control water flow. Notice: Due to high water levels, a local state of emergency order for a “No Wake Zone” has been established for boats 1,000 feet from the Lake Ontario shoreline and tributaries. All motorized boats within 1,000 feet of the shoreline and within these waterways must operate at an idle speed. Lake Ontario/Oswego River report: According to Capt. Troy Creasy of High Adventure Sportfishing Charters: The wind was an issue early this week and again today but a respectful number of kings are being caught on our outings. We had a client from Pennsylvania on Sunday and we caught two of our biggest kings of the year. We included a few smaller ones and boxed out on lake trout. Lake trout are hugging the bottom in 130 to 170 FOW and browns, although very scattered, are being caught near the harbor in 15 to 30 FOW. Spoons have been the ticket for everything although a few anglers are running cut bait. Green glows early, black and silver patterns and yellow when we see the sun. Click here to see the rest of this report on ILoveNYFishing.com.

This report courtesy of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning. This report was written on June 14, 2019. Notice: Due to high water levels, a local state of emergency order for a “No Wake Zone” has been established for boats 1,000 feet from the Lake Ontario shoreline and tributaries. All motorized boats within 1,000 feet of the shoreline and within these waterways must operate at an idle speed. Lake Ontario/Oswego River report: According to Capt. Troy Creasy of High Adventure Sportfishing Charters: The wind was an issue early this week and again today but a respectful number of kings are being caught on our outings. We had a client from Pennsylvania on Sunday and we caught two of our biggest kings of the year. We included a few smaller ones and boxed out on lake trout. Lake trout are hugging the bottom in 130 to 170 FOW and browns, although very scattered, are being caught near the harbor in 15 to 30 FOW. Spoons have been the ticket for everything although a few guys are running cut bait. Green glows early, black and silver patterns and yellow when we see the sun. Click here to see the rest of this report on ILoveNYFishing.com.

To our friends/partners/customers in the sport fishing community: An unfortunate confluence of events and circumstances has forced me to inform you that there will not be a 2019 Oswego County Pro-Am Tournament. The combination of extreme weather, mismanagement of Lake Ontario water levels, and a few other factors has forced us to closely examine the probability of hosting a successful event here this year. Much thought and discussion has gone into this analysis but the answer at each level of review is that this would not be a prudent use of our resources under these current conditions. Hopefully, those charged with the management of Lake Ontario water levels will make decisions that will protect our infrastructure instead of situations that make it inaccessible. Perhaps, over the course of the next year, conditions will be right, a path will develop that will lead us to an event that will be attractive to a wide spectrum of anglers, and the tournament will return. We recognize that the longstanding tradition of the tournament is due to the commitment of countless volunteers and sponsors. Thank you for your many years of support! Perhaps we will work together again in the future. Dave Dave Turner, Director Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning

This report courtesy of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning. This report was written on June 10, 2019. Notice: Due to high water levels, a local state of emergency order for a “No Wake Zone” has been established for boats 1,000 feet from the Lake Ontario shoreline and tributaries. All motorized boats within 1,000 feet of the shoreline and within these waterways must operate at an idle speed. Lake Ontario/Oswego River report: According to Capt. Troy Creasy of High Adventure Sportfishing Charters: Fishing remains good across the Eastern basin with a respectful number of kings being caught about every day. Lake trout are hugging the bottom in 130 to 170 FOW and browns, although very scattered, are being caught near the harbor in 15 to 30 FOW. Spoons have been the ticket for everything although a few guys are running cut bait. Green glows early, black and silver patterns and yellow when we see the sun. Click here to see the rest of this report on ILoveNYFishing.com.

This report courtesy of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning. This report was posted on June 5, 2019. Notice: Due to high water levels, a local state of emergency order for a “No Wake Zone” has been established for boats 1,000 feet from the Lake Ontario shoreline and tributaries. All motorized boats within 1,000 feet of the shoreline and within these waterways must operate at an idle speed. Lake Ontario/Oswego River report: According to Oz Angling Tackle: Reports from the lake indicate the shoreline brown trout fishing has slowed. Of course there are still those that are having excellent outings on any given day, but likely the fish are moving out deeper. Both the trout and salmon are keying in on the bait, and as huge schools of bait fish move out deeper so do the predators. The king (Chinook) salmon are still being caught in good numbers between 55-130 feet of water often suspending about 25-45 feet down. Michigan Stinger spoons and A-TOM-MIK flies have been the most productive baits on the lake thus far. Click here to see the rest of this report on ILoveNYFishing.com.

This report courtesy of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning. This report was posted on May 28, 2019. Notice: Due to high water levels, a local state of emergency order for a “No Wake Zone” has been established for boats 1,000 feet from the Lake Ontario shoreline and tributaries. All motorized boats within 1,000 feet of the shoreline and within these waterways must operate at an idle speed. Lake Ontario/Oswego River report: According to Capt. Andy Bliss of Chasin’ Tail Adventures: What a fight!!! This fish hit a Michigan stinger down 40 feet and came up to the surface through the diver. Then proceed to pass the boat. As I made my way to the bow he went 300’ behind the boat. The line got caught on the rudder but we managed to get it free and land it. Click here to view the rest of this report on ILoveNYFishing.com.

This report courtesy of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning. This report was written on May 23, 2019. Notice: Due to high water levels, a local state of emergency order for a “No Wake Zone” has been established for boats 1,000 feet from the Lake Ontario shoreline and tributaries. All motorized boats within 1,000 feet of the shoreline and within these waterways must operate at an idle speed. Memorial Day Weekend (May 24-27) – Free Fishing for all active duty military or veteran personnel. Lake Ontario/Oswego River report: According to Capt. Troy Creasy of High Adventure Sportfishing: Monday brought crazy weather clouds, sun, wind, rain and then big wind but we still managed a decent box including a nice double on Lake Ontario chinook salmon. Yesterday we found plenty of kings right outside of the Oswego Harbor. Even after Tuesday’s rough seas we still put together a decent catch. Click here to see the rest of this report on ILoveNYFishing.com.

This report courtesy of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning. This report was written on May 16, 2019. Notice: Due to high water levels, a local state of emergency order for a “No Wake Zone” has been issued for boats 1,000 feet from the Lake Ontario shoreline and tributaries. All motorized boats within 1,000 feet of the shoreline and within these waterways must operate at an idle speed. Lake Ontario/Oswego River report: Mother Nature has finally given us a break from all of the rainy weather. Yesterday we had a sprinkle here and there but overall a decent day. Today is partly sunny with light winds. Anglers have worked through adverse conditions but have been rewarded with some nice brown trout in the shallow water and kings and a few Atlantics in deeper depths. Spoons are the choice of bait for browns and kings with stickbaits also working for browns. Click here to see the rest of this report on ILoveNYFishing.com.

This report courtesy of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning. This report was written on May 13, 2019. Lake Ontario/Oswego River report: Saturday Mother Nature finally brought us blue skies and some sun. It was short lived, however, as we were back into the rain again yesterday. Anglers worked through all conditions this weekend bringing kings, brown trout and a few Atlantics to the net. Click here to see the rest of this report on ILoveNYFishing.com.

This report courtesy of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning. This report was written on May 10, 2019. Lake Ontario/Oswego River report: According to Capt. Andy Bliss on Cold Steel Sportfishing Charters: Overall the fishing has been excellent out of Oswego. Anglers are finding brown trout, salmon and some nice lakers in the mix. UV tape Stingrays continue being our best lures. Many colors are working as long as they are UV. The last couple of days have been a little tough with big northeast winds, dense fog and then a mega south wind but those conditions couldn’t stop us. Click here to see the rest of this report on ILoveNYFishing.com.

This report courtesy of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning. This report was written on May 6, 2019. Lake Ontario/Oswego River report: According to Capt. Andy Bliss of Chasin’ Tail Adventures: We started Saturday morning off with browns. Then switched over to salmon. On the afternoon trip we started for salmon and never left! Fishing remains excellent out of Oswego! UV tape Stingrays continue being our best lures. Many colors are working as long as they are UV. According to Oz Angling Tackle: It’s not typical to catch May chromers that haven’t spawned yet on the Oswego River. One beautiful fish came as a pleasant surprise after catching nothing but big smallmouth for a few hours. It looks like the trout will be in for a few more weeks before water temperatures increase and the flow drops. With the flow 10,300cfs, the lower river offers the most fishable water for shore anglers. Anglers who are interested in fishing the Oswego River for walleye should focus their efforts from the 104 Bridge to the mouth. If the walleye haven’t made a major push into the lower river yet, then they can be targeted in the harbor and along the lake shore. Notice: The bridge to Leto Island is closed, and there are mandatory personal flotation device (PFD) zones on the river. For more information, view the Brookfield Varick Fish Safely Brochure via the link below. The Oswego Fire Department offers loaner life jackets at no charge through its “Loaner for Life” program. For more information contact the fire station, 35 E. Cayuga St., at 315-343-2161. Click here to see the rest of this report on ILoveNYFishing.com.

This report courtesy of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning. This report was written on May 2, 2019. Lake Ontario/Oswego River report: According to Capt. Andy Grisenthwaite of Broad Horizons Charter Service: Spring fishing is continuing to hold strong! Browns are plentiful along the shore and salmon are a little deeper. Lake trout are also available to target after the other 3 fish limit is kept. Our client from New Hampshire boated several species on his 2nd annual spring trip – browns, lake trout, kings, and an Atlantic! Click here to see the rest of this report on ILoveNYFishing.com.

This report courtesy of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning. This report was written on April 30, 2019. Lake Ontario/Oswego River report: According to Capt. Tom Burke of Cold Steel Sportfishing Charters: Browns, browns and more browns! Then another handful of kings! Even with the heavy south winds the bite was on fire on Friday. Saturday Mother Nature kept us off the lake with a high winds. According to Oz Angling Tackle: The Oz has been running high for the past week and with the rain we received over the past few days, we can expect the river to be running high for at least another week. The current flow is 12,400cfs. This high water is surely keeping trout in the river. There are steelhead all over the upper half of the river still. They are mixed in with a healthy number of smallmouth bass (catch and release only) as well. The upper section of river is limited in regards to fishing spots with high water flows, most anglers are congregating in the lower half of the river from the 104 bridge to the mouth of the river. The lower section is producing smallmouth bass, brown trout, a few rainbows, and even a handful of kings. Notice: The bridge to Leto Island is closed, and there are mandatory personal flotation device (PFD) zones on the river. For more information, view the Brookfield Varick Fish Safely Brochure via the link below. The Oswego Fire Department offers loaner life jackets at no charge through its “Loaner for Life” program. For more information contact the fire station, 35 E. Cayuga St., at 315-343-2161. Click here to see the rest of this report on ILoveNYFishing.com.

This report courtesy of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning. This report was posted on April 25, 2019. Lake Ontario/Oswego River report: According to Capt. Tom Burke of Cold Steel Sportfishing Charters: What a day on Lady O on Tuesday! I can’t stop thinking about the incredible fishery we have! Kings and lots of them. Not to mention brown and laker action mixed in. According to Capt. Andy Bliss of Chasin’ Tail Adventures: Another good day on Ontario. Both Cold Steel Sportfishing Charter and my clients wanted a day of lake fishing so we put the groups together and took them to the lake. The Brown trout bite was crazy but the salmon had lockjaw. BayRats and Michigan stingers took all our fish in colors across the board. Click here to see the rest of this report on ILoveNYFishing.com.

This report courtesy of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning. This report was written on April 22, 2019. Oswego River/Lake Ontario report: According to Oz Angling Tackle: After being up to 12,000cfs on Saturday, the flow has dropped to 10,400cfs this morning. Steelhead are all over the upper half of the river with limited spots to target them from shore with this water level. Some anglers wading along the bank on the west side are having success while float fishing 8 mm beads, egg sacs, pink worms and jigs. Drift boats are doing well on steelhead with a few browns mixed in. Shore anglers fishing the lower end of the river are finding brown trout on the west side by throwing spoons, jigging swim baits along the bottom or bottom bouncing egg sacs and worms. Anglers are finding smallmouth bass (catch and release only at this time) on the east side by jigging along the bottom with swim baits or slip float fishing with jigs. Click here to see the rest of this report on ILoveNYFishing.com.

This report courtesy of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning. This report was written on April 19, 2019. Oswego River/Lake Ontario report: According to Oz Angling Tackle: Steelhead fishing is heating up on the Lake Ontario tributaries. From the big rivers to small creeks, the spring steelhead run is definitely on. Lots of fish are in spawning mode right now but with fresh fish pushing up and some drop backs in the mix, there are plenty of fish to keep things interesting. With some recent rain, the water level has creeped up to 9,800cfs. Areas along the East River Walk behind the hotels and along the West River Walk are suggested areas to try. Click here to see the rest of this report on ILoveNYFishing.com.

This report courtesy of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning. This report was written on April 18, 2019. Oswego River/Lake Ontario report: According to Oz Angling Tackle: Steelhead fishing is heating up on the Lake Ontario tributaries. From the big rivers to small creeks, the spring steelhead run is definitely on. Lots of fish are in spawning mode right now but with fresh fish pushing up and some drop backs in the mix, there are plenty of fish to keep things interesting. With some recent rain, the water level has creeped up to 10,300cfs. Areas along the East River Walk behind the hotels and along the West River Walk are suggested areas to try. Click here to see the rest of this report on ILoveNYFishing.com.

This report courtesy of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning. This report was written on April 15, 2019. Oswego River/Lake Ontario report: According to Oz Angling Tackle: Steelhead fishing is heating up on the Lake Ontario tributaries. From the big rivers to small creeks, the spring steelhead run is definitely on. Lots of fish are in spawning mode right now but with fresh fish pushing up and some dropbacks in the mix, there are plenty of fish to keep things interesting. The water flow is currently 8,910cfs. Click here to see the rest of this report on ILoveNYFishing.com.