Little Salmon River (Lake Ontario)
# Little Salmon River (Lake Ontario)

The Little Salmon River is a tributary of Lake Ontario located in Oswego County, New York. The river enters Lake Ontario approximately four miles (6.4 km) southwest from the mouth of the Salmon River.

The river was known by the Iroquois as Cas-son-ta-che-go-na, translated as "river of great bark" or "large pieces of bark lying down, ready for building". In addition to its current name, the stream was historically known as Salmon Creek or Little Salmon Creek. The current name was officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names in 1905.

## Course

The Little Salmon River drains an approximately 85-square-mile (220 $km^2)$ watershed, which is primarily agricultural and residential in nature.

The river rises at the confluence of the North Branch Little Salmon River and South Branch Little Salmon River in the eastern part of the town of Mexico, west of the village of Parish. From there, the river flows northwest through the village of Mexico and the hamlet of Texas before emptying into Lake Ontario at Mexico Point.

## Sportfishing

The lower Little Salmon River provides habitat for a variety of resident fish species, including brown bullhead, white suckers, rock bass, largemouth bass, and northern pike. In addition, several lake-dwelling species enter the Little Salmon River during annual spawning runs in the fall, including Chinook salmon, coho salmon, steelhead, and brown trout. In 2015, 3,410 six-inch-long (15 cm) steelhead were stocked in the river by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

The majority of the river is privately owned, and fishing access to the river is limited to Mexico Point State Park and the Mexico Point Boat Launch, both located near the mouth of the Little Salmon River.

