Syracuse.com - CNY shoreline fishing hot spots: Fair Haven Beach State Park (seventh in a series)

[HuntingNY-News]

<p>Fair Haven Beach State Park in Sterling offers anglers a variety of shoreline opportunities. The park, located on Lake Ontario, features a large pond that’s full of northern pike, largemouth bass, crappie, panfish and bullheads. For those who want to get closer to the big lake, there’s a pier that offers perch, smallmouth and the occasional walleye this time...</p>

<div id="asset-11376939" class="entry_widget_large entry_widget_right"><span class="adv-photo-large"><img height="231" width="380" src="http://media.syracuse.com/outdoors/photo/11376939-large.jpg" class="adv-photo" alt="2012-06-26-pc-fairhaven1.JPG" /><span class="photo-data"><span class="byline">Peter Chen/The Post-Standard</span><span class="caption">James Wells, of Owego, shows his granddaughter, Cassidy, 9, of Candor, the bullhead he caught in the pond at Fair Haven Beach State Park.</span></span><span class="photo-bottom-left"><!-- IE6 HACK --></span><span class="photo-bottom-right"><!-- IE6 HACK --></span></span></div>

<p>Fair Haven Beach State Park in Sterling offers anglers a variety of shoreline opportunities.</p>

<p>The park, located on Lake Ontario, features a large pond that’s full of northern pike, largemouth bass, crappie, panfish and bullheads. For those who want to get closer to the big lake, there’s a pier that offers perch, smallmouth and the occasional walleye this time of year — along with salmon and trout during the spring and fall.</p>

<p>Finally, there’s nearby Little Sodus Bay, which also has a variety of fish.</p>

<p><br /><div id="asset-11384219" class="entry_widget_small entry_widget_right"><span class="adv-photo-small"><img height="272" width="155" src="http://media.syracuse.com/outdoors/photo/11384219-small.jpg" class="adv-photo" alt="0803 Sodus Bay Map.JPG" /><span class="photo-data"><span class="caption"></span></span><span class="photo-bottom-left"><!-- IE6 HACK --></span><span class="photo-bottom-right"><!-- IE6 HACK --></span></span></div>The park has a year-round entrance fee of $8. It has bathroom facilities and a concession stand, which is open from Memorial Day to Labor Day.</p>

<p>It’s a great spot to take kids, said Brendan Shambow, owner of Screwy Louie’s Sports Shop in Fair Haven, who has been sending anglers to the park since he took over the business 12 years ago.</p>

<p>During the dog days of summer, Shambow said, anglers catch mainly smallmouth and largemouth bass, in addition to panfish.</p>

<p>“Usually, we have the most anglers up here during the springtime,” said Lisa Hendrick, office manager at the park.</p>

<p>That time of year, many anglers flock to the pier to fish for brown trout and steelhead. Others take advantage of the crappies and bullheads that can be caught in other sections of the park.</p>

<p>“It was some 20 years ago, but somebody won the LOC Spring Derby on Lake Ontario with a brown trout caught from shore,” Shambow said.</p>

<p>“There’s also a lot of nice northerns caught during the spring.”</p>

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View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog