It has been quite a few years since I have fished any of the New York City reservoirs.
I used to keep a rowboat beneath the Trout Creek bridge on Cannonsville Reservoir, but time and distance were always a problem. I caught numerous brown trout below the bridge in the shade of the highway up above. It was common to reel in four or five big browns on every trip down there. One day I was fishing with Lloyd Hornbeck, of Deposit, and caught one that weighed a little more than 10 pounds. Trust me — you just don’t reel in a fish that big. And when they get close to the boat, netting them can be tough as well.
Today, things are different. Oh, the fish are still there, but as life got busier, I sold my boat and have never been back. But that will soon change. I have a good friend who fishes both the Cannonsville and Pepacton reservoirs on a regular basis. He’s been catching a lot of fish — big ones. The problem is getting the bait. Those fish just don’t hit on anything. The bait of choice is the sawbelly. What’s a sawbelly?
“Sawbelly” is the common, regional nickname for the alewife, which is a member of the herring family. They are the primary, natural forage fish for trout and salmon in cold, deep glacial lakes and reservoirs. They are named sawbelly because of the sharp, distinctive, saw-like scales running along the ridge on their bellies. Hornbeck’s Sport Shop in Deposit is the only source of this bait in the area, but it doesn’t open until 9 a.m.. The fish hit best earlier than that. The “bite” as they call it, is usually over between 9 and 10 in the morning. So do you buy extra bait the day before? The problem with that is keeping it alive. Dead bait doesn’t catch fish.
So why not use shiners that are about the same size? They look a lot like the sawbelly. Trust me, they aren’t the same. I’ve tried both, and the fish can definitely tell the difference.
My buddy Tim fished on Cannonsville Reservoir the other day and caught four nice browns — one almost 2 pounds, two between 4 and 5 pounds and one a little better than 7 pounds. Besides that, he caught several really nice perch.
Earlier in the season, Tim and his buddy were catching fish in about 10 feet of water, but more recently they have to put their bait down to 20 feet or a little more. A good fish finder definitely helps a lot.
So, if I’ve stirred your interest, go on the internet and check out New York City’s fishing regulations. There are a few rules you must follow.
A free permit is available on the web. It’s not just for fishing. You will need it on the city’s hunting land as well. Just follow the instructions and print it out. Along with your permit is a car’s vehicle hang tag that you put on your mirror or on the dash in plain sight. You need them both because the wardens will be out checking.
No motors of any kind — gas or electric — are permitted on the reservoirs. Your only mode of trolling once on the water is rowing your boat. Fishermen whose sawbellies have died sometimes hook them behind a shiny flasher and slowly troll by rowing.
All boats must be steam cleaned and tagged at Downsville’s DEP office. The office is only open on Fridays. Note: You cannot move your boat in and out of city property.
So where do you fish? Cannonsville is close by. The fishing is great and really quite underrated. Fishing on the Pepacton Reservoir is really good, but it’s very busy on the weekends. I guess being closer to the city makes all the difference.
Several years ago, a fellow from Walton caught a brown trout in the Pepacton Reservoir that weighed 22 pounds and was 37.5 inches long. Normally he would have turned it back, but he decided to have that one mounted. It’s probably the reservoir’s record.
But I shouldn’t comment. My 10 pounder is on my wall, and it’s half that size.