Fishing at Sagamore Lake, Putnam County, New York

• Overview

  This water sits in Putnam County, New York. The surroundings are mixed forest. It runs to roughly 97 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. The edge runs 2.0 miles or so, easy to work in an afternoon. Lake Carmel sits 5.7 miles from the bank. The nearest city of size is North Stamford, 26 miles away. This one sits near enough to a boundary to be worth checking.

• Where to Fish on Sagamore Lake

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. Look for where the old bank line still shows under the surface. A reservoir gives you a hard edge, a shelf, and not much else. Putnam County records list brown trout, bluegill, largemouth bass and pumpkinseed among the fish reported. Read it as a county summary, not a water-by-water list. Fish Sagamore Lake where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 71°F and January at 25°F. The season turns properly here, and fish follow it closely. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around late March. Expect the water usable from around late March until roughly late December. Fish feed hardest at the start and the close of the open season. The season on Sagamore Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. Expect 0.9 miles away in from where the car goes. The water borders West Branch Headwaters Unit, so reserve rules are likely to apply. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. Lake Tibet at 1.4 miles is the sensible second choice. Signs at Sagamore Lake carry more weight than any list.