King salmon fishing in Upstate New York can be done in a variety of ways. I start fishing for them in July trolling on Lake Ontario. These trips are very wind dependent as we need fairly calm waters to get out. I prefer 3 foot or less as anything over that isn’t very enjoyable in my boat. As the fish move in front of the Salmon River we start trolling closer to shore. Again calm water is more enjoyable but we aren’t running far off shore so we can fish in a little bigger water.
Once the fish are staging infront of the river mouth, normally September through the beginning of October, I also start fishing them at night. This is normally done trolling glow lures. There is also the option to cast spoons and plugs from the boat. Due to fishing in the dark calm waters are a must. That being said if the lake is too rough to fish most nights we have the option of going to the Oswego or Black River. These are a nice option over cancelling the trip.
From mid September through the end of October I offer trips on the drift boat on the Salmon, Oswego, and Black River. Salmon River trips are day time trips starting well before daylight in order to get our spot. Oswego and Black River salmon trips can be morning, evening, or night as it is legal to fish after dark on these rivers.
Not matter which time or place you choose one this is for sure, we will be fishing and not snagging. I specialize in doing it right and getting them to bite. We may not hook the numbers you hear others bragging about but you will quickly learn you get much more enjoyment from catching them the right way. There are multiple techniques I use to do this. Trolling or casting lures, casting and stripping large flashy streamers if you want to fly fish, or float fishing with skein.