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Best landlocked salmon lakes in New York

15 New York waters hold landlocked salmon, 11 mapped with real state-agency depth surveys. Ranked below by size and depth-data quality — open any water to see exactly where to fish it: depth contours, scored spots with plain-English reasons, seasonal windows and bait picks. Lake-dwelling Atlantic salmon that lives and dies by the smelt run. Ice-out surface fishing at its finest.

1. Lake Champlain — 392 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
2. Cayuga Lake — 435 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Crappie
3. Lake Ontario — Oswego and Mexico Bay — 630 ft max · Chinook Salmon, Coho Salmon, Steelhead, Lake Trout
4. Lake Ontario — Niagara Bar and Western Shore — 584 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Yellow Perch, Chinook Salmon
5. Lake Ontario — Rochester Shore — 723 ft max · Chinook Salmon, Coho Salmon, Steelhead, Lake Trout
6. Keuka Lake — 187 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Crappie
7. Lake George — 187 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Crappie
8. Skaneateles Lake — 300 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Bluegill, Yellow Perch
9. Indian Lake — 88 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch, Lake Trout
10. Tupper Lake — 85 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch
11. Schroon Lake — 150 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Crappie
12. Raquette Lake — 95 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Yellow Perch, Lake Trout, Brook Trout
13. Otsego Lake — 166 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Bluegill
14. Chazy Lake — 78 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Yellow Perch, Lake Trout, Brook Trout
15. Meacham Lake — 65 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch, Brown Trout

When to fish landlocked salmon in New York

• Spring 1–15 ft — The legendary ice-out bite: salmon follow spawning smelt to tributary mouths and windblown shorelines, right on the surface.
• Summer 25–60 ft — Salmon hold just above the thermocline with the smelt schools — depth control decides the day.
• Fall 5–30 ft — Turnover scatters bait and salmon shallow; spawners stage off tributary mouths, hot-tempered and territorial.
• Winter 10–40 ft — Where winter seasons allow, salmon cruise for smelt under the ice — sewn bait near a drop is the classic set.

Also in New York: best largemouth bass lakes · best smallmouth bass lakes · best walleye lakes · best northern pike lakes · best crappie lakes · best bluegill lakes · best channel catfish lakes · best rainbow trout lakes · best yellow perch lakes · best common carp lakes · best chinook salmon lakes · best steelhead lakes · best lake trout lakes · best brown trout lakes · best brook trout lakes · best chain pickerel lakes · best rock bass lakes · best white perch lakes · best pumpkinseed lakes · best brown bullhead lakes

Landlocked Salmon elsewhere: New Hampshire · Maine