Kayak Fishing for Brown Trout - Pepacton Reservoir - June 10, 2014

I fished a full day on Pepacton targeting brown trout.

I launched around 8 am and fished the entire day. It was a slow morning and a tough start. It was also a calamity at times as well. I dropped the first two trout that I hooked into. Later, I was about to land a nice brown when my leader got caught in my watch as I grabbed my net. I watched as the brown quickly escaped with my Sutton spoon, which is a pity because I can't find anyplace to buy them anymore. After that, I was fighting a 21" brown near the boat that had turned me to my weak side. In the chaos that ensued as I attempted to net this fish, it made a dash from the front of the boat to the back. In the process,  my second leadcore trolling outfit got in the way and fell into the water. I helplessly watched as it sank to the bottom. I would have rather lost the trout than the rod. In any event, I ended up landing this nice fish, which was very quickly released since I already had my limit.

As the morning was slow, I decided to explore the reservoir and made the long haul to the big cove before the power lines. I had consistent action along the way, with several hits. This was the area that my line broke on my watch while I was netting a fish.

I was surprised by the size of the big cove, and I estimated that the distance from the point of the cove to the back of the cove was about the same as the distance from the point to the dam. The water in the cove was flat and dead. I didn't get a good feeling about the fishing, so I crossed the reservoir. On the other side, I found active brown trout that were pushing alewives to the surface.

Heading towards the dam, I hooked into a nice fish that immediately went airborne. It turned into a very good fight. After going airborne, the trout stayed near the surface and I saw it was a decent fish. Out of curiosity, it followed me to the kayak but once I grabbed the net, the brown frantically and abruptly turned hard and dove to the deep water taking two colors of leadcore in a matter of seconds. After the second run, and another battle near the kayak, I netted it and it measured 22". The girth was greater than the weight and this was a well fed trout.

About a half hour later in the same area, I hooked up again. Right away, I could tell it was a nice trout. This trout also went immediately airborne and made several jumps before heading deep again. I saw it for the first time as it leaped 3' out of the water and my guess that this was a big brown was confirmed. I finally got the fish to the kayak and, just like the last fish, it turned hard after it saw the net. This time, it dove down three colors on my leadcore. As I got it to the surface a second time, it went on another run and took down two colors. I repeated this process one more time before I tired the big brown and netted him. This trout measured 23".

For anyone that hasn't fished Pepacton before, these trout fight like saltwater fish, so be prepared to go free spool in tight quarters if you are using leadcore with a light leader - I believe that the violent turn that they make may even break 10 lb fluorocarbon.

I stayed in this area for another hour, but activity ceased after the second trout. As such, I made my way back towards the dam. On the way, my fishfinder battery ran out of juice so I headed to the launch instead of the dam to get my second battery. Traveling about 4 miles, I only trolled up one small brown that measured about 6" - I'm betting that this was a native fish. Later, I caught a nice 20" trout near the launch. It hit as my spoon dropped as I was reeling up my other line.

For the last two hours, I stayed in a cove near the launch and picked off two more browns. One brown was 20.5" and the second was 21". They both fought frantically near the boat.

The surface temp varied between 68 degrees and 73 degrees. All of my fish were caught over 150' while trolling leadcore about 25' down. The browns were very spread out, and moving around fast. One spot would only produce for about an hour at a time before the fish moved on. Trolling speed was about 2.0 mph .

In total, I caught 7 trout with 6 trout over 20" and my two largest 22" and 23". After a slow start, it turned out to be my most successful trout trip of the season, and my best trip to Pepacton to date.

These trout definitely don't associate with breaklines and move around like pelagic fish in saltwater. Pepacton Reservoir is huge, and this gives them the liberty to behave like pelagics. Find the alewives and you will find the trout. If I'm not catching, I move on to find active trout. 

All of my trout were caught trolling spoons and leadcore. Stingers and Suttons produced well as usual. 

Catskills - Brown Trout and Smallmouth Bass - May 30, 2014 and May 1, 2014

I hit Walton Lake in Orange County, NY last weekend in pursuit of brown trout. It was my first time fishing this 110 acre pond. Although small in size, the lake is deep with plenty of 60' flats on the bottom to sustain holdover trout that grow to good sizes with an alewife forage base. This is a good combination for a little lake although it is fished heavily.

The drive is a little more than an hour from the Throgs Neck Bridge to this lake which is located in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains. 

I launched early morning with several boats from the state launch. Some of these boats were targeting browns, while others were targeting largemouth and smallmouth bass. In any event, it was a bit crowded at the launch, and on the lake as well. So, if you are looking for solitude, you won't find it here.

I launched around 6:30 am and noticed a substantial amount of small trout rising - these were dimples and you could tell that they were small fish. I believe that they were taking midges,. After crossing the lake, I worked a breakline that dropped to about 30', and worked this area trolling two leadcore rods, and one spinning. I consistently marked trout 20', but also found some marks closer to the surface as well.

For the outing, I worked the 30' - 35' breaklines around the lake, and found them holding near a somewhat large basin where I had consistent action. My tally for the day was 5 trout and 3 smallmouths, with my two biggest trout being 17" and 18". All of my trout were silvery holdovers and fat from eating alewives.

My smallmouths were between 16" and almost 20". The 20" qualifies for a NYS Catch and Release Angler Achievement Award. These smallmouths weren't targeted but instead caught as byproduct while trolling for trout in open water. I find more and more that browns and smallmouths have similar temperature preferences and often find them schooling together in the thermocline during the summer.

I marked lots of alewives on this lake moving from the surface down to 21' in big pods throughout the lake. Lots of fishable areas in this lake and to find the fish, your best bet is marking alewives, which tend to move all around the lake. For this reason, good sonar is important here. Action slowed as the morning progressed and I stopped around noon.

I returned a week later for similar action. This time, only one smallmouth but three nice trout instead with the largest being about 18".  The water temperature was 72 degrees and it was a bright day with no wind. This made for a tough bite. I found the trout mostly at 28' trolling spoons and leadcore. This time, the trout were holding over 35' - 40' with some in the open deeper water as well. 

Pepacton Reservoir - Brown Trout - May 29, 2014

I fished Pepacton Reservoir in Downville, NY for a day last week. 

I was told by Al's Sporting Goods that the fishing hasn't been consistent this year and somewhat mediocre. 

He was correct, and it was a tough bite on Pepacton. The fish were scattered, and I only had periodic marks. Most of the marks were down about 20', with some at 10', and a minority as deep as 28'. I only marked a couple of pods of alewives as well. 

Water temp was approximately 59 degrees and it was a very calm day. Al had said the best bite was during the solunar peak which occurred that day between 12:30 pm and 3 pm. He was correct again, and my only action of the day was during this time. 

I caught my first trout on leadcore. I hooked into the trout trolling leadcore at 21' over 130' of water. It was caught on a Sutton. After a spirited fight, I landed a nice brown that measured 22". 

Later, the drag on my lightweight spinning rod began to scream and I looked behind to find it doubled over. I grabbed it, and preceded to battle a big trout. After several runs I battled the fish next to the boat but noticed that he wasn't hooked well. I luckily subdued him with a net and successfully landed a very fat brown trout that measured 24". It was caught trolling a Tazmanian Devil. 

I took a couple of pictures and quickly released this brown to submit for a NYS Catch and Release Angler Achievement Award. 

I also caught a 19" smallmouth bass. This smallmouth also qualifies for an NYS Angler Achievement Award. 

After this I did some exploring and a long period of inactivity ensued. I subsequently only caught one more small trout the remainder of the afternoon. 

In any event, here are the pictures of the brown trout: