Northwest of Rochester, Braddock Bay is busy year-round. The small bay on Lake Ontario is home to crappies, bullhead, northern pike, and both smallmouth and largemouth bass. Because Braddock is shallow, it routinely freezes over in winter. Ice fishing for perch is especially popular. The Braddock Bay Fish and Wildlife Management Area also draws flocks of birdwatchers who arrive semiannually for the waterfowl migrations in spring and fall.
Just downstream of beautiful Lower Falls, the Genesee River is one of the premier spots in the Rochester area for salmon and trout. Best access is at the end of St. Paul Boulevard, in nearby Summerville, where anglers gather to shore fish with tied flies and live bait. If you plan to fish the Genesee in waders, be aware that water release by local utilities can cause river levels to fluctuate dramatically and dangerously. If you hear the warning horn, get out of the river.
At 4.5 miles in length and 80 feet in depth, Irondequoit Bay holds a lot of fish. Anglers typically fish from boats for smallmouth and largemouth bass, northern pike, bullhead and lake herring. Several marinas provide access. Emptying into the bay from the marshlands to the south, Irondequoit Creek is one the the best streams in New York State for catching brown and rainbow (steelhead) trout.
Oakta is a freestone creek, which is a fast, moving stream with a rocky bed, dependent on rain and annual snow melt for its water. Freestone creeks make ideal spawning grounds for trout, and Oatka is no exception. This wide stream -- averaging 50 feet across near the town of LeRoy -- is annually stocked with brown trout from the nearby Caledonia fish hatchery. Upstream from LeRoy, find a variety of sunfish, including crappies, bass and bullhead.
