Updated: September 29, 2006
Fish Tales
Right at Home on the Pepacton Reservoir
If the Pepacton Reservoir has ever had a legendary fisherman, it's Downsville native Dan Smith. Dan fished the reservoir as a young boy with his father in its early days, and still fishes it now in his retirement. He can be found on the water almost daily from trout season through bass season. In 2005, he "missed about seven days all season long."
Having worked for 31 years for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, retiring as supervisor of the Bear Spring Mountain Maintenance Office outside Downsville, Dan knows area trout waters well. Dan has chosen the Pepacton Reservoir as his primary fishing spot because it's close to home with good fishing.
"The City reservoir system offers a great opportunity to catch some really big trout," says Dan. Although he notes that the fishing is tougher now than in his childhood days, Dan knows how to find the big ones. "The secret," Dan says, "is to get on the water early in the day and put your time in." Early for Dan is about 4:30am, and he often stays past noon, trolling his secret lures until he tires. "In the old days, the limit was ten fish and a lot of trout were taken from the waters. Today, the fish are still there in numbers, but you have to put your time in and fish where you find them."
Using a depth finder, Dan often marks fish deeper than most anglers care to go. He finds that after bait fishing for 20 years, trolling offers more action and yields big browns as well as some rainbow trout. Today, Dan fishes often with his fiancé, Anne-Marie, as his partner. Together they've had very successful trout seasons and done well with bass, too.
The couple has also enjoyed watching the eagles in the cove that they fish and have gone so far as to identify individual birds and their offspring. "I was out in my boat the day they banded the young in their nest," Dan reports. "The adults often catch fish and sit on a huge rock on the shore, and it's really great to watch. They've been around about the last ten years."
When asked about his most memorable times on the Pepacton, Dan said, "Fish stories are all the same — about the ones that get away." His biggest trout yet was one of those and just last season. "The fish was right up to the boat and had to be well over 15 pounds. He got off and that was it. There are big ones in there. Bigger than that one!"
As the 2006 season begins, Dan and Anne-Marie have readied their tackle and sharpened the hooks on those secret lures. The big browns are waiting and so are they.
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Dan Smith with a 28-inch brown trout he caught last year on the DEP's Pepacton Reservoir in Delaware County. The monster trout weighed in at 11 lbs, 1/2 oz.
New York City's water system provides world-class fishing in numerous upstate counties throughout the watershed. All you need is a free Public Access Permit to get in on the action.
Send us a picture of your largest catch to fishtales@dep.nyc.gov and a description of how you caught it and we'll post it here. Be sure to include your name, where you live, the date and location of your catch, the type of fish you caught and its size. Happy fishing! |
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Bill Powers of Yonkers nabbed this beauty at the Kensico Reservoir in Westchester on August 16. It's a 10 lb. 12 oz. brown trout hooked on a floating black and silver rapala #9. As you can see, he was quite pleased with his catch. |
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"Take Your Kid Fishing Day" at the Ashokan Reservoir on May 20th turned into a show for the Riordan family of New City, NY. With over 40 families in attendance the Riordans took first and second prize for the largest fish of the day.
Five-year-old Maggie Riordan (shown here with the DEP Educator and event organizer Paul Thiesing) had the largest catch of the day, a 17-inch small mouth bass. Her three-year-old brother Dennis had the second largest catch, which was also his first fish ever, a 10-inch pumpkinseed. Both fish were released after these photos were taken.
Their Dad, Dennis Sr., didn't have as much luck fishing but was still proud as can be. "What a great family day it was," he said. "But it's a little embarrassing to be out-fished by your kids." |
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Chris Olney, of Highmount, with a 21" brown trout caught in the eastern half of the Pepacton reservoir, while spin-fishing from shore with a lure on April 14th, 2006. The fish was released. The photo was taken by Chris's brother-in-law Matt Jaworski, who was visiting from Cass City, Michigan. |
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John Mills, who is a captain for Mermaid Sport Fishing Charters in Point Pleasant Beach, NJ, caught this brown trout at the Ashokan Reservoir in the week before Easter. The fish was around six pounds, and he also caught a smaller one around five pounds. John's brother, Tom Mills, informs us that both fish were quite tasty when they prepared them for Good Friday supper. |
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April 1st, Opening Day of trout season, was a good one for these three gentlemen. They didn't get any trout but did hook a pair of 13-inch crappies and some blue gills at Muscoot Cove on the New Croton Reservoir. From left to right are Ahmed Ali of Poughkeepsie and Roy and Cory Richardson of Brooklyn. Ahmed says that Roy's crappie was heavier than his, though they were equal in length. |
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Lou Millspaugh caught this brown trout April 1 on Rondout Reservoir. The fish measured 24.5 inches and weighed 6 lb 11 ozs. |
