BUFFALO, N.Y. — Bassmaster magazine is out with its list of the top 100 best bass fishing lakes in the U.S., and two lakes in Western New York are getting a lot of attention.
After months of research, the magazine's writers compiled the top 100 based on four main criteria: aesthetics, public access, quality of fish caught, and the quantity.
Editor-in-chief James Hall said part of the selection process involves talking to groups with a stake in the health of area waterways, like the Department of Environmental Conservation and fish and wildlife organizations, and asking them to rank the best bass fishing lakes.
The 2021 top 100 list is divided up by region, and Lake Erie came in at number three in the northeast. Hall said it's rarely been out of the top three in the nine years Bassmaster has been compiling the list.
"You've got giant smallmouth bass, which is a prize in the north, but you've also got a tremendous population of largemouth in the shipping canals and the harbors," Hall said. "So even when it gets rough and a little rowdy out there on the big lake, you've still got great bass fishing."
Chautauqua Lake came in at number 25 in the northeast.
"I think the grass in Chautauqua makes it a really kind of special place for anglers when they are fishing up north to feel like they're fishing kind of in a southern fishery," Hall said.
Hall called the average size of a largemouth in Chautauqua Lake "exceptional" and said Western New York winters play a role.
"Cold weather fisherman don't go out and target bass as a species in the wintertime, so the bass on Chautauqua for example get a nice rest in the winter and don't get any pressure and get a chance to relax, feed, get healthy," Hall said.
The magazine has 4.2 million readers in more than a dozen countries, and there are a lot of people who plan a fishing trip based on who makes the list.
"Economic impact can be substantial," Hall said. "That's one of the reasons we do this, not only to create a bucket list of fisheries for anglers, but also to support these fishing communities. It's great to have an awesome lake, but if no one is going to fish for bass, it doesn't help mom and pop shops and fishing centers or marinas stay alive. Especially during this pandemic time, we feel like that's a really important thing to do."
Bassmaster didn't do the ranking year during the pandemic, but something positive came out of 2020 in the fishing world — five million new fishing licenses were issued across the U.S.
"This list became doubly important for us this year because hopefully a lot of those new anglers will read this and find a place to fish and have that success and continue fishing in the years to come — create that passion that we have here," Hall said.
The St. Lawrence River was number one in the northeast region. Lake Champlain was number four. Cayuga Lake was number 11. Oneida Lake was number 18.