5/17 Lake Ontario out of Oswego Harbor: Got out here from around 2 pm until 6:30. Trout and salmon fishing has been slow out here. I talked to one local that fishes here very frequently along with some guys that had been up for the prior couple days. It's been the same story as the last couple years. Get the right winds (west) that move warm water which contains bait and then the salmon show up. The winds switch and the vast majority of fish disappear. Keep in mind that salmon can from one end to the other in Lake Ontario in probably less than a week, maybe even three days - they are used to swimming hundreds of miles (or even a thousand) out in the ocean. Hot salmon fishing continues from the Niagara Bar east to around Rochester from what one of the guys told me. There is a lot of bait around the harbor, where the warm river water is flowing in. Trailering the nearly 3 hours to Olcott or Wilson Harbor is not something I'm interested in doing at this point in my season.
I spent most of my short day out searching for trout and salmon. I had a couple fish that were likely lakers move for my jigs. I marked a few fish that were probably Kings, but not many. I wound up landing one chunky smallmouth bass inshore before calling it a day. Water in the harbor is in the mid-60s temp wise. The lake level is probably 2 feet down and people need to exercise caution when motoring around, especially when the lake was so much higher over the past two years.
My guide season has seen the busiest start I've ever had, so it's been tough to motivate to get out on days off. Something is always needing attention, whether it's my truck, trailer, motor or trolling motor.
