Honnedaga Lake, New York: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Honnedaga Lake is a Herkimer County water, in New York. The water sits 2,198 feet up. About 825 acres, so local knowledge or a boat saves a lot of walking. Shoreline length is close to 10.0 miles, and each section fishes a little differently. Few waters listed in Herkimer County are bigger. Boonville lies 25 miles from the water. Dolgeville follows at 30 miles, then Little Falls at 34 miles. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Honnedaga Lake

  No depth figure appears in our records, so the bank has to tell you. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Records held for Herkimer County cover white sucker, yellow perch, brook trout and brown bullhead. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. At Honnedaga Lake light and wind decide more than tackle does.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 63°F in July and bottom out at 13°F in January. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. Break-up comes around late April, and the run that follows is short and strong. Expect the water usable from around late April until roughly early December. June through September is the settled part of the year, with the shoulders busier for fish. On Honnedaga Lake that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Mapping shows an empty shoreline: no ramp, no jetty, no marked entry. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. State or provincial rules still apply whatever the bank status. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. For a change of water, Stearns Mudhole is 1.6 miles distant. Treat Honnedaga Lake as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.