Big Moose Lake Fishing Guide, Herkimer County, New York

• Overview

  You will find Big Moose Lake in Herkimer County, New York. Height above sea level is 1,814 feet. Roughly 1,233 acres of surface: treat each bay as a water in its own right. Around 15 miles of bank, which is a long day on foot. Few waters listed in Herkimer County are bigger. Lowville is the closest town at 32 miles. Further out sit Tupper Lake (33 miles) and Boonville (34 miles). Two sets of local rules meet not far from this water.

• Where to Fish on Big Moose Lake

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Herkimer County records list white sucker, yellow perch, brook trout and brown bullhead among the fish reported. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Fish Big Moose Lake where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 64°F and January at 13°F. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. Break-up comes around mid April, and the run that follows is short and strong. On the long-run averages the water opens up around mid April and starts locking again about early December. Early summer and early autumn carry the open-water season. Expect Big Moose Lake to follow that timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Nothing formal is recorded here: no ramp, no car park, no marked path. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. For a change of water, Little Chief Pond is 1.2 miles distant. Nothing on Big Moose Lake should be assumed from this page alone.