New York Pike Fishing

SILVER LAKE
Without question, Silver Lake is one of the premier pike waters in western New York. The 761-acre fishing hole in Wyoming County has everything a growing northern pike could want, including a rich forage base of alewives and perch and thick weeds to serve as spawning and ambush cover.

CONESUS LAKE
There is no place in New York where an angler can count on hooking a 30-pound pike, but Conesus Lake is one of a handful of waters where northerns that size are known to swim. DEC biologists have actually handled such fish during local netting forays.

SODUS BAY
For consistent catches of 4- to 8-pound northerns -- and occasional tussles with larger specimens -- it's hard to imagine a spot better than Sodus Bay. Catches of 10 or more such pike are frequently reported in the bay, and wallhangers of 15 to 18 pounds are caught each year.

SENECA RIVER/CROSS LAKE
The Seneca River begins as a canal outlet at the north end of Seneca Lake and then flows in a generally northeasterly direction for about 35 miles through the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge and Cross Lake before meeting the Oneida River and forming the Oswego River near Phoenix.

OWASCO LAKE
While its south end is known for giving up big pike through the ice, Owasco Lake is overlooked by Esox lovers during the warm months of the year. I suspect that's mainly due to the abundance of other game fish in the lake, including brown trout, lake trout and smallmouth bass. Certainly the 8- to 15-pound northerns that enthrall Owasco's hard-water cadre do not disappear in the summer.

SANDY POND
A 2,400-acre bay on Lake Ontario's Oswego County shore, Sandy Pond has a mean depth of 8 feet and a maximum depth of just 13 feet. Weedy from end to end, it's perfect habitat for northern pike and the panfish they love to eat. A run-of-the mill pike in Sandy Pond is a 5-pounder, but 15-pounders are caught annually. In July, the biggest pike will be in the deepest part of the bay, or tucked under weed mats or deadfalls in areas where boat traffic is relatively light.

SIXTOWN POND
Here's a bit of a sleeper, but it won't interest readers whose primary interest is a trophy-class northern. Sixtown Pond in Jefferson County doesn't grow many whoppers, but if you're one of those anglers who enjoy hooking lots of medium-sized pike in relative solitude, it could be just the retreat you've been looking for.

1,000 ISLANDS
Old-timers claim the pike fishing in the 1,000 Islands region of the upper St. Lawrence River isn't what it used to be, yet a good ice-fisherman will have no problem catching several nice fish per outing in Eel Bay, Chippewa Bay and other areas where northerns stage prior to their spring spawning run.

SARANAC CHAIN OF LAKES
The Adirondack region is full of good pike lakes, but the Saranac Chain of Lakes stands out as a consistent producer. Seven interconnected bodies of water are within a few minutes of the village of Saranac Lake in eastern Franklin County. They are Upper, Middle and Lower Saranac lakes, Weller Pond, Oseetah Lake, Kiwassa Lake and Lake Flower. A map of the chain may be obtained from the Saranac Lake Chamber of Commerce, 30 Main St., Saranac Lake, NY 12983. Perhaps the best all-round pike water in the chain is Middle Saranac, which spans 1,393 acres. Its average depth is only about 9 feet and there are plenty of weedbeds to hide northerns that average 2 to 4 pounds but sometimes grow to 8 or 10 pounds.

LAKE CHAMPLAIN
Northern pike are so abundant in the bays and creek mouths along Lake Champlain's shore that generations of sportsmen on the Vermont side once enjoyed shooting big northerns in the spring -- with deer rifles!

While the statewide creel limit of five pike per day applies to Lake Champlain, the minimum keeper size is 20 inches. Most will run considerably larger than that. Virtually the entire 110-mile length of Lake Champlain is home to at least a few northerns, but the most consistent fishing for the species is from Plattsburgh north. Kings Bay, off the mouth of the Great Chazy River, is excellent, as is the water around the abandoned railroad bridge stretching eastward from the village of Rouse's Point.

These areas may be accessed by taking U.S. Route 11 east from Malone or by following Route 87 and Route 9 north from Albany to the northern sector of the lake. Public and private marinas are available at Rouse's Point and Plattsburgh. For advice on accommodations, try the Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber of Commerce at (518) 563-1000.