Fish stocking in the New York
waters of Lake Ontario in 2016 included approximately 1.88 million Chinook
salmon, 316,000 coho salmon, 662,170 rainbow trout, 495,620 brown trout,
156,270 Atlantic salmon, 384,250 lake trout, and 68,250 walleye. Fall 2016 Chinook and coho salmon egg
collections exceeded targets, and fish survival has been good to date.
Total estimated angler effort for all tributaries in
2015-2016 was 989,437 angler hours, down considerably from the 1,582,428 hours
in 2011-2012, but similar to other surveys (999,182 hours in 2005/06 and
910,413 hours for 2006/07). The Salmon River accounted for 74 % of all angler
effort.
Eighteen of 21 tributaries surveyed had reported catches of
Chinook salmon. The estimated catch
and harvest of Chinook salmon on all tributaries surveyed in fall 2015 was
43,589 and 13,740, respectively; markedly lower than previous surveys.
Coho salmon were caught in eight of the 21
tributaries surveyed, with a total of 6,061 fish caught. The Salmon River
accounted for 95% of the catch (5,738) and 89% of the harvest (2,307). 
The estimated steelhead
catch from all tributaries combined totaled 48,893 in 2015-2016 (from 11 of 21
tributaries), the lowest catch to date. The Salmon River again produced the
highest estimated number of steelhead caught with 25,170 fish. The
release rate for steelhead was 88% on the Salmon River and 85% for all
tributaries combined.
Brown trout on the Salmon River were fairly scarce
in 2015/16, with an estimated 372 caught.
The percentages of wild Chinook salmon returning to NY tributaries (for the 4 years classes studied; 2008-2011) to spawn at ages 2 and 3, varied among regions, averaging 7.5% wild Chinook salmon in western region tributaries, 18% in eastern region tributaries and 58% in the Salmon River
Two points that stand out to me as good news are 1.) the numbers of steelhead being released back into the Salmon River, 88%, that is outstanding. It shows that this resource is valued by most anglers who utilize it.
2.) The number of wild Chinook salmon returning to the Salmon River 58%, awesome, just awesome.
We have a tremendous fishery here and I am look forward to each day I have the chance to fish it.
Tight lines
