Share your catch

Keuka Lake Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

The Y-shaped Finger Lake: Keuka trades size for quality with lake trout, smallmouth and a rainbow run up the outlet.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Flow
22 cfs
Air / High
75 / 75 F
Wind
NW 7 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 04232482, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Keuka Lake lines up a genuinely fishable day across the board. The river is running 22 cfs, on the rise. Today brings clear skies, wind NW around 7 mph, rising pressure near 1013 hPa and a high of 75. Water sits around 66 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Smallmouth bassGood

Peak season. Tubes, jerkbaits and swimbaits around gravel points, boulders and current seams.

Northern pikeGood

Weedline spinnerbaits, spoons and jerkbaits; bays with fresh green weed hold the active fish.

Lake troutFair

Transition depths: work 40-80 ft structure edges with white tubes and flutter spoons. Early mornings can find fish surprisingly high over deep water chasing bait.

Yellow perchFair

Drifting flats and weed edges with small jigs tipped with bait.

Tomorrow: Cooler at 70 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings from Keuka Lake Outlet at Dresden.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 04232482.

4710015322 cfs08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp75 F
High / Low75 / 64 F
WindNW 7-14 mph
Pressure1012.8 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain18% cloud, 53%
Sunrise / Sunset06:37 / 19:38
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~66 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Showers, 75/64 F, wind 8 mph, rain 53%

Fair or better. Cloud and a rain chance can stretch the morning bite well past breakfast: keep moving baits tied on.

Species guide

The species that matter on Keuka Lake: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Lake trout illustration

Lake trout

Best: ice-out and fall turnover

The char of the deep: 40-year-old predators patrolling the cold basins of glacial lakes, from the Finger Lakes to the Rockies. Transition depths: work 40-80 ft structure edges with white tubes and flutter spoons. Early mornings can find fish surprisingly high over deep water chasing bait.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: May-Oct

Current and rock. Finds gravel flats, boulders and drop-offs, and fights far above its weight. Peak season. Tubes, jerkbaits and swimbaits around gravel points, boulders and current seams.

Northern pike illustration

Northern pike

Best: spring, early winter

The ambush predator of weedbeds and cabbage edges. Aggressive, big and always worth a wire leader. Weedline spinnerbaits, spoons and jerkbaits; bays with fresh green weed hold the active fish.

Yellow perch illustration

Yellow perch

Good most of the year

The great lakes and northern panfish staple. Schools tight to bottom; where you catch one there are fifty. Drifting flats and weed edges with small jigs tipped with bait.

When to come: the Keuka Lake calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Lake trout
Smallmouth bass
Northern pike
Yellow perch
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 66 F (estimated, not a reading).

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~66 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Keuka Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Smallmouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 80 F, wind to 11 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Smallmouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 83 F, wind to 9 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

5/5 Excellent. Go now. Everything lines up: pressure, wind and light are in your favor. Smallmouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 82 F, wind to 7 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

Before you go

License

New York requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

New York license. Lake trout and rainbow limits per current DEC Region 8 rules; tributary regulations differ seasonally.

Access

Hammondsport, Penn Yan and Branchport launches; Keuka Lake Outlet trail access at Dresden.

About this water

An 11,730-acre Y-shaped Finger Lake in Yates and Steuben counties, New York, draining east to Seneca Lake.

Fishing Keuka Lake: the full guide

The crooked lake

Keuka is the odd one among the Finger Lakes: Y-shaped, 187 feet deep, and flowing out sideways into Seneca Lake rather than north with its neighbors. The fishery is a scaled-down version of the region’s best: lake trout that run heavy for the lake’s size, smallmouth bass on the extensive rock and gravel, rainbow trout running the tributaries in spring, and yellow perch and pickerel for anglers who like a mixed creel.

Lakers and smallmouth

Lake trout hold in the deeper basins of both branches: troll spoons and dodger rigs at 60-100 feet in summer, shallower after ice-out and again in fall when they move onto the shoals. Smallmouth are the underrated fishery: the rocky drop-offs, points and shoals around Bluff Point and the branch mouths hold quality fish through the season, with drop-shots and tubes in the clear water.

Tributaries and the outlet

Rainbow trout run the tributary streams each spring, and the Keuka Lake Outlet at Dresden carries fish between Keuka and Seneca: the outlet is its own small fishery with a walking trail alongside. Winter perch fishing over the deeper flats is popular when ice forms in the branches, which happens more reliably here than on the bigger Finger Lakes.

Access and the villages

Public launches at Hammondsport, Penn Yan and Branchport serve the lake. Hammondsport at the south end and Penn Yan at the northeast branch anchor supplies and lodging, both surrounded by vineyards. The lake is small enough to learn quickly and quiet enough that weekday mornings can feel private, even in July.

Common questions

Why is Keuka shaped like a Y?

Glacial carving left it with two branches and an outlet flowing sideways into Seneca: unique among the Finger Lakes and the origin of its Crooked Lake nickname.

Is the smallmouth fishing good?

Very, and largely overlooked: rocky shoals and points hold quality fish all season, especially around Bluff Point.

When do rainbows run?

Spring, typically late March through April, up the tributaries and the outlet.

Is fishing good at Keuka Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Seneca Lake15 miCanandaigua Lake16 miCayuga Lake24 miOwasco Lake37 miGenesee River48 miOtisco Lake49 mi
Share your catch