Small craft advisory on Lake Ontario; Eighteenmile rising

As of Monday morning, October 5, the National Weather Service has a small craft advisory in effect for Lake America (Lake Ontario) nearshore waters. For Niagara River to Hamlin Beach (LOZ042) and Hamlin Beach to Sodus Bay (LOZ043) it runs through late tonight. For Sodus Bay to Mexico Bay (LOZ044) and Mexico Bay to the St. Lawrence River (LOZ045) it runs through Tuesday morning. Check the NWS marine forecast before you head out.

Conditions this week

The GLERL lake-average surface temperature was 64.0 F on October 4, down 1.1 F from September 27. Buoy 45215 off Oswego read 63.0 F at 08:26 EDT. Buoy 45012 north of Rochester read 63.9 F. Buoy 45135 at the east end, off Mexico Bay/Henderson, read 54.7 F. Cape Vincent read 60.1 F. Buoy 45139 is at the far west end of the lake, about 41 miles west of Olcott, and read 62.2 F. The Oswego and Rochester CO-OPS stations had no current water temperature data.

This morning buoy 45012 showed waves of 4.6 ft and wind of 21 knots gusting to 27 from 260 degrees. Buoy 45215 showed 3.9 ft waves. Buoy 45135 showed 3.6 ft waves and wind of 14 knots gusting to 17.

For Hamlin Beach to Sodus Bay, NWS calls for waves of 5 to 9 feet building to 6 to 10 feet today, then northwest winds 5 to 15 knots becoming west on Tuesday with waves 2 to 4 feet subsiding to 1 to 3 feet. From Niagara River to Hamlin Beach, Tuesday is forecast at waves 2 feet or less. Tuesday looks like the best window. Wednesday from Mexico Bay to the St. Lawrence River is forecast at south winds 15 to 25 knots with waves 3 to 5 feet, and showers are likely Wednesday night.

Rivers and creeks

Flows are USGS provisional, read this morning.

• Eighteenmile Creek: 123 cfs at Burt, rising; 132 cfs at Newfane, rising.
• Oak Orchard Creek: 83.6 cfs near Shelby, falling.
• Oswego River: 726 cfs at Lock 7, falling; 1050 cfs near Phoenix, falling.
• Salmon River at Pineville: 213 cfs, roughly steady.
• Genesee River at Rochester: 648 cfs, roughly steady.
• Sandy Creek at North Hamlin: 88.6 cfs, roughly steady.
• The Niagara River at Youngstown gauge had no current data.

What DEC is reporting

DEC's Region 7 hotline, dated October 2 to October 9, 2026, says the Salmon River Lower Fly Section is closed due to low water and the Upper Fly Area remains open. DEC reported, as of September 21, that anglers were catching salmon throughout the Salmon River.

DEC's Region 9 hotline, also dated October 2 to October 9, 2026, reports good early run numbers of king salmon and brown trout at the dams on Eighteenmile and Oak Orchard Creeks. At report time Eighteenmile had moderate and clear flows and Oak Orchard was slightly high and clear. DEC says anglers at the Olcott, Oak Orchard and Genesee River piers reported a good mix of king salmon and brown trout.

Rules to know right now

• Lake trout harvest on Lake Ontario is closed October 1 through November 30. Lake trout caught now must be released.
• Brown trout, rainbow trout (steelhead), coho and Chinook are 3 per day in combination, with a 15 inch minimum (21 inch rainbow/steelhead in the lake, 25 inch in tributaries).
• Seasonal tributary rules apply September 1 to March 31: no fishing from 1/2 hour after sunset to 1/2 hour before sunrise (except the Black River below Dexter), and one single-point hook only.
• On the Salmon River downstream of the Route 52 bridge in Altmar, extra floating-lure rules run through October 31.
• The brook trout season ends October 15 (limit 5).

Sources

• USGS Salmon River at Pineville - https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/04250200/ (checked 2026-10-05)
• USGS Oswego River at Lock 7 - https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/04249000/ (checked 2026-10-05)
• USGS Oswego River near Phoenix - https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/04247055/ (checked 2026-10-05)
• USGS Genesee River at Rochester - https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/04231600/ (checked 2026-10-05)
• USGS Oak Orchard Creek near Shelby - https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/04220045/ (checked 2026-10-05)
• USGS Sandy Creek at North Hamlin - https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/04220223/ (checked 2026-10-05)
• USGS Eighteenmile Creek at Burt - https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/04219768/ (checked 2026-10-05)
• USGS Eighteenmile Creek at Newfane - https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/04219767/ (checked 2026-10-05)
• USGS Niagara River at Youngstown (no data) - https://waterservices.usgs.gov/nwis/iv/?format=json&sites=04219630&parameterCd=00060,00010,00065&period=P7D&siteStatus=all (checked 2026-10-05)
• NDBC 45215 - https://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/data/realtime2/45215.txt (checked 2026-10-05)
• NDBC 45012 - https://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/data/realtime2/45012.txt (checked 2026-10-05)
• NDBC 45135 - https://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/data/realtime2/45135.txt (checked 2026-10-05)
• NDBC 45139 - https://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/data/realtime2/45139.txt (checked 2026-10-05)
• NOAA CO-OPS Cape Vincent - https://api.tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/api/prod/datagetter?date=latest&station=9052000&product=water_temperature&units=english&time_zone=lst_ldt&format=json (checked 2026-10-05)
• NOAA CO-OPS Oswego (no data) - https://api.tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/api/prod/datagetter?date=latest&station=9052030&product=water_temperature&units=english&time_zone=lst_ldt&format=json (checked 2026-10-05)
• NOAA CO-OPS Rochester (no data) - https://api.tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/api/prod/datagetter?date=latest&station=9052058&product=water_temperature&units=english&time_zone=lst_ldt&format=json (checked 2026-10-05)
• GLERL CoastWatch GLSEA - https://coastwatch.glerl.noaa.gov/statistic/statistic.html (checked 2026-10-05)
• NWS nearshore forecast LOZ042 - https://tgftp.nws.noaa.gov/data/forecasts/marine/near_shore/lo/loz042.txt (checked 2026-10-05)
• NWS nearshore forecast LOZ043 - https://tgftp.nws.noaa.gov/data/forecasts/marine/near_shore/lo/loz043.txt (checked 2026-10-05)
• NWS nearshore forecast LOZ044 - https://tgftp.nws.noaa.gov/data/forecasts/marine/near_shore/lo/loz044.txt (checked 2026-10-05)
• NWS nearshore forecast LOZ045 - https://tgftp.nws.noaa.gov/data/forecasts/marine/near_shore/lo/loz045.txt (checked 2026-10-05)
• DEC Region 7 fishing hotline - https://dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/freshwater-fishing/central-new-york-hotline (checked 2026-10-05)
• DEC Region 9 fishing hotline - https://dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/freshwater-fishing/erie-western-new-york-hotline (checked 2026-10-05)
• DEC Great Lakes tributaries regulations - https://dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/freshwater-fishing/regulations/great-lakes-tributaries (checked 2026-10-05)