Fishes Cayuga Lake, Salmon River
Tailwater · Eastern Lake Ontario · New York
Salmon River Fishing Guides
The Lake Ontario tributary that draws anglers from every state in the fall, running seventeen miles from the Lighthouse Hill reservoir through Altmar and Pineville to Pulaski and the lake.
Map of the Salmon River
31 numbered points: 13 access points, 3 bait & fly shops, 4 bridges, 4 parks and conservation areas, 1 agency office, 4 regulation section limits, 1 hazard, 1 USGS gauge. Tap a marker for details. Reviewed Sep 22, 2026.
- Access / boat ramp (13)
- Bait, tackle & fly shop (3)
- Bridge crossing (4)
- Park / conservation area (4)
- Agency / conservation office (1)
- Regulation section limit (4)
- Dam / hazard (1)
- USGS gauge (1)
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Points are curated from OpenStreetMap and state agency sources; confirm access and hours before you go.
Print it. Bag it. Bring it.Phones die, screens crack, and most of this water has no signal. Print this map, fold it into a zip-top bag or dry bag with your license, and you have a backup your electronics can’t give you. Every marker is numbered so you can say exactly where you are.
Open the printable mapAll 31 points on this map
| # | Point | Type | Lat, Lon | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lighthouse Hill Dam Brookfield Renewable - head of the fishery | Dam / hazard | 43.52452, -75.97022 | The tailrace below the dam is the top of the fishable river and the upper limit of DEC's Upper Fly Section. Releases here drive the whole river; read the Pineville gauge before you commit to a float. |
| 2 | Upper Fly access NYSDEC parking, County Route 22 | Access / boat ramp | 43.51976, -75.97865 | DEC's Upper Fly access, named on two independent grounds: it is the Route 22 site DEC lists, and the 0.6-mile walk down from the tailrace that fixes the Upper Fly Section's lower limit lands on this lot to within 10 m. |
| 3 | Upper Fly Section - lower limit Marked boundary above the hatchery | Regulation section limit | 43.52088, -75.98112 | DEC's Upper Fly Section runs 0.6 mile from the Lighthouse Hill tailrace to a marked boundary above the hatchery property. Walked along the measured centreline it falls at the Route 22 lot. Boundary only - read DEC's current rules. |
| 4 | Public fishing rights parking - County Route 22 NYSDEC, lower Route 22 lot | Access / boat ramp | 43.51760, -75.98192 | The second of two DEC lots on Route 22. DEC names Paradise Pool on this road but publishes no coordinate for it, so this lot is not christened. |
| 5 | Salmon River Fish Hatchery NYSDEC - Altmar | Agency / conservation office | 43.50648, -75.98647 | The hatchery that stocks this river and much of the Lake Ontario tributary system, with a public viewing area during the fall run. It sits 0.9 km off the river on Route 22. |
| 6 | Lower Fly Section - upper limit at Beaverdam Brook Marked boundary at the brook mouth | Regulation section limit | 43.50920, -75.99877 | Beaverdam Brook's own mapped geometry meets the measured centreline at this point. The brook and its tributaries are a separate closed area from their mouths up to the hatchery property boundary. Boundaries only - read DEC's current rules. |
| 7 | Lower Fly access and drift-boat launch NYSDEC, Bridge Street (CR 52), Altmar | Access / boat ramp | 43.51181, -76.00125 | DEC's Lower Fly access and one of the river's three drift-boat launches, at the County Route 52 bridge in Altmar. A second DEC lot sits 130 m downstream on the same street and is not shown separately. |
| 8 | Lower Fly Section - lower limit, County Route 52 bridge Bridge Street bridge, Altmar | Regulation section limit | 43.51225, -76.00142 | The CR 52 bridge closes the Lower Fly Section and opens the long reach below it. Measured 0.243 mile below the Beaverdam Brook boundary against DEC's published 0.25. Boundaries only. |
| 9 | Malinda's Fly, Spey and Tackle Shop 3 Pulaski St, Altmar | Bait, tackle & fly shop | 43.51152, -76.00233 | Fly, spey and tackle 110 m below the CR 52 bridge, across from the Lower Fly zone, which is how the shop describes itself. Live site with hours and listed seasonal in Oswego County's guide, but the page is dated - call ahead. |
| 10 | Public fishing rights parking - Bridge Street NYSDEC, above Altmar | Access / boat ramp | 43.52367, -76.00792 | One of three DEC lots on Bridge Street. DEC names Altmar North and Ellis Cove on this stretch without coordinates, so this lot is not christened. |
| 11 | Public fishing rights parking - Rome Branch NYSDEC, Rome Branch | Access / boat ramp | 43.52423, -76.02106 | DEC publishes two parking areas on Rome Branch within 200 m of each other; shown once here. Rome Branch is the old rail grade, but the mapped rail crossings are 9 km downstream on another line, so no Trestle Pool name is assigned. |
| 12 | Trestle Pool (North) NYSDEC parking, Sheepskin Road | Access / boat ramp | 43.53108, -76.03595 | The only DEC lot on Sheepskin Road and the only DEC site listed on that road, sitting immediately above Pineville exactly as DEC's own ordering implies. |
| 13 | Pineville access and drift-boat launch NYSDEC, County Route 48 bridge | Access / boat ramp | 43.53088, -76.03767 | DEC's Pineville access and the middle of the river's three drift-boat launches, at the County Route 48 crossing. The USGS gauge is at the same crossing. |
| 14 | USGS gauge 04250200 - Salmon River at Pineville Real-time flow and stage | USGS gauge | 43.53119, -76.03769 | The gauge that governs this river. Releases from Lighthouse Hill show up here first; read it before a float and again before wading the lower river. |
| 15 | Lower Salmon River State Forest NYSDEC - Orwell, Albion and Richland | Park / conservation area | 43.53418, -76.03581 | About 1,700 acres along the middle river, acquired in the National Grid settlement, and the reason so much of this stretch is walk-in public water. |
| 16 | Public fishing rights parking - Riverside Pointe Drive NYSDEC, below Pineville | Access / boat ramp | 43.53964, -76.06184 | A DEC lot below Pineville. DEC's Fishing Museum and Sportsman Pool South sites are on Route 13 nearby with no coordinates published, so this lot is not christened. |
| 17 | Public fishing rights parking - State Highway 13 NYSDEC, Pineville | Access / boat ramp | 43.53455, -76.06155 | Route 13 carries three DEC-named sites - Trestle Pool South, the Fishing Museum and Sportsman Pool South - and the state publishes no coordinate for any of them, so this lot ships unnamed. |
| 18 | Public fishing rights parking - Centerville Road NYSDEC, County Route 2A crossing | Access / boat ramp | 43.55032, -76.09290 | Centerville Road is County Route 2A, and DEC lists two sites on it - Sportsman Pool North and the Compactor Pool drift-boat launch - with no coordinates for either, so neither name is assigned. The CR 2A bridge is 100 m away. |
| 19 | Whitaker's Sports Store and Motel 3707 State Route 13, Pulaski | Bait, tackle & fly shop | 43.55284, -76.11072 | The landmark shop on this river, trading as store and motel at one address, which is why OpenStreetMap carries it as the motel. Open: live store, daily river report, water temperature. All Seasons Sports is 80 m away at 3733 Route 13. |
| 20 | Fat Nancy's Tackle Shop 3750 State Route 13, Pulaski | Bait, tackle & fly shop | 43.55547, -76.11272 | Tackle shop 1.2 km below Whitaker's, with published seven-day hours and a river webcam. Confirmed trading in 2026. |
| 21 | St. Lawrence Subdivision rail bridge (upper) Rail deck above Pulaski | Bridge crossing | 43.55874, -76.11392 | Upper of two rail decks that cross within 400 m of each other above Pulaski village. |
| 22 | St. Lawrence Subdivision rail bridge (lower) Rail deck above Pulaski | Bridge crossing | 43.56357, -76.11701 | Lower of the two rail decks above Pulaski village. |
| 23 | River Walk, Pulaski Village riverside path | Park / conservation area | 43.56828, -76.12698 | The village path along the bank through the Pulaski pools. John Ben Snow Memorial Park, North Park and South Park all sit within 300 m of it and are not shown separately. |
| 24 | Salina Street (US 11) bridge, Pulaski Short Bridge Pool | Bridge crossing | 43.56564, -76.12902 | DEC lists both its Ballpark and Short Bridge Pool accesses on Route 11 in Pulaski; this is the Route 11 crossing. The Black Hole is below here, between North Jefferson and Bridge Streets. |
| 25 | South Jefferson Street bridge - Long Bridge Pool The Staircase | Bridge crossing | 43.56363, -76.13018 | DEC's Long Bridge Pool and Staircase access, the one Pulaski site whose road match is unique. |
| 26 | Public fishing rights parking - Riverview Drive NYSDEC, below Pulaski | Access / boat ramp | 43.56893, -76.13742 | A DEC lot on Riverview Drive below the village. No DEC-named site matches this road uniquely, so it ships unnamed. |
| 27 | Port Ontario access NYSDEC, Route 3 crossing | Access / boat ramp | 43.57086, -76.18696 | DEC's Port Ontario access and the one wheelchair-accessible site on the river: a fishing and viewing platform and a walking path at the Route 3 parking area. The Route 3 crossing here is twin decks. |
| 28 | Selkirk Shores State Park New York State Parks - camping | Park / conservation area | 43.55590, -76.19677 | Campground, cabins and Lake Ontario shoreline 1.2 km south of the river mouth, and the usual base for a fall trip. |
| 29 | Unnamed slipway near the mouth Unnamed in OpenStreetMap | Access / boat ramp | 43.56728, -76.20322 | A slipway 0.5 km off the line above the mouth. A reverse geocode puts it on a park road inside Selkirk Shores State Park rather than on Pine Grove Road, so DEC's Pine Grove launch is not assigned to it. |
| 30 | Heckle Island State land, lower river | Park / conservation area | 43.56893, -76.20021 | The wooded island that splits the river above the mouth. |
| 31 | Lower river reach - lower limit at the mouth Upstream-most navigation buoy | Regulation section limit | 43.57781, -76.20467 | DEC's reach below the County Route 52 bridge ends at the upstream-most navigation buoy between the breakwalls at Port Ontario. Boundaries only - read DEC's current rules. |
Guides on the Salmon River
Claimed profiles take booking requests. Unclaimed profiles are built from public records so the river is never empty; the guide can claim or remove one any time.
About the Salmon River
The Salmon River is the busiest salmon and steelhead fishery east of the Rockies, and it earns the traffic. Chinook run in from Lake Ontario beginning in late August, coho and Atlantic salmon mix in through the fall, and steelhead follow them and stay all winter and into April. Seventeen miles of river between the Lighthouse Hill Reservoir and the lake at Port Ontario hold the whole show, and much of it is public.
The river reads in sections. The upper fly-fishing-only water at Altmar and the Douglaston Salmon Run at the mouth are the two best-known reaches, one public and one private-access by day fee. Between them, Pineville, the Schoolhouse Pool, Ellis Cove and the Sportsman Pool carry most of the pressure. Guides here run drift boats on the lower river and walk-and-wade trips up top, and a good one is worth every dollar in October, when knowing which pool has fresh fish saves a day.
Flow is controlled. Brookfield Renewable releases from Lighthouse Hill on a published schedule, and the river sits at either the low release near 185 cfs or the high release near 335 cfs for most of the season, with occasional recreational whitewater releases much higher. Steelhead anglers generally prefer the higher number for moving fish and the lower one for sight fishing clear winter water. A rain event on top of a release is what pushes fresh fish in.
Pulaski is the base and it is a fishing town in the plainest sense, with motels, shops and diners that open at four in the morning in October. Book lodging early for the salmon run, dress for lake-effect weather, and expect company.
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The photo at the top of this page is not Salmon River.
It is a regional stand-in, honestly captioned but generic — we will not put a name to a river we cannot prove. Send us a photograph you took here and it replaces the stand-in, with your credit on it.
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Access
Lower Reservoir and Altmar: top of the river, the upper fly-fishing-only section.
Pineville Access: state access at the gauge, parking and a long public reach.
Schoolhouse Pool and Sportsman Pool: classic public pools between Altmar and Pineville.
Ellis Cove and Trestle Pool: mid-river state fishing access with parking.
Pulaski town water and Black Hole: public access through the village.
Douglaston Salmon Run: private lower-river access, daily fee, two miles above the lake.
Port Ontario and the Salmon River Estuary: boat access at the mouth.
Seasons
Late August through October: chinook and coho, the heaviest run and the heaviest crowds.
October and November: coho, Atlantic salmon and the first steelhead; the best mixed-bag month.
December through March: winter steelhead, cold and quiet, drift boats and float fishing.
April: spring steelhead and drop-back fish, then the river goes quiet until late summer.
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Questions
What is the current flow on the Salmon River?
As of Oct 19, 3:15 am, the USGS gauge SALMON RIVER AT PINEVILLE NY reads 232 cfs, the 9th percentile for this date. Conditions update every 15 minutes.
What species can you catch on the Salmon River?
Anglers target Atlantic Salmon, Brown Trout, Chinook Salmon, Coho Salmon, Steelhead on the Salmon River in New York.
Are there fishing guides on the Salmon River?
GuidedFloats lists 1 guide and outfitters on the Salmon River. Claimed profiles accept booking requests; unclaimed profiles are built from public records and link to the business.
Where can you access the Salmon River?
Lower Reservoir and Altmar: top of the river, the upper fly-fishing-only section. Pineville Access: state access at the gauge, parking and a long public reach. Schoolhouse Pool and Sportsman Pool: classic public pools between Altmar and Pineville. Ellis Cove and Trestle Pool: mid-river state fishing access with parking. Pulaski town water and Black Hole: public access through the village. Douglaston Salmon Run: private lower-river access, daily fee, two miles above the lake. Port Ontario and the Salmon River Estuary: boat access at the mouth.
When is the best time to fish the Salmon River?
Late August through October: chinook and coho, the heaviest run and the heaviest crowds. October and November: coho, Atlantic salmon and the first steelhead; the best mixed-bag month. December through March: winter steelhead, cold and quiet, drift boats and float fishing. April: spring steelhead and drop-back fish, then the river goes quiet until late summer.
Where are the fishing regulations for the Salmon River?
Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the New York agency site: https://dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/freshwater-fishing/regulations