Grab your fishing rod and tackle box because the season isn't over yet.
In the mood to grab your fishing rod and tackle box? Click through the slideshow for tips on where to fish (and for what) in the Capital Region.
John Carl D'Annibale/Times Union
Catskill Creek offers three distinct fishing experiences.
This creek flows for 37 miles through Schoharie, Albany and Greene counties. The five miles just upstream from Preston Hollow is abundant with wild brown and rainbow trout. The 13 miles downstream from Preston Hollow is stocked with 6,500 yearly and 400 two-year-old brown trout. And the 16 miles between Freehold and the creek’s mouth in Catskill is warm enough to sustain some bass. Check which portions of Catskill Creek are covered by public fishing rights here.
The majority of the lake's shoreline is privately owned, so launching a boat at the state access point is the easiest way to enjoy the water. Largemouth and smallmouth bass, yellow perch, redbreast sunfish, black crappie, and pumpkinseed sunfish all live in this lake.
Lori Van Buren
Check out Buckingham Pond in Albany, which has benches and a playground, plus there are black crappie, pumpkinseed sunfish and yellow perch waiting to be caught.
The pond is home to black crappie, largemouth bass, pumpkinseed sunfish and yellow perch.
John Carl D'Annibale
Huge wild fish are swimming in the Hoosic River and Little Hoosic River in Rensselaer County.
These wild brown and rainbow trout streams that are not stocked by the state. The Little Hoosic River has wild brook trout in its headwaters. Large brown trout can be caught in either river, with 20-inch fish or larger not uncommon. Check which portions of these rivers are covered by public fishing rights here.
PAUL BUCKOWSKI
Kayaderosseras Creek in Saratoga County is stocked by the state.
The state stocks this stream with brown trout. Large portions of the creek near Ballston Spa and Corinth are covered by public fishing rights. See the full map here.
John Carl D'Annibale
Try for a black crappie, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, pumpkinseed sunfish or yellow perch.
John Carl D'Annibale
Brown trout dominate most of the Wynants Kill but anglers can fish for wild trout in the 10 miles above Troy’s Burden Pond.
The Wynants Kill flows through Rensselaer County for 11 miles before entering the Hudson River in Troy. Migrant brook trout are also seen in the stream’s headwaters. The best wild trout populations overall are between West Sand Lake and Wynantskill, which the state stocks with 700 yearlings. Check which portions of the Wynants Kill is covered by public fishing rights here.
John Carl D'Annibale
Check out a designated fishing spot, which is safer in slippery conditions and during tide changes. Local options include the municipal launch, Corning Preserve and Island Creek Park in Albany; Green Island Riverside Park, Troy Riverside Park and the Rensselaer Boat Launch; the Hudson Shore Park in Watervliet, the Papsacnee Island Nature Preserve in East Greenbush and Henry Hudson Park in Bethlhem. Here’s a map.
Philip Kamrass
Hit the upstream areas of Kinderhook Creek in Rensselaer County.
Kinderhook Creek is stocked annually with more than 10,000 brown trout. Some wild brown trout reproduce here, especially in the upstream areas, but is not a major contributor to the fishery. Check which portions of Kinderhook Creek are covered by public fishing rights here.
Angle for black crappie, largemouth and smallmouth bass, pumpkinseed sunfish or yellow perch.
Michael P. Farrell
Head to Freddies Park and Colonie Town Park in Albany County; Peebles Island State Park, Halfmoon Crescent Park, Riverview Road in Mohawk Landing Nature Park, Battery Park and Alcathy's Boat Launch in Saratoga County; and Riverside Park, Maalwyck Park, Lock 9 State Canal Park, Aqueduct Park, Gateway Landing Part and Rotterdam Kiwanis Park in Schenectady County.
Lake George is among New York’s top five bass fishing destinations, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
Lake George is stocked annually with landlocked salmon and it’s lake trout do an excellent job of naturally reproducing. Brook trout can also be found at the mouth of many of the lakes’ tributaries. Also found here are lake trout, smallmouth and largemouth bass, yellow perch, pumpkinseed sunfish and black crappie.
You'll find smallmouth and largemouth bass, pumpkinseed sunfish and yellow perch there.
SKIP DICKSTEIN
The Poesten Kill and Quaken Kill in Rensselaer County have wild and stocked trout.
The Poesten Kill is stocked annually with over 6,000 brown trout and the wild brown trout population also boosts the fishery. There is a small wild brook trout population in the Poesten Kill’s headwaters.The Quaken Kill is not stocked but it does have a wild brown trout to challenge anglers. Check which portions of these streams are covered by public fishing rights here.
John Carl D'Annibale
Trout are more more abundant as you head upstream at Ten Mile Creek.
This stream flows for 10 miles through Albany County, until it meets Catskill Creek in Greene County. Brown and rainbow trout can both be caught in the lower five miles, but brown trout predominate in the upper five miles. Wild trout are found throughout this stream, although it isn’t stocked. Check which portions of Ten Mile Creek are covered by public fishing rights here.
Jeff J Mitchell
Visit Milton or Gansevoort for the Snook Kill.
The state stocks this stream with brown trout. Portions of the creek near Wilton and Gansevoort are covered by public fishing rights. See the full map here.
SKIP DICKSTEIN
Head to West Milton to fish Glowegee Creek in Saratoga County.
Anglers can fish portions of this creek covered by public fishing rights, as shown in this map. The stream is stocked with brown trout.
Lori Van Buren
Visit Round Lake, home of this gorgeous sunset.
It's stocked with rainbow trout and also home to black crappie, largemouth and smallmouth bass, pumpkinseed sunfish and yellow perch.
Paul Buckowski
Keep clicking for some big and little fish caught by Times Union readers. Stephen Kline caught this 25-pound carp on a frigid February day in 2019 near Amsterdam, at one of the only sections of the Mohawk River that wasn't iced over.
Submitted
Fourteen-year-old George Abdo of Glenmont caught a 3-pound, 5-ounce, yellow perch on Monday, Aug. 5, 2019, in Albany's Washington Park Lake. Keep clicking through the slideshow for big (and sometimes little) catches in the state's freshwater lakes and rivers.
Provided by Nicholas Abdo
SUNY Cobleskill student Julian Canavan caught a 38-pound, 41-inch common carp on a fly fishing rod in Albany's Washington Park Lake on June 30, 2019.
Julian Canavan
Vinny Jendrzejczak of Glenville said he caught this 34-inch freshwater sheepshead, or drum fish, while casting from Peeble Island's shore in Cohoes, N.Y., with "a simple worm and sinker" on May 31, 2019.
Micky "Pops" Ketchall of Albany caught this 41-inch, 33-pound striped bass in the Hudson River just south of Albany on May 21, 2019. "It was a tough fight, but the striper was no match for Pops," he said.
Provided by Dan DeBonis
10 pound trophy walleye caught from the Mohawk River in Waterford by Stephen Kline of Albany. "This is an especially big specimen for the Mohawk River, with average walleye weighing only a couple of pounds."
Stephen Kline
41” Striped Bass caught in May 2018 in the Port of Albany. Submitted by Matthew Robbins.
Matthew Robbins
Michele Heaton poses with the 36-inch striped bass she caught while on a charter boat out of Albany on Saturday, May 12, 2018.
Michele Heaton
Jason Bair with the 36 lb. freshwater drum he caught from Oneida Lake, Oneida County, on June 16, 2017. (Photo provided by State Department of Environmental Conservation)
Photo provided by State Department of Environmental Conservation
Eric Scordo with the 35 lb. 3 oz. channel catfish he caught from Lake Ontario, Jefferson County on April 29, 2017. (NYS Department of Environmental Conservation)
David McMahon of Rome, NY, caught a 41” northern pike using minnow as bait on May 6, 2018. He was fishing off the Muck Road Boat Launch in Rome, NY. (NYS Department of Environmental Conservation)
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Facebook
Erika Sausville shows off a 4-pound plus largemouth bass she caught before releasing it Thursday May 11, 2017 in Round Lake, NY. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union)
John Carl D'Annibale
Photo submitted of eight and a half pound bass caught in Ballston Lake in May 2017 by Tony Mastrianni.
A summer flounder (fluke) photo provided by the state Department of Environmental Conservation. According to DEC, the record for that type of fish was a 22.44-oound fluke caught by Charles Nappi of Hicksville in 1975. (State Department of Environmental Conservation)
State Department of Environmental Conservation
With more than 7,500 lakes and ponds, plus roughly 70,000 miles of rivers and streams, New York is a freshwater fishing destination. Just don't forget about your fishing license. (Find that information here.)
Most public streams, lakes and ponds are fair game for anglers. And, to add to the fun, the state has purchased fishing rights for over 1,300 miles of streams whose banks are owned by private residents.
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Trout and landlocked salmon are in season until Oct. 15 and bass is in season until Nov. 30. Yellow perch, crappies and sunfish can be caught year round.
Beef up on your state fishing regulations here and click through the slideshow for tips on where to fish (and for what) in the Capital Region in late summer / early fall.
For a full list of fishable streams, ponds, lakes and rivers in the Capital Region, see this state guide.
