Lake Ontario Sport Fishing
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Lake Ontario offers world class fishing opportunities that everyone can enjoy! Our Lake Ontario fishing charters are based out of Henderson Harbor, and we fish Eastern Lake Ontario and its bays. These are fun, exciting trips that give anglers opportunities at both cold and warm water species! 6 Hour, 8 Hour, and 10 Hour Charters are available. Fishing for 2 days will give you the option to target both cold and warm water fish. Lodging, dining, and evening activities can be found right here in the harbor, with even more options close by! Contact us today and find out why we are "Hired To Fish"!
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Boat & Equipment
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The Fish
Whether it be cold water or warm water species, we have the experience and equipment to make our lines "connect" with a variety of fish found in Lake Ontario. Our season kicks off after ice out in April with spring Browns and then later moves into the Walleye, Pike, and Smallmouth Bass seasons. June through September are great months to troll the "Big Water" for Lake Trout and Salmon. Late season "staging" salmon can be taken from mid August through Mid September before they begin migrating into the rivers.
BROWN TROUT.........................April-August LAKE TROUT.............................May-September KING & COHO SALMON..........July-September WALLEYE..................................May-September SMALLMOUTH BASS...............June-September NORTHERN PIKE.....................May-June STEELHEAD TROUT................April-July |
Lake Ontario Salmon Fishing...
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Lake Ontario Salmon are the most sought after fish with our clientele...and for good reason! There is nothing quite like a mature King slamming a lure and peeling 100' of line or more on the strike! Our Chinook and Coho Salmon are full of energy and provide a fight that will never be forgotten! These fish are "finicky" by nature, and certain conditions increase or reduce our chances at boating multiple fish in a day. The challenge of the fish is what makes the fight, and the landing so rewarding! If Salmon are what your after, look to the months of July, August, and September to plan your trip!
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Lake Ontario Lake Trout...
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Probably the most common fish taken from any Lake Ontario charter boat. Our Lake Ontario Lake Trout are plentiful, often hungry, and provide an appetizing filet. If anyone has ever told you that Lake Trout do not taste good, then that person simply has no business in a kitchen. Captain Ben will tell you, "Don't insult the fish when the insult belongs to the cook"...These trout are a great target species for any cold water trip, and are often caught and targeted while we troll for Salmon. If the Salmon bite proves to be slow, often a limit of healthy Lake Trout can be achieved before the trips end. We successfully target Lake Trout from May through September. If your simply looking to "catch fish" then these are likely one of the fish we will be targeting!
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Lake Ontario Brown Trout...
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These fish are aggressive and often hungry! Lure selection and presentation are key to putting Browns in the cooler, but once they're dialed in it is non-stop action! Spring is the most advertised time-frame for Brown Trout fishing on Lake Ontario. However they are often overlooked and underfished during the summer months. We make it a point to locate and stay on these fish after the spring thaw and into the summer as they make a fantastic add-on to any Salmon or Lake Trout fishing trip! We often recommend booking an 8HR charter and these fish are one of the many reason why! We can often spend some time at the beginning or end of our full day fishing trips trolling for Browns to add fish and diversity to our cooler. This requires time to relocate in the summer months, so often this option is not available on our 6HR trips. Look to the month of May and early June to target these fish specifically in the shallows, and July/August as they move deeper to be caught along with our Salmon and Lake Trout!
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Lake Ontario Steelhead...
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We often refer to Steelhead as our "bonus fish" as they do not come in the quantity of the others. With that being said, if there is a chance that we can boat one of these fish, best believe we will have rods in the water specifically targeting them. In the spring, it is not uncommon to hook into Steelhead while trolling shallow water for Browns. Hook a mature Steelie on light trout tackle in the spring and you'll be in for a good ride!...In the summer months we will often run 1 or 2 rods higher in the water column as these fish suspend over the deeper waters of the lake. We will typically run copper or lead-core setups positioned away from the boat and above our Salmon and trout patterns.
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Lake Ontario Walleye...
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When people ask about our Walleye options the response they receive from us will always be the same...Of all the Great Lakes, Lake Ontario is not a "numbers" fishery but IT IS a "TROPHY" fishery! A good day fishing for eyes will often times land fish in the 7 to 9 lb range and 10lb+ Walleye are not an uncommon occurrence in the Eastern Basin of Lake Ontario! This is where we have the upper hand on our "South Shore" competitors. While they advertise Salmon and Trout, we advertise DIVERSITY!...May and June are popular and successful months for big eyes, but the months of August and September are often overlooked by many. These are great fish for multi-day charters in late summer as we can pair a walleye trip with a Salmon charter as these fish migrate back into our bays.
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Lake Ontario Northern Pike & Pickerel...
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The "Freshwater Gator" as we often call them! These toothy critters make for exciting action in the back bays during the months of May and June. Often times these fish are caught while fishing the back bays for spring Walleye. Both Northern Pike and Pickerel will aggressively attack the same lure patterns that we present for our Walleye which makes for a full, diverse cooler of fish. Back bay trips for warm-water fish such as these are the perfect outing for those with young children, or anglers who are concerned with sea-sickness. These trips are conducted right along the shoreline of our bays fishing shallow waters and structure, often not far from the docks of our marina! May, June, and September are the recommended months for our Northern Pike and Pickerel.
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Lake Ontario Bass Fishing...
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The Smallmouth Bass of Lake Ontario are fast becoming legend for their size! These are the fish that put Henderson NY on the map years ago! At 4-5lbs, what was once considered a "Trophy Bass" is now considered average! 7+ pound Bass are now commonly pulled out of our waters by anglers each year. On a plentiful day of Bass fishing the action alone is worth the price of admission and on a good day we will often return fish that are a few inches above the legal limit back into the waters. Although catch and release is common practice amongst Bass fisherman, these fish do make tasty filets and fish sandwiches and we take no shame in putting a knife to mature fish that will provide a healthy slab of meat! Our season for Bass begins the 3rd Saturday in June, and can provide angling opportunities throughout our entire fishing season!
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Lake Ontario Perch Fishing...
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Enjoy a comfortable trip jigging for Perch from our back bays! These fish are fun to catch and on a good day of jigging can produce multiple buckets of fish! If you have never enjoyed a good perch fry, then you are missing out on one of the best fish meals produced from freshwater! These trips are 6hr duration and conducted while anchored or drifting over schools, jigging with both live and artificial bait. All necessary bait and tackle is included on our perch trips, and it is the perfect charter for families and children! If the opportunity presents itself, we can switch our tackle to target smallmouth bass and walleye as well! Fish cleaning for up to 1/2 bucket of perch is included. A cleaning surcharge will be added to your trip if you choose to catch more.
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