Perch Lake, New York: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Perch Lake is one of the Delaware County listings for New York. Beyond the shoreline you have mixed forest. With some 30 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. The edge runs 0.8 miles or so, easy to work in an afternoon. It ranks high for size among our Delaware County listings. The nearest place of any size is Delhi, 13 miles away. It is 65 miles to Albany, the nearest city. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Perch Lake

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Across Delaware County, recorded fish include brown trout, brook trout, rainbow trout and white sucker. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. Fish Perch Lake where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from 20°F in January up to 67°F in July. Hard water is a season in its own right here. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around early April. Average temperatures cross freezing around early April in spring and again near mid December in autumn. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. The season on Perch Lake follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. You can camp about half a mile away, going by the mapping. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. Laurel Lake, 2.2 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Check the position at Perch Lake before loading the car.