Some of the Best River Smallmouth Destinations (New York)

Explore Some New Sections River Bassin in New York

The schedules for the major professional bass fishing circuits are published for next season and while some of the well known bodies of water have been scheduled there are plenty of destination throughout New York that for those that Chase Smallies should consider visiting in 2024.

While not extensive or exclusive these destinations are meant to peek your interest in exploring the regions fisheries that will provide you with some great smallmouth fishing adventures.

Anglers can start by also checking out regional kayak bass fishing series in New York as an additional reference. many of these often schedule lakes across New York which can typically often mean big water though and I am intentionally leaving those off this list solely concentrating on rivers as most of the Chasers in the Smallmouth Army prefer rivers over lakes and big water like Erie, Ontario, Champlain and others.

If you are seeking lakes than make no mistake there are some of the best quality lakes for Smallmouth in New York for your considerations. Lakes like Champlain, George, Cayuga, Oneida, Erie , Chautauqua and Lake Ontario (Chaumont Bay) are good places to start.

If you follow Bass Elite Series or Bass Pro Tour of Major League Fishing you cannot help but be familiar with the St. Lawrence River and the quality of smallies coming out of that fishery.

Here area few of the rivers in New York I prefer to fish in the traditional river bassin sense. Some may call many of us kayak purists but were kayaks ever truly meant for those big water areas? Kayaking to me will always been about exploring where boats can never go not trying to share the same water as glitter boats.

Here are just a few in New York to consider:

Niagara River-

Niagara connects Lake Erie and Lake Ontario which in itself screams smallmouth. While only a mere 36 miles long the river if divided between the Upper and Lower Sections of the river bu the well known Niagara Falls.

Access points exist along the stretches but not nearly as many as say Suquehanna and other systems in NY. The largest being Fort Niagara Park (Porter) other than at Niagara Falls (Griffon Park). Porter has an additional access (Hinman Street) location outside the park as well. The Lower Niagara section also has access in Lewiston, NY at N. Water & Center Streets. Access can also be found at North Tonawanda where these is room for two dozen cars and trailers. ** Note- Many NY localities require local permits for trailer parking so be sure to investigate where you plan to access the river systems throughout NY.

Oswegatchie River— “Going or Coming Around A Hill” (Iroquois)

One of my favorites. This 137 mile long northern NY river system is simply put a paddling adventure of beautiful scenes and some darn good smallie chasing especially in terms of quantity of bass you will catch. No surprise given the mouth of the river is at the incredible St. Lawrence fishery at Ogdensburg, NY. Anyone loving smallmouth should visit the Adirondack region of NY which the river basically traverses. Much like the Susquehanna the river has two branches along with the main stem of the river.

The river is full of dozens seemingly of tributaries and creeks with Robinson River and Indian River likely the most familiar as the river flows from the Adirondack mountains to the St. Lawrence. The rivers begins in reality from what still remains I believe a private lake in Partlow and then moving towards Cranberry Lake (Clifton)/ (Five Ponds Wilderness area) which is the third largest of the lakes in the Adirondack region totaling over seven thousand acres.

In Sta. Lawrence County, NY there are various access points to the river that anglers can use. The largest is in Heuvelton which can hold some 30 or so vehicles followed by Fine, NY (see restrictions). Edwards, NY has two small access points on the river and Rossie, NY has one. The largest access area is certainly at the mouth of the river in Ogdensburg/ El Weir State Park.

Mohawk River-

The largest trib of the Hudson River, Mohawk is almost 150 miles long and is an east-west river moving across northern upstate NY through the Mohawk Valley bearing its name. Mohawk has some interesting sections in large part due to dams and such that break up the river creating almost differing habitat. There are a ton of rocky areas throughout and plenty creek mouths that hold smallmouths in the Schenectady, NY portion but fishing changes completely at Lock 7 where an impoundment exists between it and the dam known as Crescent Dam (Waterford) creating the area known as Crescent Pool. Below the dam we get to more suitable smallmouth habitat of the Mohawk for smallmouth in shallow rock areas, step down ledges, open flats, river points and grass.

St. Johnsville, NY and downstream, there are a few of boat launches for access. One in Nelliston, NY and another in Canajoharie right at the bridge. The section of the river from St. Johnsville to Canajoharie includes some islands and points plus creek mouths. Barge Canal locks is another area well known. Some other access areas to the east from this area on Mohawk in this part of the region are at the mouth of Schoharie Creek and access in Amsterdam on the south side of the Mohawk.

Further east in Schenectady there is a launch at Freeman's Bridge Road while there are also access areas at Kiwanis Park and Lock 10 of Rt. 5. The further from west to east you go towards Schenectady seemingly you will come across largemouth more often than not but there are still some smallmouth especially in and around any creek mouths.

Below Schenectady down in the Rexford area there is also the Mohawk Landing Nature Preserve on the river offering access and easy fishing especially kayak bass fishing. Also some good fishing at various times of the year in and around Rexford Bridge spanning the Mohawk River. Construction of the new span of the bridge may have impacted area but still good fishing reportedly available above and below.

Also back to parts west of Schenectady there is plenty of water to cover. Some decent smallie action especially around the Swart Island between Lock 9 & 10 moving west towards Amersterdam, NY. Actually fishing between Lock 8-11 provide smallmouth opportunities along the Mohawk River.

Herkimer County river access provides launch locations as far west as Barge Canal near Oneida Lake but also Little Falls, Ilion and Mohawk. Montgomery County, NY offers access via St. Johnsville, Amsterdam, Florida, Canajoharie, Ft. Plain and Nelliston.

Susquehanna River- (Otsego, Chenango, Broome, and Tioga)

The Susquehanna is a much lauded smallie river mostly associated with Pennsylvania given the number of events scheduled by regional kayak bass fishing trails out of Harrisburg but the New York portions also offer some great smallie action. The river in the New York stretches tend to be more stable and shallow than downriver as the river ultimately flows through PA and MD and onto the Upper Chesapeake Bay.

It originates from the Ostego Lake in Cooperstown. Cooperstown and Colliersville offer access to the river but two of the larger areas for access is in Emmons(20 cars) and Unadilla (40 cars) and winds down into PA before reentering NY in Broome County and running west north of the state border until once again re entering PA.

The river because of the shallow nature creates a ton of areas offering riffles followed by pools for targeting Smallmouth. The stability of the river creates far less moving water than southern portions of the river so it becomes much easier for kayaking and wade fishing. It is not unusual to see a number of wade anglers south of Binghamton and the dam area. Broome County offers an abundance of access for anglers around Binghamton (Sandy Beach Park) and west to Vestal. Grippen Park and Harold Moore are two of the largest access areas with ramps.

West of Broome County the river flows through Tioga County all the way to east of Waverly, NY then turns south into PA. The river flows south along Rt. 220 to Towanda, PA where the Kayak Adventure Series (KAS) will be hosting a three day event in August 2024.

Barton and Nichols, NY are popular area for anglers and Barton offers access (Hand Launching) of Rt 17 and a few miles further at Canon Hole (Gravel Ramp). Nichols offers two access points with one east of town (East River Drive)and the other west of town (West River Drive) both offering concrete ramps for access. One of the biggest access areas is further east beyond Oswego to Apalachin and at the Apalachin Bridge( south side of river)

From Great Bend, PA north into NY to Binghamton on west The Susquehanna River offers plenty of smallmouth possibilities to explore but remember these areas are highly impacted by weather related events.

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