Salmon and Lake Trout Running Strong on Lake Ontario as June Opens

What's Biting

What's Next

The open-water salmon bite on Lake Ontario should remain the headliner through the first week of June. Strike Zone Charters has had consistent action in 100 to 160 feet this week, and that pattern is likely to hold as long as surface temperatures stay cool enough to keep kings and browns in those mid-depths. Wind direction will be the key variable: a southwest wind typically blows warm surface water toward the eastern basin, deepening the productive zone and making Mag Dipsey Divers the right call. A shift to northerly winds can compress the thermocline and bring fish higher in the water column, which may call for shallower-running spoons or cut-bait rigs on downriggers.

With a full moon falling on May 31, expect salmon and browns to feed more actively during low-light windows. Dawn trolling runs in the 60 to 100-foot range can pay off in the days following the full moon as baitfish that scattered overnight regroup near the surface at first light. Green, white, and chartreuse remain the producing colors per Strike Zone Charters, and that palette typically holds well through the early-June bite on this lake.

On the Salmon River, the USGS gauge is running at 109 cfs heading into the weekend. Flows at this level are clear enough for sight-fishing but low enough that the deeper pools and slower runs hold most of the fish. If afternoon temperatures climb into the 70s over the coming days, water temps in the lower river could push upward, which typically moves any remaining resident browns and holdover rainbows toward shaded banks and deeper, colder refuges. Plan morning sessions when river temps are coolest and fish metabolism is still active.

At the Oswego River mouth, walleye are a realistic opportunity through early June as post-spawn fish begin feeding on smelt-sized baitfish staging near the current seam. Typical timing windows are the last two hours of daylight and the first two hours after dawn. Check current state regulations before keeping any walleye, as slot limits and season parameters can vary by year.

Context

Lake Ontario's open-water salmonid season in late May and early June is historically one of the stronger windows before summer heat pushes fish deep and spreads them across the basin. The king salmon action reported by Strike Zone Charters this week aligns with typical late-spring staging behavior, when chinooks begin working the temperature breaks months before their fall spawning push. Brown trout and lake trout mixing into the same spread is also on-pattern: both species favor similar temperature windows and are commonly found holding alongside staging salmon in the 100 to 160-foot zone during this period.

The Salmon River's fall Chinook run, the fishery that puts this tributary on the national map, does not typically begin until late September, with peak action in October. A late-May flow of 109 cfs is consistent with what the river normally carries after spring snowmelt has receded but before summer's low-water period sets in. Anglers targeting salmonids in the river itself during this window generally find slow going, with most of the year's steelhead having already returned to the lake by mid-May.

No comparative water temperature data is available from the gauge this week, which limits direct comparison with prior seasons. In a typical late-May year, the lower Salmon River runs somewhere in the 52 to 60-degree range depending on recent overnight lows and how quickly spring warmth has arrived. If temperatures are running warmer than average, river conditions may already be approaching the upper edge of comfortable holding conditions for salmonids, further reinforcing the open-lake fishery as the better bet through June.