Salmon River fishing report: Pulaski, NY access, timing and rules

Last checked 2026-10-29. This page is a guide, not a catch report. Water levels and closures change, so use the links and phone lines below before you drive.

Where the river is

The Salmon River runs 17 miles. It starts at Lighthouse Hill Reservoir in Altmar and ends at Lake Ontario at Port Ontario. For lake-side context, see our Mexico Bay port page.

Status as of 2026-10-29

• DEC says the Lower Fly Section is closed to fishing because of low water. The Upper Fly Area remains open.
• DEC's Central NY hotline page gives the river at 264 cfs and the dam release at 185 cfs as of October 20.
• Brookfield's Safe Waters page for Lighthouse Hill lists a short-term schedule of 185 cfs from 10/1/26 through 11/1/26.

We did not find a posted reopening date for the Lower Fly Section. This block will go stale. Check the DEC page for today's status.

Live flow

Flow data courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey. Values are provisional and subject to revision.

The gauge we use is USGS 04250200, Salmon River at Pineville, NY, in Oswego County. USGS says readings are usually made every 15 minutes and sent hourly, and that provisional data are subject to revision. The gauge did not report water temperature when we checked. DEC's hotline figure and the USGS reading come from different sources and dates, so don't compare them directly.

Run timing, per DEC

DEC describes these runs and sizes:

• Chinook: stage off the river mouth from late August. Entry begins around Labor Day. Spawning peaks from the second half of September to the first half of October. Fish run 15 to 30 lb, averaging about 18 lb.
• Coho: about 3 to 10 lb, averaging about 8 lb. DEC gives no run dates.
• Brown trout: spawning run from mid-September to mid-November, 2 to 20 lb.
• Steelhead: enter from late October through spring. Spawning runs mid-March to early April, and spent fish drop back to the lake.
• Atlantic salmon: fall spawners, with runs starting as early as July, 5 to 20 lb.

DEC also lists smallmouth bass, rock bass, fall fish, shorthead redhorse and white sucker in the river. See our pages on king salmon and steelhead.

Stocking

DEC stocks about 300,000 Chinook, 80,000 coho, 150,000 steelhead and 30,000 Atlantic salmon into the river each year. Natural reproduction also happens. DEC's genetic profiling estimates about 70% of angler-caught Chinook, not counting age-1 fish, are wild. Eggs are collected at the Salmon River Fish Hatchery.

Access

DEC lists public access sites along the river. In and around Pulaski they include Blackhole, Long Bridge Pool (the Staircase), Short Bridge Pool, Ballpark and Haldane Community Center. Others on DEC's list are Compactor Pool, Sportsman Pool, Fishing Museum, Pineville, Trestle Pool, Ellis Cove, Altmar North, Lower Fly, Paradise Pool, Upper Fly, Orwell Brook, Trout Brook, Pine Grove and Port Ontario.

• Pine Grove has dual gravel ramps and a motorboat launch to Lake Ontario.
• Port Ontario has wheelchair access, parking, and a fishing and viewing platform.
• Compactor Pool, Pineville and Lower Fly have drift boat launches.

DEC offers a Public Fishing Rights brochure, a DECinfo Locator map and the HuntFishNY app. Check them before you go.

Rules, as DEC states them

These are summaries. The DEC page is the rule.

• Below the Route 52 bridge in Altmar, from August 15 to April 14, DEC bars fishing from 30 minutes after sunset to 30 minutes before sunrise. It requires a single-point hook with a gap of 1/2 inch or less, with exceptions for floating lures. Lure hooks must swing freely and unweighted. DEC allows night fishing from Lake Ontario to the Route 3 bridge April 1 to August 14.
• Lower Fly Section (Route 52 bridge upstream 0.25 mile): open September 15 to May 15, catch-and-release, traditional fly gear and artificial flies only.
• Upper Fly Section (above the hatchery property to a marked boundary 0.6 mile upstream): open April 1 to November 30, catch-and-release.
• Fly section tackle: DEC sets line, leader, weight and hook rules by season, and prohibits bait or attractors above the fly.
• Beaverdam Brook and its tributaries in Altmar are closed to fishing along their length below the hatchery property.

Species limits are on DEC's statewide and Great Lakes pages. Check DEC before you go.

Water and safety lines

• DEC water level line: 1-800-452-1742, code 365123.
• DEC Central New York Fishing Hotline: (607) 753-1551.
• Safe Waters dam release line: 1-844-430-FLOW (3569).

Safe Waters warns that schedules can change without notice, that a large amount of water may be released without warning, and that trespass on Brookfield land is prohibited. Use caution near dams.

More rivers are on our tributaries page.

Sources

• NYSDEC Salmon River
• NYSDEC Great Lakes and Tributaries regulations
• NYSDEC Central NY fishing hotline
• USGS 04250200
• USGS instantaneous values documentation
• Brookfield Safe Waters, Lighthouse Hill

Last checked 2026-10-29. Check DEC before you go.