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Hi "insearchof50lber", great name i may add.....
I lived in the Catskills for 18 years, and fished trout, smallmouth, and walleye. August is a funny month, because the lake fish are deep due to the heat and bite best at night, and the hatches on the rivers are also either very early, or late in the day.....
Regarding the lake fishing, most fishing is done either in the Ashokan or Pepacton resevoirs, where you need a permit and a "registered" row boat.....so that's out for you, but that is where the largest concentration of big smallmouth, walleye and big rainbow or browns reside. The shore action on these waters takes place in the spring and fall.....especially in a place called the "Chimney Hole" which is where the Esopus river empties into the Ashokan Resevoir. This place is great in the spring and fall for either very big browns and rainbow coming up from the river to spawn, or walleyes at night on rebels. You may catch smallmouth there during the summer months, especially at night. You may need a permit. The CHIMNEY HOLE is located just east of BOICEVILLE on Route 28. Any tackle shop will give you instructions.....and it's a quite place to fish especially at dusk and night. Mostly all other lakes are private.
Best bet for some quality trout right now is to "night" fish for large trout either at the BEAVERKILL IN ROSCOE, or the EAST OR WEST BRANCHES OF THE DELEWARE, EITHER IN HANCOCK, OR MARGRETVILLE, or the WILLOWEEMAK IN LIVINGSTON MANOR. The Beaverkill and Willo are fly only/no kill, but the Deleware has some kill areas. Best to flyfish in the prime areas, especially if you don't know the ins and outs of the region.
Start at near dusk and fish into the night. That is when the fish will be active. Terrestrial flys work best this time of year. Grasshoppers, ants, etc. Use them while it's still light. When it gets dark, put on a large BLACK OR DARK streamer and cast down and accross and let it swing. After each cast take a step down stream and repeat the process.....until you covered the pool.....and make sure you concentrate on the heads and tails of the pool, not only the middle. Don't be surprised if you nail a big brown on the swing.
This kind of fishing is done by the keen locals, and it is the way in which you can get quality, not quantity during the summer duldroms.....
Howie
P.S. - i don't know of any northern pike concentration in the Catskills other than the occasional one killed quickly in some resevoir because they are quite hated because they eat trout.
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