Hit Cayuga....
It's got nearly everything you could ever hope for in terms of freshwater gamefish...
I fished the snot out of it during my college years- and still make a trip each spring to wail on Rainbows on the south end in Ithaca... By May all the trout (bows, browns, lakers) and salmon are way down deep... Cayuga drops to more than 400ft (Seneca next door tops 600ft) so you need a boat and a REALLY big downrigger to have a shot at the lakers... But the Browns and Bows stay on the thermocline around 30-50ft most of the summer.
Shore fishing (year round) is killer at Milliken Station, a power plant on the east side. I stop and toss Crocodile spoons there any time I am in the area. On the west side, you can nail lots of trout at the State Park (Taghonnik Falls) right from shore.
Bass, Pike and the usual pannies can be slayed from Long Point State Park on the Northeast side- or you can fish the barge canal in Montezuma all the way north. Pike and bass abound in there- including plenty of nice fish.
A lake as big as Cayuga gives you a shot at a legitimate monster nearly any time of year.
Get in touch before you go and I can steer you in the right direction. I was out there six times just this past summer alone. Besides- your wife will love it in Ithaca or Skaneatles... And you will BOTH like it if you enjoy fine wines!!!
The Finger Lakes Wine Trail is a blast- and the vineyards are impressive, indeed. Again, Skaneatles will take care of your wife if she likes shopping.
For my $.02, Cayuga Lake beats all the other Fingers easily...
But to each his own...
P.S. In the wintertime, it's all about Tiger Muskies and BIG Browns in Otisco Lake... I am due for a trip back out there. Maybe in two weeks.
post edited by Neversink Jimmy - 2009/01/26 19:41:31