Honesty first: Whitney Lake is a private irrigation reservoir that lives and dies by its water level, and low-water years can make it tough. But it has a public boat ramp on the southeast corner, it holds walleye, white bass, crappie, pike, and catfish, and when conditions are right the fishing is genuinely fair to good.
It’s a shore-and-small-boat lake — kayaks, canoes, and small fishing boats are the norm, and sunset from the north shore is worth the drive by itself. In winter, the annual ice-fishing tournament is a local institution and the best time to see the lake at its most social.
Check water levels before you commit to the trip; this is not a lake to tow a big boat to sight unseen. Chadron, about 15 miles south, is the nearest base for camping and supplies.