SOUTHERN N.Y. THREAD (L.I., WESTCHESTER, PUTNAM, DUTCHESS, SULLIVAN, ORANGE COUN

[Gamalot]

Do any of you guys ever fish Toronto Reservoir? Tried a few times in the past and never caught much but it seems like there should be some decent fishing there. Any tips? Plan to give it another shot this year.

I like Toronto but don't catch many fish there most time I go. It did have the state record walleye a few years back and I know there are big perch and crappie if you can find them. Years back we caught some nice brown trout there but iv'e not heard of any trout in a long time and they would be out of season in hardwater anyway. I can tell you for sure it is loaded with big schools of saw bellies and lots of SM bass. The one real problem with Toronto in the winter is the constant change of water level due to hydro power generating. one day it could be up and a few days later 6-8 feet down with the shore ice highly slanted and broken up making it very difficult getting on and off.

Gam

[Ice Wine]

Ah, sawbellies, that explains a lot. Seems every place I ice fish that has good sawbellies, the fish are so well feed that they seem indifferent to everything else. Thanks for the info.

[beachwoods 16]

some safe stuff in Sullivan just have to look for it

I have a pond 300 yards from the house. usually the last to freeze. It's frozen and 3 inches. A  1/4 mile away a pond that usually freezes first  is wide open no ice. I wouldn't doubt if  where on white lake before a lot of other lakes. Crazy year. Sun, wind and current are a bigger deal this year than most.  Good to see snowfall amounts come down.

[beachwoods 16]

Pretty sure the Chain pickerel state record is held by Toronto still. I don't think they ever held it for eyes.

[Gamalot]

Pretty sure the Chain pickerel state record is held by Toronto still. I don't think they ever held it for eyes.

Right you are beechwood about the pickerel however it is too bad they don't keep older records on file or at least I can't find them. Toronto did hold first place for walleyes and not all that long ago. It seems to me that once a larger fish is caught elsewhere the previous record fish gets expunged. Attached a screenshot of the current Toronto page and the first sentence says a lot. The record pickerel remains in first place but was caught way back in 1965 and maybe before you were born. Back in that time and growing up in Wurtsboro I can tell you for certain the Basherkill swamp was producing some monster pickerel and LM Bass as well. The Mongaup river and the associated reservoirs, Swinging Bridge, Mongaup Falls and the Rio were also producing famed monster trout but these days we don't hear much about large trout in either of those bodies.




Gam

[beachwoods 16]

It's a shame they don't restock Swinging bridge. The Walleye fishery there was great. They spawned in the mongaup as well. I think the only place with conditions they were stocked where they could reproduce in the county.

[hardwater diehard]

It's a shame they don't restock Swinging bridge. The Walleye fishery there was great. They spawned in the mongaup as well. I think the only place with conditions they were stocked where they could reproduce in the county.

Agreed ..I hope they started to spawn with good numbers thus halting the stocking of it by the DEC ..there was a small two line blurb in F&S sometime back about how it was a good walleye fishery. BTW think these winds have died down for now ..let the ice making begin.

[beachwoods 16]

 From some of the stories I've heard through the years following the re fill of S.B. a hand full of guys decimated them in the water that was left during the drain. Total shame. 

[Gamalot]

From some of the stories I've heard through the years following the re fill of S.B. a hand full of guys decimated them in the water that was left during the drain. Total shame.

If the DEC had been on their game they would have locked the gate going up to the SB Dam. I did hear it was a total free for all when the only deep water left was at the dam. I did go take a few walks at that time but up around the marina and where the crashed plane sits. We also tried to get either the DEC or the power company owner to repair the cement launch at the public launch site but they wanted no part in that. It would have been so easy and cost effective while the water was gone but our pleas fell on deaf ears. Lots of the waterfront homeowners did take advantage and built some very nice docks.

Gam

[Slabs247]

Yeah the ramp at the Bridge is horrible, and they really should repair it . Been fishing it regularly the past few years both open and hard water.  This summer the water seemed to be really low. I catch really nice crappie and smallies but only a handful of smaller walleye. I wish as well the DEC would stock it with more walleye. Anyone take a ride recently? How’s the ice looking?

[beachwoods 16]

Hey slabs, What size range small walleye are you catching. I wonder if they are coming back. I am going to look around today, as well I am sure other people itching to fish will be out. Stay tuned

[mr.clean]

Hello everyone I know the colder weather has increased the "Ice Fishing Fever" in many of us please be cautious if scouting or fishing this weekend. The coming snow will hide any ice that has formed or that was left after last weekend's Spring like temperatures making it harder to see problem spots.

Also thank you for the info. on Walleye did not know they were in so many Sullivan County lakes.

Have a good weekend may no one see any problems from the Coming storm.
 Steve

[Gamalot]

Hello everyone I know the colder weather has increased the "Ice Fishing Fever" in many of us please be cautious if scouting or fishing this weekend. The coming snow will hide any ice that has formed or that was left after last weekend's Spring like temperatures making it harder to see problem spots.

Also thank you for the info. on Walleye did not know they were in so many Sullivan County lakes.

Have a good weekend may no one see any problems from the Coming storm.
 Steve

Yes Steve, All the lakes should, could and do have walleyes in them. If you follow the river and stream flows from up by the Neversink Reservoir they all run south and a few form the Mongaup river. Follow the Mongaup into Swinging Bridge, out to Mongaup Falls and again out to the Rio. In between those hydro electric dammed bodies you also get the creeks from White lake, Superior, Toronto Black lake, Cliff lake, Lebanon lake and a smaller Black lake that all flow either in to or just below the Swinging bridge dam. Walley can come up from the Delaware as far as the Rio dam but Walleys in any of the lakes and reservoirs above the Rio can certainly make their way down from the above bodies of water as they are all connected by either streams or large pipes such as the one from Cliff lake into SB. I am not so sure that Walleys require a river bed to spawn in like trout do. I think it has more to do with the forage base food supply in any of these lakes and reservoirs. Saw bellies are abundant in most and my extensive times spent fishing SB, Rio, Toronto and Cliff lake I can tell you there is plenty of food and bait fish to feed a solid Walleye population in all of them. Just a couple years back there was a major die off of sawbellies in the Rio and the entire shoreline was loaded with dead bellies. Don't know if the above lakes had the same die off or not. This year while fishing in the Rio I saw hundreds of large schools of sawbellies boiling the surface every time I fished. The trout I caught were loaded with them. Sadly I must admit I never have been very successful at catching the Walleyes in any of these lakes. I don't go for any of the panfish species and I am not a Bass or Pickerel fisherman. Trout is what I target but over the past couple decades the trout fishing has gone down and it seems as though the Walleye should be my new target. Most ice fisherman are not happy unless they are catching lots of fish. I am unhappy if I am catching lots of fish I am not after. I would rather get skunked than to be screwing around with perch, pickerel and other fish I am not after. White Lake some years back was starting to be a good lake trout fishery but I think that has about dried up. Any species that is unable to naturally reproduce in a particular body is a waste of time introducing them. The Walleyes seem to be a pretty good fit for most of our larger lakes. I have a real hatred for Pickerel because every time I catch a big one I find it full of bait fish and usually the fry of the Walleyes along with sawbellies, baby troutlings and other small bait fish. Sometimes even smaller Pickerel. Pickerel are the freshwater barracuda and voracious feeders. My buddy across the street has a few nice ponds stocked with big brown trout and he finds a lot of his trout dead in the water with holes in their heads and bodies from the blue herons. The eagles grab a few as well.

Gam

[mr.clean]

Gamalot thank you for the reply and information I only knew of Walleyes being stocked and maybe some natural reproduction in Morningside,White Lake and Swinging Bridge. I have seen photos of walleye caught from Lake Huntington would have to check DEC stocking records for that lake I'm thinking some "Bucket Biologist" may have place walleye in Huntington since it is not not far from the Delaware river. I also did not know there are two bodies of water named Black Lake in Sullivan County only knew of the one by Toronto and Lake Superior.

I had seen from your reports over my time here on Ice Shanty that you mainly target trout.

 Steve

[kbaez]

Any ice reports before the storm come with the snow

[Gamalot]

I have an older NY State topical map Gazetteer I am quoting lake names from. Those with unlimited internet could probably go on google earth and bring this area up. Often the names of various lakes are different from what is on my 1995 Atlas Topo maps. The second Black Lake is just to the west of Cliff Lake. Back when I was a kid I had relatives working for O&R and a lot of these lakes were still private for O&R employees only. Toronto, Cliff, Hull Pond, and the main portion of the RIO were all closed to public access. O&R did in fact stock a bunch of these with Walleyes back in the late 50s and 60s. Now the DEC claims some wild stocking numbers of fingerling eyes in White, SB and the Rio. Bucket biologists tried stocking Wanasink and Lake Louise Marie with eyes around that time as well. Lock Sheldrake also has eyes but I am not sure about Morningside. I have to see them to believe so I know for sure Toronto, Cliff lake, White lake, SB, Lock Sheldrake and Rio have them. Unsure about Louise Marie and Wanasink today. Trout in ice season can only be taken from White Lake and Huntington as far as I know. Farther NW in both Delaware and Ulster counties there is Big and Little pond and a couple other trout waters but they become a complete zoo and get highly over fished once the ice gets good. Yankee and Masten Lake are both private like Wanasink and Louise Marie. I grew up on Masten but the family sold the property back in the mid 70s. Good LM Bass and Pickerel there and my buddies lived on Louise Marie and we caught monster Bass and Pickerel all the time but again in the early 70s. The Basherkill used to have a wide open channel and was fabulous fishing until they banned gas motors that kept the channel pretty much weed free. From the Haven bridge up was my favorite haunt.

Gam

[beachwoods 16]

Any ice reports before the storm come with the snow
Superior had open water and guys fishing. White lake had 4-5 inches as I walked out. But it had a few holes of open water on boat ramp side. Shore ice super sketchy on Lake Huntington. Lake Huntington will be very unsafe as shore ice is anywhere from 8-20 feet out from shore.

[Skylands27]

Anyone have any ice conditions near bethel area? White? Superior? Want to drive up from nj tomorrow but just want to be sure theres ice at least somewhere to fish.

[mr.clean]

Gamalot for a number of years part of the profits from annual Hurleyville fire dept.-Town of Fallsburg Division for Youth ice fishing contest were used to purchase walleye for stocking in Morningside Lake .I have no idea if this is still being done and if the walleyes took to the lake.

Skylands27 If I'm reading Beachwoods 16's post correctly people were getting on Superior before the storm but some areas of the lake were open water. White Lake had 4-5 inches of ice and some holes on the boat launch side of the lake. Depending on how much snow the Bethel area receives it will be harder to see any open holes and other problem areas. If you make the trip be cautious and don't forget the ice picks,spud and throw rope.

 Steve

[Skylands27]

Gamalot for a number of years part of the profits from annual Hurleyville fire dept.-Town of Fallsburg Division for Youth ice fishing contest were used to purchase walleye for stocking in Morningside Lake .I have no idea if this is still being done and if the walleyes took to the lake.

Skylands27 If I'm reading Beachwoods 16's post correctly people were getting on Superior before the storm but some areas of the lake were open water. White Lake had 4-5 inches of ice and some holes on the boat launch side of the lake. Depending on how much snow the Bethel area receives it will be harder to see any open holes and other problem areas. If you make the trip be cautious and don't forget the ice picks,spud and throw rope.

 Steve

Yeah thats what I thought Tom superior is usually thin by the launch anyway at least from my experience, I just wanted to see if anyone had anymore updates. I'll probably lake hop around tomorrow wherever I find safe ice and go from there. Weather is looking tremendous throughout the early part of this week though for ice to form more

[mr.clean]

Skylands27 sorry I don't have any info. on ice conditions in Sullivan County. I live by the City of Newburgh in Orange County little ove one hour's drive for me to get to White Lake or Superior.

 Steve

[beachwoods 16]

There Is no ice off the launch except for a little guys were walking on toward the beach area where it narrows at Superior . Right out front of ramp........ open water! The "trail spot" had one car and two guys fishing. lots of open water! With the snow Lake Huntington is bad news if you didn't see it before it snowed (there where fingers of thin ice jutting out into the good ice). Everywhere I went I saw good ice and very then ice. White lake had mostly good ice but then had holes. If you fish you have to do a lot of spudding!!!! I'm not an alarmist but it is  not very safe with this snow.  Small ponds I looked at had from one inch to 4 inches. They were the safest as they seemed all good with little problem at shore or no good at all. no real in between from what I saw.

[hardwater diehard]

[Skylands27]

Managed to get out on superior. The shoreline is awful for about 20 ft. Had to walk all the way through the march at the top of the lake to get to the ice but once out here it's a solid 5+ inches of nice ice

[beachwoods 16]

That Hill Street theme song is stuck like glue.....Thanks Hardwater!

[mr.clean]

Beachwoods16,Skylands27 thank you for the reports.
Skylands27 glad you found a way to access the ice at Lake superior so it was not a wasted drive from wherever you live in northern NJ.

I recommend  using the parking lot at Lake Superior and not parking on the side of Dr.Duggan road and using trail to get on the lake. I remember someone posting last year they got a ticket for illegal parking.
Have a good holiday weekend good fishing if heading out today or tomorrow.
 Steve

[Loudmouth879]

Got out in on a lake in Glen Spey yesterday. 4" bunch of pickerel a few bass a couple perch around 12;" and a couple crappies around 12"... all fish went back didn't feel like cleaning any

[Skylands27]

Beachwoods16,Skylands27 thank you for the reports.
Skylands27 glad you found a way to access the ice at Lake superior so it was not a wasted drive from wherever you live in northern NJ.

I recommend  using the parking lot at Lake Superior and not parking on the side of Dr.Duggan road and using trail to get on the lake. I remember someone posting last year they got a ticket for illegal parking.
Have a good holiday weekend good fishing if heading out today or tomorrow.
 Steve

Every time ove fished there I park at the beach and walk from there.... except today. If any of you guys decide to try superior, be cautious. Like was said earlier by the launch was all open water. We walked down the trail to the lake and at the edge, it was only an inch of ice, we couldnt even get on there. Someone before us had footprints in the snow and sled tracks on the ice leading from there and had broken through the ice a couple feet out (only a foot maybe of water but still). I guess they  managed to get their sled out there then crawl out of something but it was too broken up for us to even get on. We walked all the way back towards the road and then cut through the woods to where the marshy grass area is to the right of the path, and there the ice was thicker right up to the bank and was completely safe. Out in the middle of the northern end of the lake was an easy 5 inches all over, but as you wandered back down toward the boat launch it slowly crept back up down to 4, 3 inchesish so we didnt fish there much. If any of you on here decide to go tomorrow or in the very near future, go out by the marsh then walk out, you'll be safe, the trail I'm not so sure. Bite wasnt tremendous, some perch but incredibly finicky bite and 2 pickeral on shiners otherwise a rough day. I was just glad to get on some safe ice. When white freezes better I'll probably be back up there to try there but that did not look good today. Much of the lake was frozen but there were large areas of open water scattered all over, definitely didnt want to risk that. Stay safe guys! Thanks for all your help with ice reports, I hope this helps any of you going out this week!

[bowski76]

I took a ride on Saturday morning, White Pond and Sodom (by the causeway) were open water with a little ice in the middle; not very encouraging. These 2 bodies of water seem to lock up first, maybe this Saturday.

[Coach Catchermen]

Just back from Morningside Lake. Solid 5 to 6 inches of ice thru out the lake no visible open water thou it’s a shallow lake. About 12 guys on the ice don’t think anyone had much luck including myself. Had a couple of tip ups with live shiners and was jigging wax worms in 5 to 8 feet of water. I was marking fish but no bites!