Fishes Chautauqua Lake
Lake · Western New York · New York
Chautauqua Lake Fishing Guides
A shallow, weedy lake in western New York with a muskellunge tradition older than most fisheries in the country and walleye fishing to match.
Map of the Chautauqua Lake
19 numbered points: 7 access points, 1 campsite, 1 bait & fly shop, 1 outfitter, 3 parks and conservation areas, 1 agency office, 1 regulation section limit, 1 hazard, 1 USGS gauge, 2 points of interest. Tap a marker for details. Reviewed Sep 22, 2026.
- Access / boat ramp (7)
- Campsite (1)
- Bait, tackle & fly shop (1)
- Outfitter / canoe rental (1)
- Park / conservation area (3)
- Agency / conservation office (1)
- Regulation section limit (1)
- Dam / hazard (1)
- USGS gauge (1)
- Point of interest (2)
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Points are curated from OpenStreetMap and state agency sources; confirm access and hours before you go.
Print it. Bag it. Bring it.Phones die, screens crack, and most of this water has no signal. Print this map, fold it into a zip-top bag or dry bag with your license, and you have a backup your electronics can’t give you. Every marker is numbered so you can say exactly where you are.
Open the printable mapAll 19 points on this map
| # | Point | Type | Lat, Lon | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lucille Ball Memorial Park Boat Launch City of Jamestown / hard-surface ramp | Access / boat ramp | 42.11137, -79.28293 | Hard-surface launch at the lake's south-east end in Jamestown, parking for about 50 cars with trailers. One of the seven Chautauqua Lake ramps NYSDEC lists for this county. |
| 2 | Lakewood Community Park Boat Launch Village of Lakewood / hard-surface ramp | Access / boat ramp | 42.10116, -79.29695 | Hard-surface launch on the south shore, about 50 cars with trailers. NYSDEC notes the ramp is on the north side of the street and the parking lot on the south. |
| 3 | Smith Boys Marina Marina / south-west shore | Point of interest | 42.10052, -79.35461 | Marina on the south-west shore between Lakewood and Ashville Bay. Dockage and boat service; no bait or tackle is recorded on its OpenStreetMap entry and the business was not checked this run. |
| 4 | Chautauqua Reel Outdoors 2500 Route 394, Ashville / at Ashville Bay Marina | Bait, tackle & fly shop | 42.10813, -79.37213 | Live bait and tackle shop with an attached guide service on the Ashville Bay shore, open Wednesday to Saturday per its own site. A 2022 lake directory still carries an old Lakewood address for it. |
| 5 | Chautauqua Lake Fish and Wildlife Management Area - Stow parcel NYSDEC / state land on the west shore | Park / conservation area | 42.15994, -79.40631 | NYSDEC-managed parcel on the west shore opposite Bemus Point. No ramp or parking is mapped on this parcel. |
| 6 | Chautauqua Lake Fish and Wildlife Management Area - Prendergast parcel NYSDEC / state land above Prendergast Point | Park / conservation area | 42.18254, -79.44797 | The northern parcel of the same NYSDEC management area, just above the Prendergast Point launch and the state hatchery. |
| 7 | Chautauqua Fish Hatchery NYSDEC / Prendergast Point | Agency / conservation office | 42.18782, -79.44658 | New York State's hatchery on the lake's west shore. DEC's county launch listing names it as the site of the Prendergast Point ramp next door. |
| 8 | Prendergast Point Boat Launch NYSDEC / hard-surface ramp / accessible | Access / boat ramp | 42.18934, -79.44083 | DEC's own launch at the fish hatchery on the west shore, about 50 cars with trailers, and the only Chautauqua Lake ramp DEC marks as accessible. |
| 9 | Chautauqua Marina 104 West Lake Road, Mayville / boat rental | Outfitter / canoe rental | 42.23872, -79.49357 | Marina at the north end renting pontoon and fishing boats, with a non-ethanol fuel dock. Its own site lists no bait or tackle, so treat it as a rental and fuel stop rather than a supply stop. |
| 10 | Lakeside Park Boat Launch Village of Mayville / hard-surface ramp | Access / boat ramp | 42.24307, -79.49561 | Municipal launch at the lake's north-west tip in Mayville, about 30 cars with trailers. |
| 11 | Midway State Park NY State Parks / east shore at Maple Springs | Park / conservation area | 42.20015, -79.42322 | Historic lakeside state park on the east shore with a seasonal boat dock. A shore stop and a landmark rather than a trailer launch. |
| 12 | Long Point Boat Launch Long Point State Park / OPRHP / hard-surface ramp | Access / boat ramp | 42.17218, -79.41555 | The lake's largest ramp, in Long Point State Park on the east shore: about 56 rigs with trailers plus 70 cars, with a marina and a boat pumpout on site. |
| 13 | Wildwood Acres Campground / east shore near Long Point | Campsite | 42.17399, -79.38650 | Campground mapped about 0.7 km back from the east shore, between Long Point and Bemus Point. |
| 14 | Bemus Bay Water Toys Marina and fuel dock / Bemus Bay | Point of interest | 42.16035, -79.39308 | Marina with a fuel dock in Bemus Bay, a few hundred metres north of the Bemus Point ramp. |
| 15 | USGS 03013946 - Chautauqua Lake at Bemus Point Lake level / Bemus Point | USGS gauge | 42.15644, -79.39383 | The lake's USGS gauge. It stands about 90 m from the Bemus Point launch, so the two markers print almost on top of each other. |
| 16 | Bemus Point Boat Launch NYSDEC / hard-surface ramp | Access / boat ramp | 42.15627, -79.39339 | DEC's east-shore launch at Bemus Point, about 30 cars with trailers. The lake gauge stands at the same spot. |
| 17 | Chadakoin River reach limit - at Chautauqua Lake NYSDEC Region 9 / upper limit of the Chadakoin reach | Regulation section limit | 42.11129, -79.26924 | Where the Chadakoin River leaves the lake at Jamestown. DEC's Region 9 table runs the Chadakoin's special-regulation reach from Chautauqua Lake downstream to Warner Dam. |
| 18 | McCrea Point Park Boat Launch City of Jamestown / on the Chadakoin outlet | Access / boat ramp | 42.09893, -79.25294 | DEC lists this ramp under Chautauqua Lake and the Chadakoin River. It sits on the outlet river below the lake, about 30 rigs, and has a fishing pier. |
| 19 | Warner Dam Weir on the Chadakoin / Jamestown | Dam / hazard | 42.09341, -79.24225 | Weir about 3 km down the Chadakoin from the lake outlet, and the downstream limit of DEC's Chadakoin special-regulation reach. |
Guides on the Chautauqua Lake
Claimed profiles take booking requests. Unclaimed profiles are built from public records so the river is never empty; the guide can claim or remove one any time.
Order on this page: premium and outfitter plans first (labelled Premium placement), then claimed free profiles, then unclaimed — one published price, no bidding for position. How placement works
About the Chautauqua Lake
Chautauqua Lake in the far southwest corner of New York is one of the oldest muskellunge fisheries in North America, and its northern basin is the shallow weedy water that made it. The lake is divided in character: the north end is deeper and cleaner, the south end shallow, fertile and thick with vegetation, and they fish very differently.
Muskellunge are the tradition. Chautauqua muskies have been pursued and written about for well over a century, and the lake still supports a strong population with a dedicated following. The weed beds, the drop-offs and the edges where the two basins meet are the classic water.
Walleye are the other major fishery and are fished hard, particularly at night in summer when they move onto the shallow flats. Largemouth bass in the vegetation and smallmouth on the rock are both good, and the panfishing is excellent, with crappie and perch abundant.
Winter ice fishing is a substantial local season, with perch and walleye the main targets.
The lake has had long-running issues with aquatic vegetation and algae, which are managed actively and which affect where and how you can fish in a given summer. It is worth checking current conditions before a trip planned around the weeds.
Bemus Point sits at the narrows where the two basins meet, and that constriction is worth understanding. Water moves through it, bait stacks in it, and predators use it, which makes the narrows one of the more dependable pieces of water on the lake in any season.
The gauge below reports lake elevation, read at Bemus Point between the two basins. On water this shallow, the level moves the weed edge, and the weed edge is where the muskies are.
This water needs a real photo
The photo at the top of this page is not Chautauqua Lake.
It is a regional stand-in, honestly captioned but generic — we will not put a name to a river we cannot prove. Send us a photograph you took here and it replaces the stand-in, with your credit on it.
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Pool right now
1,307.35ft NAVD88
- 24 hours-0.02 ft → steady
- For the dateAbout normal for the date
Reading taken 31 min ago at USGS 03013946, CHAUTAUQUA LAKE AT BEMUS POINT NY. Elevation is the surface of the lake above the survey datum, not depth. Source.
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Access
Bemus Point and Mayville: public ramps on the north basin.
Prendergast Point and Long Point State Park: additional launches and day use.
Celoron and Jamestown: access to the shallow south basin.
Extensive weed beds through the south basin are the main muskie cover.
Bank and pier access is available in the lakeside villages.
Jamestown and Mayville have services, bait and guides.
Note: aquatic vegetation management varies by year. Check current conditions.
Seasons
Winter: perch and walleye through the ice, a busy local season.
Spring: walleye and bass moving shallow, and the first muskie action.
Summer: night walleye on the flats, muskie on the weed edges, heavy boat traffic.
Fall: the classic muskellunge season and the best fishing of the year.
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Questions
What species can you catch on the Chautauqua Lake?
Anglers target Black Crappie, Bluegill, Largemouth Bass, Muskellunge, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Yellow Perch on the Chautauqua Lake in New York.
Are there fishing guides on the Chautauqua Lake?
GuidedFloats lists 1 guide and outfitters on the Chautauqua Lake. Claimed profiles accept booking requests; unclaimed profiles are built from public records and link to the business.
Where can you access the Chautauqua Lake?
Bemus Point and Mayville: public ramps on the north basin. Prendergast Point and Long Point State Park: additional launches and day use. Celoron and Jamestown: access to the shallow south basin. Extensive weed beds through the south basin are the main muskie cover. Bank and pier access is available in the lakeside villages. Jamestown and Mayville have services, bait and guides. Note: aquatic vegetation management varies by year. Check current conditions.
When is the best time to fish the Chautauqua Lake?
Winter: perch and walleye through the ice, a busy local season. Spring: walleye and bass moving shallow, and the first muskie action. Summer: night walleye on the flats, muskie on the weed edges, heavy boat traffic. Fall: the classic muskellunge season and the best fishing of the year.
Where are the fishing regulations for the Chautauqua Lake?
Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the New York agency site: https://dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/freshwater-fishing/regulations