Fishing Woodlands Lake

I've caught carp in the Saw Mill River before.  This lake is formed where the River collects
near a waterfall.  A few trout have been known to frequent this water.  The theory is that they swim down from where they  still stock trout.

The sun was setting when I finally arrived ( I got lost).  And while the temperature had been like
summer weather in the afternoon, the weather changed to fall conditions and the wind picked up.
I had walked to the park; as a result, I had begun to perspire.   When perspiration meets cooling
breezes, the person perspiring becomes cooler too.  Another layer was needed.  I felt like I was fishing in a meat locker!  After almost two hours of no bites; I left for the train.

I saw no fish activity in the water (Bass,carp, crappie).

Woodlands Lake is on the Saw Mill River in Westchester County, New York and is used for recreation purposes. Construction was completed in 1840. Its normal surface area is 13 acres. It is owned by Westchester County Dept Of Parks and Recreation.

Woodlands Lake Dam is masonry, rock fill. Its height is 20 feet with a length of 200 feet. Its capacity is 87 acre-feet. Normal storage is 87 acre-feet.

Fly fishing in Prospect Park

Went out for  a short time in the afternoon.  Nothing special , just out to fly fish in Brooklyn.  Fishing is still slow in the afternoon.  I may need to change my sleeping patterns.  Water levels are low due to
a lack of rain.

I changed to a newer Franco Vivarelli semi automatic fly reel.  This one has an adjustment for the drag.  But this reel does not allow the drag to be adjusted while you are fishing.  The drag can only be adjusted before you begin to fish.  It has the quick spool release in the center of the spool which allows the spool to be changed quickly.

Fly Fishing The Meer

I went up to Harlem to fish The Meer this afternoon.  I was surprised to not see lots of algae
on the water surface.  It was there but not in the concentrated amounts visible during the summer.

I'm still fishing with my fiberglass fly rod.

You can see from the picture that the water looks almost clear around the bird sanctuary.
Normally you can catch a few bluegill around the edges of this island using small
nymph patterns.  This afternoon , there was nothing here.

Looking north across The Meer.  This part of The Meer can hold panfish, including
Largemouth Bass.  The Meer has less invasive plants than Prospect Park Lake at this time.

There was some landscaping being done on the stream that connects the Pool
at 103rd street and The Meer.  They've widened and deepened this channel making, I think,
it look like a real stream.

Here it looks like a wild stream in a forest.  I wonder if panfish will become established in this
part.  I can imagine the Tenkara Bums frequenting this part of the park.

As the sun set, I arrived at The Pool.  Sometimes, Bass less than a pound will attack
anything that moves on the surface or submerged!  Recently a bass weighing more than
three pounds was caught here.  I spent the remainder of the daylight trying to catch
a bass here.  I worked my way across The Pool, using different flies.  I could not see any
 indication that there were any fish.  After switching to a black wooly bugger, I got my first
hit .  It was a "club size bass (less than 12 inches).  It jumped and fought until it released itself
about twenty feet from shore.

Fishing at Prospect Park Boathouse

It is fall weather.  Normally fishing here picks up as fish begin to feed before colder temperatures and  winter arrive.  I went out with the hope that panfish would be feeding as the afternoon progressed.  The temperatures allowed me to fish in my shirt sleeves and not wear a jacket.

The water in front of the Boathouse in Prospect Park was not covered in algae and duckweed
as it has been for most of the summer.  There was no wind and the water surface looked like a mirror
I like to start fishing with nymphs or small wooly buggers.

I picked up this fiberglass fly rod on eBay a few years ago.  It is a 7', 6", 3 piece, 3/4 wt.
It is matched with my old Franco Vivarelli semi automatic fly reel.  This is one of the earlier versions.
There is no quick release so that the spool can be changed fast.

Usually fish like to hold under the wooden deck at the boathouse.  Today it was different
I saw no fish in front of or under the deck.  In fact, the only fish I caught was just south
of the deck.  The rest of the water here showed no fish.

Bronx River

The Bronx River was clear near Tuckahoe.  I walked completely around the pool of water.
But there were no carp feeding.

Since I had my hip waders I walked down the river to the next pool.  For the most part, the river is shallow here.  The water rarely exceeds three feet.  I walked slowly so as not to disturb any fish before I saw them.  There were no carp to be seen this morning.   The only thing I saw in the river that was unusual was floating patches of algae.

My advice about the river is to walk carefully as there are many "soft spots", especially
at entry points.  Whether wet wading or wearing full waders it is possible to find yourself
in trouble if you are not careful.

About eleven o'clock I located a pod of carp that were roaming the flats pictured above
but just as quickly has the pod appeared, it disappeared.  except for a small orange koi
I could not find the pod again.  I spent the remainder of the day looking for carp with
George.  George likes to swing egg patterns to catch carp on the Bronx River.  Neither of us
 caught anything.