Lake · Seneca, New York
Cayuga Lake
At a glance
- Area
- 17,365 ha (42,911 acres)
This lake's year
A ring of the twelve months, January at the top: the outer band is the ice cover, the inner rings the spawning months of the lake's species, and a needle marks the day this page was updated. The list beside it says the same.
- No published ice dates for this lake.
- 1. Lake sturgeon spawns: Apr–Jul (months cited for Great Lakes populations)
- 2. Lake trout spawns: Sep–Dec
- Needle: Oct 25, the day this page was updated
Spawning months from each species' cited source for this region, for its five best-recorded species here; ice dates from the published record (sources below). Summer layering and fall turnover are drawn only for lakes the USGS has modelled (in the U.S. Midwest).
Who lives here
- Atlantic salmon Salmo salarStocked · 2025 · Fish stocking: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Fish Stocking Lists (data.ny.gov)
- Brown trout Salmo truttaStocked · 2025 · Fish stocking: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Fish Stocking Lists (data.ny.gov)
- Lake sturgeon Acipenser fulvescensStocked · 2025 · Fish stocking: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Fish Stocking Lists (data.ny.gov)
- Lake trout Salvelinus namaycushStocked · 2025 · Fish stocking: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Fish Stocking Lists (data.ny.gov)
Not listed doesn't mean no fish.
Stocking
| Year | Species | Stage | Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Brown Trout | 2,895 | |
| 2025 | Brown Trout | 8,920 | |
| 2025 | Brown Trout | 8,920 | |
| 2025 | Brown Trout | 8,920 | |
| 2025 | Lake Sturgeon | 3,000 | |
| 2025 | Lake Trout | 70,000 | |
| 2025 | Landlocked Salmon | 10,320 | |
| 2025 | Landlocked Salmon | 10,320 | |
| 2025 | Landlocked Salmon | 3,090 | |
| 2024 | Brown Trout | 9,100 | |
| 2024 | Brown Trout | 9,100 | |
| 2024 | Brown Trout | 9,100 | |
| 2024 | Lake Trout | 70,000 | |
| 2024 | Landlocked Salmon | 10,000 | |
| 2024 | Landlocked Salmon | 2,850 | |
| 2024 | Landlocked Salmon | 10,000 | |
| 2023 | Brown Trout | 8,500 | |
| 2023 | Brown Trout | 8,500 | |
| 2023 | Brown Trout | 8,500 | |
| 2023 | Lake Sturgeon | 2,975 |
As the agency publishes it. Newest first: 20 of 94.
Getting on the water
- Frontenac ParkBoat launch · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and WISP programs
- Deans Cove State Marine ParkBoat launch · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and WISP programs
- Taughannock FallsBoat launch · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and WISP programs
- Allan TremanBoat launch · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and WISP programs
- Cayuga Lake State ParkBoat launch · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and WISP programs
- Mud Lock DEC LaunchBoat launch · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and WISP programs
- Long Point State ParkCarry-in access · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and WISP programs
Listed by public agencies. A listed site doesn't make the water or its shore open to fishing: when in doubt, it's unknown. Check signs and local rules.
The rules
Summary, not the law. Check the official regulations before you fish.
HuntGrid has no rules for this water yet.
Official regulations: New York State DEC
What's biting
Not enough anglers have shared catches here lately. A species shows for a week once at least 5 anglers share catches of it.
From anglers who chose to share their catches in HuntGrid Fishing, each counted once, counts rounded to the nearest 5, published 3 days after the week ends and never changed. Never a spot, time or name.
About this page
Sources and licences:
- U.S. Geological Survey, National Hydrography Dataset Plus High Resolution (NHDPlus HR); U.S. Census Bureau, TIGER/Line® Shapefiles 2025: counties and states · Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. §105)
- Fish stocking: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Fish Stocking Lists (data.ny.gov) · OPEN-NY Terms of Use (https://data.ny.gov/dataset/OPEN-NY-Terms-Of-Use/77gx-ii52, read 2026-10-19): no attribution required; "You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the State", accepted under the owner's 2026-10-19 rule. data.ny.gov dataset e52k-ymww (Fish Stocking Lists (Actual): Beginning 2011, read 2026-10-19) states no other licence. Credit the agency; remove the layer if the agency asks.
- New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and WISP programs · No restrictions on use (NYS DEC, the item's terms of use: "No restrictions")
Spawning months:
- Lake sturgeon: Goodyear, C.D., T.A. Edsall, D.M. Ormsby Dempsey, G.D. Moss, and P.E. Polanski. 1982. Atlas of the spawning and nursery areas of Great Lakes fishes, Volume XIII: Reproductive characteristics of Great Lakes fishes. U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv. FWS/OBS-82/52, p. 4 (Great Lakes populations: spawning April-July at 48-70 °F, usually May and June at 57-60 °F)
- Lake trout: Marcus, M.D., W.A. Hubert and S.H. Anderson. 1984. Habitat suitability index models: Lake trout (exclusive of the Great Lakes). U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv. FWS/OBS-82/10.84 (habitat use information: temperature that cues spawning (varies by lake)); p. 3 (spawning months: Great Lakes, New York, New Hampshire, Maine; mid-August to mid-September in Great Bear and Great Slave lakes)
The outline is drawn from the official water data credited above, without a basemap. These pages show no angler's catches, spots or tracks.