Lake Erie and Chautuaqua Lake are among New York's best lakes for bass fishing. Bassmaster Magazine is out with its list of the top "25 Best Bass Lakes" in the Northeast last year. Lake Erie, Lake Chautauqua, Thousand Islands, Lake Champlain, Oneida Lake and Cayuga Lake all named top spots in 2016 to catch bass.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)also lists waterways in New York where surveys from biologists' found some bass weighing up to five pounds. That includes Lake Erie.
"Most bass caught are between two and four pounds, but there is good opportunity to catch a hefty five or six pound bronzeback. The last five New York State record smallmouths have come from Lake Erie, with the current record standing at an impressive eight pounds, four ounces," stated the DEC.
The official start to the bass-fishing season opens this weekend across the state. It runs from Saturday, June 17 to the end of this November.