Fishing at Beaverman Lake, Sullivan County, New York

• Overview

  Look for Beaverman Lake in Sullivan County, New York. The land about it is mixed forest. This is a pocket water of some 4 acres, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. Most waters listed here for Sullivan County are larger. Head to Wurtsboro, 4.7 miles away, for anything you forgot. Paterson sits 49 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. Rules can differ a short way off, since the county line is near.

• Where to Fish on Beaverman Lake

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Records held for Sullivan County cover brown trout, brook trout and smallmouth bass. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. The near bank of Beaverman Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between 24°F in January and 71°F in July. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. The open season starts with the thaw, near enough late March. In an average year the thaw lands around late March and the freeze near late December. Fishing peaks soon after break-up and again before the cold returns. At Beaverman Lake the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public sources are silent on who controls the bank. A pier half a mile from here gives a platform over deeper water. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. For a change of water, Echo Lake is 0.2 miles distant. Ask locally about Beaverman Lake if anything is unclear.