Popular for its white sandy beaches, scenic bluffs and densely wooded campsites, Fair Haven Beach State Park also offers some of the best fishing in New York’s Great Lakes region. Fishermen in Fair Haven can wet a line in Sterling Pond, Little Sodus Bay or Lake Ontario proper, all of which offer a chance to book up with bass, pike and other game fish.
Sterling Pond
Sterling Pond is the smallest of Fair Haven’s water bodies at 83 acres. The pond is connected to Lake Ontario via a deep channel, and situated entirely within the boundaries of Fair Haven Beach State Park. The pond is shallow and weedy, with an average depth of four feet and maximum depth of about ten. Largemouth bass and northern pike are the primary game fish in the pond, and surprising numbers of these fish lurk around its deep weed beds.
May and June also offer outstanding fishing for bluegill and sunfish, which enter the pond in droves to spawn and will bite readily on worms suspended under a bobber. By summer, dense weed growth makes shore fishing a challenge. But fishermen who can reach deeper water by boat often catch 5-pound bass and pike up to 30 inches on live minnows around weed edges.
Little Sodus Bay
At 750 acres, Little Sodus Bay offers a wealth of fishing options. Bass – especially smallmouths — draw many anglers to the bay; these fish enter through the channel between Fair Haven’s twin piers to spawn in May, and many of them stick around after the season opens on the third Saturday in June. The best smallmouth action can be found around weed edges and rocky drop-offs, and smallies generally fall for live bait, tube jigs, Senko-style lures and goby imitations. Largemouth bass also lurk in weedy areas and under the boat docks that ring the bay.
Almost the entire circumference of Little Sodus Bay is built up with houses and cottages, but you can fish from the pier in Fair Haven Beach State Park or launch a boat from the park’s boat ramp. Bullhead, yellow perch, bluegill, sunfish and black crappie offer an ample panfish population, and anglers regularly turn up big pike as well. Salmon and steelhead enter the bay to spawn during fall, and fishing can be shoulder-to-shoulder along the pier at the height of the run.
Lake Ontario
Nearly 200 miles from end to end, Lake Ontario contains enough water to make a fisherman’s head swim in spite of being the smallest Great Lake by surface area. Fair Haven is as good a home base as any from which to explore the lake. Various salmonids including Coho and Chinook salmon, brown trout and steelhead spend their summers in deep offshore waters, and a number of Fair Haven area charters and guide services specialize in taking anglers out in pursuit of these fish.
Smallmouth bass, walleye and perch are the most popular warm-water fish in the Fair Haven stretch of Lake Ontario, and the rocky drop-offs near the bluffs can yield significant catches. Live worms catch all three species, and any baits that imitate the invasive round gobies are bound to attract the attention of bass and walleye. Jigs and tubes are perennial favorites, and Senkos catch bass like nobody’s business when the bite is on. The bite can be unpredictable, but late spring and early summer typically offer good fishing. Stop in at the local tackle shop for up to date information and fish-related gossip.