Well, once the ice is off of them, we've got a couple small lakes that are real good for crappie out here in Northern Cayuga County. Cross Lake, Otter Lake, and Duck Lake.
The state record for black crappie 3lb, 12oz came out of duck lake in 1998.
There are some good spots along the Seneca river too. All of these places are west of Baldwinsville, off of rte 370.
I have fished for Crappie for many years in NY and have since moved to MA. As a kid, we used to fish for them on Honeyoe Lake, West River on Canadaguia Lake and for the best fishing that I have come across was on Muskellunge Lake up near Ft Drum. A buddy owns a camp up there and we would catch 5 gal buckets in a few hours. I still hear that fishing is still pretty sweet up there. Good Luck...
Well, once the ice is off of them, we've got a couple small lakes that are real good for crappie out here in Northern Cayuga County. Cross Lake, Otter Lake, and Duck Lake.
The state record for black crappie 3lb, 12oz came out of duck lake in 1998.
There are some good spots along the Seneca river too. All of these places are west of Baldwinsville, off of rte 370.
Could you fish from the the shore at these lake or do you have to boat launch?
Could you fish from the the shore at these lake or do you have to boat launch?
Seneca river can be fished from shore - there are several DEC fishing access sites. Otter Lake has a couple shore fishing spots, but other than when they're spawning and are close to shore, you pretty much need a boat in all of them. Duck Lake and Otter Lake are real small, like 250 - 275 acres. Cross Lake is a bit bigger. I'm not positive, but the campgrounds on Cross Lake and Duck lake may rent boats. Cross Lake campground can be reached at 315-678-2143, and Duck Lake campground can be reached at 315-488-4473. Give them a call and see if they rent boats. Most of the launches won't handle larger boats, but will handle boats as big as a run-of-the -mill bass boat, so a cartop, canoe, kayack, or john boat/row boat are all good choices.
The problem with pretty much any of the lakes in CNY is that you have to cross private property to get to the water, or if it's public land, you have to hike through some woods and swamps.
Another place I just thought of - Fair Haven. At the state park, there are some crappie in the bay south of the boat Launch - can be fished from shore, and I've heard folks talk about catching them in the pond by the beach. On the other side of the bay, there is a park (kinda) that belongs to the county, there is shore fishing there too, I've caught lots of bass there from shore, but never fished it in the spring when the crappie spawn - There's lots of submerged wood there, and faces south, so there's a good chance that you'll find spring crappie close to shore there too.
Seneca river can be fished from shore - there are several DEC fishing access sites. Otter Lake has a couple shore fishing spots, but other than when they're spawning and are close to shore, you pretty much need a boat in all of them. Duck Lake and Otter Lake are real small, like 250 - 275 acres. Cross Lake is a bit bigger. I'm not positive, but the campgrounds on Cross Lake and Duck lake may rent boats. Cross Lake campground can be reached at 315-678-2143, and Duck Lake campground can be reached at 315-488-4473. Give them a call and see if they rent boats. Most of the launches won't handle larger boats, but will handle boats as big as a run-of-the -mill bass boat, so a cartop, canoe, kayack, or john boat/row boat are all good choices.
The problem with pretty much any of the lakes in CNY is that you have to cross private property to get to the water, or if it's public land, you have to hike through some woods and swamps.
Another place I just thought of - Fair Haven. At the state park, there are some crappie in the bay south of the boat Launch - can be fished from shore, and I've heard folks talk about catching them in the pond by the beach. On the other side of the bay, there is a park (kinda) that belongs to the county, there is shore fishing there too, I've caught lots of bass there from shore, but never fished it in the spring when the crappie spawn - There's lots of submerged wood there, and faces south, so there's a good chance that you'll find spring crappie close to shore there too.
Crappie fishing on Oneida lake is usually good when ice is off. Popular spot is Toad Harbor Rd. Central Square exit. As the weather warms, Brewerton exit early June-mid July's good. Otisco lake has crappie fishing at the dam late spring.
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