Kissena Lake

Located just east of Flushing Meadows Corona Park, the 8.5-acre Kissena Lake offers tranquility within the borough of Queens. One of New York City's natural waterbodies, Kissena Lake has been through several man-made transformations, the latest of which was completed in 2003 to bring the lake back to a more "natural" condition. Almost three-quarters of the shoreline now consists of a soft-edge of terrestrial and wetland plant species whereas, at one time, this shoreline was composed entirely of concrete.

Physical Features:

Elevation: 20 feet
Area: 8.5 acres
Shoreline Length: 0.5 miles
Average depth: 4 - 5 feet

Access:

Shoreline access is available at many areas surrounding the lake. Those anglers fishing with children may wish to take advantage of the areas of the lake with railings.

Fish Species:

Largemouth bass, Bluegill, Pumpkinseed, Black crappie, Common carp, American eel, Yellow perch and Brown Bullhead catfish.

Fishing:

Kissena Lake offers several warmwater fishing opportunities. Bluegill sunfish compose the largest proportion of the fish community with the next largest proportion consisting of black crappie. A large number of young-of-the-year black crappie were found during an October, 2007, DEC fishery survey of Kissena Lake. Fish surviving from this year-class should now offer excellent black crappie fishing. While 15" largemouth bass are less prevalent than at Prospect Park Lake, fishing for the humongous carp of Kissena can be an excellent experience. For how to catch these fish, check out DEC website information on carp fishing. Generally, fishing the vegetated shoreline should yield the best results but take care not to damage shoreline plantings. You may wish to try lures over bait, not only for the excitement but because Kissena is home to a large turtle population, many of who will go for whatever bait is attached to your hook!

Regulations:

Special regulations apply. See Special Fishing Regulations for NYC.

New York City Department of Parks and Recreation rules require the use of non-lead weights and barbless hooks.

Fishery Highlights and Reports

DEC Fisheries has performed six boat electrofishing surveys of Kissena Lake, with the most recent executed in May 2022. While largemouth bass relative weights were found to be low, catch rates were in the top 25 percent of all New York State lakes. More findings of the 2022 survey can be found in the Kissena Lake Technical Brief (PDF).