[50-mile stretch, plus eastern Lake Ontario]
These waters continue to reign as the nation’s unrivaled trophy smallmouth fishery. An August Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series tournament here in 2024 once again produced Century Club belts for anglers who tallied more than 100 pounds of brown bass. Cory Johnston won with 102 pounds even. Robert Gee finished second with 100-7. More than half of the 101 anglers who competed on each day of the four-day event bagged a limit that exceeded 20 pounds.
[30-mile radius from Buffalo]
If you wish to avoid aching wrists from battling quality smallmouth bass, stay away from Lake Erie’s eastern basin. Lake Erie Research Unit aquatic biologist Pascal Wilkins surveyed 120 bass boats from April through mid-May 2025. “There were typically two anglers per boat,” Wilkins said. “One in eight boats had caught over 50 bass in a day’s fishing. The first tournament of the year produced a smallmouth weighing over 7 pounds.” What’s more, if the wind is howling and Erie is too mean to fish, the upper Niagara River not only offers protection, but an equal number of smallmouth to chase. Or, an angler could stay inside the breakwalls and target the impressive largemouth population that tucks inside the boat harbors.
[490 square miles]
Whether you’re fishing shallow grass for largemouth or probing rocky, offshore structure for smallmouth, this scenic lake will keep a deep bend in your rod. A Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series tournament held here in August 2024 underscored Champlain’s productivity. Three anglers amassed over 80 pounds during the three-day event, including winner Ed Loughran III, who sacked 80-12. On the first two days of the tournament, the 101 competitors weighed in 40 five-bass limits exceeding 20 pounds.
[38 miles long, 3 1/2 miles wide]
The submerged grass and bottom structures that rim this glacial Finger Lake support copious largemouth and smallmouth bass. With a maximum depth of 435 feet, a variety of trout species live offshore. A state championship tournament here in June 2024 attests to the quality of bass that swim these waters. Eight of the 36 teams tallied more than 40 pounds during the two-day event. The winners sacked 49.49. The biggest largemouth weighed 8.05, and the biggest smallmouth went 7.21.
[79.8 square miles]
The abundant smallmouth in this scenic Finger Lake have grown heavier due to the influx of gobies. Largemouth are less plentiful, but they have won tournaments here. The water clarity has improved considerably since zebra mussels invaded the lake, resulting in increased aquatic vegetation in 5 to 15 feet of water. A two-day state championship tournament in June 2024 was won with 34.8 pounds, with the top five anglers weighing in over 29 pounds.
[1,877 acres]
This is the baby brother of some of the better-known Finger Lakes located in the heart of New York’s wine country. It is the most easterly of the 11 lakes and boasts one of the best largemouth populations of all the glacial fisheries. This little jewel has a maximum depth of 76 feet, but bass anglers would be wise to focus on the area south of the causeway, where the average depth is closer to 6 feet and submerged vegetation abounds. The Central New York Bass Fishing Association held an event here last August and of the 19 competitors, five of them weighed in more than 20 pounds. Seven bass brought to the scales weighed over 5 pounds, with a 5.27-pounder taking big bass honors. The winner of the event had almost 23 pounds. So, although this lake isn’t big, the bass swimming here are.
[13,156 acres]
Best known as a muskie fishery, this natural lake also grows quality smallmouth and largemouth bass. The clear, rocky, northern basin provides ideal smallmouth habitat, while many largemouth reside in the shallower, weedy southern basin. It took 22.68 pounds to win a Lakes Tournament Trail event that fielded 46 teams in July 2024. Twelve teams had over 15 pounds. The biggest bass weighed 6.46, with three more exceeding 5 pounds.