Hand / carry-in launch · Lake Ontario · New York

LaSalles Landing Park

A public hand / carry-in launch on Lake Ontario / Irondequoit Bay in Penfield, Monroe County, New York. Managed by Municipal.

Directions All Ontario launches

The launch

What the agency lists

Launch type: Hand / carry-in launch — hand launch
Water: Lake Ontario/Irondequoit Bay
Parking: 6 cars
Fee: Not published in the source — ask the manager
Managed by: Municipal
Location: Penfield, Monroe County, New York
Coordinates: 43.1763° N, 77.5258° W

Before you launch

Lake Ontario is big water

Creek-mouth launches depend on lake level and sand. Some shoal in low water, and the DEC notes where that is a known problem. Out front, the lake is deep and cold close to shore, and a north or west wind stacks waves at the harbor entrances.

Lake-effect snow squalls off the east end. Oswego and Tug Hill can get several feet in a day, and a squall can arrive on a boat ramp with almost no warning in November.
Deep water very close to shore on the south side, which means fish are far offshore in summer — 8 to 15 mile runs are normal and the weather can change during them.
Strong current and standing water at the Niagara Bar. The river outflow meets lake water and creates real hydraulics; small boats get into trouble there in wind against current.

Read how to read a Great Lakes marine forecast and trailering and launching on big water. Pack the big-water safety kit.

From this launch

What to fish on Lake Ontario

Our Ontario fishing guides name spots at or near Irondequoit Bay and Penfield:

Brown Trout · Late March through May, with a second window in October and November near the river mouths

Brown Trout Fishing on Lake Ontario

Irondequoit Bay and Sodus Bay outlets: Bay outlets warm faster than the lake and hold browns in early spring within a few hundred yards of the channel.

Northern Pike · May through June, September until ice-up, and December through mid-March through the ice

Lake Ontario Northern Pike: Chaumont Bay, Henderson Harbor & the South-Shore Bays

Braddock Bay and Irondequoit Bay: Rochester's two bays. NYSDEC calls Braddock Bay's spring and summer fishing for trophy northerns outstanding, and Irondequoit Bay a year-round pike fishery, open water and ice. Launches at Rochester, Irondequoit and Penfield.

Yellow Perch · September through November open water; January through February on bay ice

Yellow Perch Fishing on Lake Ontario

Irondequoit Bay: Just east of Rochester. Deep for a bay — over 70 ft in the middle — with perch stacked on the 18–28 ft slopes in late fall and through the ice.

Chinook Salmon · Mid-June through mid-September, peaking with the staging fish off Oswego and Mexico Bay in late August

Chinook Salmon Fishing on Lake Ontario

Pound for pound Lake Ontario produces the biggest chinook in the Great Lakes, and a 25-pound fish here is a good day rather than a career fish. The offshore run is shorter than Lake Michigan's and the south-shore ports put you over 400 feet of water within a few miles.

Coho Salmon · Late July through September, concentrated in the eastern basin

Coho Salmon Fishing on Lake Ontario

Coho are the second salmon on Lake Ontario, not the first, and most anglers catch them incidentally on a chinook program. The exception is late summer in the eastern basin, where maturing coho gather off the Salmon River and Oswego River mouths in numbers worth targeting on purpose.

Lake Trout · May and June shallow, July through September deep, with a fall concentration on the eastern shoals

Lake Trout Fishing on Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario has more lake trout than most of the boats out there are trying to catch, because the fleet is chasing chinook. Drop one rigger to the bottom in 120 to 200 feet along the south shore or fish the eastern basin shoals off Galloo Island and you will find them all summer.

Muskellunge Smallmouth Bass Steelhead Walleye

Ontario by season

SpringBrown trout on the Bar and along the beach SummerKings offshore, deep and heavy FallThe Salmon River, and the biggest event on the chain WinterTributaries stay open, the lake mostly does

Next ramp over

Nearest Ontario launches

Irondequoit Bay State Marine Park4.0 mi · trailer ramp · NY
Port of Rochester Marina6.8 mi · trailer ramp · NY
Greece DEC/Municipal launch8.2 mi · hand / carry-in launch · NY
Rochester DEC launch13 mi · hand / carry-in launch · NY
Hamlin DEC launch22 mi · trailer ramp · NY
Hamlin Beach State Park24 mi · hand / carry-in launch · NY

Straight-line distance, not a boating route.

Landmarks from the water

Lighthouses nearby

Charlotte-Genesee Lighthouse6.8 mi · deactivated

Camp or picnic

State parks nearby

Irondequoit Bay State Marine Park3.9 mi

Source

Launch facts are from the NYSDEC, Boat Launch Sites for Monroe County, retrieved 2026-10-05. Ramps close for repairs, fees change and water levels move; confirm with Municipal before you tow. Fishing rules are set by theNYSDEC.

Chart shoreline generalized from Natural Earth (public domain). Not for navigation. Something wrong or missing? Write to contact@greatamericanlakes.com.

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