Hamilton Lake Fishing in Tioga County, Pennsylvania

• Overview

  Hamilton Lake is a Tioga County water, in Pennsylvania. The ground around here is rolling bush. It measures about 40 acres, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. Roughly 1.4 miles of bank means you can walk to a fresh area when one goes quiet. Wellsboro lies 2.2 miles from the water. Mansfield is 11 miles away, with Blossburg at 11 miles. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Hamilton Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. Rip-rap along the wall holds fish that the open bank never does. The old creek line under the surface is the feature worth finding. Open biodiversity records for Tioga County list yellow perch, bluegill, black crappie, brown bullhead and largemouth bass. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Fish Hamilton Lake where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 67°F and January about 22°F. A hard winter is normal, and the thaw brings a strong few weeks. Break-up comes around early April, and the run that follows is short and strong. Expect the water usable from around early April until roughly mid December. The middle of summer slows a little, with dawn and dusk carrying it. The season on Hamilton Lake follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. A ramp is mapped within half a mile. A car park lies half a mile away, so the walk in is short. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. Lake Nessmuk, 1.6 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Where Hamilton Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.