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NY Trout

2K views 13 replies 5 participants last post by  RTF 
#1 ·
Went to Cross River Resevoir the other day ( again ) and once again me and a buddy had swirling browns up to 10lbs all over the shore line. My buddy fished the flyrod with a 2inch 1/4 ounce clouser and I fished a 11'6 Noodle rod ( did not have much time to fish so I opted for light spinning gear). Between the two of us we droppped a total of 13 fish. For some reason they just would not hit the business end of the fly or lure. A week earlier I managed 2 browns weighing 4 and 4.7 lbs. The fishing has been nothing short of fantastic with birds working the sawbellies and shiners in tight to shore with browns blasting the bait with reckless abandon. Without exaggeration you would think blue fish were blitzing the way these fish are tail slapping and coming clear out of the water after bait. Never saw trout act like that but there must be alot of bait since for 3 weeks solid the fish have not strayed more than a 100yds from this one particular area of the resevoir.
 
#2 ·
When I lived back east in Northern NJ me and a few of my friends got into NYS Pepacton Reservoir brown fishing, had our row boats up there on it all year. Used sawbellies. Was just starting to think about fishing it with streamers when a corporate transfer to South Bend, Indiana happened in 1979. My friends still fish though and the big brownies are still there and they are still using sawbellies.

Never saw them feed on the surface though chasing sawbellies. We fished at night down deep by the dam.

You could catch them on spoons in the very early spring but after that all anybody used was sawbellies, drifted deep.

Browns are very smart, have the best eye sight and smelling of all the trout supposedly. I was just rereading an old technical article on their characteristics. Smart guys they are.

If you have them, try live saw bellies next time on 6lb test.

Good Luck

PM Out
 
#3 ·
Mike -

Coho salmon out on the pacific are notorious short strikers; try a tube fly to put a small hook back on the tail end and your luck will most likely change.

How far is this from Boston? I will hand-deliver some of said tube flies :devil:
 
#4 ·
Boston

It's a bit of a hike but not too bad. About 2 1/2 hours maybe 3. If you can get to Rt 84 and take it all the way down to 684 in NY. We have a few resevoirs around these parts that from what the old timers tell me have tremendous winter fisheries as long as we don't get ice. I recently spoke to an Older Yokel who informed me of a place where Lakers, Browns and Bows can be taken on 250 grains and streamer flies that immitate herring. Honestly I have heard whispers of 15lb lakers and 10lb browns taken at this resevoir although I never fished it in the winter. You know how these things go. Secerets are kept for reasons and until you gain the trust and respect of the regulars you will never be let into the inner circle. A friend has been telling me for the past 2 years to go to one spot that is about an hour walk through some nasty brambles but has come back with 10-12lb browns on just about every outing! I still have not taken the walk but plan to this weekend.
 
#5 ·
PM

PM,

Oh I know they are smart. Have had many frustrating days on the water trying to get them to hit flies.

But the funny thing is the guys fishing live bait have been getting skunked or are catching little weasel fish ( 14-18 inches ). The guys slinging flies and the right color Crocodiles have been hauling in PIGS! As I write this my friend just called...... and reported a 13lb brown that fell victim to a black ghost. DAMN I HATE WORK!
 
#6 ·
Black Ghost one of my favorite trout streamers.

Krocodiles, Little Cleos, and K-O wobblers are the casting spoons they use mostly here off the piers for trout and salmon.

Maybe I should send you my last Fishy Fin spoon I have had it for about 17 years it was a killer spoon for trout, steelhead, salmon in lake michigan. It is not made any more and I am holding on to my last one.

Got to find something with a similar pattern though, as it is little unique in its color scheme.

Good luck on the reservoir browns, whats the water temps there ? Sounds like fun, my closet reservoir a half hour away is Lake Michigan and it is BIG. Hard to locate the fish in it, you have to know when and where to go otherwise you are just getting lots of casting exercise.

Pm Out
 
#7 ·
Water

I think the temp is in the mid 40's. I have 5 resevoirs around me that hold trout and they are anywhere from 10 minutes to a half hour away. Plus lots of ponds to target perch and crappie. They just recently put in Walleye ( 4 years ago ) in a few resevoirs so that will make for some fun too. All this fishing and only 45 minutes from Manhattan!!! Not too shabby. The best thing is most of these lakes and resevoirs get very light pressure for most of the year. Not to mention a stream 10 minutes from me that has Browns, Bows and STRIPERS. Yes Stripers I said Stripers! Nothing more fun than nymphing out a few trout before sun up and driving down river 5 minutes to sling 5-8 inch herring flies to stripers. Who has it better than me hugh? All the Orvis clad yahoos can keep the Beaverkill and Willy while I stand alone amidst swirling browns and stripers. If you ask do the browns feed with the stripers..... you bet ya. I have caght and seen both in the same place feeding together. Ahhhhhh my own little Utopia that only 3 or 4 others know about.
 
#9 ·
I am going check out your area on terraserver satellite imagery. :devil:

I trout fished in the Beacon, NY area one time. Outside of Fishkill if I remember right. Can't remember the name of the creek though. Local manager of the plant I was visiting took me out.

Plus you hardly ever ice up back there unlike out here, but lake michigan only ices on the edges in a severely cold winter.

Aaah but you don't have the brown trout, smallmouth, 7x24, walleye, musky, steelhead and salmon fishing like we do within an hour of Chicago, actually you can fish trout and salmon down town if you like. Not my style, need some flowing rivers etc...

Great Lakes, Great Times

Come on out some time.

PM Out
 
#10 ·
Mike, looks like I better get that NY State Licence renewed real quick!

I read about the Croton watershed earlier this year but never got down there. I also need to get the DEP reservoir permit - that area is less than one hours drive from where I am ....
 
#11 ·
9.5lb & 12+ Brown

Adrian,

My buddy went New Years eve to the above mentioned resevior and landed a 9.5 and 12lb brown on a small (1.5 inch clouser ). I will be back up there this up coming weekend. The fishing has been excellent for the past month. Stripers are near Croton in good numbers as well ( so I am told ). Although I personally have not been out looking for Stripers I firmly believe the source of the info ( the guy is somewhat of a legend in the area ). Its good to have retired friends that have nothing better to do than to drive around and fish.
 
#12 ·
Great reports Mike. Keep them coming - I thought you might be hinting at Croton when you mentioned stripers in the earlier post. A trout angler pointed the small dam out to me a couple of seasons back. I never did get back to dunk some large herring patterns - this year for sure!
 
#13 ·
SHHHHHHHHHH

I know nothing about the Croton.... never heard of it or the tremendous runs of Stripers during the high waters of the spring. I did not even hear about them replacing the release valves on the damn to keep a more constant flow. Nor did I drive around this past weekend to check on how much water is pumping down river. But i bet with all the snow and rain its pumping pretty damn good!

Let me know when you want to meet up. Trout up river and stripers down with smallies in between. Ahhhhhh life is good in the burbs.
 
#14 ·
Love the NY watershed. I still fish pepacton resevior on and off. It's only about an hours drive. I have fished Croton, Cross river, West Branch, Titicus (sp?) Cannonsville, Roundout,..well just about all of the NY watershed waters. Pepacton res was so low last year you could almost walk across it. A lot of the coves went bone dry. PM, I think you are talking about the Fishkill creek. Also Wappinger Creek holds trout to north of RT376 and northbound. Does anybody know how the Tiger musky did in croton falls lake, not the resevior, but Croton falls lake. I remember years back they started to stock em.
 
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