Honeoye Lake lies in western Ontario County. To get there, take U.S. Route 20 west from Canandaigua to Route 20A. Turn left and follow Route 20A south to the village of Honeoye at the north end of the lake.

Ontario County's tourism office, at 1-800-654-9798, is a good source of information on local lodging, restaurants and other needs.

SODUS BAY
If Honeoye Lake has a significant shortcoming, it would be its diminutive size, especially when a weekend tournament is in progress.

There's no such lack of elbowroom in Sodus Bay. At 3,000 acres, it's nearly twice the size of Honeoye, but can be fished in much the same way with great success. Like Honeoye, Sodus has extensive weed cover around its shoreline and out to a depth of about 15 to 20 feet. The Wayne County embayment on Lake Ontario has a similar surplus of 1- to 3-pound largemouths.

Unlike the little Finger Lake, however, Sodus Bay has several islands and some expansive coves in addition to an endless number of weedbed openings. One more thing Sodus has in abundance is northern pike. If you're fishing for largemouths in June, be prepared to hook a toothy pike every now and then. The northerns in the bay often top the 30-inch mark, and can slice through a light monofilament line as if it were cobweb.

To deter bite-offs, I like to fish Sodus Bay with one of the tough, braided "super lines" rather than monofilaments. In addition to being abrasion-resistant, these lines have less "memory" than monofilament, which means they're less likely to coil and snarl when in use.

They also have less stretch in the water, which means they're better for detecting subtle strikes on plastic worms and grubs. And finally, they tend to have smaller diameters than monofilament of equal rating.

On Sodus Bay, use a minimum of 10-pound-test line and don't be afraid to go twice as heavy as that when you're probing its underwater jungle. You won't be able to extract a pot-bellied largemouth from the thickest vegetation unless you clamp down and pull hard, using stout line and a sturdy spinning or bait-casting rod with a medium-to-stiff action.

Despite its endless weedbeds, Sodus Bay has a mean depth of 20 feet, owing mainly to the extensive 30- to 44-foot-deep hole west of Newark Island near the north end of the bay.

Sodus Bay is roughly equidistant between Rochester and Syracuse and therefore, receives a heap of attention from bass tournament clubs in the area. It's also a gateway to Lake Ontario for many salmon charter boats and pleasure boats.

On weekends, boat traffic is constant. But if you hug the shoreline and focus mainly on weedbed dwellers, the buzz of big inboards will be as unobtrusive as the elevator music at your dentist's office.

To reach the bay, take the Thruway to the Geneva exit and head north on Route 14. At Alton, turn right onto county Route 143, which leads to the Bay Bridge marina at the south end of the bay. Or you can continue north on Route 14 to the village of Sodus Point and its municipal launch.

ONEIDA LAKE
How good is the bass fishing is on Oneida Lake? Last July, when many of the world's best tournament anglers competed on Oneida in the CITGO Bassmaster Elite Series Empire Chase, 2- to 2 1/2-pound smallmouths were biting so readily on tube jigs, drop-shot rigs and other offerings that several of the contending pros were reluctant to move around in search of one or two bigger fish that might have moved them up in the standings.