Finger Lakes & Tributary Regulations
New York
Fishing
| Conesus Lake, Hemlock Lake, Canadice Lake, Honeoye Lake, Canandaigua Lake, Keuka Lake, Seneca Lake, Cayuga Lake, Owasco Lake, Skaneateles Lake and Otisco Lake Regulations | |||||
| Water | Species | Open Season | Minimum Length | Daily Limit | Method |
| All Finger Lakes | Northern Pike | 1st Sat in May – March 15 | 22″ | 5 | Ice fishing permitted |
| Walleye | 1st Sat in May – March 15 | 18″, except 15″ in Honeoye Lake | 3 | ||
| Canadice Lake, Canandaigua Lake, Conesus Lake, Hemlock Lake, Honeoye Lake, Keuka Lake, Seneca Lake | Black Bass | 3rd Sat in | 12″ | 5 | |
| March 16 – Fri preceding the 3rd Sat in June | Catch and release only | Artificial lures only | |||
| Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout, Landlocked Salmon | All year | 15″ | 5 in combination. Catch shall include no more than 1 Rainbow Trout or 3 Landlocked Salmon | ||
| Honeoye Lake | Alewife (sawbellies) | Possession prohibited | |||
| Owasco Lake, Cayuga Lake | Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout, Landlocked Salmon | All year | 15″ Except 18″ for Landlocked Salmon in Cayuga Lake | 5 in combination. Catch shall include no more than 3 Brown Trout, 3 Rainbow Trout or 3 Landlocked Salmon | |
| Otisco Lake | Tiger Muskellunge | 1st Sat in May through | 36″ | 1 | |
| Trout | All year | 12″ | 5 | ||
| Skaneateles Lake | Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout, Landlocked Salmon | All year | 15″ | 5 in combination. Catch shall include no more than 3 of any species. | |
| Alewife or sawbellies | Possession prohibited | ||||
| Finger Lakes Tributary Regulations | |||||
| Water | Species | Open Season | Minimum Length | Daily Limit | Method |
| All tributaries to Canadice Lake, Canandaigua Lake, Hemlock Lake, Keuka Lake, and Seneca Lake upstream to the first barrier impassable by fish | Lake Trout | April 1 through Dec 31 | 15″ | 3 in combination, catch shall include no more than 1 Rainbow Trout | |
| All tributaries to Owasco Lake, Otisco Lake and Skaneateles Lake upstream to the first barrier impassable by fish except tributaries listed below | Lake Trout | April 1 through Dec 31 | 15″, except 9″ for Brown Trout | 3 in combination | |
| All tributaries to Cayuga Lake upstream to the first barrier impassable by fish except tributaries listed below | Lake Trout, Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, Landlocked Salmon | April 1 through Dec 31 | 15″ except 18″ for Landlocked Salmon | 3 in combination | |
| Fall Creek (Cayuga Lake) from the downstream edge of the railroad bridge below Rt. 13 to Ithaca Falls | Lake Trout | April 1 through Dec 31 | 15″ except 18″ for Landlocked Salmon | 3 in combination | |
| Jan 1 through March 31 | Catch and release only | Artificial lures only | |||
| Angling prohibited between sunset and sunrise from Oct 1–May 15 | |||||
| Spafford Creek (Otisco Lake) | Trout | April 1 through Oct 15 | Any size | 5 – with no more than 2 longer than 12″ | |
| Tributaries to all Finger Lakes upstream to the first barrier impassable by fish | All other species | Open season, daily limit and minimum length regulations that are in effect for the Finger Lakes | |||
Additional Tributary Regulations
- Any action to frighten fish and move them from concealment, including herding, driving, kicking and stoning is prohibited.
- Angling is prohibited from January 1 through March 31, except for those stream sections listed below and Fall Creek downstream of Ithaca Falls.
- Angling is also prohibited between sunset and sunrise from April 1 through May 15 and October 1 through December 31 except for those stream sections listed below.
- Angling is prohibited all year in Cayuga Inlet for a distance of 500 feet up and downstream of the dam located within the flood control channel and Coy Glenn Creek from Cayuga Inlet up to and including the second check dam, in Tompkins County.
- Use of more than one line with a single hook point is prohibited except for those stream sections listed below.
- Possession of hooks with a gap greater than ½” is prohibited except for those stream sections listed below.
- Possession of landing nets larger than 50 inches around the frame or with handles longer than 20 inches is prohibited except for those stream sections listed below.
Stream Sections For Which Additional Tributary Regulations B, C, D, E and F Above Do Not Apply:
Trout season is closed January 1 through March 31 in these sections.
- West River and Sucker Brook from Canandaigua Lake upstream in Ontario County.
- Guyanoga Creek from Keuka Lake upstream to Rt. 54A bridge, Yates County.
- Cayuga Inlet and flood control channel from Cayuga Lake upstream to posted “NO FISHING” boundary below the fishway in Tompkins County.
- Barge Canal from Seneca Lake upstream to northernmost Rt. 14 bridge in Montour Falls, Schuyler County.
- Old Seneca Inlet in the southeast corner of Seneca Lake upstream of State Route 414.
- Yawgers Creek from Cayuga Lake upstream to abandoned Lehigh Valley railroad bridge in Cayuga County.
- Owasco Inlet from Owasco Lake upstream 0.7 mile to marked boundary at old railroad bed in Cayuga County.
- Fall Creek from Cayuga Lake to the downstream edge of the railroad bridge below Rt. 13 in Ithaca, Tompkins County.