Fish On! One Million New Salmon Hitting New York Waters In 2023!

Salmon are some of the best fresh water gamefish in the world. If you have ever had a 25-pound Chinook Salmon ripping line from your reel, you would know why they boast that reputation.

Get our free mobile app

New York is fortunate enough to be the home of some world-class salmon fishing, thanks to a concerted effort by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. If salmon fishing has ever interested you, this should be the year that you try it out.

According to Steve Featherstone of newyorkupstate.com, anglers can expect an optimistic fishing forecast. “It’s looking good,” Chris Legard, the Lake Ontario unit leader for the DEC Bureau of Fisheries told syracuse.com. “We’re looking forward to the 2023 fishing season and expect that salmon trout fishing in Lake Ontario will be excellent again this year.”

Featherstone reported that more salmon will be stocked in New York waters in 2023. In an agreement between the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, there will be a 10% increase in Chinook salmon stocking in Lake Ontario this year. Increasing the number of stocked fish isn't done without careful consideration.

Featherstone noted that the decision to increase salmon stocks was based primarily on Lake Ontario's booming alewife population. Alewife is a type of herring and is the primary diet for Lake Ontario salmon and trout. Does that mean that the world famous Salmon River will be getting additional fish? “We already stock the Salmon River hatchery with 300,000 Chinook salmon, considerably more fish than the other sites get,” Legard said told syrause.com. From the number of salmon pulled from the Pulaski shores each year, that number may be plenty. Here's to tight lines and safe fishing this year!