Young Lake Fishing near Richfield Springs, New York

• Overview

  Young Lake is a Herkimer County water, New York side. The setting is rolling bush on every side. With some 70 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. Roughly 1.3 miles of bank means you can walk to a fresh area when one goes quiet. Size puts it in the front rank of our Herkimer County list. Richfield Springs is the closest town at 3.4 miles. For a city, Albany is 60 miles off. The line between counties passes nearby, which can change who manages the water.

• Where to Fish on Young Lake

  Depth is not on record here, so the bank has to tell you. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Public occurrence data for Herkimer County names white sucker, yellow perch and brook trout. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Young Lake gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about 18°F and July at about 67°F, the water has a wide range to work through. Seasons are distinct, and each one fishes differently. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around early April. The lid tends to go about early April and return around mid December. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. Anyone fishing Young Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  The access position is unclear from public sources. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. This sits inside Maumee Swamp, so read the reserve notices first. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. Weaver Lake sits 0.9 miles off and takes the overflow. Where Young Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.