New York Fishing Seasons: What to Catch Month by Month

New York’s fishing calendar is really two calendars running side by side. On the coast, everything is governed by the striped bass migration — fish arrive in spring, hold through summer, and run south in a spectacular autumn push. Inland, everything is governed by ice: the Adirondack ponds are frozen into April while Long Island anglers are already casting into surf. Knowing which calendar you’re on decides the trip. For the full overview, see our complete New York fishing guide.

Spring (March – May)

Saltwater

Spring is arrival season. Striped bass move north along the coast from April, with the first fish showing in the western Long Island Sound and the New York Bight, and the run building through May. Simultaneously, the Hudson River spawning run pushes fish upstream as far as Albany — one of only two major Atlantic spawning stocks, and genuine striper access for anglers nowhere near the ocean.

Bluefish follow shortly behind, and by late May the South Shore inlets are producing both. Winter flounder open the season in the back bays, and fluke arrive in the shallows toward the end of the period. This is the window when surfcasters on Fire Island and Jones Beach start fishing seriously again.

Freshwater

Trout season opens on April 1 across most of the state, and the Catskill rivers — Beaverkill, Willowemoc, Esopus — draw fly anglers for the early hatches. The Finger Lakes tributaries fire at the same time: Catherine Creek and the Cayuga Inlet host spring rainbow runs that are among the best-known small-water fisheries in the northeast.

Northern pike and walleye open in early May, and the shallow bays of Oneida, Great Sacandaga and the St. Lawrence produce well as fish move off spawning water. In the Adirondacks, ice-out comes late — many high ponds are not accessible until May, and brook trout fishing there really begins as the ice leaves, when fish cruise shallow and take a trolled streamer readily.

Summer (June – August)

Saltwater

Summer moves the saltwater fishery offshore and deeper. Fluke fishing peaks across the South Shore and the Peconics, and porgy and black sea bass fill the party-boat calendars. Striped bass are still available but shift to night fishing and deeper structure as inshore water warms — the Montauk rips and the Race hold fish through the heat.

The offshore fleet out of Montauk runs the canyons for yellowfin, bigeye and bluefin tuna, mahi and the occasional marlin. Shark fishing peaks in June and July, though it is now overwhelmingly catch-and-release and heavily regulated. This is the season that produced most of New York’s heaviest marine records.

Freshwater

Lake Ontario is the summer story. Chinook and coho salmon hold on the thermocline in 80 to 150 feet of water, and the charter fleets out of Oswego, Mexico Bay, Wilson and Olcott run downriggers and dipsy divers for kings into the thirties. It is the most productive open-water fishing in the state and it runs all summer.

Smallmouth fishing peaks on the St. Lawrence and Lake Erie — drop-shotting the shoals around Clayton and Alexandria Bay, or the deep structure out of Dunkirk and Barcelona, produces genuinely large fish through the warm months. Largemouth fishing is strong across the Finger Lakes and the Hudson backwaters.

Inland trout streams get difficult as water warms. Serious trout anglers move to the tailwaters — the Delaware system holds cold water through summer — or head into the Adirondacks where elevation keeps the ponds cool.

Autumn (September – November)

Saltwater

Autumn is the best fishing of the New York year and it is not close. The striped bass migration reverses, and from late September through November fish move south along the coast feeding heavily. The Montauk blitz — bass and bluefish driving bait to the surface with birds working above them — is the finest topwater fishing on the Atlantic seaboard, and it draws anglers from across the country.

The biggest bass of the year come from October and early November. Blackfish open on the wrecks and inlet structure and fish through December, and false albacore run the beaches in September and October for light-tackle anglers.

Freshwater

The Salmon River run is the largest freshwater event in New York. From mid-September, tens of thousands of chinook and coho push out of Lake Ontario and up the tributaries, and Pulaski becomes one of the busiest fishing towns in America. Chinook peak late September into October, coho slightly later, and by November steelhead and brown trout have taken over — the fish that then hold in the river all winter.

Muskellunge fishing peaks on the St. Lawrence in October and November as fish feed ahead of winter. Walleye return to shallow water and give up their best fishing of the year on Oneida and the St. Lawrence. Brook trout colour up for the spawn in the Adirondack ponds, and the fishing is excellent right until the season closes.

Winter (December – February)

Freshwater and Ice

Ice fishing is a full season in New York, not an afterthought. Oneida Lake ices reliably and supports heavy walleye and yellow perch traffic. The Adirondack lakes hold lake trout and northern pike through the ice, and Lake Champlain on the eastern border is among the best hard-water fisheries in the northeast.

The standout winter fishery is steelhead. The Salmon River holds fish all winter, and the lower Niagara River below the falls stays open and fishable in the coldest weather — drift boats work the gorge for steelhead, lake trout and brown trout when much of the state is locked up. It is the best cold-weather river fishing New York offers.

Saltwater

The marine season largely closes down. Blackfish continue on the wrecks into December where regulations allow, and a small number of holdover striped bass remain in the western Sound and the Hudson. Most saltwater anglers spend January and February rebuilding tackle and booking Montauk for October.

New York Fishing Calendar

★★★ = Peak season    ★★☆ = Good fishing    ★☆☆ = Slow, closed or limited

Key Fishing Seasons and Closures

Season dates in New York vary substantially by individual water. Many Adirondack ponds, Catskill rivers and Lake Ontario tributaries carry special regulations on top of the statewide dates, and marine regulations change annually. Check the current DEC rules for your specific water, and make sure your New York fishing licence and marine registry are in order.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources: NYSDEC — Freshwater Fishing Regulations. NYSDEC — Saltwater Fishing.