Chautauqua Lake regular Harry Marfin caught this 43-inch muskie while trolling off Chautauqua Lake's "Big Bar" area. Photo by Jeff Knapp

The loud click of the trolling reel interrupted the steady, tranquilizing hum of the four-stroke kicker motor. The boat had just entered the deeper open water off Chautauqua Lake's "Big Bar," and we knew there was little to no chance the lure had snagged bottom.

Jumping from his seat, Harry Marfin announced, "It's a fish!" and grabbed the rod out of its holder.

A few minutes later a fat 43-inch muskie was in the bag of the oversized Beckman net.

It was the second fish of the day: A couple hours earlier we had boated a 42-inch muskie near Whitney Bay. Two 40-inch-plus 'lunge caught and released in a few hours of fishing is not a bad way to spend a late-summer afternoon.

But so it goes on New York's Chautauqua Lake, a fabled Empire State muskie fishery. The lake has had its ups and downs in recent years, but it is currently ranked among the highest quality muskie waters in the country.

Chautauqua Lake is not only popular with local anglers, it attracts folks from nearby states and Canada as well. It is also a major muskie tournament site. The lake provided a record-setting event when the Professional Muskie Tournament Trail held its annual championship there last fall. Despite poor weather, the field of 50 anglers caught a record 46 muskies during the two-day event. The Ohio-based winning team of Kevin Sellers and Mike Money boated seven fish. Included in their catch was a 47.5-inch muskie. Both the tournament total and winning catch set all-time PMTT records.

In southwestern New York, Chautauqua is a natural lake covering 13,181 surface acres. The lake lies in a north-to-south setting stretching over 17 miles. Its average width is about 1 1/2 miles. The lake is divided into two major basins, with the narrows at Stow/Bemus Point providing the dividing line between the two.

Though roughly equal in size, the northern and southern basins have little else in common physically. The southern basin is quite shallow and dishpan shaped. It has an average depth of 11 feet and a maximum depth of 20 feet. A few shallow humps exist at the southern extremity of the lake. A scattering of major shoreline points adds to the structure. The water in the southern basin tends to be darker in color.

Chautauqua's northern basin is much deeper, with a maximum depth of 81 feet and an average depth of 26 feet. The water is significantly clearer here. Weed growth is a significant factor in fish location; weed control plays into the angling game plan. Chemical treatment and mechanical harvesters are used for weed control on a controlled basis.

Numerous bays and points dot the shoreline of the upper lake. Aquatic vegetation is abundant in both the upper and lower sections of the lake, with deeper weed lines in the clearer water of the northern basin. The shorelines of the northern and southern portions of the lake are highly developed with cottages, homes and marinas. Recreational boating traffic can be heavy, particularly during summer weekends.

A wide range of species lure anglers to Chautauqua including crappies, walleyes, largemouth and smallmouth bass, but it's muskies that many fishermen associate with Chautauqua Lake.

Native muskies thrilled Chautauqua's sport anglers during much of the early and middle portions of the 20th century. Eventually, however, the lake began paying the price of overharvest and habitat destruction. Muskie numbers plummeted as natural reproduction rates fell. "Red spot disease," an often-lethal infection experienced by members of the Esox family, also had a significant negative impact.