Fishing Summit Lake in Schoharie County, New York

• Overview

  Summit Lake is set in Schoharie County, New York. Around the bank it is pine and birch. Roughly 42 acres: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. A shoreline of some 1.1 miles keeps the choices simple. It is high ground by New York standards. The nearest place of any size is Cobleskill, 8.1 miles away. Worcester is 8.6 miles away, with Stamford at 12 miles. The county edge is within a short distance of the bank.

• Where to Fish on Summit Lake

  Depth is unmeasured here, so let the shoreline guide you. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. County-wide records name brown trout, rainbow trout, brook trout, bluegill and tessellated darter. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. On Summit Lake a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-term averages put July at about 66°F and January near 19°F. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer and winter test it. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from early April. The open-water window runs from around early April to about mid December in an average year. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. That shapes the year on Summit Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. No built facilities appear in mapping around this water. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Should this one be busy, Fly Pond is 1.5 miles off. The position on Summit Lake is worth confirming on the day.