Ten years in the past, Greg Hackney placed on an absolute clinic throughout the closing day of the 2014 Bassmaster Elite Sequence on Cayuga Lake. He ended day 4, the ultimate leg of the match, with an almost 24-pound bag, boosting his whole catch weight to 85 kilos whereas gaining a soft 9-pound result in declare first place. I used to be starting my sophomore yr at Ithaca School, and Hackney’s win was the discuss of the city. That was my introduction to the bass manufacturing facility in my new yard. Since then, Cayuga Lake’s large bass have claimed two New York state information. Up till the autumn of 2024, the lake briefly held the crown for each smallmouth and largemouth bass state information concurrently.
Of all of the lakes in New York, what’s it about Cayuga that makes it a trophy-caliber bass haven? I requested the 2 individuals I believed would know finest: match angler and present largemouth bass state-record holder, Jim Britenbaugh, and my school buddy and Finger Lakes fishing information, Kurt Hoefig.
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From a hen’s eye view, the Finger Lakes area seems to be as if the massive man upstairs raked his almighty digits throughout the map, etching not 5, not 10, however 11 spectacular fisheries into the rolling hills of western New York. The scientific clarification is only a smidge completely different. In accordance with NASA’s Earth Observatory, the lakes have been as soon as a collection of northward-flowing streams nestled into slim valleys. In the present day’s panorama started to take form two million years in the past throughout the Pleistocene glaciation—the final ice age—when monumental glaciers inched south, digging out and increasing these slim river valleys. Then, simply 10,000 years in the past, the final of the ice protecting New York and New England melted away and the valleys, now surrounded by miniature mountains of glacial particles, flooded and have become the Finger Lakes. In the present day, the 2 largest lakes—Cayuga and Seneca—are among the many deepest pure lakes in North America, their most depths 435 and 618 toes, respectively.
The Finger Lakes are a product of the final Ice Age, when glaciers carved out slim river valleys earlier than melting away 10,000 years in the past.
Trying down from atop South Hill, which has an elevation of almost 1000 toes, the faculty city of Ithaca is dwarfed by the 38-mile-long Cayuga Lake. I had by no means been to the Finger Lakes area earlier than 2010, not to mention deciding to spend 4 years learning and dwelling there. All I had ever identified have been the seashores and again bays of Lengthy Island, the place fluke, bluefish, and, as a rule, sea robins, discovered their means onto the ends of my baited hooks. Till 2014, my largemouth pursuits have been restricted to the shallow golf course ponds of my grandparents’ group in Stuart, Florida. Nevertheless, with the assistance of some enthusiastic and really fishy buddies, I dove headfirst into Upstate New York’s bass fishing scene over the following few years.
I met Pete Zibinski throughout freshman yr at Ithaca School, and in junior yr, he launched me to his roommate, Kurt Hoefig. Kurt was far and away essentially the most devoted angler on campus from 2013 to 2017. On blistering-cold weekend mornings, whereas our friends lay comfortable in mattress warding off the Irish flu, Kurt dragged Pete out to the shores of Cayuga to catch pike, bass, and large lake trout, typically in guide-freezing climate or wind-driven rain.
Kurt stayed in Ithaca after we graduated and continued to log numerous hours on Cayuga. He is among the most educated, resourceful, and affected person fishermen I’ve ever met, and people qualities are what make him such a spectacular bass-fishing information.
The Information Perspective
In terms of producing trophy largemouth bass, whether or not it’s one of many Finger Lakes or your neighborhood pond, two issues are of utmost significance: an abundance of baitfish and grass. In accordance with Kurt, there’s no scarcity of both on Cayuga.
“Cayuga is a big lake when it comes to acreage. It’s one of many largest pure lakes within the Northeast, and the north finish is especially conducive for largemouth habitat,” mentioned Hoefig.“There are miles of shallow, grassy areas for spawning fish to feed, mattress up, and shield their eggs.” In accordance with the New York State Division of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), that shallow expanse of weeds extends south for about six miles and occupies roughly 5,800 acres. The southern finish of the lake, close to Ithaca, has the same habitat to a lesser extent. Mid-lake, there are slim bands of aquatic flora that run parallel to the jap and western shorelines—loads of actual property for largemouth bass to comfortably feed and spawn throughout the spring.
Throughout the spring, largemouth bass dangle in shallow grass, feeding on bluegills to fatten up earlier than spawning. (Picture by Garrick Dixon)
In Cayuga’s shallow grass on the north finish, spring water temperatures heat shortly and, because of this, these bass start to feed earlier within the season. “Due to that dense grass protection, the north finish of Cayuga will attain the spawning stage whereas different areas lag a bit behind and are nonetheless in pre-spawn,” Hoefig mentioned. A barely longer spring feeding season within the north finish is among the many contributing elements to Cayuga’s knack for producing large ol’ Larrys.
On prime of plentiful aquatic vegetation and a prolonged pre-spawn chew, Hoefig maintains that water high quality performs an important position in harboring large, spawning largemouth bass.
“Within the north finish, there’s stained, fertile water filled with vitamins, and few of the Finger Lakes have that. The wholesome, mineral-rich water is enticing to baitfish, which permits largemouth to feed and get into their spring groove,” he mentioned. “These grasses load up with bluegills, and everyone knows that bluegills make large bass.”
On prime of plentiful aquatic vegetation, Hoefig maintains that water high quality performs an important position in harboring large largemouth bass. (Picture courtesy of Kurt Hoefig)
A Double-Edged Sword
Bluegills take the cake as the principle course of spring largemouth, however crawfish, and extra lately, spherical gobies, additionally play main roles within the diets of each largemouth and smallmouth bass all through the remainder of the season.
“Gobies are extremely invasive,” mentioned Hoefig. “They discovered their means into Cayuga when, throughout the late Nineteen Eighties, a barge from the Black Sea emptied its ballast into the St. Clair River. It took greater thanten years, however the descendants of ocean-crossing gobies finally made their means from the Nice Lakes and the St. Lawrence River into Cayuga, Seneca, and Onondaga lakes, together with any navigable waterways related to Lake Ontario.”
Cayuga has constructed a popularity as one of many greatest and finest smallmouth bass lakes within the nation, and whereas spherical gobies are partially answerable for producing such plump specimens, their presence is a double-edged sword for smallie fans and fishing guides like Hoefig, who’re pressured to fulfill their purchasers’ expectations. “We all know they make large bass, however for the overall inhabitants of fishermen, gobies are dangerous information.”
Invasive spherical gobies first appeared within the U.S. when a barge from the Black Sea emptied its ballast into the St. Clair River throughout the late Nineteen Eighties.
Up till the goby invasion, Hoefig cited Cayuga as a premiere vacation spot for “soccer” fanatics. The lake nonetheless produces large bronzebacks, however to not the diploma it as soon as did. “You used to have the ability to hit any shoreline on the lake with gentle plastics and jigs and simply wail on high quality smallmouth, one after one other,” mentioned Hoefig, however that’s all modified, as gobies pose an enormous menace to smallmouth bass eggs.
“Gobies haven’t any swim bladder, to allow them to spend their lives in very deep or extraordinarily shallow water,” he continued. “As a result of they populate most of the shallow areas which are ripe with spawning smallmouth bass, their weak eggs are one of many goby’s major meals sources.” Hoefig, who watched the decline firsthand, estimates that gobies could have diminished Cayuga’s smallmouth inhabitants by as a lot as 90%.
“Photos of seven- to virtually 9-pound smallies routinely pop up on social media, so there’s this notion that the lake is a smallmouth manufacturing facility when, actually, it’s at present a struggling fishery,” he famous. “It’s not an enormous numbers lake, like Champlain, so the fishing is considerably difficult…however the bass are certainly huge.”
The gobies haven’t been as calamitous to largemouth numbers, largely as a result of they don’t populate the identical grassy spawning grounds.
After spawning, largemouth start to hunt deeper water and their forage base expands. “Bluegills, gobies, and crawfish are the meat and potatoes of the largemouth food plan,” mentioned Hoefig.
The Put up-Spawn Transition
Very similar to the pre-spawn chew within the spring, post-spawn largemouth bass are very centered on bluegills. As soon as spawning is full, the massive females enterprise off, seeking to regain the energy they depleted whereas spawning. After the eggs have hatched, the males, which spent the post-spawn weeks guarding beds to guard their younger, will transfer off to do the identical.
In accordance with Hoefig, there are two approaches largemouth anglers can take. Finding deeper grass is a dependable technique to remain on the chew, particularly for fish which are keyed in on large bluegills whereas gearing up for their very own spawn. Nevertheless, rock piles in 15 to twenty toes of water may even maintain faculties of chunky bass which are extra more likely to be feeding on crawfish and gobies.
Finding deep patches of grass is the important thing to discovering large bass throughout the colder months of the yr. (Picture by Kurt Hoefig)
Anglers may additionally discover smallmouth bass in these areas, however for extra constant largemouth outcomes, Hoefig is adamant about sticking to grass, whether or not it’s within the north finish, south finish, or amid these skinny stretches of flora alongside mid-lake shorelines. Actually, specializing in Cayuga’s summer season grass is what led match fisherman, Jim Britenbaugh, to a record-breaking largemouth bass in 2024.
The Event Angler’s Perspective
On July 11, 2023, whereas practising for a match on Cayuga, Britenbaugh caught and launched a largemouth bass that smashed the virtually 40-year-old state file. He had the bass measured and weighed by a NYSDEC consultant on the boat ramp, the place it tipped the size at 12 kilos, 6 ounces—1 pound and a couple of ounces heavier than John Higbie’s file fish from 1987. On the time, Cayuga additionally held the state file for smallmouth bass: an 8-pound, 6-ounce fish caught by Thomas Russell throughout a match in 2022. (Amazingly, Russell caught a 9-pound smallmouth from Cayuga the next yr, which he believed to be the identical fish, however he launched it with out getting an official weight.)
In 2024, Jim Britenbaugh set the New York State file for largemouth bass with a 12-pound, 6-ounce fish that beat the earlier file, set in 1987, by over a pound. (Picture courtesy of Jim Britenbaugh)
Britenbaugh agreed with Hoefig that Cayuga’s smallies, although not as plentiful as largemouth, develop to epic proportions. “Coming from Pennsylvania, I grew up fishing Lake Erie, and once I began placing in numerous time there throughout the early 2000s, it was across the identical time that the goby increase was publicized. That they had an incredible impact on the dimensions of Lake Erie’s smallmouth,” Britenbaugh claimed. “They might damage fish numbers in the long term however we’ve had an explosion of massive bass wherever gobies are within the brief time period. I fish Oneida fairly a bit, they usually’ve performed an enormous position within the improved bass fishing there.” He famous that when gobies are plentiful, it turns into survival of the fittest—and the bigger, extra aggressive smallmouth are inclined to thrive.
Britenbaugh insists that it’s not simply smallmouth bass benefitting from what he calls “Vitamin G”— he believes gobies are an enormous contributor to the dimensions of Cayuga’s largemouth, too. He speculates that his record-breaking largemouth might have been a goby eater, however a bass exceeding 12 kilos in Cayuga may very well be feeding on a myriad of baitfish.
Largemouth and smallmouth bass fatten up on Cayuga’s invasive spherical gobies. (Picture courtesy of Jim Britenbaugh)
“For a fish that dimension to return out of a northern lake, it’s been consuming nicely. One thing I thought-about in talks with my buddies was the potential of my fish being a trout eater,” mentioned Britenbaugh. “Largemouth love their bluegills, too, however in relation to why there are spectacular numbers of massive bass, I feel it boils all the way down to abundance of grass, good fish-holding cowl, and ranging forage all through the lake.”
Taking Cowl
There are quite a few sorts of construction that Cayuga largemouth use for shelter and to ambush prey. “A lot of the lake has some patchy grass protection, however there are a ton of docks alongside the jap and western shorelines, and that’s an enormous think about tournaments,” mentioned Britenbaugh. A few of these docks lengthen far sufficient into the lake to fulfill or are available shut contact with the slim bands of deep grass operating adjoining to shore, offering bass with arduous and gentle cowl in shut proximity. “There’s additionally some rock and wooden construction comparatively near shore,” Britenbaugh added. That array of canopy performs a serious position in producing 30-pound match baggage.
Together with patchy grass protection, docks alongside the lake’s jap and western shorelines present ample construction for shallow-dwelling largemouth and smallmouth bass. (Picture by Garrick Dixon)
With a lot fishable construction out there on a 38-mile-long lake, match anglers and guides ought to deal with choose areas, and that begins with understanding seasonal patterns. Shallow, grassy areas all through the lake, and notably within the northern finish, are the locations to search for bluegill-gorging largemouth throughout the pre-spawn. Nevertheless, as spring turns into summer season, the bass unfold out and the menu expands.
“Typically, the later it’s within the season, the deeper you wish to look,” mentioned Britenbaugh. “However that’s not all the time the case.” A first-rate instance is when he caught the state file.It had been a scorching summer season, and through apply, he started fishing deep water, away from the crowds, earlier than working his means towards a shallow most important lake level. There, he discovered loads of fish within the grass between 8 and 12 toes of water, together with a 2½ and a 6 pounder, reinforcing the notion that discovering small patches of grass in low-pressured areas is paramount to success. “In every other lake, I’m in search of deep offshore construction throughout the summer season, however in Cayuga, I all the time search for grass,” Britenbaugh mentioned.
“Grass” is a blanket time period used to explain any dense and tall aquatic vegetation. Hydrilla and coontail are two sorts of flora Britenbaugh spends time fishing when he finds them. In depths of 5 to fifteen toes, grass is commonly seen inside a number of toes from the floor on Cayuga, however electronics assist find deeper patches of vegetation.
Drawing from match expertise on the tributaries of Chesapeake Bay, Britenbaugh maintains that the well being of the grass can be one thing to control. “Off-color or dying grass is a transparent signal that it’s time to maneuver. Once you discover wholesome grass, make be aware of the place it’s and the way deep it’s,” he added. When fishing the Chesapeake, Britenbaugh says concentrating on grass any deeper than 8 toes is simply too deep, however in Cayuga, you would possibly discover bass within the grass in 20 toes of water or extra.
The Event Method
With a complete understanding of the several types of construction which are more likely to maintain largemouth bass, it’s time to develop a aggressive method. Britenbaugh says his number-one technique for each largemouth and smallmouth bass is to get away from the crowds. “Sure, I maintain a file, however I’m not the savviest fisherman,” he admits. “I often spend a pair days practising earlier than tournaments on Cayuga. After I see thirty trailers within the parking zone on the launch, I’ll exit and do a lap the place I feel most guys shall be fishing after which face my boat a hundred-eighty levels in the other way and discover my very own fish. I do the identical factor throughout Chesapeake tournaments as a result of I do know the much less angling strain the fish obtain, the extra keen they’re to chew.”
Avoiding areas that have day by day fishing strain is an efficient technique for match anglers. (Picture by Garrick Dixon)
By avoiding areas that have day by day fishing strain or heavy match consideration, he has a greater probability of discovering a spot that’s going to reload throughout a multi-day match. “If I catch a 5-pounder in a sneaky space, I’ll return and take a look at once more the following day,” Britenbaugh continued.
Avoiding the lots is one helpful technique, however Britenbaugh is adamant about all the time having a Plan B, and even a Plan C, in case of dangerous climate or surprising crowds in areas that usually see much less strain from fishermen. “For instance, a serious shift in wind would possibly change all the pieces about how I deliberate to fish an open-water spot, so a fallback plan is all the time in place.”
This previous summer season, he stored his eye on three small spots close to the place he’d caught the state file, which allowed him to cycle by means of completely different places and displays, after which gauge what the bass have been most aware of. “I’ll fish these spots for twenty to thirty minutes every and rotate if I’m not getting productive suggestions,” he mentioned. That suggestions can are available many types; in some instances, it is likely to be a few bass following and nosing on a transferring bait, similar to a chatterbait, which alerts him to throw a extra subdued presentation, like a Pace Worm. Suggestions may additionally come within the type of no suggestions in any respect, indicating that it’s time to maneuver. By concentrating on small items of construction—the spots inside a spot—and protecting quite a lot of choices on the prepared, Britenbaugh spends much less time making lengthy runs between places and extra time with a line within the water.
Baits for Bass in Grass
Seasonal patterns have an effect on the place and when bass will stack up, however on Cayuga, as a rule, largemouth dangle in dense vegetation throughout various depths. Britenbaugh says these fish could be focused with lures in two classes: transferring baits and dragging baits.
Shifting Baits
When largemouth bass are actively feeding and extra prepared to chase down an providing, Britenbaugh opts for attention-grabbers with pronounced motion. Swimbaits, swim jigs, chatterbaits, and spinnerbaits are all mainstays in his deal with trays.
If the bass are responsive however suspicious of animated lures like chatterbaits—giving chase however not committing—Britenbaugh reaches for a Pace Worm as a result of he can nonetheless rip it in shortly and the delicate motion is extra interesting to cautious fish.
Z-Man Unique Chatterbait
A chatterbait is good for fired-up largemouth and smallmouth. The bladed jighead pushes water on a average or quick retrieve, producing loud vibrations that decision in bass from a distance. Pair it with a Z-Man Turbo CrawZ trailer when the bass are centered on crawfish, or use a Z-Man Chattershad in the event that they’re chasing gobies or small bluegills within the grass.
Strike King Tour Grade Double Willow Spinnerbait
Twin willow blades produce an audible thump and mirror daylight, producing tons of flash and vibration on a average to speedy retrieve. Tip the skirted hook with a creature bait or paddletail trailer to beef up the profile and add some engaging motion. Spinnerbaits do a fantastic job of culling large bass feeding on bluegills.
Berkley PowerBait Swim Jig
The PowerBait-scented skirt on this weedless swim jig creates a path that helps bass monitor the lure when fishing in or round dense vegetation. Tip the hook with a Berkley Energy Stinger or The Deal Swimbait for some added vibration to entice strikes from bass in soiled or cloudy water in Cayuga’s grassy north finish.
Rapala CrushCity “The Mayor” Swimbait
In contrast to a median paddletail, The Mayor swims with a good wobble which, along with the tail’s kicking motion, produces a delicate vibration that interprets by means of the road and supplies suggestions to the angler. Pair it with a VMC Swimbait Jighead for a sensible presentation that can dupe largemouth staged alongside weed traces, ledges, or beneath arduous buildings like docks and fallen timber.
Dragging Baits
For low-hanging, torpid largemouth in extraordinarily heat or chilly water, Britenbaugh slowly drags and bounces lures alongside the underside close to the sides of vegetation. Lures like small creature baits, Texas-rigged and wacky-rigged Senkos, and the tried-and-true Pace Worm reach these eventualities as a result of bass understand them as simple meals that require minimal power expenditure.
When fishing for offshore smallmouth, dragging baits excel in hard-bottom areas with scant vegetation, similar to rock piles, sand, and gravel.
Wacky-Rigged Yamamoto Senko
It’s arduous to go fallacious with a wacky-rigged Senko worm. The gentle plastic creates an alluring flutter because it falls by means of the water column, which frequently results in delicate, barely detectable strikes on the drop or when gently raised and lowered in entrance of cautious or high-pressured bass.
Rapala CrushCity Cleanup Craw
Whether or not it’s rigged naked on a Ned-style jighead or used as a trailer on a soccer jig, the cumbersome profile of this 3½-inch craw presents a beefed-up profile to smallmouth and largemouth bass which are holding tight to arduous construction like docks and rock piles. The forward-facing legs generate a lifelike kicking motion with a hop-and-pause retrieve or a gradual, low-and-slow retrieve.
Rapala CrushCity Janitor or Zoom Extremely Vibe Pace Worm
Rapala CrushCity Janitor
The slim physique of a Texas-rigged worm makes it a perfect selection for punching by means of heavy, low-growing vegetation. The Janitor encompasses a barely tapered pintail that undulates with every twitch of the rod tip because it snakes by means of grass, and the Extremely Vibe Pace Worm has a hooked tail that wriggles because it hops and darts by means of dense flora on the underside the place largemouth wait to ambush unwitting prey.
Grass, Bluegills and Gobies: A Northeast Gem
From an outsider’s perspective, discovering large bass in a deep, almost 40-mile-long lake is intimidating. Nevertheless, a little bit of perception from a neighborhood information and an skilled match angler go a good distance in relation to breaking down the forage base, the sorts of construction, and the productive methods to find areas the place potential double-digit largemouth and record-breaking smallmouth hunker down all through the season.
Cayuga Lake is a singular ecosystem with extra flora than its neighboring Finger Lakes, and that’s a part of what makes it a gem of western New York bass fishing. A strong presence of varied aquatic crops provides cowl and vitamins to smaller fish preyed upon by largemouth, and to some extent, smallmouth bass. Wholesome grass attracts large bluegills, the predominant forage of Cayuga’s largemouth, whereas the docks, rocks, and downed timber present nearshore shelter for spawning smallmouth feeding on crawfish and “Vitamin G”. If there’s one factor to remove from each Hoefig and Britenbaugh, it’s the correlation between wholesome grass, plentiful forage, and a few big-old bass.
Spherical gobies could pose a menace to smallmouth bass populations within the long-term, however they’re a baitfish that Cayuga’s largemouth and smallmouth have come to depend on.
“NYSDEC does an incredible job managing all our waters,” mentioned Hoefig. “They aren’t making an attempt to maintain gobies out for no cause. The DEC is nicely conscious of the affect spherical gobies have on our smallmouth bass.” And whereas they’re not good for the general well being of the fishery, it will be almost not possible to eradicate the gobies, which have been nicely established within the Lake Ontario watershed for the reason that Nineties.
So long as gobies are round and the well being of the lake’s flora is maintained, rely on Cayuga to proceed cranking out 30-pound match baggage of largemouth and smallmouth, and to draw trophy-seeking bass fishermen from the Northeast and past.
» E book a bass fishing journey with Captain Kurt Hoefig on IG @khoefig32
» Comply with Jim Britenbaugh on IG @jimbfishin53
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