Oswego County

This report courtesy of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning. This report was written on December 13, 2018. Oswego River report: With little significant precipitation in the last few days, the river level continues to drop slowly running at 16,200cfs as of this afternoon. This is still a high level for fishing along much of the river. Behind the hotels is a suggested area for steelhead, browns and walleye. Many Lake Ontario tributaries are also producing some nice trout. 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. 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 December 7, 2018. Oswego River report: The river flow has dropped just a little to 18,900cfs which is still very high. Most areas along the river are unfishable but behind the hotels is a suggested spot to try. Anglers are finding steelhead, browns and a few walleye. Many Lake Ontario tributaries are also producing some nice trout. 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 December 3, 2018. Oswego River report: According to Oz Angling Bait & Tackle: With more rain over the weekend, the river flow is up to 21,200 cfs as of this morning. The fish are fairly predictable with the high water conditions because most of the them are consolidated in fewer spots along the bank. Anglers are finding steelhead, brown trout and walleye. Most anglers are float fishing marabou jigs right now and some anglers have been swimming jigs along the bottom or bottom bouncing egg sacs. High water conditions haven’t been ideal lately, but luckily, there has been a healthy population of trout in the Oswego River this fall and anglers are still catching fish. 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 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 November 29, 2018. Oswego River report: According to Oz Angling Bait & Tackle: After a few days of rain, which also melted most of the snow in the Oswego River drainage basin, it’s no surprise that the river shot up again. This morning it is flowing at 20,600cfs. When the turbidity starts to drop then I’d recommend fishing on the lower east side of the river behind the hotels. This is one of the best high water spots between December and April when the river is typically on the high side. Last winter we saw a large population of walleyes in this section of the river, however, the browns that usually hold there were very limited. With a resurgence in browns throughout the Oswego River this fall, we can expect to catch more browns in the lower river this winter and spring. Look for the turbidity to drop below 10 NFU for the trout bite to pick back up, and if you are going to fish in the dirty water, go with a big, bright, and loud presentation. 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 through 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 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 November 26, 2018. Oswego River report: According to Oz Angling Bait & Tackle: With the rain and snow melt on Saturday, the Oswego River went from a flow of 8,300cfs to 12,500cfs on Sunday. Reports indicated the fishing was relatively slow. We only heard of a few anglers getting into any trout. One angler came up to the shop around 9 am yesterday and showed off a big male steelhead that was pushing 12 pounds – this fish had serious shoulders! He was bottom bouncing the high wall with a white egg sac. Another angler caught a few browns off the high wall using a black and red stickbait. We fished yesterday afternoon and got into some trout while float fishing beads and egg sacs. One angler caught a beautiful brown. If I had one word to describe the colors of his fish, it would be VIBRANT! This morning the river flow is 10,800cfs. 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 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 November 20, 2018. Our staff wishes you a safe and Happy Thanksgiving! Oswego River report: According to Oz Angling Bait & Tackle: The salmon spawn will be coming to an end shortly and the trout will start feeding more heavily on baitfish because there is no longer such an abundance of salmon eggs in the Oswego River. The next five months opens a great opportunity to capture trout on Lake Ontario tributaries with marabou jigs. Our favorite way to fish them is by center pin float fishing. Although, you can still fish them like any other jig by casting out and jigging it back to you along the bottom. If you are looking to target brown trout right now, then marabou jigs are the way to go! The water flow has dropped to 10,400cfs as of this morning. 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 November 15, 2018. Oswego River report: The river level has been running between 11,000cfs and 14,000cfs. The flow this morning is 13,500cfs. This level does make fishing from shore difficult in some places but anglers are finding success. Even with the cold weather driftboats are enjoying some really good trout fishing with nice steelhead, browns and a few rainbows coming to the net. According to Oz Angling Bait & Tackle: Whether you’re float fishing, fly fishing, or bottom bouncing, there are a number of effective techniques for catching Great Lakes trout. Water conditions, and the environment you are fishing will often determine which technique will be most effective. 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 at 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 November 8, 2018. Sunday, November 11 – Veteran’s Day, is a free fishing day in New York State. Anyone can fish the fresh waters with no fishing license required. All other freshwater fishing regulations still apply. Oswego River report: The steady rain has become more scattered showers over the last couple of days and cooler temperatures are arriving for the weekend. The river level remains high with this morning’s flow at 12,080cfs. This flow makes many areas along the river difficult to fish from shore but anglers are still finding some success. Drift boats are also bringing fish to the net. There are still a few salmon being taken but the waters are active with some nice steelhead, rainbows and a few brown trout. 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 at 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 November 6, 2018. Sunday, November 11 – Veteran’s Day, is a free fishing day in New York State. Anyone can fish the fresh waters with no fishing license required. All other freshwater fishing regulations still apply. Oswego River report: As the rain continues across the area, the water flow has been running between 11,000cfs and 15,000cfs over the last several days. This morning it is flowing at 13,800cfs. This flow makes some areas along the river difficult to fish but anglers are still finding some success. A few salmon are still being taken along with some nice steelhead, rainbows and a few brown trout. 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 at 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 November 2, 2018. Oswego River report: With the several days of rain we have had the water flow in the river has been increasing over the last few days. This morning it is flowing at 14,300 cfs. This makes some areas along the river difficult to fish. Scattered showers are again in the forecast for tomorrow but cool and dry for Sunday. According to Oz Angling Bait & Tackle: The run of kings is seemingly endless this fall! Hard to believe how many ‘good looking’ salmon are swimming around and willing to bite still. Anglers have been crushing kings on skein in the Oswego River and surrounding tributaries over the past week. There’s at least another week to target salmon at this rate. I wouldn’t be surprised to see kings being caught in late November this year. 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 October 30, 2018. Oswego River report: With the several days of rain we have had the water flow in the river has been increasing over the last few days. This morning it is flowing at 11,900cfs. This makes some areas along the river difficult to fish. We do have a pleasant day today but rain is again in the forecast for Wednesday through Friday. 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 October 25, 2018. Oswego River report: According to Capt. Andy Bliss of Chasin’ Tail Adventures: After a water flow of 600cfs Tuesday it is up to 7,050cfs this morning. With that there are some super fresh kings still heading up the Oswego River. Love helping people catch their first salmon and the joy it brings! According to Oz Angling Bait & Tackle: The salmon run is a bit behind this year and fresh kings are continuing to run in the Oswego River. Reports from yesterday indicate that the Varick Dam is stacked with king salmon. Anglers fishing off the wall are doing very well on salmon using skein under a float and throwing thundersticks as well. The salmon bite is hot right now with river temperatures in the low 50’s, these fish are snapping aggressively. Late October is always a great time of year to fish on the Oswego River because there are large quantities of fish and a wide variety of fish in the system. You can expect to catch mostly king salmon, steelhead, and brown trout right now. 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 October 22, 2018. Oswego River report: The river experienced a real drop in flow on Saturday afternoon to about 700cfs and down to 450cfs yesterday. This afternoon it is running at 661cfs. Driftboat anglers reported great fishing Friday and early Saturday but a definite slow down with the drop in water flow. There are still a number of kings running in the river along with steelhead and a few brown trout. Smack beads, egg sacs and skein 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 October 19, 2018. Oswego River report: According to Oz Angling Bait & Tackle: The salmon fishing continues to impress on the Oswego River. Only a few female salmon are starting to drop their eggs. This means we have plenty of time left for targeting kings in the river. There are still kings in the lake that haven’t run into the river yet! Trout are showing up in better numbers as well. Look to target trout with 10 mm beads and egg sacs. The water flow has dropped below 3,000cfs running at 2,930cfs this afternoon. According to Larry’s Salmon Tackle: The trout are in the river with a sushi rig, smack beads, egg sacs and skein suggested bait. Anglers are continuing to find plenty of salmon. 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 October 15, 2018. Oswego River report: The fishing was good over the weekend particularly early in the day. The bite was off and on after that but picked up again later in the day. The water level has made it difficult in some areas running at about 8,000cfs for much of the weekend. Skein, beads under a float and thundersticks have been successful bait. 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 October 12, 2018. Oswego River report: According to Larry’s Salmon Tackle: The skein bite is #1 right now followed by thundersticks and then smack beads. Fishing is GOOD the first couple of hours and the last couple of hours in the evening. There is also tons of fish at the steam station using skein under a float and thundersticks. Another place is under the Rte. 104 bridge on the east side in front of the lock using the same technique. 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 October 8, 2018. Oswego River report: According to Oz Angling Bait and Tackle: The king salmon fishing has been phenomenal this fall. There have been big numbers of fish in the Oswego River for a couple weeks now and the fishing continues to improve as more fish enter the system every day. With a dry summer and warm start to the fall, the kings started running a bit later than usual this year and most female fish still have tight eggs. Looks like salmon fishing will extend into mid-November this year if we continue on a similar weather pattern. Ever since the river temp hit 65 degrees, the kings have really started snapping on skein, UV 10 mm beads, and Thundersticks. With the recent rain in the area the river flow is up to 9,110cfs as of this morning. 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 October 4, 2018. Oswego River report: According to Oz Angling Bait and Tackle: Fishing on the Oz has been very productive the last few days. Float fishing skein and beads has been the ticket off the wall for salmon and trout, while egg sacs, artificial eggs and flies have gotten it done at the dam. Given that this year’s run has kicked off a little late, and the water temperatures are on a slow decrease now, we are expecting the fishing to remain steady and solid throughout October and likely well into November. The river flow has been between 3,000-6,000cfs over the last few days. This afternoon it is flowing at just over 5,000cfs. 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 October 2, 2018. Oswego River report: According to Oz Angling Bait and Tackle: Fishing on the Oswego River was hot this weekend. Anglers at the dam were catching mostly kings with some browns and rainbows mixed in. The most effective offerings at the dam were pink egg sacs, skein, and estaz flies. Anglers fishing off the wall were having great success on kings and rainbows using skein and deep diving lures. Float fishing with skein on the Oswego River has become a popular tactic for targeting king salmon during the fall over the past couple years. The skein bite will continue to improve as the water temperature drops throughout the month of October. The water flow has been running between 3,000-4,500cfs over the past couple of days. This morning it is flowing at 3,230cfs. 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 September 27, 2018. Oswego River report: According to Oz Angling Bait and Tackle: The fall run of salmon on the Oswego River continues to heat up. There have been big numbers of kings at the Varick Dam for the past week with browns, steelhead, and even a few cohos mixed in. Yesterday the river flow increased to 4,500cfs with a push of fresh fish. Anglers fishing the high wall and low wall are producing better results with skein over the past few days as well. It’s game on at the Oz, fishing is going to be on fire when the river temperature drops some more. Click here to see there 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 September 25, 2018. Oswego River report: According to Oz Angling Bait and Tackle: Fishing continued to be hot up at the Varick Dam this weekend with most guys leaving with their limit of kings. A few browns and rainbows are starting to show up as well. Fishing off the wall was good in the morning for the first hour of light using Thundersticks, Bombers, and Hot ‘N Tots. A few anglers are starting to catch jacks while float fishing skein off the wall. After being under 2,000cfs for three days, the river is running at 3,710cfs this afternoon. 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 September 20, 2018. Lake Ontario/Oswego River report: According to Oz Angling Bait and Tackle: Kings are being caught all over the map lately. Anglers are having success at the Varick Dam with bottom bouncing rigs, off the high wall using plugs and floating skein, in the harbor trolling spoons, j-plugs, stickbaits and flies, and trolling out in the lake as well. Lake fishermen are doing well in about 50 feet of water. We’ve got some colder temperatures in the short term forecast and we are expecting a solid push of kings into the river by later this week. The river is running at 4,340cfs this afternoon. 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 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 September 18, 2018. Lake Ontario/Oswego River report: According to Oz Angling Bait and Tackle: Kings are being caught all over the map lately. Anglers are having success at the Varick Dam with bottom bouncing rigs, off the high wall using plugs and floating skein, in the harbor trolling spoons, j-plugs, stickbaits and flies, and trolling out in the lake as well. Lake fisherman are doing well in about 50 feet of water. We’ve got some colder temperatures in the short term forecast and we are expecting a solid push of kings into the river by later this week. The river is running at 4,340cfs this afternoon. 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 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 September 14, 2018. Lake Ontario report: As the lake season begins to wind down you often hear “what a season it has been.” Salmon are staging just off the tributaries as they begin to make their way into the rivers and streams. Several boats could be seen this morning fishing in the Oswego Harbor. Flasher/fly combinations have been 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 September 12, 2018. Lake Ontario report: The weather has been difficult over the last few days. Saturday the wind was an issue, Monday it rained and yesterday although the lake was calm, the fog was very thick for much of the day. Conditions were improving by noon time. Anglers have reported that the bite has been a bit slower at times even with the number of fish showing up on fish finders. With the cooler weather we had anglers were targeting more shallow depths including 100 feet and under. Flasher/fly combinations have been working well. Click here to see the rest of this report on ILoveNYFishing.com.