Bait Your Hook, New York Has Six of the Best Bass Fishing Lakes in the Country

We often don’t appreciate what’s in our own backyard until someone else starts complimenting it. If you’re unaware of just how great bass fishing is in New York, check out these compliments from the pros at Bassmaster Magazine.

Magazine Editor, James Hall says they spent two months crunching the numbers to find the best bass fishing spots across the country.

we dig through current tournament data as well as state fishery information on stocking efforts, catch rates and angler access.

Six lakes in New York made the Top 100 with The St. Lawrence River landing at #4 overall. Lakes Erie, Champlain, Cayuga, Oneida and Chautauqua also made the list. Making the achievement even more amazing, the three lakes ranked above the St Lawrence are in Texas, California, and South Carolina, home to much warmer waters.

The magazine also broke down the Top 25 Bass Fishing Lakes by region. New York dominated the Northeastern area:

1. St Lawrence River
3. Lake Erie
4. Lake Champlain
11. Cayuga Lake
18. Oneida Lake
25. Chautauqua Lake

The accolades are nothing new for bass fishing in the Empire State. When COVID-19 cancelled the majority of bass tournaments last year, Bassmaster was left without numbers and data to compile their annual list. Instead they reviewed data from the past eight years to and came up with the best lakes of the past decade.

TOP 25 Best Lakes of the Decade:

• 3. Lake Erie, New York/Ohio/Pennsylvania/Michigan
  11. Lake Champlain, New York/Vermont
  12. St. Lawrence River (Thousand Islands), New York
  18. Oneida Lake, New York

The pros routinely hold tournaments in New York. Four are planned for 2021, the Elite Series July 8-11 at Lake Champlain and July 15-18 on the St. Lawrence River. The Open Series has tournaments scheduled for July 29 - 31 on Oneida Lake and September 9 - 11 on the St. Lawrence River in Clayton. The Elite tournament will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 for three hours each weekend morning.