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August 30, 2004 |
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Pepacton Reservoir Fishing
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We have to admit to a certain amount of jealously. It is hard not to envy those successful fishermen who often appear on the back pages of local newspapers, holding up huge trophy fish caught in the Pepacton Reservoir and other waterbodies. With every tiny seven inch fish we catch, or each day on the river we get skunked, the jealously deepens. A few days ago we made a strong effort to finally obtain a few of those large fish for ourselves, getting out on the Pepacton for a morning of hard fishing.
For decades the only way Catskill Mountain residents and visitors could get to know and experience the six New York City water supply reservoirs up close was by obtaining a fishing permit. Until recently, fishing was the only activity allowed on reservoir property (now some hunting is also allowed). From the day trout season opens in April, people can be seen along the banks and out in row boats going for the big browns and rainbows. As summer progresses, the water gets warmer and eventually stratifies, with the cold water on the bottom and warm water on top. Trout are cold-water species, and they go deep during the summer. Other fish such as bass, perch, and pickerel can be caught in the warmer top water.
Back in May, Chris finally took the opportunity to put a rowboat on the Pepacton Reservoir, not far from the Shavertown Bridge where there are a variety of depths nearby. The only boats allowed on the reservoirs are row boats, and they must be registered with the NYCDEP and steam-cleaned before being placed on reservoir property. The boats are then left on the edge of the reservoir, not to be moved to new locations more than once a year. All fishermen, whether using a boat or not, have to have current NYCDEP recreation permits.
We got started on our recent fishing expedition just after first light, about 6:15am. It was a very warm and humid morning, and the water was calm with only an occasional breeze. Most of the knowledgeable, experienced fishermen use downriggers to carry their live minnows down to specific depths, where they expect to find the big brown trout. We, of course, did not have downriggers, nor did we have live bait. After rowing out to the greater depths, we weighted our lines with sinkers and dropped silver Krocodile and spoon lures into the water, letting them sink to what we guessed to be 35 to 45 feet. We let the boat drift slowly, giving the line slight tugs to give the lures some action. This method did not allow us to maintain specific depths, so we were just trying to get lucky. But alas we did not get lucky going after the deep trout. We drifted back into shallower water, however, giving up on trout and turning our attention to the smallmouth bass.
As the morning progressed, there began to be more and more fish feeding on the surface of the reservoir. A fly rod was used to cast some dry flies on the surface, but to no avail. The spinning rods did the trick though, and we soon began catching smallmouth bass on spinners and different sized Rappalas. In all we caught five "smallies", some while casting and retrieving, and some while trolling as we rowed. All of them were of good size, between 12 and 14 inches with some heft to them. Most treated us to some aerial acrobatics as they fought the lure. It was great fun, but tinged with a sobering dose of disappointment in the fact that all of these fish are contaminated with mercury from polluted rainfall, and with official warnings against eating them. So all were released for another day of fun on the reservoir.
- Aaron and Chris
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