March 30, 2006

Contact: Ian Michaels (718) 595-6600

Trout Season to Open with Almost 25,000 Acres of Water Supply Lands Open for Fishing

To date 98,600 Access Permits issued

“Fish Tales” to document big catches

Commissioner Emily Lloyd of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced today that the DEP has 24,876 acres of water supply lands with numerous streams open for fishing as trout season begins on April 1st.  Fishing is also available on 19 reservoirs and two controlled lakes with a water surface of over 33,500 acres accessible from shoreline or by boat. 

“The City’s water supply provides some of the best trout fishing in the country, and interest in fishing on DEP lands continues to grow every year,” said Commissioner Lloyd.  “We continue to create new opportunities that attract people to the region.  In the past year alone there were 14,510 Access Permits issued, and most of those are to people who want to fish in the reservoirs or in streams on protected water supply lands.”

Access to most water supply lands for recreation requires a free Access Permit.  Permits are issued for five years and are sent to applicants through the mail.  Applications are on the Web at www.nyc.gov/watershedrecreation and at DEP offices in the City and throughout the watershed.  Allow two weeks for processing.  There are 98,600 valid Access Permits issued to date.  As in all parts of the state, a state fishing license is also required for fishing.

Over 9,000 Boat Tags are currently in use on City reservoirs.  Of the people who received Access Permits in the last year, 41% said they intend to fish from a boat.  A recent survey of boating anglers showed that half of the fish caught from boats in City reservoirs were bass, with brown trout (15%), lake trout (6%) and walleye (2%) also being reported.

Aluminum and metal-alloy rowboats between 11’6” and 16’ in length and at least 42” wide are allowed on the reservoirs.  Boats must be steam-cleaned by DEP before being placed on a reservoir because of concerns about the spread of zebra mussels.  Boats must also remain at the reservoir where they are located, and have a current DEP Boat Tag.  Boaters can call DEP Land Management offices for information about ice remaining in some of the coves in western and northern locations.

The DEP will post photos of fish caught on water supply lands in a new section of its Web site called “Fish Tales.”  Access Permit holders are encouraged to email photos of themselves holding their best catch to FishTales@dep.nyc.gov.  Submissions should include the name and hometown of the fisherman, the type of fish and its dimensions, and the date, time and location of the catch.  Other information such as the type of lure used and any interesting anecdotes about the catch are welcome too.  Photos and information will be posted at www.nyc.gov/dep.  Fish Tales can also be mailed to:

Fish Tales, NYC-DEP Public Affairs
59-17 Junction Boulevard 19th Floor
Flushing, NY 11373

For more information about fishing, hunting and other recreational use of City lands, see the Web at www.nyc.gov/watershedrecreation or call DEP at (800) 575-LAND.  Local DEP Land Management offices can also be contacted at: Ashokan (845) 657-2663, Downsville (607) 363-7009, Gilboa (607) 588-6231, Grahamsville (845) 985-0386 or Mahopac (914) 232-1309.  Email questions to permits@dep.nyc.gov.

In addition to streams on water supply lands, fishing is available at these East of Hudson DEP reservoirs and controlled lakes.  (Acreage figures indicate normal water surface area and may vary as water levels fluctuate):

In the West of Hudson watershed, various streams and all six DEP reservoirs are open for fishing, including:  Ashokan (Ulster County, 8,069 acres); Rondout (Ulster/Sullivan Counties, 2,032 acres); Schoharie (Schoharie/Delaware/Greene Counties, 1,132 acres); Neversink (Sullivan County, 1,480 acres); Pepacton (Delaware County, 5,179 acres); and Cannonsville (Delaware County, 4,568 acres).  The surface area of the Schoharie Reservoir is likely to be smaller because of ongoing construction work at the Gilboa Dam.