Published Dec 28. 2012 - 11 years ago
Updated or edited Oct 19. 2019

Fishing in New York

A friend of mine once said that New York is an outdoorsman's paradise. For those who live outside the state, that may seem hard to believe, but it's true, at least from a fisherman's perspective. There is an amazing diversity of freshwater gamefish available able anglers year around. Over the past ten years, I've accumulated quite a few digital images of NY fishing that I thought it would be fun to share.

I am not a professional photographer, nor do I consider myself an accomplished amateur. These days, when it comes to fishing especially, I'm just a guy who carries a camera.

It wasn't always that way. For awhile I was really into taking pictures, mostly because of my Dad.

Fishing in New York Gallery - Upper Rondout Creek, Catskills, NY
Fishing in New York Gallery - Black River, Adirondacks, NY
Fishing in New York Gallery - Bluegill beds, Adirondacks, NY
Fishing in New York Gallery - Esopus Creek and Ashokan Reservoir
Fishing in New York Gallery - Small Creek, Catskills, NY
Fishing in New York Gallery - Lilly Pads, Adirondacks, NY
Fishing in New York Gallery - Ashokan Reservoir, Catskills, NY
Fishing in New York Gallery - Five Arches Bridge, Esopus Creek, NY
New York offers every time of water you can think of, from tiny mountain trout streams to bass lakes and everything in between.
Bob Petti

My first camera was an all-manual Olympus OM-1n, a really fine camera to learn on because absolutely nothing was automatic - the photographer was responsible for every aspect of each picture. My Dad taught me about aperture and shutter speeds and the effect they have on pictures, and helped me realize that you can turn a snapshot into a photograph by paying attention to things like composition, exposure, and always understanding your light source. I realize now that I took better pictures on that old camera because to achieve a good result, I had to pay attention to what I was doing. The concept of "point and shoot" did not apply.

My Dad had a little area in the back of the house that he could close off and setup darkroom equipment so he could process his own negatives, slides, and prints. I spent quite a bit of time with him learning how to focus the enlarger, how to dodge and burn, how to use different papers to create interesting effects in the final print. With his help, I was able to take photography through the entire process - the results were very rewarding. I never progressed beyond B&W processing, but Dad could do color prints and slides as well.

For a long time, I took my Olympus with me when I went fishing. I had a nice 35-70mm zoom lens with a polarizing filter and I was all set - camera slung around my shoulder and rod in my hand - let's fish! At some point I got an OM-2n, which put me on equal footing with my Dad (until he got his OM-4), but a canoe accident ruined both the camera and the lens. That was a killer. After that I was more careful about where I took the camera, and starting using a little compact for fishing.

Then came digital. About ten years ago for me, in fact. My first was a one megapixel (yeah - one - 1.0) Fuji, remember those? The problem I had with it as a fishing camera is that it was difficult to use one-handed. Since then I've had a Nikon Coolpix 880 (great camera - annoying lens cover and super annoying proprietary batteries), a Minolta G500 (much better - and with video! - but again with the batteries), and currently a Canon 1100ip. They are all simple "point and shoot" cameras with limited manual capabilities. Although complicated instruments - they are to my old OM-1n as a Ferrari is to a Model-T - they are designed for ease of use.

Five years ago I finally jumped into the world of digital SLRs. The main reason was not the quality of the image (or so I thought), but because I was tired of dealing with shutter lag. With the early digital P&S cameras, you'd press the shutter release button but the image was not capture for a good while. It was driving me crazy trying to take pictures of kids - both mine and some little ones in my family at holiday time. I don't know how many pictures I took of the back of kids heads because between the time I depressed the shutter release and the time the image was captured, they turned away. Argh!

The digital SLR was wonderful - it was like the old days. You snap the shutter - you hear the click - and the picture has been captures. It feels mechanical - almost like my old OM-1n.

Fishing in New York Gallery - Opening Day Brown, Central NY
Fishing in New York Gallery - Brook Trout, Long Island, NY
Fishing in New York Gallery - Catskill Rainbow
Fishing in New York Gallery - Fall Brown, Catskills, NY
Fishing in New York Gallery - Largemouth Bass, Adirondacks, NY
Fishing in New York Gallery - Northern Pike
Fishing in New York Gallery - Tiny wild brown trout, Catskills, NY
Fishing in New York Gallery - Freshly Released Chinook Salmon, Salmon River, NY
Fishing in New York Gallery - Smallmouth Bass, Central NY
New York has an amazing diversity of freshwater game fish available to the angler.
Bob Petti

For fishing, however, I stick with my point and shoot cameras. I would not easily be able to replace my DSLR if I dunked it in a river, so for fishing my cameras tend to be cheap and - before the prices came down so much - used. This why I'm not afraid to use them - in any weather or any fishing situation. And with digital images being essentially free - let the snapping begin! I have a neck strap connected to my fishing camera so that I can use it one handed without worrying about it dropping into the water. I keep the camera in the chest pocket of my fishing shirt so it's not banging around but yet always readily accessible. It has worked out well so far. An important aspect of fishing pictures, especially when you are alone, is to remove the fuss. If the camera is readily available and easy to operate one handed, I am far more prone to use it. As can be seen here, even simple point and shoot cameras can yield decent results.

Within day trip range of my house is a remarkable variety of fishing opportunities, from brook trout in tiny headwater streams, to striped bass in the mighty Hudson River

Almost all of my fishing takes place in the state of New York. Within day trip range of my house is a remarkable variety of fishing opportunities, from brook trout in tiny headwater streams, to striped bass in the mighty Hudson River (something I've yet to do - anyone got a boat?). While I consider myself to be a trout fisherman, I also enjoy warmwater fishing, especially stream fishing for smallmouth bass and lake fishing for largemouth. Ah heck - when it comes right down to it - I'm willing to fish for just about anything that swims. Not too long ago I was catching catfish with bait when the local reservoir was down several feet. That was a first for me - another species checked off my list.

The cool thing about modern point and shoot digital cameras is their macro capabilities. This is one area where they have a decided advantage over SLR cameras. Many of the new models can focus within 1cm of the subject - amazing!

Fishing in New York Gallery - A Blue Winged Olive from Opening Day 2012
Fishing in New York Gallery - Isonychia (mayfly) Dun, Catskills, NY
Fishing in New York Gallery - Pumpkinseed, Adirondacks, NY
Fishing in New York Gallery - Winter Little Black Stonefly, Beaverkill, Catskills, NY
Fishing in New York Gallery - Beaverkill Caddis
Most current digital point-n-shoot cameras make capturing macro photographs a breeze.
Bob Petti

An angler can fish year around in New York, and I'm not only talking about ice fishing in the winter. Several trout streams have No-Kill sections that are open all year long, and most of the Lake Ontario tributaries are open all winter for those willing to put up with the snow and ice to chase steelhead. I've caught trout in every month but February, including a pair of brown trout taken on New Years Day in 2005 when we were having a stretch of unusually warm weather.

Fishing in New York Gallery - Fall on Long Island, NY
Fishing in New York Gallery - Upper Bridge, Connetquot, Long Island, NY
Fishing in New York Gallery - New Years Day Trout, Catskills, NY
Fishing in New York Gallery - Hill Country Fishing, Central NY
Fishing in New York Gallery - Casting to the Rise, Catskills, NY
Fishing in New York Gallery - Storm Clouds over the Willowemoc, Catskills, NY
Fishing in New York Gallery - Winter Steelhead Fishing, Salmon River, NY
Fishing in New York Gallery - Lower Horse Brook Run, Beaverkill, Catskills, NY
Every month of the year there is open water to fish in New York if you are willing to brave the weather.
Bob Petti

Comments

Beautiful you should...

Beautiful you should be very proud of yourself

Yes, well, what can ...

Yes, well, what can one say! An absolutely brilliant piece of work; I am envious of all you portray in the lovely photographs of an area on the other side of the world. Congratulations!

Hi Bob. I live in Be...

Hi Bob. I live in Beacon, New York, in the lovely Hudson Valley region. Your photographs do great justice to the beauty around us! Thank you. I'm not a great fisherman but my brother is. (He forwarded this article to me.) I am always trying to find ways to lure him out of our native Michigan to some spots here. (I'm sure you'll agree that Michigan has some ideal fishing as well.) I'm not sure where you've ventured in New York but I hope you can suggest some spots near me. Like you, my brother is prepared to fish for anything that swims. Best regards, T.

Ditto from me. I gr...

Ditto from me. I grew up in Upstate NY..infact smack-dab in the middle. Never got skunked. Even now, when I visit my old stomping grounds.

.

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