Cayuga County · updated
Fair Haven fishing report
Little Sodus Bay — a quiet, sheltered launch with a short run to summer king water.
Oswego
via Oswego Nearshore
West Lake America
East Lake America
Oswego Nearshore
Fishing Fair Haven through the year
Browns nearshore; panfish and bass inside the bay.
Kings and steelhead offshore, with noticeably less boat traffic than the bigger ports.
Fish moving east toward the Salmon River pass through this water.
Quiet. The bay draws ice anglers in a cold year.
Getting on the water
Little Sodus Bay at Fair Haven, with a state park and public launch. Smaller and considerably less hectic than Oswego, which is its own kind of advantage in September.
The water itself
The bay is fully protected; outside, you are on the central south shore with a manageable run to deep water. This stretch sits between the Rochester structure and the Oswego/Mexico Bay staging grounds, and it fishes as a quieter alternative to both.
Tributaries that matter here
Oswego River
All tributary flows and what they mean →
Marine forecast — Sodus Bay to Mexico Bay
Issued Nov 4, 4:03pm ET by NWS Buffalo.
South winds 10 to 15 knots. A chance of showers late this evening. Showers after midnight. Waves 2 feet or less.
South winds 10 to 15 knots becoming west. Showers likely in the morning. Waves 1 to 3 feet.
Southwest winds 5 to 15 knots becoming south. A chance of showers overnight. Waves 1 to 3 feet.
South winds 10 knots or less becoming northwest. A chance of showers in the afternoon. Waves 2 feet or less.
Northwest winds 10 knots or less becoming west 10 to 15 knots. Showers. Waves 2 feet or less.
West winds 10 to 15 knots becoming northwest 15 to 20 knots. Showers. Waves 2 to 4 feet building to 3 to 5 feet. Waves occasionally around 6 feet.
West winds 15 to 25 knots. A chance of showers. Waves 3 to 6 feet building to 5 to 8 feet. Waves occasionally around 10 feet.
Northwest winds 15 to 25 knots becoming west. A chance of showers during the day. Waves 5 to 8 feet subsiding to 3 to 6 feet. Waves occasionally around 10 feet.
Fair Haven questions
Why fish Fair Haven instead of Oswego?
Crowding, mostly. Fair Haven reaches much of the same water with a fraction of the launch-ramp queue, which matters a great deal on an autumn weekend.
Is Little Sodus Bay good on its own?
It holds bass, pike and panfish and is a reasonable fallback when the lake is unfishable, though it is smaller than Sodus Bay to the west.
Water temperature above is measured at the nearest NOAA station (Oswego), so treat it as a reference for the general area rather than a reading from the exact spot you plan to fish. Charter captains fishing out of Fair Haven →
The weekly report, by email
One email a week through the season: water temps, where the fish set up, tributary flows, and what the captains are running. Free, no spam, unsubscribe anytime.
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