Clear Lake in Franklin County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Clear Lake lies in Franklin County, New York. This is lake country bush ground. At about 30 acres, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. Some 14 miles away sits Saranac Lake, the nearest settlement. Tupper Lake is 20 miles and Lake Placid 22 miles. Others worth noting: Spring Lake a touch under 0.3 miles, Chain Lake (0.4 miles), Rice Lake a touch under 1.4 miles, Ward Pond (1.7 miles) and Baker Pond a touch under 1.7 miles. Rules here are straightforward: one county, one set of rules.

• Where to Fish on Clear Lake

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Franklin County records list brook trout, white sucker and brown trout among the fish reported. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. Treat Clear Lake as a water to read rather than to cover.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 65°F, with January the cold end at about 13°F. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. Ice is part of the season here, ending near mid April. Break-up sits around mid April on average, with the water closing again about early December. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. Time your trip to Clear Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  Ownership and access are not documented in what we hold. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Spring Lake at 0.3 miles is the sensible second choice. Treat access at Clear Lake as something to verify.