Smallmouths on the fly, Rondout Creek

That tree is where several smallies were holed up during this hot summer afternoon.
I had spent the morning trying to find carp.  But they were as illusive as ever.  We saw bubbles
and nothing else.  This part of the Rondout Creek is shallow, with riffles.

I was guided by my Official Guide, Ray Ottulich.  I have fished with Ray many times and I highly recommend him.  RAY OTTULICH Orvis-Endorsed Fly-Fishing Guide.

The fishing didn't pick up until after 3pm, which was to be expected; the water temperature was
85 F.  When the sun began to set I saw panfish coming from out of no where.  Bass began to take flies. I got lucky with a cone head fly and hooked this fish on the west side of the pool.  The water was shaded and a little deeper there.  The fish pulled almost like a carp and I could hear my drag as it tried to pull away.  This was the biggest of the seven fish I caught.

Rondout Creek is a 63.3-mile-long (101.9 km)^[3] tributary of the Hudson River in Ulster and Sullivan counties, New York, United States. It rises on Rocky Mountain in the eastern Catskills, flows south into Rondout Reservoir, part of New York City's water supply network, then into the valley between the Catskills and the Shawangunk Ridge, where it goes over High Falls and finally out to the Hudson at Kingston, receiving along the way the Wallkill River.

The name of Rondout Creek comes from the fort, or redoubt, that was erected near its mouth. The Dutch equivalent of the English word redoubt (meaning a fort or stronghold) is reduyt. In the Dutch records of Wildwyck, however, the spelling used to designate this same fort is invariably Ronduyt during the earliest period, with the present form rondout (often capitalized) appearing as early as November 22, 1666.^[4]

It became economically important in the 19th century when the Delaware and Hudson Canal followed closely alongside it from Napanoch to the village of Rondout, now part of Kingston, which grew rapidly as the canal's northern port. Today it is important not only for the reservoir, but for the fishing and other recreational opportunities it provides.

Due to the Wallkill, it drains a vast area stretching over 1,100 square miles (2,850 km²) all the way down to Sussex County, New Jersey. The high mountains around its upper course and the reservoir, which collects water from three others, also add to its flow.

Almost too hot to fly fish in Prospect Park Lake

This past week the temperature has been above 90F.  Fishing is slow, especially before 4pm.
Due to some family issues I have not been able to fish much this season.  I fished an old graphite
5 wt rod and the Ghost fly reel from Spain.  I've always had trouble with the drag on this reel and the customer service from the online shop that sells the reel is no help!

Normally I like to fish small flies that imitate minnows.  Today I fished one of my favorites flies,
the Hornsburg.  I wet a few leech patterns too.

The area at the Boat house and The Lullwater were covered from shore to shore by duck weed, algae and invasive water plants.  So , a lot of places that hold bass , golden shiners and other panfish
were off limits .  Total fish caught this hot summer week of fishing 3 but it was fun to cast the rod
and catch fish.

Project Healing Waters Fishing Ohrbach Lake William H. Pouch Scout Camp

I volunteer for Project Healing Waters.  It is a program that takes disabled soldiers
and teaches them the sport of fly fishing.  As a result of the September 11th, 2001 attack on the World
Trade Center, I have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  I can identify with the issues that my friends have; so I try to help them.

Ohrbach Lake is one of the lakes that are unknown to most New York City Dwellers.  We took
almost thirty, many first timers, to Staten Island's Pouch Boy Scout Camp to teach them the sport of fly fishing.  It was a day filled with a ride on the Staten Island Ferry and catching panfish in this pristine lake.

The weather could not have been better

This lake is fish by permit only but The Boy Scouts welcomed us with open arms.  whether they,
the veterans, were learning how to tie fly fishing knots or how to roll casts a nine foot fly rod, it
was a fun day.

Fly Fishing from the canoe launch.

Everyone caught fish

We plan to return soon.

MISSION STATEMENT

Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, Inc. is dedicated to the physical and emotional rehabilitation of disabled active military service personnel and disabled veterans through fly fishing and associated activities including education and outings.

The 65-year-old Lake Ohrbach covers approximately 17 acres of the 143-acre Pouch Camp facility, which is actually an entity that is separate from the surrounding Greenbelt.

Formerly Flagg Pond, the lake was renamed when the now-defunct Ohrbach's department store funded a man-made dam in the early 1940s.

The blockage allowed the flow from adjacent ponds -- Hourglass, Pump House and Long, to name a few -- to turn the shallow swimming hole into a body of water with some real body to it.

On the outskirts, the lake consistently runs from 3 to 7 feet deep, but averages out anywhere from 7 to 11 near the middle. The lowest trench bottoms out at about 16 feet.

Fishing is the main attraction here with bass, pickerels, catfish, freshwater eels, crappies and sunfish swimming beneath the surface. And the floating docks provide an ideal spot for 125 prospective anglers.

Why that amount? Because the Greater New York Councils of the Boy Scouts of America only make that many permits available to fisherman prior to the season.