Walleye and lake trout keep firing on NY's big lakes into fall

What's biting

What's next

With water continuing to cool through late September, expect the deep-water jigging pattern for walleye and lake trout out of Barcelona to hold or strengthen over the next several days, since both species have shown consistent, repeatable results across the last two weekly reports rather than a one-off hot bite. Smallmouth bass should keep trending upward as baitfish push shallower ahead of fall turnover, giving anglers a second target to mix in on the same trips.

The First Quarter moon this week favors steady rather than dramatic feeding windows, so early-morning and late-afternoon effort on deep structure is a reasonable bet for walleye and lake trout, with smallmouth more likely to show on the edges of drop-offs as the sun climbs. Anglers planning a weekend trip should expect the current pattern, deep jigging for walleye and lake trout, smallmouth picking up on adjacent structure, to carry over largely unchanged, barring another round of Lake Erie wind and wave disruption of the kind that shortened several trips earlier this month.

Context

Late September in New York's Finger Lakes and Hudson Valley freshwater fisheries typically marks the front edge of the fall transition: surface water begins cooling, baitfish start schooling and moving, and lake trout and walleye respond by feeding more actively along deep structure as the thermocline starts to break down. Smallmouth bass activity picking up through this stretch is consistent with the seasonal pattern of fish feeding up ahead of the true fall turnover, which typically arrives in the weeks following. Nothing in this week's reports suggests the region is running ahead of or behind that typical seasonal clock. Anglers should check current state regulations before harvesting any species, as seasons and limits can shift by waterbody and time of year.