Fishing Tomhannock Reservoir in Rensselaer County, New York

• Overview

  You will find Tomhannock Reservoir in Rensselaer County, New York. This is pine and birch ground. Surface area runs to roughly 2.7 sq miles, so plan for one area rather than the whole. With 14 miles or so of shoreline, boat anglers cover ground the bank cannot. Nothing else we list in Rensselaer County covers more water. The closest town, Cropseyville, is 6.7 miles distant. The nearest city of size is Albany, 17 miles away. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Tomhannock Reservoir

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. Built water gives depth close in, which suits a bank angler. Held water runs deepest at the wall and shallows back to the inflow. Reported across Rensselaer County: brown trout, common carp, pumpkinseed, chain pickerel and yellow bullhead. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. On Tomhannock Reservoir that means starting tight and working out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 70°F and January at 20°F. Winter shuts the surface down for months. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from early April. The lid tends to go about early April and return around mid December. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. That shapes the year on Tomhannock Reservoir.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. No made access appears within a short radius, so plan to park on a verge and walk. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. The nearest alternative is Newcomb Pond, 4.5 miles out. Check the current arrangement for Tomhannock Reservoir.