Summer Bass Fishing in Cayuga County is Great
By George Fiorille
Many anglers have the misconception that bass fishing in the summer can be bad. There’s nothing further from the truth. Many anglers only pay attention to more publicized waters where more national bass tournaments are held.
Most of all of the lakes in Cayuga County have loads of smallmouth and largemouth bass. Lakes such as Ontario, Cayuga, Owasco, Skaneateles, Cross, and even some smaller lakes have good bass fishing in the summer. As a matter of fact, one lake in Cayuga County, Cayuga Lake recorded 2 state record bass in 2 years.
New York Angler Thomas Russel caught the NY State record smallmouth bass at the time on June 15, 2023. The 8-pound, 6-ounce record was caught on opening day on a Berkley minnow soft plastic bait. Russell claims one year later he caught the same bass due to its markings and it weighed just slightly over 9-pounds. Russel did not want to stress and kill the fish so he let it go before verifying it as a new state record. The current NY record smallie now is out of the Saint Lawrence River at 9-pounds.
This past month during an early catch and release tournament on Cayuga Lake, Casey Smith of Rochester caught, weighed and released a 9-pound smallie. One of the main reasons bass are getting bigger in Cayuga Lake is due to the introduction of goby fish through the barge canal system.
On July 11, 2024 James Britenbaugh from PA caught a 12-pound, 6-ounce largemouth bass out of Cayuga Lake that smashed the NY record which stood for several years. Cayuga Lake is fast becoming known as the bass capital of New York State.
When bass season opens this month on June 15, there’s a good chance there will still be bass spawning from the late cold spring. Most bass will spawn around the full moon of the month when the water temp gets into the 60s. If it is a very cold summer for a few months in the summer, they may not spawn at all and the eggs will dissolve from their body.
I would recommend fishing for post spawn bass for the opener. Fish the northern warmer areas with plastic worms, Ned rigs, Damiki rigs, top water plugs, soft plastic stick baits, and stick baits. Drifting with live minnows and crawfish in deeper water can catch good fish as well.Also try areas with lily pads with hollow frogs and toads. During summer’s hotter periods known as the “dog days of summer,” try fishing low light cooler periods like at sunrise and sunset.
Also move out to deeper cooler waters or areas with heavy cover and shade. Bass fishing in Cayuga County can be very good in the summer. Follow the fish in early summer to deeper and cover areas later in the season. During fall, the bass will migrate back to the shallows before heading out to deep holes in the winter.
Follow these directions and you just might catch the biggest bass of your life on Cayuga County waters.