White Lake, NY

[Redneck Fishfinder]

Does anyone know anything about White Lake in Bethel NY? What locations are good for Trout?

[mr.clean]

William if you are coming from rte.17 exit 104 at the intersection of rte.17b and rte.55 (traffic light -clock tower to drivers right) make a right turn there is a state boat launch in Kauneonga Lake. I have not fished White Lake this year but have seen many people out fishing the rte.17b side of the lake. (go straight through the traffic light lake is to your right) Ask permission from a property owner to access lake.
  Good luck finding the trout I have heard few reports of any being caught through the ice. If you do not mind crowds and are willing to pay the entry fee the annual King of the Ice contest is this Sunday ,you can register at the boat launch.
 Check out the S.E.NY.BS thread (pages 269-272) there are some posts on the contest.
Steve

[dwitte62]

If you're gonna go wait til next week. I have always had decent luck on trout just past the narrow towards 17b. Never caught a Lake Trout there though. Every time a DEC ofiicer comes by to check licences they swear they are in there

[Redneck Fishfinder]

I actually went to the king of the ice. It was a tough day. I left a half hour before the tournament ended, I caught one undersized pickeral and that was it. I looked at the DEC stocking lists for the last few years and they have been stocking it with Lakers. I've also read a few scholarly papers about lake trout populations in lakes where smallmouth bass present a sizable amount of competition, and they all say that lake trout in those bodies of water tend to be stunted in growth and limited in number. That describes White lake pretty well.

About 5 years ago the lake was stocked with walleye. I'm not sure if it was the Sullivan Conservation Club but I don't believe it was the DEC. Apparently there are usually many trout caught during the tournament. This year I did not see a single trout get caught. There we some pretty big walleye that got caught though. I wonder if the walleye stocking has something to do with the decline in trout... Everyone is stocking the top of the food chain, but who is supplementing the bottom?

[fishnfool59]

i lived and worked in sullivan county for years. been to the king of the ice at least a dozen times. i might have caught 5 fish out of white lake in all the times fishing it. never got a trout out of there but have seen a few small ones come out of there. you'd think they find another lake to hold the contest on,seems white lake is fished out.

[Redneck Fishfinder]

I agree! That lake is not big enough for that event and its not that great of a lake to begin with. Do you thing they would ever consider Swinging Bridge? I've never ice fished there but that would seem to have more potential. And it would be more fair because there's enough good spots for everyone.

[mr.clean]

William Berger for many years the King of The Ice contest was held at Swinging Bridge. White Lake was used as a back up in case the ice was not thick enough to hold the contest on Swinging Bridge.  Besides its' large size Swinging Bridge is a reservoir used for hydroelectric generation. This will cause varying water levels which could possibly create a gap between the bottom of ice surface and water not a safe situation.
  I agree they should move the contest every few years to give any lake used a break from fishing. Do agree with you about needing a good forage /bait fish population to support the larger gamefish. Depending on the Yellow Perch population in White Lake the Wall Eyes should do alright growth wise. Reported Lake Trout catches have been few and far between on White Lake at least among people I have spoken with if any one is catching them in good numbers they are not telling many people about their success.
 
Steve

[Redneck Fishfinder]

Thanks Steve! Maybe in the next few years we can see King Of the Ice moved somewhere different.