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Cayuga Lake is the longest of Finger Lakes, being just over 38 miles long, with a maximum depth of 435 feet. In a few spots the lake is almost 2 miles wide. Cayuga Lake is home to a wide variety of fish species including lake trout, brown trout, rainbow trout, landlocked salmon, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, yellow perch, northern pike, chain pickerel, rock bass, crappie, sunfish, bullheads, bowfin, white suckers, channel catfish, lake sturgeon, carp, alewives and smelt.
The two primary species of bass inhabiting N.Y. State waters are smallmouth and largemouth bass. Both species may be found in most all of the states lakes and rivers. The average bass caught is between 1 and 5 pounds, but there are many fish taken every year over 5 pounds. Bass fisherman by majority are a catch and release group so that affords this species a bit more protection than they would other wise receive.
The state wide size limit on bass is 12 inches in length and a daily creel limit of 5. Open season on bass is the 3rd Saturday in June through November 30th.The state record largemouth bass was caught by John L. Higbie he was using a spinnerbait fishing in Buckhorn Lake on 09/11/87. This majestic fish weighed an amazing 11 lb. 04oz. The state record smallmouth bass was caught by Andrew C. Kartesz on Jig and Grub Tail from Lake Erie on 06/04/95. This incredible fish weighed 8 lb. 4oz.
Smallmouth bass prefer deeper and colder water than largemouth bass which enables both species to coexist in the same environment without competing directly against each other. In rivers they prefer the faster moving water and will be found around large boulder or bridge abutments. Largemouth on the other hand prefer shallower and more turbid water and are often found in weedbeds and around fallen timber in the slower moving stretches of rivers.
Both species will feed on minnows, crayfish, insects, worms, snails, frogs, or most anything that they can catch and swallow. This is one reason so many fisherman love bass fishing, because they are fairly easy to catch and will hit most any lure that invades their space.
Tackle for bass fishing is as simple as you want it to be, or can be as complex as you want with many tournament fisherman having 5 or 6 rods all rigged with different lines and lures for certain fishing conditions. Most any medium action rod 6 foot in length and spooled with 10 or 12 pound test line would be sufficient for most fishing conditions.
Lake Ontario and Lake Erie offer some of the states most fantastic smallmouth bass fishing. The bays along Lake Ontario also offer some great largemouth fishing, but the best largemouth bass fishing is in the Finger Lakes with Cayuga, Keuka, and Seneca Lake being the number one choices. Lake Champlain, Black Lake, Chautauqua Lake, and many of the reservoirs outside oy New York City offers some trophy bass fishing as well.
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