Pepacton reservoir NY

[jrock]

Was in the mood for something different so decided to finally, after so many years of hearing about the awsome brown trout fishing here, it was time to give it a try. Went on craigslist and picked up a nice 12 foot semi v aluminum row boat. This place has strict rules, row boats only, must register online for a permit, ( 5 minuye process), and of coarse ny state fishong license. You also have to have your row boat steam cleaned, ( 10 bucks). You either leave it there locked to a tree or you can take it home but you would need to re-steam clean it before bringing it back up. Seems like a lot of work but iys not to bad and once ur done u have a boat right there all you have to do is drive up and fish. Anyway its way wirth it because its a gorgeous place, I mean gorgeous. Barely any other fisherman in site and the browns are beautiful, large, and plentifull. We decided to troll spoons some weighted to get a little deeper and some flatlined. The fish were 10-15 feet down. Trolled for about six hours, (great workout trolling with paddles), and landed about 8 quality thick browns. Biggest was 5 lbs, with a bunch of 3-4 pounders. They hit like mack trucks and fight like hell..... the amount of bait in that place is ridiculous. I live fishin my home state of nj but if you want to get away from the crowds and get into some good fishing and beautifull scenery, ya can't beat the catskill region. By the way we caught all them fish our first time oit on that giant reservoir with very little tips. Just went out and fished. There was fish blowing up everywhere, place is full of trout. The smallmouth fishing is supposed to be great also. We trolled a few up and when we stopped for a shore lunch caught a few casting spoons from shore. Shore fishing is also permitted. Here is a few pics of our limit.

[Andrushkin33]

That's some nice quality fish you got there.

Nice to get out and try new places to go. Kudos on your success.

Andre

[AndyS]

The 1st time I heard of Pepacton I was just a teenager. I went to a friends house and he pulls a fish out of the freezer, I think it was close to 15lbs, Brown Trout ! My friend went on to tell me how they would drift herring 35ft down and catch huge Browns.
I check the reports from the lake every so often, seems like the Brown Trout fishery is still alive and well up there after all these years. From what I understood also was the fact you could only use herring from the lake, no imports. I think NY was on the verge of allowing electric motors up there and then 9/11 hit and that was the end of that.
GREAT report !!!!!!

[jrock]

Your right about the herring andy, you can only buy them up there by the certified dealers. They will give you a sticker to place on ur bait bucket to show that they are certified bait. They sell for a dollar a herring, I can only imagine what your bait bill would look like up there andy lol. They also have a pilot program going with the trolling motors on another reservoir and according to the guy at the shop, will be aloud on pepacton next season. I'm ok with row trolling my 50cent ebay spoons for now lol, they work wonders. Plus who's gonna leave a trolling motor up there all season.......

[bassnblues]

Always wanted to fish there.

My father grew up around there and his family was displaced because of the reservoir being built. I have a very old local news paper from the area with the headline "This valley is doomed!".

[JDTuna]

Awesome! Do they allow kayaks in there?

[FASTEDDIE29]

Beautiful fish Jrock! Thanx for checking in with an AWESOME report. Those are some super healthy Browns right there. Way to GIT-R-DONE on a totally new place. Great report!!!

[TAB95]

Originally Posted by AndyS

The 1st time I heard of Pepacton I was just a teenager. I went to a friends house and he pulls a fish out of the freezer, I think it was close to 15lbs, Brown Trout ! My friend went on to tell me how they would drift herring 35ft down and catch huge Browns.
I check the reports from the lake every so often, seems like the Brown Trout fishery is still alive and well up there after all these years. From what I understood also was the fact you could only use herring from the lake, no imports. I think NY was on the verge of allowing electric motors up there and then 9/11 hit and that was the end of that.
GREAT report !!!!!!

Yes, Andy you are 100% correct. Prior to 9/11 the use of "gel-pack" motors was being considered. Also every permit to fish in a NYC reservoir was voided after 9/11 with no access permitted. It was not until the DEC decided that allowing registered fisherman access would be a deterrent and not a threat (more eyes watching). I still laugh, sorry when I read reports of terrible sweet water fishing. Hit some of these treasures in Westchester county and you would be amazed at the quality of LMB, SMB, Crappie, Browns and Imposter Trout Lakers.

[FISHOFF]

Originally Posted by jrock

Was in the mood for something different so decided to finally, after so many years of hearing about the awsome brown trout fishing here, it was time to give it a try. Went on craigslist and picked up a nice 12 foot semi v aluminum row boat. This place has strict rules, row boats only, must register online for a permit, ( 5 minuye process), and of coarse ny state fishong license. You also have to have your row boat steam cleaned, ( 10 bucks). You either leave it there locked to a tree or you can take it home but you would need to re-steam clean it before bringing it back up. Seems like a lot of work but iys not to bad and once ur done u have a boat right there all you have to do is drive up and fish. Anyway its way wirth it because its a gorgeous place, I mean gorgeous. Barely any other fisherman in site and the browns are beautiful, large, and plentifull. We decided to troll spoons some weighted to get a little deeper and some flatlined. The fish were 10-15 feet down. Trolled for about six hours, (great workout trolling with paddles), and landed about 8 quality thick browns. Biggest was 5 lbs, with a bunch of 3-4 pounders. They hit like mack trucks and fight like hell..... the amount of bait in that place is ridiculous. I live fishin my home state of nj but if you want to get away from the crowds and get into some good fishing and beautifull scenery, ya can't beat the catskill region. By the way we caught all them fish our first time oit on that giant reservoir with very little tips. Just went out and fished. There was fish blowing up everywhere, place is full of trout. The smallmouth fishing is supposed to be great also. We trolled a few up and when we stopped for a shore lunch caught a few casting spoons from shore. Shore fishing is also permitted. Here is a few pics of our limit.

Hate to burst ur bubble those fish nice but should have been released and are not that big. Congrats on catching some fish, however we don't talk about the big pond. Been there since '72, when u break 10 lb let us know. Cannonsville allows electric motors, if u get in the trout derby bait is 10 dollars a dz.

[slider]

Beautiful trout by Nj standards they are gems, Catskill Reservoirs been producing trout like that for over 40 years..Fished there since '68 when limit was 10 trout..5 pounders and under always released, even 6's and 7's if you had a few 8's or 9's..Then the blitz hit in the early 70's and things changed..But its still better than anything jersey has to offer Cannonsville had monster browns 10 to 15 pounders came from there every year but water problems killed that action..But I believe its coming back some what..Sleepers are the Roundout, were Lake trout have taken hold and Neversink making come back with browns also,,Best advice, check on bait supplies b4 u go..And beware the wind, can be a killer..Many trip just sat on the bank waiting to calm,,Never did..Tough deal after driving 125 miles to get there..