Finger Lakes

Owasco Lake is the sixth largest Finger Lake. It is 17 miles long, located in Cayuga County and covers an area of almost 6600 acres. There is a launch site in the town of Auburn at the north end of the lake in Emerson Park. As you meander down the outlet to the lake you will pass the picnic shelters, families playing ball, people fishing from shore, all with a pleasant "HOW'S THE FISHING?"

As you enter the lake you will notice the line of buoys along each shore from one end of the lake to the other. These markers are for the benefit of the boaters. The shoreline is rocky and levels off around seven to ten feet. Beneath the surface are numerous rock islands that will do damage to the lower housing of your motor.

Although the shore line can be the enemy to a speeding boater, it is the home of warm water species. When you get inside the buoys crank baits, spinners and jigs are the tools of the day. It is not unusual to limit out on northern pike, and smallmouth bass and newly introduced walleye pike in sections of the lake. The local anglers association introduced walleye pike.

As you move south and find the fifty foot depth it is time to consider trout fishing. From this point south the lake drops off to its deepest spot of 170 feet across from Conklin Cove. This deepest part of the lake is about 1 1/2 miles long.

Slowly the lake bottom rises until you see the fifty foot mark again on your depth finder near the Town of Cascade. Now switch back to warm water species gear.

At the south end of the lake there is a private marina with store, gas and launching facilities. As you leave the launch at the southern tip on the southeast section there is wood in the water. Work the wood with slow moving lures for largemouth bass. Also in the wood piles you can entice a pike to attack your lure.

The principal species of cold water fish are lake, brown and rainbow trout. Smallmouth and largemouth bass, northern pike and panfish have a healthy population also.

Both the south and north ends of the lake because of the rocky structure hold smallmouth bass, panfish, northern and walleye pike. You can fish for trout all year, even through the ice but the prime trout season is during May and June. During hard water angling season people direct their energies to catching trout, panfish, and smallmouth bass.

At the south end of the lake you'll find Owasco Creek and on the northeast part of the lake is Dutch Hollow Creek. Both creeks carry a spring run- off drawing bait fish followed by the predators.

Most trout are caught while trolling but if you are a still fisherman then use sawbellies to entice the trout to bite. During the summer months you'll find the hard core trout anglers trolling along the thermocline in 10 to 20 feet of water and the shore fisherman casting, using sawbellies as bait. The trout meet the net in the spring as anglers flat line 50 to 75 feet behind boat. For the trout angler in winter fishing from shore, drifting egg sacs is the productive presentation.

Jigs and crank baits will put smallmouth bass in your live well. For the anchored angler proven bronze back catchers are red worms, crawdad and minnows.

If you decide to direct your energies to northern pike and largemouth bass angling, then work the weeds and wood stickups casting bass taking lures. When anchored off the weedline productive live bait pike catchers use sucker chubs. Lures like crank baits, spinners and rattletraps bring fish to the net.

For the walleye angler, slow trolling a worm rig and spinners bring the fish to the net. At the south end of the lake you have the Town of Moravia where Fillmore Glen State Park is located and at the north end in the Town of Auburn is where will find Melrose Park.

Directions

Take Route # 90 to Exit # 40 (Auburn) Then Route # 38 South through Auburn and Route # 437 to Melrose Park OR/ Route # 38 South to Cascade turn left to the private marina.