Upstate NY bass fishing?

[Dramer77]

Hey guys, I'm going to be up in brockville Canada for training for a few months and was wondering if anyone was from the area of ny Canada borders? You can't fish for bass up there till the 3rd week in June.. even catch an release.. looking at the site for ny it looks like that's allowed all year.. I would love to hit some ponds or go out on a lake with someone while I'm up there.. any suggestions on where to fish.. I'm from Maryland so I don't know the area 

[Jar11591]

Yeah, on the NY side you can fish bass all year, but only catch & release with artificial until the third Saturday in June. The St. Lawrence is right there and has some excellent smallmouth fishing. Crystal clear waters. When I fished it, you could literally see the bottom 30' down. 

 

I also see Brockville is close to Black Lake in St. Lawrence county. I highly recommend fishing this lake. It's one of the top lakes in the state for bass, and offers an incredibly varied fishery. I have only gotten the chance to fish it one time for a week, and we hammered the fish. Excellent lake. Pretty sure you could find a guide for Black lake, and definitely for the St. Lawrence river. 

[Dramer77]

i will have to check into that when i get up there

[RichF]

1 hour ago, Jar11591 said:

Yeah, on the NY side you can fish bass all year, but only catch & release with artificial until the third Saturday in June. The St. Lawrence is right there and has some excellent smallmouth fishing. Crystal clear waters. When I fished it, you could literally see the bottom 30' down. 

 

I also see Brockville is close to Black Lake in St. Lawrence county. I highly recommend fishing this lake. It's one of the top lakes in the state for bass, and offers an incredibly varied fishery. I have only gotten the chance to fish it one time for a week, and we hammered the fish. Excellent lake. Pretty sure you could find a guide for Black lake, and definitely for the St. Lawrence river. 

 

Unless it has changed this year, Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties do NOT allow C & R bass fishing before the season opens in June.  Both the St Lawrence River (the area around Brockville) and Black Lake are in St Lawrence county so it's off limits for bass.  

[Jar11591]

9 minutes ago, RichF said:

 

Unless it has changed this year, Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties do NOT allow C & R bass fishing before the season opens in June.  Both the St Lawrence River (the area around Brockville) and Black Lake are in St Lawrence county so it's off limits for bass.  

 

I was unaware of this. Thanks for the heads up. I thougt it was a state-wide thing, since only a couple of years ago all of NY was closed for bass until the third Saturday of June. 

 

Youre right, St. Lawrence county has a completely closed bass season from December until the third Saturday in June, even C&R and artificial. 

[RichF]

Yup. It sucks. I grew up in Jefferson county and still regularly fish all over there and St Lawrence county.  Lake Boneparte is one of the closest places to go (Lewis County) that is open to C & R. 

[Dramer77]

7 hours ago, RichF said:

Yup. It sucks. I grew up in Jefferson county and still regularly fish all over there and St Lawrence county.  Lake Boneparte is one of the closest places to go (Lewis County) that is open to C & R. 

Thanks, I will have to see how far that is from me

[RichF]

You could also head down south toward Syracuse.  Oneida and Onondaga Lakes are down there and are open to C & R. 

[Dramer77]

Are there any really good tackle shops up that way? Besides bps or a cabelas

[RichF]

There's a Gander Mountain and Dicks in Watertown.  There's also the Thousand Islands bait shop near Alexandria Bay.  It's a bit pricey as most local shops are, but it has an ok selection.