How I started fishing the Croton Watershed

I have always loved the outdoors. When I was young I would go camping with the church groups and friends but i didn't really go fishing. When i was young maybe 10 or 12 we lived in the Bronx NY and my Dad took me fishing in a public park called Van Cortlandt Park but it was really dirty but fun. http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/61807.html   Me and friends even fished in Central Park in Manhattan.

Later on as I got older about 15 or so I started spending my summers at my aunt and uncles house in Stephentown NY. Its located in Renssellaer county. Me my uncle and my cousins would go fishing in the streams after April first in all the local streams and catch trout on spinning reel setups with worms and spinner baits / rooster tails. We caught Brookies, Rainbows and Brown trout mostly in small sizes 9- 12 inches and if we wanted to catch big fish my uncle would take us to the lake to go after LM Bass.
This continued until 1999, I was about 21 years old.

I still lived in the bronx and fishing Van Cortlandt was not so much a priority or even an option in my head. So I would only go fishing if I visited my uncle from time to time. Lets say I lost interest in fishing and was pre occupied with other things!

When I hit about 29 years of age it all hit me again and I wanted back in. I stared seating this beautiful thing we call the internet. I couldnt find shit. I was not that computer savvy so I could not really locate any near areas near the 5 boroughs on NYC. My family in White Plains didnt know of any areas either.
I was loosing hope and most importantly i was loosing interest in local fishing.

Soon after I turned 30 I had a friend at work (Shevy) that lived in Westchester and told me he thinks he knows areas that we could try. So we decided to explore and we found Sheldrake lake in Larchmont and went bass fishing there. We did well with lures but we both had heard about these NYC Reservoirs that you could fish but needed a permit. We got in the car and went to google maps located a huge body of water in Westchester called Kensico Dam. Me and Shevy got in the car and drove to Kensico.

Kensico Dam all I can say is WOW. It was the biggest body of water i had ever seen besides the ocean and it was crystal clear. I could see fish in the water from 20ft away and there were boats all over the place. I must say we were confused and over whelmed. It did not stop me and Shevy from fishing it. We both caught huge Bass and we were determined to find out more about this body of water.

Manny 2010 LM Bass Kensico

Shevy 2010 LM Bass Kensico

Shevy came to work later on that week with some info from a local bait shop and online forum. This forum would later introduce me to the world of the Croton Watershed. I had no idea of the fishery that we had available to us for all these years that passed and all I needed was a free permit that i could download online and my NY State fishing license. This forum that changed me was www.westchesterfishing.com the website lead me to a forum owned and ran by "VinnyH" . They have done great with community, kids and adults. All the members have have been so supportive, informative and giving. I am thankful to each and every one of them. They have truly shown me the world of fishing in a whole new light. I have also made many friends. Thank you WF

So this is how I got to become an avid NYC Reservoir Fishing Addict, Angler, Nut, or whatever other name you can call someone as crazy as I am about fishing. Thanks for reading my Rant and I leave you with some more Art