Fishing Article
Steelhead Fishing Lake Ontario Tributaries
By Shane Thomas
Fishing opportunities are endless all over the Great Lakes. However
few can compare to steelhead fishing in Oswego County. It's home
to the world famous Salmon River, and many other top notch tributaries
such as Sandy Creek, Little Salmon River, Oswego River, just to
name a few. The Salmon River Hatchery is a good reason why the best
returns are here. This is where they were born so this is where
they"ll return to spawn.

Unlike their Pacific salmon cousins they will not die after spawning.
Steelhead trout are silver sided chrome bullets that can be caught
in tributaries year round. From summer run Skamania steelhead to
winter run Chambers creek strain these fish thrive in their home
streams.

Steelheads are really just sea-run rainbow trout, that are said
to be rainbow trout on steroids. They are spawned in the river and
streams but grow to adult size in lakes or oceans, and can grow
to exceed 30 pounds. As a matter of fact the New York state record
was broke last August on Lake Ontario aboard a charter boat. The
steelhead/rainbow weighed in at over 31 pounds.
Whether trolling the deep waters of Lake Ontario or fly fishing
the rivers, steelies are formidable opponents. "Chromers",
as they are often referred to are far from being easy to catch.
Light line and a stealthy approach will be needed to be successful.
Covering a lot of water in search of chrome will often produce the
best results. In the rivers this done very effectively from a drift
boat. Drift boaters will often try several techniques - drifting
skein, back-trolling plugs or fly fishing are the most popular methods.
Once you"ve fooled one into striking HOLD ON! It's nothing for an
average silver bullet to peel line off your reel for 40-50 seconds,
jumping 4-10 times, and battling for over 10 minutes! Just when
you think you've gotten the best of them they'll try to dodge any
obstacle they can to be free.
One major warning to new steelhead anglers- it is very ADDICTING!!
Contact Shane at Salmon
River Guide
Fishing Articles -
Lake Ontario Tributary Steelhead.
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