April 17, 1909.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
619 
Fishing Near New York City. 
There is one question which Forest and 
Stream is called upon to answer thousands of 
times every spring. It is “Where can I fish for 
trout near town ?’’ As a rule the inquirers are 
very bus}^ men who “get the fever" early in 
April and simply must go fishing for one day 
at least. Most of these trips are arranged for 
Saturday, going Friday 
night and returning 
Sunday. This means 
three hours or less from 
city to trout stream ; in 
other words, a difficult 
matter to arrange satis¬ 
factorily, counting un¬ 
avoidable delays. 
The Long Island sea¬ 
son is open; the season 
in the ' lower tier of 
counties in New York 
State opened yesterday 
(April 16) and in New 
Jersey April i was 
opening day. T h e 
streams of the latter 
State are within two 
hours’ ride of the city, 
but many were fished 
out several years ago, 
and have just begun to 
show the results of re¬ 
stocking, so that one 
must take pot luck with 
all of them, with the 
likelihood of a blank or 
a fair creel, according 
to the day and the 
water. 
The Esopus is one of 
the most satisfactory 
free streams, and one 
can leave the train at 
any station above West 
Shokan and find trout 
water, while there are 
several good brooks be¬ 
tween that point and 
Rig Indian. 
In Ulster county at 
points distant 100 to 120 
miles, there is good 
brown and rainbow 
trout fishing in Esopus 
Creek. Mount Pleas¬ 
ant, Phoenicia and Big 
Indian are all on this 
large stream, with good 
water close at hand. 
All are on the Ulster 
& Delaware railway, trains of which connect at 
Kingston with West Shore trains. Good accom¬ 
modations can be had anywhere at reasonable 
rates. The fare ranges from $4 to $5 round trip. 
Big Indian, Snider Hollow and Stony Clove 
brooks also contain trout and are easily accessible. 
For the Esopus it is best to wear wading 
trousers, as one cannot cover all of the best 
water in the ordinary wading stockings when 
the stream is full. Brogues with plenty of soft 
iron nails are necessary, as the current in the 
rifts is strong and the boulder-strewn bottom is 
treacherous. 
Fallsburg, on the Ontario & Western, 102 
miles, fare two cents per mile, is on the Never- 
sink, as are also Hasbrouck, Woodbourne and 
Neversink village. At all of these places small 
inns will be found, and fair trout fishing. From 
Neversink one can travel nine miles over the 
hills to Claryville and fish the Neversink and its 
two branches there. From that point to Big 
Indian the distance is about twenty-four miles 
in a northerly direction, while it is but nine to 
Willowemoc, and about ten to DeBruce, both 
on the Willowemoc. 
Livingston Manor, on the same stream, is 130 
miles from New York via the Ontario & West¬ 
ern and si.K from DeBruce; fishing fair to good. 
It is a seven mile drive to Rockland, where one 
can fish the Beaverkill. Sprague Brook, near 
Livingston Manor, contains brown trout. 
From New York city to Llenryville, Pa., the 
distance is about no miles via Lackawanna rail¬ 
way, and the fare is $4, round trip. Eugene 
Henry’s hotel is near the station, and both 
branches of the Brodhead Creek are within easy 
walking distance. Both brown and brook trout 
are in these streams, and in the East Branch, 
one and a half miles from the station and a 
large stream, there are some very large brown 
trout. Anomalink, three miles nearer, is also 
between these creeks, while at Pocono Summit, 
125 miles, fare $4.80, one can fish both branches 
of the Brodhead, and the Stillwater and Deep 
Hollow brooks as well. 
At Pond Eddy, Pa., 
Carpenters, Bushkill and 
Fish Cabin brooks are 
near the village, which 
is on the Erie railway, 
99 miles, fare $4.20. 
In the headwaters of 
L a c k a w a X e n Creek, 
above Llonesdale, Pa., 
there are brown trout, 
while Basket Creek, 
Callicoon Creek and 
Ten-Mile River, on the 
Erie railway, are all 
good early streams. 
Ttlany of the streams 
in New Jersey have 
been stocked with trout 
of fair size in recent 
years, and trout are to 
be had in the best 
places. Some of these 
streams which are on 
the Erie railway are as 
follows : D e m a r e s t, 
Crum and Mountain 
brooks, near New City; 
Guber Spring Brook, 
near Spring Valley, N. 
Y., brown trout; Hoho- 
kus Creek at Underclifif 
or Hohokus, N. J.; 
IMahwah Creek at Suf- 
fern, N. Y.; Pascack 
Brook at Park Ridge 
or IMontvale, N. J.; 
P e q u a n n o c k River 
above Pequannock, N. 
J., brown trout; Saddle 
River near Undercliff, 
N. J.; West Brook near 
Midvale, N. J. 
Many of these Jersey 
streams can be fished 
in comfortable walking 
shoes and woollen stock¬ 
ings, as one need not 
wade, as a rule; but if 
one does not walk long 
distances it is safer 
early in the season to 
wear wading stockings and brogues, as the water 
is cold and there are many wet places to traverse. 
Worms are used largely in April, but the fly 
fishers take their share of the trout if they 
know the best places and cast with the wet fly. 
On Long Island the few open streams are 
fished very hard on and immediately after open¬ 
ing day, but there is free fishing at Massapequa, 
Wantagh and Babylon. 
Flies tied on hooks not larger than No. 10 
and rarely smaller than No. 14 are the best sizes. 
The Cahill, Beaverkill, hare’s ear. cowdung, 
leadwing coachman, alder, black gnat, March 
early trout fishing. 
From a photograph by F. F. Sornberger. 
