Lake Ontario Tribs

[The Royal Coachman]

I've gone up twice now to fish 18 Mile and this year we stopped by Oak Orchard too. Can anyone recommend a book or an online list of the better tribs? I'd really like to get away from the crowds even at the expense of numbers.

 

[JeffK]

Asking about the less pressured LO tribs is like asking about someones favorite wild trout stream. Everybody would like to find big fish without the crowds.

NYS DEC website is a great source of info - can access where fish are stocked and where Public Fishing Rights are. The best guides IMHO are the Sanders Guides. Guide I for western NY is current. Guide II for the Finger Lakes (covers Wayne, Cayuga, and Oswego counties) is a little dated, but is still good. Then get out your DeLorme Maps and start exploring.

A lot of scouting and walking can get you away from crowds. The smaller, less pressured tribs have the fish come in and out more quickly. Every little trickle can bring in a few fish if the water is up for a short time at least. The bigger streams, like the Salmon R, will have some fish somewhere for 8 months of the year - that is why they are crowded. Then there is walking. The most serious trib fisher I have fished with walks up to 6 miles of stream a day. Look for streams where the PFRs let you get at least a mile from the road. A walk usually leaves the crowd behind. In streams with short fishing stretches, like Oak Orchard, it is hard to find peace. Even the Salmon R has spots where a good walk can leave you with a lot more breathing room.

For steelies the cold weather of late season and the smaller tribs give you more options. If you are looking for kings then crowds will be real hard to avoid - but a good walk can do it sometimes.

 

[LyNcH]

JeffK nailed it on the head for the most part. Exploring is part of what makes fishing fun.

I will also speculate that you won't get of a response because in your other post you posted a picture of steelhead, and then commented that you kept it. As a 99% catch and release angler, the trib steelhead for most part are natural reproducing "wild trout" and I would like to see them stay wild. At some point, I will probably mount a trophy steehead for my man cave/rod building room, fly tying factory. I caught that steelhead on a trib last winter, I released it.......I just couldn't take it. That's just me.

 

[The Royal Coachman]

Asking about the less pressured LO tribs is like asking about someones favorite wild trout stream. Everybody would like to find big fish without the crowds.

I didn't know how to ask the question without asking THAT question. Thanks for that advice Jeff. I only make that trip once a year and I fish with a bunch of guys kind of set in their ways. I think the scene at Bert Dam this year will give them some motivation to try some new places if I can find them.

 

[The Royal Coachman]

J

I will also speculate that you won't get of a response because in your other post you posted a picture of steelhead, and then commented that you kept it. As a 99% catch and release angler, the trib steelhead for most part are natural reproducing "wild trout"

I don't mean to sound patronizing but I am starting to see the light on that issue. As I said I'm new to the fishery. They were such magnificent fish that I didn't have the heart to keep the others I caught that morning.

 

[LyNcH]

Which is good because the limit for steelhead is one per day. If you are fishing near Rochester, the only area I have fished is Oak Orchard & thank God it was not during the salmon run based on your pictures. Your best bet to get into fish and avoid the crowds is to goto the Salmon River, and be willing to walk the trails until you find open water.