Calm Saturday ahead as kings run western tributaries

Calm, sunny weather leads the week on Lake America (Lake Ontario): NWS forecasts waves of 1 foot or less on Saturday in all three nearshore forecasts. DEC says king salmon fishing is in full swing on the western tributaries. Data was gathered Thursday morning, October 22.

Conditions this week

The lake-wide average surface temperature was 58.5 F on October 21, down 1.7 F in a week. This morning, buoy 45215 off Oswego read 59.0 F with 1.3 ft waves. Buoy 45012 north of Rochester read 56.1 F with 1.0 ft waves and wind 10 kt gusting 12 kt from 290 degrees. Buoy 45135 at the east end, off Mexico Bay/Henderson, read 56.1 F with 0.7 ft waves. Buoy 45139, at the far west end of the lake about 41 miles west of Olcott, read 57.2 F. The Oswego and Rochester NOAA water-temperature stations had no data.

No NWS forecast text carried an advisory or warning headline. Check the NWS marine forecast before you launch.

Tonight, from Hamlin Beach to Mexico Bay, NWS has north winds 15 to 20 knots becoming northeast 10 to 15, with waves 1 to 3 feet building to 2 to 4 feet. Friday there has northeast winds 5 to 15 knots and waves 2 to 4 feet subsiding to 1 to 3 feet. Saturday is the best-looking day: southeast winds 10 knots or less and waves 1 foot or less in all three nearshore forecasts.

Rivers and creeks

Flows are USGS provisional, read early Thursday morning.

• Salmon River at Pineville: 264 cfs, 7-day range 216 to 302, rising about 22% against the first 24 hours of the window.
• Oswego River at Lock 7: 693 cfs, falling about 40%.
• Black River at Watertown: 2,270 cfs, falling about 48%.
• Genesee River in Rochester: 691 cfs, roughly steady.
• Oak Orchard Creek near Shelby: 78.7 cfs. Sandy Creek at North Hamlin: 78.8 cfs. Eighteenmile Creek at Burt: 116 cfs. All roughly steady.

The Niagara River at Youngstown gauge had no current data.

What DEC is reporting

Region 7, report dated October 9 to October 23. DEC says the Salmon River's Lower Fly Section is closed due to low water, and the Upper Fly Area remains open. As of October 6, DEC listed the river at 216 cfs with a dam release of 185 cfs. Anglers were catching salmon throughout the river, and DEC suggests floating eggs or beads. DEC reported the Oswego River at 1,220 cfs as of October 6, with brown trout caught primarily below the dam, behind the hotel and along the wall.

Region 9, report dated October 16 to October 23. DEC says fish and anglers are mostly spread among Eighteenmile, Oak Orchard, Johnson and Sandy Creeks, which receive supplemental Erie Canal release water, while other small tributaries have low to no water. Piers at Olcott, Oak Orchard and the Genesee River are mostly producing kings and browns. Trollers report a consistent king salmon and steelhead bite at 200 to 400 feet, on spoons and flasher fly combos run in the top 60 feet.

Rules to know right now

• Lake trout harvest is closed on Lake Ontario October 1 through November 30. Lake trout caught now must be released.
• Brown trout, rainbow trout (steelhead), coho and Chinook have a 15 inch minimum (21 inches for rainbow/steelhead in the lake, 25 inches in tributaries), 3 per day in combination.
• Seasonal tributary rules apply September 1 through March 31, including 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.
• The Salmon River downstream of the Route 52 bridge in Altmar has the same night-fishing prohibition, and extra floating-lure rules run through October 31.

Sources

• USGS Salmon River at Pineville - https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/04250200/ (checked 2026-10-22)
• USGS Oswego River at Lock 7 - https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/04249000/ (checked 2026-10-22)
• USGS Genesee River, Rochester - https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/04231600/ (checked 2026-10-22)
• USGS Oak Orchard Creek near Shelby - https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/04220045/ (checked 2026-10-22)
• USGS Sandy Creek at North Hamlin - https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/04220223/ (checked 2026-10-22)
• USGS Eighteenmile Creek at Burt - https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/04219768/ (checked 2026-10-22)
• USGS Black River at Watertown - https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/04260500/ (checked 2026-10-22)
• USGS Niagara River at Youngstown - https://waterservices.usgs.gov/nwis/iv/?format=json&sites=04219630&parameterCd=00060,00010,00065&period=P7D&siteStatus=all (checked 2026-10-22)
• NDBC buoy 45215 - https://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/data/realtime2/45215.txt (checked 2026-10-22)
• NDBC buoy 45012 - https://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/data/realtime2/45012.txt (checked 2026-10-22)
• NDBC buoy 45135 - https://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/data/realtime2/45135.txt (checked 2026-10-22)
• NDBC buoy 45139 - https://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/data/realtime2/45139.txt (checked 2026-10-22)
• NOAA CO-OPS Oswego - https://api.tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/api/prod/datagetter?date=latest&station=9052030&product=water_temperature&units=english&time_zone=lst_ldt&format=json (checked 2026-10-22)
• NOAA CO-OPS Rochester - https://api.tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/api/prod/datagetter?date=latest&station=9052058&product=water_temperature&units=english&time_zone=lst_ldt&format=json (checked 2026-10-22)
• GLERL CoastWatch lake-average temperature - https://coastwatch.glerl.noaa.gov/statistic/statistic.html (checked 2026-10-22)
• NWS nearshore forecast LOZ042 - https://tgftp.nws.noaa.gov/data/forecasts/marine/near_shore/lo/loz042.txt (checked 2026-10-22)
• NWS nearshore forecast LOZ043-044 - https://tgftp.nws.noaa.gov/data/forecasts/marine/near_shore/lo/loz043.txt (checked 2026-10-22)
• NWS nearshore forecast LOZ045 - https://tgftp.nws.noaa.gov/data/forecasts/marine/near_shore/lo/loz045.txt (checked 2026-10-22)
• DEC Region 7 hotline - https://dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/freshwater-fishing/central-new-york-hotline (checked 2026-10-22)
• DEC Region 9 hotline - https://dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/freshwater-fishing/erie-western-new-york-hotline (checked 2026-10-22)
• DEC Great Lakes tributaries regulations - https://dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/freshwater-fishing/regulations/great-lakes-tributaries (checked 2026-10-22)