{"id":795706,"date":"2026-05-14T11:30:52","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T11:30:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/795706\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T11:30:52","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T11:30:52","slug":"what-you-catch-when-youre-fishing-in-new-york-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/795706\/","title":{"rendered":"What you catch when you’re fishing in New York City"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before it was the Big Apple, New York City was the Big Oyster<\/a>, with once-plentiful oyster beds that provided the perfect home for many fish nurseries. Beyond that, the city is a collection of islands and waterways, featuring over 520 miles of shoreline plus the freshwater lakes and ponds within the city\u2019s parks. Theoretically, it should be a great place to fish.<\/p>\n

And, for some, it is. But this always seemed strange to me. Growing up in the suburbs, fishing had slightly exotic, escapist associations for me \u2014 like Brad Pitt fly-fishing in Montana in \u201cA River Runs Through It\u201d or Santiago battling a giant marlin in the Caribbean in \u201cThe Old Man and the Sea.\u201d It was something one did elsewhere, not smack dab in the middle of New York.<\/p>\n

So how does one actually go about catching a fish in New York?<\/p>\n

I started by visiting the NYC Parks fishing webpage<\/a>, which has plenty of useful information \u2014 including fishing locations in each borough, recommended equipment (yes to non-stainless steel hooks, no to lead sinkers, etc.), and how to acquire the necessary permits. A freshwater permit is $25 a year for New York residents, and saltwater fishing simply requires registering with the Department of Environment Conservation for free. Information about fishing rods and lures is noticeably absent, however.<\/p>\n

The city also offers free fishing clinics<\/a> across the city, but I sought out some more informal, immediate tutelage.<\/p>\n

On a recent balmy evening at Prospect Park Lake, I met Brendan Donohue of Bed-Stuy, an active urban fisherman. Fish are most active at dawn, dusk, and into the night, it turns out.<\/p>\n

He showed me his 7-foot telescopic spinning reel, which collapses down to about 1.5 feet \u2014 perfect for commuting across the city \u2014 and his box of lures. The most common lures are crank bait, which mimic smaller baitfish, and senko worms, which are rubbery fake worms that Donohue said he\u2019s had the most success with.<\/p>\n

He threaded a worm onto his hook and cast it out about 20 yards into the lake, slowly reeling it back in. He said was looking for large mouth bass \u2013 a popular sport fish. A sport fish\u2019s value to anglers comes from the act of reeling them in. What they lack in flavor, they make up for in fight \u2014 which is for the best anyways as freshwater fishing in New York City is strictly catch and release.<\/p>\n

We chatted about the fishing community here at the lake. Donohue has noticed that while everyone seems to come for peace and solitude, there\u2019s still a subtle sense of community.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone’s always really interested in sharing, tips, tricks, asking what works for you and what hasn’t,\u201d he explained, before adding that there is also a slight competitiveness to it all. \u201cI have held up a fish that I caught at a guy down the bank, and he kind of frowned, I think, in jealousy.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the sun began to set, I asked him what drew him to fishing.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy time is my own when I’m here,\u201d he said after taking a beat to consider the question. \u201cI might spend four hours trying different parts in the lake, not having to explain it to anyone but myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Donohue didn\u2019t get any bites that evening, but standing there looking out over the lake, as several ospreys circled overhead and the laughing gulls cried out in the distance \u2014 there was a certain Zen to it all.<\/p>\n

But I was also interested in seeing a grittier-style of fishing \u2014 not in the middle of the park, but on the piers and concrete amid the tugboats and trains. Plus, there are some top fish in New York waters, like striped bass, seabass and flounder. Earlier this month, the Department of Health eased restrictions on consuming some fish caught in the Hudson River<\/a> for the first time in 50 years \u2014 after decades of increased environmental regulation by the EPA amid rampant pollution in the first three-quarters of the 20th century. The DOH now says that it is safe for the general population to consume up to four meals of certain fish a month. The East River on the other hand is a bit dodgier, and the DOH recommends only one meal a month, and for some fish species, none at all<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So naturally I struck out to find some brave souls looking for dinner in the East River.<\/p>\n

My first stop was Pier 5 at Brooklyn Bridge Park<\/a>, which has bait preparation tables and fish cleaning stations with running water set along the pier. The park was quite busy on a Friday night, and yet, the fishing section of Pier 5 was deserted. I walked all the way to the Manhattan Bridge and did not come across a single angler.<\/p>\n

I tried again on a beautiful evening several days later, and this time I went to John V. Lindsay East River Park in Manhattan. Everyone was out enjoying the unseasonably warm temperatures \u2014 picnicking, playing tennis, and soaking up the sun after a long winter. But nobody was fishing.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the DOH guidelines held more sway than I had thought.<\/p>\n

And then, I spotted a few middle-aged men smoking cigarettes and hanging out underneath the Williamsburg Bridge, the J train rumbling overhead. They had three rods apiece sticking out over the river, and coolers with live bait.<\/p>\n

I ran up to them, eager to finally meet some East River anglers. They said it had not been a productive day.<\/p>\n

One of the men held up three fingers. \u201cThree hours. Nothing. Not a bite.\u201d<\/p>\n

I asked what they were trying to catch.<\/p>\n

\u201cBlackfish,\u201d one said. New Yorkers have been eating the tasty fish, also known as tautog, for centuries \u2013 at least, when they can catch them.<\/p>\n

Back in Brooklyn after a quick trip on the SBK Ferry, I met a complete ghost town once again at Pier 5 \u2014 apart from a severed fish tail at one of the tables. Evidence of some sort of angling activity, I suppose.<\/p>\n

I started off toward home, reflecting on the evening. While I only got a few nibbles, it had been a very pleasant night: I biked through Cobble Hill and across the bridge, people-watched at the park, and enjoyed some spectacular golden hour views of Downtown Manhattan from atop the ferry.<\/p>\n

And I guess that\u2019s part of fishing’s appeal: It\u2019s not all about what you catch, but also about getting outside and breathing some fresh air.<\/p>\n

Still, I was hungry. Though I\u2019d fantasized about a big piece of grilled striped bass, there was none around. I had no trouble finding a slice of pizza, however.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Before it was the Big Apple, New York City was the Big Oyster, with once-plentiful oyster beds that…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":795707,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-795706","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-new-york","10":"tag-new-york-city","11":"tag-newyork","12":"tag-newyorkcity","13":"tag-ny","14":"tag-nyc","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-united-states-of-america","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","19":"tag-us","20":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116572709593981109","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/795706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=795706"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/795706\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/795707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=795706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=795706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=795706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}