August 3, 2004 William Francis and some friends from Philadelphia PA were out on Lake Ontario for a day of fantastic salmon fishing. They were fishing aboard the charter boat BUC-A-ROO with Captain Ron Penna. The fishing was fantastic as the photos show. The days catch consisted of King Salmon, Brown Trout, Steelhead, and Lake Trout.

   Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes that provide a border between Canada and United States. It is the 14th largest lake in the world. Lake Ontario is 193 miles long and 53 miles wide, with 726 miles of shoreline. Its average depth is 283 feet, and its maximum depth is over 800 feet. The main inlet is the Niagara River which is the outlet for Lake Erie. The only outlet for Lake Ontario is the St. Lawrence River that leads to the Atlantic Ocean.

   At one time the lake was nearly dead but in the last 30 years it has seen an amazing change. The severe pollution has stopped and the use of pesticides has been resolved. The DEC has been stocking trout and salmon for over 20 years now. It was hoped that someday they would establish a self sustaining population. The lake trout, brown trout and the steelhead do have a significant amount of natural reproduction, but not enough to stop the stocking programs. Very little reproduction of king salmon occurs naturally but coho salmon have had significant success on a few occasions.

  The NY state record king salmon weighed an amazing 47 lb. and 13oz. This awesome fish was caught by Kurtis L. Killian on a orange fly from the Salmon River September 07, 1991. Most salmon caught by NY anglers range from 15 to 35 pounds in weight, but there are some real line busters mixed in there as well.

   The lake now boast a healthy population of coldwater and warmwater gamefish and seems to be very healthy despite the invasion of the gobies and the zebra mussels. The lake provides drinking water and is a source of employment for many. Charter Captains, Marinas, boat manufactures, tackle shops, tourism, and the plain old beach crowd all benefit from this gift of nature.

  The brown trout is not a native species to NY waters. The brown trout were introduced to NY waters from Europe. The brown trout is able to survive and flourish in warmer waters that other trout species will not tolerate. This is one reason for its growing popularity among the anglers of NY.

   The brown trout can thrive in streams or lakes. They can with stand heavy fishing pressure better than the native trout species. The main reason for this is that brown trout are more active at night and can be hard to catch in the daytime. The biggest brown trout are caught after dark, or early in the morning especially during the summer months.

  The brown trout will feed on a variety of items. In streams they will feed on snails, crayfish and other small fish species. They will feed on a variety of insects including mayflies, caddisflies, and stoneflies when they are available. In the larger lakes they feed mostly on smelt and alewives. This is why they grow to such large sizes in the lakes.

  The brown trout in the Finger Lakes and Lake Ontario experience a phenomenal growth rate. They are able to utilize the colder water and venture in to warmer water that rainbow and lake trout do not feed in. The New York State record brown trout weighed 33 lb. 2oz. It was caught by Tony Brown on a Smithwick Rogue from Lake Ontario on June 10, 1997.

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