Every fall, Lake Ontario anglers watch the LOC Fall Derby leaderboard and wonder why their own spoon box is not producing. The 2026 derby just wrapped up, and the winning fish tell a clear story about depth, color, and retrieve. If you want to get in on Lake Ontario fall spoon fishing for salmon, trout, and steelhead, the winners already wrote the playbook. Here is how to read it and fish it.
On this page:
- What the 2026 winners used
- Why spoons still dominate in fall
- How to run a spoon program like the leaders
- Tackle that matches the pattern
- When to switch from trolling to jigging
One shop pick that fits the vertical spoon pattern
For the vertical side of this bite, the Livingston Lures EBS Jigging Spoon is the closest fit currently available from Shorette's. It is an active, in-stock jigging spoon priced at $14.99. Use it when fish are grouped tightly enough that you can stay over them, especially around deeper structure where a controlled lift-and-fall presentation makes more sense than covering miles of water.
This is not a substitute for the exact trolling spoons named by the derby winners, and we will not pretend it is. For a trolling spread, bring proven Lake Ontario-size spoons in the color families below. For a vertical presentation, the Livingston is the relevant option in our current online inventory.
What the 2026 winners actually used
The $20,000 grand prize went to Jack MacDowall of Hancock with a 30-pound, 13-ounce king salmon caught on the second day of the derby. His crew was running an NK Frostbite Spoon. That is not a fluke. Kings staging before the run want a fast, flashy target that looks like an alewife or smelt pushing through cold water.
Lisa Winch of North Tonawanda took the top brown trout, an 18-pound fish, while jigging with her husband Wade at the Niagara Bar. Their bait was a gold spoon. Brown trout hugging structure near the Bar will chase a spoon vertically jigged just off bottom, especially when the current stacks bait along the drop.
Chett Wearley of Atwater, Ohio ended up leading the steelhead division with a 16-pound silver caught out of Point Breeze on a Raspberry Carbon-14 Moonshine spoon. That color has become a late-season staple on the south shore when fish are keyed in on small baitfish and the water turns over.
Why spoons still dominate in fall
Fall on Lake Ontario is a moving target. One day fish are 40 feet down over 80 feet of water; the next day they are hugging bottom in 200 feet after a northeast blow. Spoons cover that entire range because you can troll them, jig them, or run them behind divers and riggers.
The lake is full of baitfish that are thinning out and getting pushed around by wind and current. A spoon flashes, wobbles, and sends out a vibration that reads like a wounded alewife or smelt. That is exactly what a king, brown, or steelhead is looking for before winter locks in.
The leaders this year were not doing anything exotic. They were matching the forage size, keeping the speed honest, and changing color with the light. Overcast mornings favor glow and white patterns. As the sun climbs, chrome, UV, and natural alewife finishes take over. In low, dirty water, gold and raspberry stand out.
How to run a spoon program like the leaders
Depth
Captains out of Wilson were catching mature kings and browns from 40 to 80 feet of water, with other boats finding fish out to 200 feet. Fish can be anywhere from 30 feet down to the bottom depending on temperature. Run riggers from 60 to 100 feet down and let divers out 80 to 130 clicks on a No. 3 setting, or farther if you are fishing deeper water.
Speed and action
A spoon needs to wobble, not spin. Most guys troll between 2.2 and 2.8 mph for kings and steelhead. If your spoon is blowing out, speed up slightly or switch to a narrower spoon. For brown trout jigged at the Niagara Bar, lift the rod 12 to 18 inches and let the spoon flutter back on a semi-slack line. Most hits come on the fall.
Color rotation
Carry four color families: glow white for low light, chrome or UV for bright sun, green alewife or hulk for clear water, and gold or raspberry for stained water. The derby winners hit on frostbite, gold, and raspberry. That is your starting lineup.
Rods, line, and terminal tackle
For trolling, a 8- to 9-foot medium-heavy rod with a line-counter reel loaded with 20- to 30-pound-test main line gets the job done. Run a 15- to 20-foot fluorocarbon leader and a good ball-bearing snap swivel to keep line twist down. For jigging, I like a 7-foot-6-inch medium-heavy fast-action rod, 15- to 20-pound-test braided line, and a 10- to 15-foot fluorocarbon leader in 12- to 15-pound test. Tie direct or use a small snap, and check your knot after every big fish.
When to switch from trolling to jigging
Most of the derby money fish came off trolled spoons, but Lisa Winch’s brown trout came on a jigged gold spoon. That matters. When fish stack on a hard bottom edge or in an eddy, vertical jigging lets you stay on them and feel every tick. Watch your sonar for tight arches sitting just off bottom or bait clouds pinned to structure.
Use a 1/2- to 1-ounce spoon in light current, and a 1- to 2-ounce spoon in deeper water or heavier drift. Keep your line as vertical as possible. If you feel a bow forming, add weight or slow the drift. The best jigging spots on the lower river are slower-moving drifts and eddy areas where you can feel the bait without fighting a big bow in the line.
Summary
Lake Ontario fall spoon fishing for salmon, brown trout, and steelhead is not about secret lures. The 2026 LOC Fall Derby winners proved it is about reading the water, fishing the right depth, and rotating colors with the conditions. Start with frostbite, gold, and raspberry patterns, run riggers 60 to 100 feet down and divers out 80 to 130 clicks, and do not be afraid to drop a jigging spoon when fish stack on structure.
Before you head out, check our free Fishing Intelligence tool for a live weather, tactics, and gear report built for your water.
Stop by Shorette's Bait & Tackle and we will help you rig the right spoon box for the fall LOC pattern. We have been on this lake a long time, and we would rather see you come back with a story than sell you something you do not need.