Chautauqua Lake is a premier fishing destination located in western New York, spanning 13,156 acres with 42.5 miles of shoreline. This natural, glacier-formed lake is divided into two distinct basins separated by a narrow bottleneck at Bemus Point. The northern basin is deeper (maximum depth of 75 feet, average 25 feet) with clearer water and rocky structure, while the southern basin is shallower (maximum depth of 19 feet, average 11 feet) featuring extensive weed beds and productive shoals. Positioned at an elevation of 1,308 feet, it's one of the highest navigable waters in North America. The lake sits on the continental divide, with its waters flowing south into the Allegheny River system and eventually to the Gulf of Mexico, rather than north into Lake Erie, which is about 750 feet lower in elevation and only ten miles away.