FishingScope
Weekend forecast
Lake7 counties, NYData checked Oct 4, 2026

Lake Ontario fishing guide

A 4,656,932-acre lake touching 7 New York counties: Jefferson, Cayuga, Monroe, Wayne, Oswego, Niagara and Orleans. The state agency lists 14 species here and last stocked it in June 2025. It has 7 public access points and 8 live sensors on the water.

Map of Lake Ontario: the water in blue, public access points in orange, sensors in green, county lines dashed
Water Access Sensor Drawn from USGS and agency data; not for navigation.
4,656,932
acres
14
species listed
306
stocking records in 10 years
7
public access points

Today's fishing forecast

Live

Loading today's forecast…

Best window
Sunrise
Moon
Pressure
Wind
Water temp

Hour by hour

Bite windows

Next 7 days

Live sensors on this water

Fish species in Lake Ontario

Species on the official fishing-waters list from New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, then species known only from stocking. Species links open our guide to that fish in New York.

SpeciesStatusLast stocked
Atlantic SalmonAgency listMay 2025
Brown TroutAgency listJun 2025
Channel CatfishAgency list—
Chinook SalmonAgency listMay 2019
Coho SalmonAgency listOct 2020
Common CarpAgency list—
Lake TroutAgency listMay 2025
Largemouth BassAgency list—
Northern PikeAgency list—
Rainbow TroutAgency listMay 2019
Smallmouth BassAgency list—
WalleyeAgency list—
Yellow PerchAgency list—
Lake SturgeonStockedSep 2022

Stocking history

Last stocked June 2025: brown trout yearling. 306 stocking records in the last 10 years, 6,971,240 fish in all, from New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Each row below sums the agency's records for one month, species and size.

DateSpeciesSizeFish stocked
Jun 2025Brown Troutyearling29,000
May 2025Atlantic Salmonyearling20,630
May 2025Brown Troutcatchable23,650
May 2025Brown Troutyearling339,680
May 2025Lake Troutyearling31,812
Apr 2025Brown Troutyearling106,920
May 2024Atlantic Salmonyearling50,000
May 2024Brown Troutcatchable4,500
May 2024Brown Troutyearling403,281
May 2024Lake Troutyearling308,378
Apr 2024Brown Troutyearling72,330
May 2023Atlantic Salmonyearling38,890
May 2023Brown Troutyearling338,013
May 2023Lake Troutyearling322,578
Apr 2023Brown Troutcatchable15,000
Apr 2023Brown Troutyearling49,500
Sep 2022Lake Sturgeonyearling1,798
May 2022Atlantic Salmonyearling18,800
May 2022Brown Troutyearling431,680
May 2022Lake Troutyearling318,050
54 earlier rows, back to Nov 2016
DateSpeciesSizeFish stocked
Apr 2022Brown Troutyearling14,360
Sep 2021Lake Sturgeonyearling1,000
Jun 2021Brown Troutcatchable6,600
Jun 2021Brown Troutyearling27,280
May 2021Atlantic Salmonyearling20,000
May 2021Brown Troutyearling352,912
May 2021Lake Troutyearling129,400
Apr 2021Brown Troutyearling64,295
Oct 2020Coho Salmonfingerling18,000
Oct 2020Lake Sturgeonyearling2,250
May 2020Brown Troutyearling170,130
May 2020Lake Troutyearling304,789
Apr 2020Brown Troutyearling59,930
Mar 2020Atlantic Salmoncatchable20,000
Mar 2020Brown Troutcatchable23,280
Mar 2020Brown Troutyearling135,490
Oct 2019Coho Salmonfingerling26,000
Oct 2019Lake Sturgeonyearling107
Sep 2019Lake Sturgeonyearling1,180
Aug 2019Lake Sturgeonfingerling7,441
Jul 2019Brown Troutfingerling35,690
Jun 2019Brown Troutyearling57,000
May 2019Atlantic Salmonyearling5,660
May 2019Brown Troutcatchable25,630
May 2019Brown Troutyearling362,360
May 2019Chinook Salmonfingerling54,220
May 2019Lake Troutyearling321,500
May 2019Rainbow Troutyearling37,580
Apr 2019Brown Troutyearling14,180
Apr 2019Rainbow Troutcatchable37,420
Oct 2018Coho Salmonfingerling12,200
Oct 2018Lake Sturgeonyearling2,255
Jun 2018Brown Troutyearling31,625
Jun 2018Rainbow Troutcatchable840
Jun 2018Rainbow Troutyearling6,950
May 2018Atlantic Salmonyearling20,000
May 2018Brown Troutcatchable35,235
May 2018Brown Troutyearling320,935
May 2018Chinook Salmonfingerling69,410
May 2018Lake Troutyearling398,255
May 2018Rainbow Troutcatchable22,100
May 2018Rainbow Troutyearling20,130
Jun 2017Brown Troutyearling7,230
Jun 2017Rainbow Troutcatchable5,745
May 2017Atlantic Salmonfry20,000
May 2017Brown Troutcatchable8,630
May 2017Brown Troutyearling340,430
May 2017Chinook Salmonfingerling64,430
May 2017Lake Troutyearling200,846
May 2017Rainbow Troutcatchable15,980
May 2017Rainbow Troutyearling50,000
Apr 2017Chinook Salmonfingerling7,050
Nov 2016Brown Troutfry25,400
Nov 2016Coho Salmonfingerling25,390

Plus 40 stocking records before October 2016 in the agency data.

Search stocking by water and date · Agency stocking reports

Public access and boat launches

5 boat ramps and 2 carry-in launches from New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; orange dots on the map above.

  • Lake Ontario boat launch
    Trailer, Improved · near Desbrough Park
    35 trailer spaces
    Ramp
  • Lake Ontario boat launch
    Trailer, Improved · near Bayview
    30 trailer spaces
    Ramp
  • Lake Ontario boat launch
    Trailer, Unimproved · near Baggs Corner
    20 trailer spaces
    Ramp
  • Lake Ontario boat launch
    Trailer, Improved · near Sandy Harbour Beach
    50 trailer spacesToilets
    Ramp
  • Lake Ontario boat launch
    Trailer, Unimproved · near Dexter
    5 trailer spaces
    Ramp
  • Lake Ontario boat launch
    Hand Launch · near East Bay Park
    8 car spaces
    Carry-in
  • Lake Ontario boat launch
    Hand Launch · near Rigney Bluff
    80 car spaces
    Carry-in

Find boat ramps near you

Regulations

No special regulations for Lake Ontario in our data. New York statewide rules apply unless the agency lists a special rule for this water. Seasons, limits and size rules change: check New York fishing regulations before every trip.

Licence: New York fishing licences from New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Lake Ontario fishing FAQ

What fish are in Lake Ontario?

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation lists 14 species for Lake Ontario: Atlantic salmon, brown trout, channel catfish, Chinook salmon, Coho salmon, common carp, lake trout and largemouth bass, plus 6 more in the table above.

When was Lake Ontario last stocked?

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation last stocked Lake Ontario in June 2025 with brown trout. Our data has 306 stocking records in the last 10 years.

Where can I launch a boat on Lake Ontario?

The agency lists 5 boat ramps and 2 carry-in launches for Lake Ontario, near Baggs Corner, Bayview, Desbrough Park and Sandy Harbour Beach. Each one is listed in the access section with parking and toilets where the agency records them.

How big is Lake Ontario?

Lake Ontario covers about 4,656,932 acres; depth is not in our data yet (USGS National Hydrography Dataset).

Is there a water temperature sensor on Lake Ontario?

Yes. Prince Edward Pt, West Lake Ontario - Grimsby and Sodus Point, NY report water temperature; the latest reading is in today's forecast at the top of this page.

Sources: NOAA NDBC, National Data Buoy Center stations and observations · New York State DEC, Boat launch sites · New York State DEC, Recommended Fishing Lakes and Ponds (mw8j-wduf); Recommended Fishing Rivers and Streams (tjny-fki3), on data.ny.gov · New York State DEC, Fish stocking lists on data.ny.gov · U.S. Geological Survey, Geographic Names Information System, domestic names · U.S. Geological Survey, National Hydrography Dataset, high resolution, state geodatabases (NHDWaterbody, NHDFlowline); 3DHP when it replaces it · U.S. Geological Survey, Water Data OGC API (monitoring locations, discharge, gage height, water temperature). Checked: Oct 4, 2026. Official links open the agency page. How we use data

Nearby waters

27 mi · River

Seneca River

5 counties · 9 species