To find the pond, take I-81 north from Cortland or south from Syracuse to the Homer exit. At the end of the ramp, turn north onto Route 281, which is the village of Homer's main street. The pond will be on the right north of the village limits.

Forest Fisheries, a marine and tackle shop a couple of miles southwest of Casterline Pond on Route 281 in Homer, is a reliable source of bait and other supplies, while the DEC Region 7 office in Cortland at (607) 753-3095 can apprise anglers of current fishing conditions.

For advice on Homer-area lodging opportunities, contact the Cortland County Chamber of Commerce at (607) 756-2814.

The bloom on that particular rose faded by the late 1970s as Otisco's trout population peaked, declined and then leveled off. Today, browns are just another interesting component of a diverse fishing hole, which also features walleyes, bass, panfish and, most notably, tiger muskellunge. Yet anglers who know how and where to fish for them still take some impressive trout from Otisco year 'round.

The easternmost body of water in the Finger Lakes, Otisco Lake typically has good ice-fishing for trout from mid-January into early March, and sometimes even longer. The lake is seeded annually with about 5,500 browns, a majority of them 12- to 16-inchers, by the Onondaga County-owned Carpenter's Brook Fish Hatchery. Many of those fish hold over and grow to 5 pounds and more by the time some ice-angler's shiner minnow fools them.

At 2,200 surface acres, the six-mile-long Otisco is one of the smaller Finger Lakes, but it bottoms out at a surprisingly deep 69 feet.

Most of the browns taken through the ice are nabbed while cruising just a few feet beneath the ice. Browns frequently are encountered in the area about 300 to 400 yards south of the narrows, the convergence of two opposite-shore points visible from the dam at the lake's north end. The deep water off Lader's Point on the west shore and Fitzgerald Point on the east are also worth checking out with tip-up rigs.

To find Otisco Lake, follow U.S. Route 20 east from Skaneateles or west from LaFayette to the intersection with Route 174 in southern Onondaga County. Turn south on the latter road, which leads directly to the lake.

Among other places, anglers can get on the ice at the dam or via the causeway, an abandoned road that girdles the lake near its south end.

The DEC's Region 7 office, mentioned earlier, offers a free contour map of Otisco. For help in finding nearby accommodations, contact either the Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce at (315) 470-1800 or the Finger Lakes Tourism office at (800) 530-7488.

At the appointed hour, just as Fred Jr. was reeling in the tip-up lines, the elder Janack saw a flag stand at attention. Ten minutes later, he had a 30-inch lake trout flopping on the ice.

Such fish are fairly common in Owasco, according to the logs turned in by participants in the DEC Region 7 Finger Lakes Diary Cooperator program. In 2003, for instance, 39 diary keepers reported taking 984 trout or salmon that were legally large enough to creel. All but 73 of those fish were lake trout. The lakers averaged 23 inches in length and one stretched out to 32 inches and weighed 12 pounds.

While the diary program ends on Dec. 31 each year, the success of anglers in open water is a strong indication of the sport that awaits Owasco ice-fishermen.

One of the better locations to jig for lakers in the winter is along the southwest shore at Ensinore. In an average year, that part of the lake has safe ice by mid-January. Another good spot is the 50- to 100-foot-deep water between Buck Point and Post Point, which are also on the west shore.

Anglers fishing Owasco may keep up to five trout or salmon per day in combination, but the total catch may not include more than three lakers or three landlocks. (Not a problem because salmon are rarely caught in the lake.) The minimum creel length for any species of trout or salmon in the lake is 15 inches.

If the trout don't cooperate when you try Owasco, consider fishing at the weedy south end for northern pike. Near Cascade, specimens weighing between 10 and 15 pounds are iced each winter.

Owasco Lake is in Cayuga County. Its north shore is in the city of Auburn. The lake is paralleled by Route 38 on the west shore and by Route 38A and Rockefeller Road on the east. Access is available from Emerson Park at the north end of the lake and via private marinas at Cascade on the south end. The DEC Region 78 office in Cortland has a contour map of Owasco Lake for anglers' use.

Cayuga County's Regional Information Center at (800) 499-9615 will assist readers in finding overnight accommodations in the vicinity of the lake.