Salmon River?? or any other suggestions?

[woodschurch]

I had posted a question a few weeks back asking opinions on fishing Lake Ontario with with a 16.5' boat and small motor and got some great responses, I have learned alot from this great website. Another question I have is what lake ontario feeding river and time of the year do you think I should fish to try and catch salmon or trout. Im afraid of making the trip up and not being able to get out on the lake. I know guys that have fished the mouth of the salmon river and ventured out to the lake if it was calm enough, is this my best bet? And if so when do you think would be the best time to come up? Ive only ever fished out of Oswego and Fair Haven in bigger boats so im not real familiar with the Salmon River area. Can you troll in the mouth of the Salmon River? I guess what I am trying to say is I want to be able to troll out on the lake but be able to stay close enough to a river or inlet that i could get off the lake quick and fish the river by boat if the water became to rough. (my boat at full throttle does a whopping 9 mph) Any information on cabins or marinas in the area to stay at would be great also..... Thanks

[muskybob]

When I had my 16' I used to launch out of Oswego. If it was too rough out on the lake there was still some great fishing in the harbor and up the river to the first bridge. The only thing I can tell you is that I would NOT go out on the lake when there was anything more than 10mph winds from the West. That usually equaled 2-3' waves. Keep an eye on the weather and plan your trips accordingly. Nobody can tell you whether it's safe for you to go out, it's up to you and your experience. Good luck on the water this year.

[wonderboy]

Sept, Oct. is a great time to fish the mouth of the salmon. you don't have to go far on the lake, Back and forth across the mouth. the fish are going in the river to spawn. To many boats to troll the river,their casting for them. Its a made house but theres alot of fish. Go for it! you will not be disappointed.

[Gill-T]

The niagara river in April......even into early May can give you safe harbor to fish if the lake is too rough. Drifting for Steelhead, Lakers, monster sheephead, maybe an oddball brown or walleye.

[LongLine]

If I were you and worried about the weather, I'd seriously look at:

Oswego - Not well protected from winds from either direction but large protected harbor

I-Bay - Generally protected from all but direct North winds but large bay (sometimes lots of weekend boat traffic)

Niagara - Only an East wind would blow you off but sometimes lots of traffic.

I'd be partial to I-Bay

Tom B.

(LongLine)

[spoonfed-1]

You can fish the mouth of the Salmon in a small boat BUT anything coming out of the west will build and you'll be taking them broadside running parallel to the shoreline. Oswego like Musky said is a better bet if theres any wind.

Glen

[bottom-feeder]

from the salmon river access...( port ontario) to oswego launch ( wrights marina ) is only 20-25 mins by auto so even if ya dont like the looks of the lake you can go to oswego and fish the harbor

another thought is to get in contact with a couple guys from this site in the area that mayby you could fish with

[larry]

Check out the maps section of this site, sometimes a picture of the area will help you choose. Click on additional port information and images

[chowder]

Here's another idea; if you have a scheduled day off(not something I know anything about!) and things look just flat out look poorly for Ontario, go to the Finger Lakes Discussion and see whats happening on Seneca or Cayuga, we'll put you on the fish w/out putting you on the bottom. Actually you might want to plan a trip to the Fingers and then you would have a sense of what we are talking about. Fish them on Sat and then cruise up & check out the Big Pond spots people are talking about on Sun (not very far). Then you would have a framework to go on.Just my 2 cents.

[woodschurch]

Thanks guys for the responses...anybody know any good boat ramps or have any suggestions on places to stay in those areas?

[Gray Fox]

Just another thought but you may want to consider Fair Haven in the spring. There are multiple launch options within the State Park as well as a free public launch at the Little Sodus Inn. The launch at the Little Sodus Inn is short and shallow which might work for you, I launch my 17 ft.er there every once in a while. Only problem with that launch is that you will then have to run the length of the bay. Little Sodus Bay is quite large and provides excellent bass, pike, panfish, etc. fishing all year round and will hold browns in the spring. If you launch in the State Park access to the lake is quick. You can also launch out of the Park pond, which will allow access to Sterling Creek, this is a good fishing area for the fore mentioned species as well as some steelies in the fall.