Fly fishing the Great Lakes of NYC.

[bill de brooklyn]

the last two weeks I've only finished the lakes in New York City. The Great Lakes of New York City are made up of 12 lakes located in
Parks managed by the department of Parks. there are approximately 30 lakes in total in New York City. I have fly fished in the infamous South Bronx at Indian Lake. the lake has a healthy
population of LM bass, BGs and carp. the northernmost lake is located in the Vab Cortland Park. According to the Parks Department this lake has been restocked. However, during my first visit there I was only able to catch one perch. But I did see about a dozen large mouth bass swimming under fallen trees.


In Queens there are four lakes the largest of which is located at the site of the old world's fair. Flushing Lake is the largest lake in the city of New York at 100 acres. The lake has yet to recover from the snakeheads that were found there several weeks several years ago. Baisley pond, near JFK Airport has smallmouth bass and largemouth bass as well as catfish and other panfish. Currently the pond is undergoing rehabilitation work that will not be completed until 2011. My favorite Lake in Queens is located in Bayside New York and is called Oakland Lake. Oakland Lake has a population of bass, carp, pickerel,crappie and BGs. The only drawback to Oakland lake is its lily pads . The smallest Lake is found in Kissena Park. Kissena Lake has panfish like bluegills, Crappie, bass and carp .

Staten Island has three places to fish. There is clove Lakes Park which has channel catfish, bluegills, bass and big carp. Wolfes Pond Park is located near the Atlantic Ocean. In fact it is possible to fish for largemouth bass and striped bass by simply walking about 50 yards.
on Thursday I managed to find a school of Crappie that could not resist my small #8 deceiver fly. Most of the fish I caught were a legal size(more than 9 inches). this Lake has a healthy population of bass, BGs carp and musk rats! the Lake also suffers from too much algae in the warmer months. It is a wonderful place to hike, mountain bike, or lay in the sun. The third place to fish in a Staten Island park is silver lake. there is no access to this reservoir except from a cross road. so it is more like fishing from a pier but there are huge LM bass in the crystal clear water of silver lake park.

The best part of fishing the NYC parks fisheries is that they can all be reached by public transportation.

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[Soro]

There is an other great lake to fish in NYC - the lake is located on Staten Island and it is on the boy scouts property. I grew up very close to the lake and there are some really nice large mouth in there. I think in recent years you need to get permission to fish it. Growing up we took some bass that were in the 5lb class. Would be a fun place to fish with a small float tube.

[bill de brooklyn]

there are 24 lakes in NYC 's park's department. 10 are on Staten island not counting the one at the boy scout camp. I have fished them all.
see my blog on blogger.com : The Great Lakes of NYC.

Bill

[sipper]

That is all great info. What about central park? I have heard good things about bass in Central Park. I would love to take a train in and try that. what kind of permits would one ned for this kind of fishing other than a NY license? I heard that some lakes in cenrl park u need a res permit like the one from Croton watershed.

[bill de brooklyn]

there are 4 lakes in Central Park: The pond at 59th street, The Lake at 72nd street, The Pool at 103rd street and The Meer at 11oth street.
I fished the Meer a few nights ago with an 11 foot, 2/3 wt, 3pc rod. if you intend on using your fly rod be careful. there are many people in Central park especially at the pond & the lake. your ability to back cast is limited. I use single hand rod spey casting or roll casting to get my flies in the water. all you need is a current valid fishing license to fish in NYC. Prospect park in Brooklyn has a larger bass population than Central park and is a bigger lake than all of the lakes in CP.

Bill

[northcountryman]

Wow! This upstate northcountryboy wouldn't have even realized there are even trees in NYC, let alone lakes!!

[sipper]

Nice Info Bill De Brooklyn thanks. I can only imagine what casting in Central Park is like. Nice bass btw.

[Esopus Guy]

Last I read the lake in Prospect Park has the Highest pop. of Black Bass in NY state. C&R only I beleive.

[bill de brooklyn]

yes all lakes are catch & release. coyotes and skunks freely roam the streets in NYC; so be careful out there.