Fishing Bainbridge Reservoir in Chenango County, New York

• Overview

  Bainbridge Reservoir lies within the bounds of Chenango County, New York. The ground round it is lake country bush. It covers about 5 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. Our Chenango County list holds plenty of bigger water. Head to Bainbridge, 3.7 miles away, for anything you forgot. Syracuse sits 59 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. Rules can differ a short way off, since the county line is near.

• Where to Fish on Bainbridge Reservoir

  No depth figure appears in our records, so the bank has to tell you. Draw-down through summer strips the margins, so follow the water out. Inflow corners move water, and moving water gathers fish. County-wide records name white sucker, brown trout, brook trout, tessellated darter and margined madtom. County data is a starting point rather than a guarantee. Fish Bainbridge Reservoir where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-term averages put July at about 67°F and January near 20°F. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer and winter test it. The lid arrives early and lasts until roughly early April. The open-water window runs from around early April to about mid December in an average year. Late spring and early autumn carry the year between them. It holds true on Bainbridge Reservoir more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. Night access is frequently treated as a separate matter. Mud Pond, 2.2 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. For Bainbridge Reservoir in particular, ask before you travel.