Fresh Fishing & Boating Newsletter

Attention Lake Ontario Trout and Salmon Anglers

DEC and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry request your help with recovering heads from Coho Salmon caught in Lake Ontario beginning in 2019.

Contact the Lake Ontario Fisheries Unit or visit the Lake Ontario/St. Lawrence River research web page for more information.

DEC Completes Salmon River Hatchery Egg Collection 

DEC Salmon River Hatchery staff completed Steelhead egg collections on Wednesday April 4, 2019. The egg take resulted in over 2.47 million eggs collected from 681 Washington strain steelhead, exceeding the target number of 2.15 million eggs. Fish hatched from these eggs will be raised in the hatchery for approximately one year and will be stocked as spring yearlings in 2020.

Staff collected an additional 194,724 eggs from 51 Skamania strain steelhead. Steelhead are stocked every spring in tributaries to Lake Ontario and Lake Erie where they contribute to both tributary and open lake fisheries. Current Lake Ontario Steelhead/rainbow trout stocking includes 497,700 Washington strain yearlings, 43,000 Skamania strain yearlings and 75,000 “domestic” strain rainbow trout yearlings. Lake Erie stocking includes 255,000 Washington strain yearlings and 5,000 “domestic” strain rainbow trout.

Muskellunge Season Opens May 25 in Most State Waters

Fishing season for muskellunge, also known as "muskie" or "musky", starts in inland waters Saturday, May 25 and in Great Lakes waters (Lake Erie, Upper Niagara River, Lower Niagara River, Lake Ontario, and the St. Lawrence River) on June 15. 

New York's minimum size regulations reflect the muskellunge's trophy status. The statewide minimum size limit is 40 inches. In Great Lakes waters, it is 54 inches. Review the Freshwater Fishing Regulations Guide for more information.

For more information on fishing in New York State and other season openings, please visit our website.