Whitehall Reservor - Boating and Fishing

Fishing & Boating at Whitehall

Whitehall Reservoir offers excellent fishing for the patient angler. Although there are no public docks or piers (even the private ones are being phased out), there is a nice little boat ramp off of Wood St (route 135) on the north end of the lake. There is a 12 mph "No Wake" restriction on boat travel, though so be prepared for an easy cruise across the 600 acre lake to get to your favorite fishing spot.

If you are fishing from shore, or launching nothing larger than a canoe, there are also a few parking spots by the dam on Highland Street, and one or two pull-off spots at the south end of the lake on Pond Street. Other than that, you just have to take a little hike along the 6 miles of lake-side trails.

This limited accassibility makes Whitehall Reservoir one of the rare lake that is an even better resource for the casual canoeist or kayaker. It is a large lake with many bays and islands to explore. Sight-line restrictions keep all recently built houses in the area invisible from the water, giving it the feel of an undiscovered lake in the deep north woods.

It has been reported that sailing is only marginal, however, because the lake is so shallow and contains numerous underwater obstacles.

Fishing report from New England Game & Fish Magazine:

  The reservoir is rather shallow, with an average depth of 
  6 feet. But there is a deep 30-foot basin that holds stocked trout.
  Anglers will find a mixture of weeds packed into dense beds
  in the shallows. Small gravel and rubble patches lie hidden
  in the weed beds, and the bigger bass hide near these bottom
  structures. Other fishing structures include small brush
  islands, fallen trees and points.

You can download a map of the lake depths (64k PDF), which also shows the location of the boat launch. Unfortunately the unwritten Law of the Lake is that the location of best fishing coves cannot be published. You will have to charm that information out of the local fishing enthusiasts yourself. Good luck!

NOTE: There are no water fountains or trash containers around the lake, so bring lots of water, and maybe some snacks, but also your own trash bag so you can pack out what you pack in.