Briscoe Lake Fishing near Liberty, New York

• Overview

  Set in Sullivan County, New York, this is Briscoe Lake. The bank is 1,175 feet above sea level. It measures about 60 acres, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. Bank access stretches around 1.2 miles in total. You are 7 miles from Liberty. Livingston Manor is 9.7 miles and Monticello 12 miles. Rules here are straightforward: one county, one set of rules.

• Where to Fish on Briscoe Lake

  Depth is not on record here, so the bank has to tell you. Draw-down through summer strips the margins, so follow the water out. Inflow corners move water, and moving water gathers fish. Sullivan County records list brown trout, brook trout and smallmouth bass among the fish reported. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. At Briscoe Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 68°F for July and 21°F for January. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near early April. Climate figures give an open season running early April to mid December. June through September is the settled part of the year, with the shoulders busier for fish. At Briscoe Lake the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. There is a jetty half a mile off, worth knowing on a busy day. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. For a change of water, Horseshoe Lake is 2.8 miles distant. None of that is settled for Briscoe Lake in what we hold.