Monroe County · updated
Rochester fishing report
Genesee River mouth, Irondequoit Bay and the Devils Nose — the deepest water closest to a launch anywhere on the south shore.
Rochester
via Central Lake America
West Lake America
Central Lake Americalast good
Oswego Nearshore
Fishing Rochester through the year
Browns and Atlantics along the Genesee plume and the nearshore break.
The port comes into its own — deep water is close, so kings and steelhead are a short run out.
Salmon stage off the river mouth and run the lower Genesee.
Lower Genesee holds steelhead; the lake fishery is largely dormant.
Getting on the water
Ramps at the Genesee River mouth at Charlotte, and on Irondequoit Bay just to the east. Both put you in the lake quickly, which is the central advantage of fishing out of Rochester.
The water itself
East of the city the shoreline steepens dramatically at the Devils Nose, where deep water comes in unusually close. That means a short run to the thermocline in summer — you can be over fishable king water in minutes rather than an hour. The Genesee plume works the same way Oak Orchard does in spring, just on a bigger scale.
Tributaries that matter here
Genesee River
All tributary flows and what they mean →
Rochester questions
What is the Devils Nose?
A stretch of steep shoreline east of Rochester where the lake bottom drops off close to land. It gives Rochester boats access to deep, cold, summer king water without the long offshore run that most south-shore ports require.
Is the Genesee River worth fishing from shore?
Yes, particularly in fall and into winter for salmon and steelhead in the lower river. Access is more urban than at the rural tributaries, which cuts both ways — easier to reach, more people on it.
What makes Rochester different from Oswego?
Distance to deep water. Rochester gets you over summer king depths fast; Oswego sits closer to the fall staging and the Salmon River run. Many anglers fish Rochester in July and shift east in September.
Water temperature above is measured at the nearest NOAA station (Rochester), 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 Rochester →
The weekly report, by email
Sign-up opens shortly — the list is being set up now. In the meantime the report is posted here every week, and there is an RSS feed.