Honeoye Lake Bass Fishing Guide
Weed-Choked, Shallow & Loaded With Quality Largemouth Bass
Book a Honeoye Lake TripHoneoye Lake — The Flipper's Paradise
Honeoye Lake is the smallest of the main Finger Lakes, but don't let its size fool you — this shallow, weed-choked body of water is one of the most productive largemouth bass fisheries in the entire region. With a maximum depth of just 30 feet, the entire lake is essentially prime bass habitat. Thick vegetation blankets the majority of the lake bottom during the growing season, creating the kind of heavy cover that big largemouth love to call home. If you enjoy flipping and pitching into heavy cover and feeling that unmistakable thump of a big bass eating your bait, Honeoye Lake is where you need to be.
What sets Honeoye apart from the deeper Finger Lakes is the sheer density of quality fish. This lake produces high numbers of bass on a consistent basis, and mixed into those numbers are genuinely big fish. The combination of abundant forage, endless cover, and a healthy population creates conditions where largemouth grow fat and plentiful. I've fished this lake more than any other body of water in the region, and it never stops impressing me with what it produces.
My Experience on Honeoye Lake
With 301 days on Honeoye Lake, this is the body of water I've spent more time on than any other. I know every weed bed, every dock, every subtle contour change on this lake, and that knowledge has been built through decades of fishing here in every season and every condition imaginable. Honeoye is where I go when I want to flip, and it's where I take clients who want to experience what heavy-cover bass fishing is all about.
One of my all-time favorite fishing memories happened right here on Honeoye Lake. I was fishing with Jamie Hartman, flipping heavy mats of vegetation, when I set the hook on what felt like a solid fish. I flipped a 7.9-pound largemouth into the boat, and Jamie quickly grabbed it, tossed it in the livewell, and told me it might be a 5-pounder. When we finally put it on the scale, his jaw hit the floor. That's Honeoye — the fish are so thick-bodied and healthy that even experienced anglers underestimate their weight. That 7.9-pounder remains my personal best on this lake, and I'm convinced there are fish over eight pounds swimming in these weeds right now.
Flipping is the dominant technique on Honeoye Lake, and it's what I've built my reputation on here. Heavy jigs, Texas-rigged creature baits, and punch rigs driven through thick vegetation mats are the go-to presentations. The bass position themselves under the canopy of weeds where they ambush bluegill and other forage, and dropping a bait right on their head is the most effective way to trigger a bite. With 40 years of meticulous notes on this lake, I know exactly which weed beds hold the biggest fish during each phase of the season.
As a licensed USCG Captain with over 25 years of tournament experience, three career wins, 24 top-10 finishes, and more than $575,000 in career earnings on the FLW and MLF circuits, I bring a tournament-level flipping game to every guide trip on Honeoye. Note that Honeoye Lake is HP-restricted, so we fish this one from my custom 15-foot rig — purpose-built for shallow lakes like this and perfectly suited to the close-quarters fishing that Honeoye demands.
What Makes My Honeoye Lake Trips Different
- Custom 15-foot rig designed specifically for HP-restricted lakes like Honeoye
- 301 days of personal experience and 40 years of detailed notes on every weed bed and pattern
- All rods, tackle, and lures provided — just bring your fishing license
- Flipping-focused techniques: jigs, Texas rigs, punch rigs, and creature baits for heavy cover
- Dawn-to-dusk full-day trips available — not just a 6-hour window
- Ideal for anglers who want to learn heavy-cover flipping techniques from a tournament pro
Honeoye Lake Seasonal Guide
Spring (April – June)
Honeoye Lake warms quickly due to its shallow profile, making it one of the first Finger Lakes to see spawning activity. Pre-spawn bass stage along the edges of emerging vegetation and on hard-bottom areas near the shoreline. Jigs, spinnerbaits, and swimbaits are effective during the early spring transition. As the spawn kicks in, bass move into pockets of vegetation and onto sandy flats throughout the lake. Sight fishing is possible on calm days in the shallower sections.
Summer (July – September)
Summer is the best season on Honeoye Lake and when the flipping bite is at its peak. Thick mats of vegetation cover much of the lake surface, and largemouth stack underneath them in the shade. Flipping heavy jigs, Texas-rigged creatures, and punch rigs through the mats is the most productive technique by far. Early morning frog bites over the mats can be explosive. Full-day trips are highly recommended in summer to take advantage of multiple feeding windows and cover more water.
Fall (October – November)
As vegetation begins dying back, bass transition to the remaining green weeds, which concentrate fish and make them easier to locate. Lipless crankbaits ripped through dying weed edges are deadly during this transition. Flipping jigs into isolated clumps of green vegetation continues to produce quality fish. The fall feed is aggressive on Honeoye, and some of the heaviest bags of the year come during October when you find the right combination of green weeds and baitfish.
Honeoye Lake Trip Rates
All trips include rods, tackle, and lures — just bring your fishing license
Half Day
- Morning or afternoon
- All tackle provided
- Great for beginners
Full Day
- Dawn to dusk
- All tackle provided
- Cover more water & patterns
Rates are for 1-2 anglers. Contact me for group pricing. Gratuity not included.