Hi - First Post

[HBAR1]

Greetings - new guy here.  Great website - was poking around the fishing porn (my wife's term) on the internet tonight and came across your page. 

I just returned to NY after 10 years in Virginia where I was a State Game Warden.  My new schedule as a college professor actually gives me time to FISH!  I'm mainly a trout fisherman, preferring smaller creeks, but I'll fish for just about anything when the opportunity arises.  I did pretty well last spring and summer on all the reservoir tributaries in Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess counties.  I live around the corner from the Mianus River and did pretty well over there too.  We have a little family camp in the Northern Adirondacks where I spend a couple of summer months fishing the Ausable and the Saranac, as well as the backcountry ponds and lakes.  I like to flyfish, but probably spin fish just as much. 

I've been itching to try some of the big reservoirs for trout, but I don't have a boat.  Is there any point in shore fishing?  Bait?  Rigs?  I'm a little clueless when it comes to really big bodies of water.  Thanks in advance for any advice you might be able to offer.  Look forward to using this website regularly ------

[unionbass3]

Welcome HBAR1,
  You might want to check out the trout section.  I posted a very informative post on trout fishing.  I am mainly a bass fisherman.  I would love to give trout a try.  Maybe you can help me with some information on trout.  I was at a small lake in Pennsylvania trying for rainbow trout but I had no luck and had grown fustrated quickly.  so, I switched back to bass fishing.
At the reservoirs in Westchester, Croton in particular, I have seen some people shore fish but not very often.  It seems hard to shore fish as access to most of the lake is limitted from shore. 
  I hope you enjoy this site and I wish you luck on the reservoirs.   

[VinnyH]

Welcome, great first post.

Well the boating season does end on Dec. 1st on the reservoirs but Kensico is full of nice lakers and browns. Being an optimist I think there are probably shorelines that may give you access to some trout at Kensico. The trout have started coming up into the shallower waters in November. They tend to stay in the 80-100 ft waters all summer and wander into the 25-30 waters when it gets cold. Unfortunately I wouldn't gamble someone else time to point you to a shoreline. I'd only be guessing.

Wade's Bait & Tackle Shop in Valhalla is a good source of those kinds of tips. They are always very generous with sharing their experiences on the reservoirs. I was just chatting with Wade about trout but will wait until spring to setup some leadcore and target them. I'm still a newbie.

Best Always,
Vinny

[HBAR1]

Thanks for the input and the welcome - going to give Kensico a try tomorrow with my brother-in-law.  I've seen some fishing activity by the Rt.22 bridge, so I guess we'll start there.  I'll just have to play around with different baits/lures.  I'll let you know of any success.... have a feeling patience will be key, as well as talking to any locals fishing.

[VinnyH]

The Route 22 bridge , other wise known as the Rye Bridge, is right over about 65 feet of water. The trout guys are always rowing through that area and going to the west into the 80-100 feet waters.
I don't think you can fish from the bridge but you can get down by the base on the south side.

This note is kind of late so let us know what happens. Hopefully you end up in a good spot.

Best Always,
Vinny

[HBAR1]

So I'll chalk today up as a learning experience.  Went to Kensico with relatively little knowledge of how to catch reservoir trout and, as expected, caught none.  However, I did learn alot.  First of all, it was a beautiful day to be on the shore of a gorgeous body of water, the sun felt great and there was very little wind.  I went armed with the usual variety of redneck trout baits (worms and powerbait) and a selection of spinners and spoons.  After a couple hours at the Rt. 22 bridge (now known apparently as the "Rye Bridge"), I meandered toward an older gentleman fishing directly under the bride whom I observed catch at least two fish of unknown species.  He was actually pretty talkative and showed me his bait, live shiners about 3" long which he was simply drifting.  He had caught two medium sized browns and his partner (about 50 yards upshore) had a big laker (21") that he had caught on a "gator".  Anyone know what a "gator" is??  I was a little too embarrased to admit that I did not, so I just nodded my head. 

A good day overall, there must have been 20 rowboats out on the water, and I saw at least three that were actively fighting fish.  Looks like I'll be stopping for some shiners next time - anyone know a local shop that sells them??

[Buttlesdog]

Hey,

Vinny gave you the shiner info: Wade's B&T in Valhalla, which is right around the corner from the Dam. That area you were in is the best spot to shorefish for the month of December and in "the good ole days" me and my friends used to catch more than a few Lakers there. Shiners are good, Sawbellies (alewives) are even better. Bigger bait is better. If you can catch a small perch, that might be best for the big Lakers, otherwise, try using live shiners or saws on your spinning tackle, and use one rod to cast big spoons that are either silver or a perch imitation in case one is roaming. The sawbellies that they are after tend to prefer 30-50 ft of water, so your in the right area there if you can get your casts out a ways. Other than that, Vinnie covered it all above.

[VinnyH]

You guys are tempting me to get some longjohns and a Johnson handwarmer. 

Sounds like I may have to grab a spot in December down there and try a few things. I do always ask at Wade's, they are very experienced on Kensico as well as other reservoirs.

Best to All,
Vinny

[Buttlesdog]

I re-read this thread and the "Gator" thing stuck in my head. Two thoughts: 1) Hellgramites are sometimes called gators and they would be in Kensico as they are the larva of the Caddis, which is definitely there. 2) The other thought is that he said Krocodile or Kroc and you just turned it around to gator by association. A Krocodile is a silver wobbling spoon, and the lure of choice for Lakers from shore at Kensico. Sorry, I couldnt get it out of my head....

[HBAR1]

Funny, I've been thinking about the gator thing too.  Planning on hitting Kensico this weekend, armed with shiners and/or sawbellies this time.  I drive down Rt. 22 on my commute every day and there's been a lot of fishing going on down there.  Anyway, about the gator thing - Yeah, he definitely said gator.  I was messing with my brother in law who was with me - told him that some fisherman go to exotic pet stores and buy baby alligators as bait.  Had him going good for about ten minutes.  I use helgrammites all the time for smallmouth, they work great, but never heard them called gators.   

[Buttlesdog]

You gotta go a little further south than Virginia to hear em' called gators... I read it somewhere, never really heard anyone say it. They are nasty little buggers that I wouldnt mess with unless I had to. Shiners work well enough not to go tangling with those tough little monsters... Good luck this weekend, should be great weather!

[KenH]

Gators are spoons, I've seen them.
Not as popular as the Krocodiles but
they are the same tupe of lure.
http://www.landbigfish.com/tacklestore/showcase.cfm?PID=2001