Jamesville Reservoir is located in Onondaga County near the Village of Jamesville. The reservoir was formed by the impounding of a section of Butternut Creek. Like many of the area reservoirs, it was originally constructed to supply water to the Erie Canal. Jamesville Beach County Park borders most of the south west corner of the reservoir.
Physical Features:
Elevation: 700 feet
Area: 224 acres
Shoreline Length: 4.1 miles
Length: 1.3 miles
Maximum Depth: 35 feet
County and Town: Onondaga County, Town of Lafayette
Aquatic Plant Life:
Limited rooted aquatic vegetation found in the reservoir.
Access:
DEC Fishing Access Site
One mile south of Jamesville, Off Route 91, adjacent to the Onondaga County Department of Transportation Maintenance Facility. Hand launch with a 100 yard carry to water. Parking for 10 cars.
Fishing access sites are for the launching and retrieving of watercraft and shore fishing only. All other activities, like swimming and camping, are strictly prohibited. See Part 59.1 Regulations for more information (leaves DEC site).
Jamesville Beach County Park
Carry down and shore access for a day use fee.
For more information on these launches including Google Maps driving directions, visit the Boat Launch Sites for Onondaga County page.
Fish Species:
Largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleye, tiger musky, chain pickerel, black crappie, pumpkinseed sunfish, bluegill, yellow perch, white perch, brown bullhead, golden shiner, and common carp.
Fishing:
For tiger musky try large spinnerbaits, in-line spinners or swimbaits; don't forget to use a wire leader. For walleye try a bucktail jig tipped with night crawler. If fishing for panfish try a small jig suspended under a bobber.
Regulations:
Special Fishing Regulations Apply.
Fisheries Management:
Jamesville Reservoir is stocked annually with approximately 1,150 tiger muskies and bi-annually with 6,600 walleye pond fingerlings.
Fish Survey Report (2015)
Walleye (6,600 pond fingerlings) are stocked every other year in Jamesville Reservoir. Surplus were available in 2015, resulting in 7,800 stocked this year. Night-time boat electrofishing was conducted on September 30, 2015 to assess the current status of the walleye population in the reservoir as well as to attempt to assess the tiger muskellunge population.
The entire perimeter of the lake was sampled, and 67 walleye were collected, along with 1 tiger muskellunge. The catch rate of walleye was 40.6 fish per hour, a substantial improvement over the 2013 survey at 13.7 fish per hour, and 2011 at 4.7 fish per hour. Walleyes ranged in size from 7.1 to 24.4 inches and ranged in age from 0 to 9+ years. Sixty-one of the captured walleye were age 0, presumably from the spring 2015 stocking as very little natural reproduction occurs in this lake. Tiger muskellunge captured was fairly small, 10 inches, most likely representative of the approximately 1,700 tiger muskellunge stocked in late September 2015 by the DEC.
Due to summer drought conditions, and a permitted water withdrawal, the lake level dropped throughout the summer and was about 2 feet below full pool at the time of tiger musky stocking (September 22, 2015). Rain brought the lake level back up to full pool within 48 hours of the survey. No management changes are proposed as a result of this survey.
