Kings in the St.Lawence

[rolmops]

I just googled "Kings in the St.Lawrence river" and the AI came up with the answer that there is a self sustaining population of kings that has originally come out of Lake Ontario , but now migrates within the the St. Lawrence and I presume the Atlantic ocean. They are described as an invasive species, although the article does not mention that they compete with atlantic salmon. According to the article they are found all the way to Messina,NY and Cornwall,ON

Has anyone here caught or heard of Kings being caught in the St. Lawrence east of the dams?

Edited December 25, 2025 by rolmops

[LongLine]

I found AI to be wrong about a few things.  I'm not aware of Kings traveling too far up the St Lawrence but it's possible as Atlantics have been accused of doing it.

 

As to the Atlantic Ocean, Kings have been caught in the southern half of Argentina but I highly doubt any have come up to the Northern hemisphere.  Atlantic Ocean too different than Pacific.  I.E. Temp, salinity, current etc in North not hospitable for Kings. 

[HB2]

I was fishing Musky / pike around the Thousand islands Park about First week October  20 years ago . I saw some big fish jump next to the boat and they were Kings . Got a real good look at them . 

[fisherman777]

I've seen kings all the way up at the Madrid dam on the grasse river in the fall. Must be a naturalized population in there. 

[Sk8man]

My hunch is that there is a better chance that Atlantics are heading for the Atlantic ocean via the St. Lawrence/Hudson River route which could help explain the usual limited catch rates if they are truly surviving in numbers in Lake O

[rolmops]

On 12/28/2025 at 3:35 PM, Sk8man said:

My hunch is that there is a better chance that Atlantics are heading for the Atlantic ocean via the St. Lawrence/Hudson River route which could help explain the usual limited catch rates if they are truly surviving in numbers in Lake O

There is a fairly healthy population of Atlantic salmon in the St. Lawrence. Mostly brought back by the Canadians utilizing the Ottawa River and the Canadian Maritimes. It seems not connected to the Lake Ontario population, but sooner or later they will start intermingling.

[GAMBLER]

13 hours ago, rolmops said:

There is a fairly healthy population of Atlantic salmon in the St. Lawrence. Mostly brought back by the Canadians utilizing the Ottawa River and the Canadian Maritimes. It seems not connected to the Lake Ontario population, but sooner or later they will start intermingling.

I wouldn't call any Atlantic population in the Lake Ontario system "healthy".  

[Gill-T]

I would think there is VERY little fish input coming from the Atlantic as the amount of locks required to navigate above the falls seems daunting.