Otisco Lake

{
  "id": "ff9aacb7-d12b-4f24-ac66-79e610987d6e",
  "name": "Otisco Lake",
  "slug": "otisco-lake",
  "type": "lake",
  "status": "minimum",
  "tier": "t1",
  "centroid": {
    "crs": {
      "type": "name",
      "properties": {
        "name": "EPSG:4326"
      }
    },
    "type": "Point",
    "coordinates": [
      -76.284955,
      42.8666847
    ]
  },
  "parentId": "9f430137-3521-471f-92f4-b04987acf02a",
  "country": "United States",
  "countryCode": "US",
  "stateProvince": "NY",
  "county": "Onondaga",
  "timezone": "America/New_York",
  "descriptionShort": "Otisco Lake, the smallest of New York's Finger Lakes, holds largemouth and smallmouth bass in shallow, weedy structure ideal for spring and fall sight-fishing.",
  "descriptionLong": "Otisco Lake sits in the heart of New York's Finger Lakes region, a 9-square-kilometer body of water that punches above its weight as a bass fishery. Unlike its larger neighbors to the north, Otisco is shallow and heavily vegetated, with an average depth around 30 feet and extensive weed beds that dominate the basin. This morphology makes it fundamentally different from the deeper, clearer lakes nearby—it's a warm-water lake first and foremost, and the bass respond accordingly.\n\nThe lake holds both largemouth and smallmouth bass, though largemouths dominate the shallower, weedier zones that comprise most of the fishable water. Spring and fall are prime seasons here, when water temperatures favor active feeding and the weed growth is manageable enough for sight-fishing and topwater work. Summer can be productive early and late in the day, but midday heat often pushes fish deeper or into the thickest cover. Winter ice-out through May offers excellent topwater and shallow-diving crankbait opportunities as bass move into spawning zones. The smallmouths tend to hold slightly deeper, around rocky points and drop-offs, and respond well to tube jigs and soft plastics worked slowly along structure.\n\nAccess is straightforward from the village of Otisco, with public boat launches available. The lake's compact size means you can cover productive water efficiently, and the shallow, weedy character rewards anglers who slow down and work cover methodically rather than running and gunning. Local guides know the seasonal patterns intimately—where the weed lines set up, which shallow bays warm first in spring, and how to read the subtle depth changes that concentrate bass. The lake rarely draws the pressure of larger Finger Lakes destinations, making it a solid choice for anglers seeking consistent action without crowds.",
  "imageUrl": null,
  "verticals": [
    "conventional_spin"
  ],
  "waterCharacteristics": [],
  "searchAliases": [
    "Otisco",
    "Otisco Lake NY",
    "Otisco Lake Finger Lakes"
  ],
  "tags": null,
  "metadata": {
    "prepare": {
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        "name": "Otisco Lake",
        "slug": "otisco-lake",
        "type": "lake",
        "stateProvince": "NY"
      },
      "before": {
        "name": "Otisco Lake",
        "slug": "otisco-lake-ny",
        "type": "reservoir",
        "stateProvince": "NY"
      },
      "issues": [
        "Seed data type 'reservoir' is incorrect; search results consistently refer to it as a natural lake, part of the Finger Lakes."
      ],
      "confidence": "high",
      "searchQuery": "Otisco Lake NY United States fishing"
    },
    "geminiReasoning": "A large reservoir and one of the Finger Lakes, well-known for various game fish species including walleye, bass, and tiger muskellunge, and popular among anglers.",
    "geminiConfidence": "high",
    "gnisFeatureClass": "Reservoir"
  },
  "nhdFeatureId": "87961216",
  "gnisId": "00970435",
  "gnisName": "Otisco Lake",
  "reachCode": "04140201010763",
  "hucCode": "04140201",
  "nhdPlusId": "60000600100107",
  "streamOrder": null,
  "nhdFcode": 39009,
  "nhdFtype": 390,
  "drainageAreaSqKm": null,
  "slopePercent": null,
  "elevationMin": null,
  "elevationMax": null,
  "lengthKm": null,
  "areaSqKm": 9.168,
  "nhdGaugeIds": null,
  "noaaTideStationIds": null,
  "noaaCurrentStationIds": null,
  "censusGeoid": null,
  "censusLsadc": null,
  "areaWaterSqKm": null,
  "seoKeyword": null,
  "seoSearchVolume": null,
  "seoCompetition": null,
  "adCount": null,
  "advertiserCount": null,
  "source": "seed",
  "pipelineId": 62695,
  "createdAt": "2026-06-15T17:08:45.583Z",
  "updatedAt": "2026-06-15T17:09:53.356Z",
  "destinationSpecies": [],
  "breadcrumbs": [
    {
      "slug": "north-america",
      "name": "North America",
      "type": "region_global"
    },
    {
      "slug": "united-states-of-america",
      "name": "United States",
      "type": "country"
    },
    {
      "slug": "new-york",
      "name": "New York",
      "type": "state"
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}