Dan Sank, the owner and captain of True Blue Fishing Charters, loves taking people out on his boat to fish on both Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. Western New York is, after all, a great place to fish with so much fresh water around, including two Great Lakes, the Niagara River and more.
Fishing Hotspots on Lake Ontario
As a private fishing charter service, True Blue is all about helping you find the best places to fish in Western New York. Take, for instance, Lake Ontario and its tributaries. Where are the best spots? Some might say the Niagara Bar, Wilson Harbor, or East Branch Twelve Mile Creek. Captain Dan knows where to take you to find brown trout, lake trout, Atlantic salmon, and steelhead. It turns out that Lake Ontario is fast becoming known as a key place in the Northeast to catch a “lifetime trophy fish.”
Lake Ontario Fishing Statistics
Basically, along the entire New York shoreline of Lake Ontario you’re going to encounter abundant trout and salmon. The DEC data is proof positive that this is a hotspot for fishing— when the DEC measures “catch rates” (the amount of fish caught on each boat trip) the Chinook Salmon catch rate recently measured a whopping 227 percent higher than the average for 2013-2017. And the catch rate for all trout and salmon types? 37 percent higher than previous records. By the way, if you like ‘em huge, consider this: a 28.1 pound Chinook salmon was caught in Lake Ontario in recent times.
Springtime on Lake Ontario is a great time of the year for brown trout fishing. They’re found along much of the shoreline. Stickbaits (minnow imitating plugs) in black and silver or blue and silver will help you catch trout along the shoreline in Lake Ontario; as the season gets closer to summer the trout go out into deeper waters and then small spoons help catch ‘em.
Captain Dan is here to help you find and catch fish on Lake Ontario, just off Wilson, New York. If you’re from out of town (or local) and want to hire a fishing charter for an adventurous boat ride and some good fishin’ on the lake, call 716-830-9098 or email dansank@truebluefishingcharter.com to plan your trip. Whole families are welcome!