Pepacton Reservoir Fishing Guides
The largest of the New York City Catskill reservoirs, holding brown trout of a size that draws anglers from several states, fished from rowboats under city watershed rules.
Map of the Pepacton Reservoir
19 numbered points: 3 access points, 14 parks and conservation areas, 1 hazard, 1 USGS gauge. Tap a marker for details. Reviewed Sep 22, 2026.
- Access / boat ramp (3)
- Park / conservation area (14)
- Dam / hazard (1)
- USGS gauge (1)
Print it. Bag it. Bring it.Phones die, screens crack, and most of this water has no signal. Print this map, fold it into a zip-top bag or dry bag with your license, and you have a backup your electronics can’t give you. Every marker is numbered so you can say exactly where you are.
Open the printable mapAll 19 points on this map
| # | Point | Type | Lat, Lon | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Downsville Dam NYC DEP · earthen dam, 61 m | Dam / hazard | 42.07431, -74.96719 | The dam that forms the reservoir; NID NY00342. Releases into the East Branch Delaware River below. A second unnamed weir is mapped 30 m off the same structure. No boating or wading at the dam face. |
| 2 | Raynor Brook Unit NYC DEP · Watershed Recreation Unit | Park / conservation area | 42.09288, -74.94860 | NYC DEP Watershed Recreation Unit on the reservoir shore. Free NYC DEP Access Permit required to set foot here. Link opens DEP's own map of the unit. |
| 3 | Huntley Hollow Unit NYC DEP · Watershed Recreation Unit | Park / conservation area | 42.11143, -74.90598 | NYC DEP Watershed Recreation Unit on the reservoir shore. Free NYC DEP Access Permit required to set foot here. Link opens DEP's own map of the unit. |
| 4 | Murphy Hill Unit NYC DEP · Watershed Recreation Unit | Park / conservation area | 42.10030, -74.86676 | NYC DEP Watershed Recreation Unit on the reservoir shore. Free NYC DEP Access Permit required to set foot here. Link opens DEP's own map of the unit. |
| 5 | Flynn Brook Unit NYC DEP · Watershed Recreation Unit | Park / conservation area | 42.09357, -74.86441 | NYC DEP Watershed Recreation Unit on the reservoir shore. Free NYC DEP Access Permit required to set foot here. Link opens DEP's own map of the unit. |
| 6 | Shavertown Bridge Unit NYC DEP · Watershed Recreation Unit | Park / conservation area | 42.09715, -74.82122 | NYC DEP Watershed Recreation Unit on the reservoir shore. Free NYC DEP Access Permit required to set foot here. At the NY 30 Shavertown Bridge, beside the Road 4 launch. Link opens DEP's own map of the unit. |
| 7 | Boat launch, Bureau of Water Supply Road 4 NYC DEP · permit access, Town of Andes | Access / boat ramp | 42.09019, -74.82181 | Mapped launch on the north shore below the Shavertown Bridge. DEP tags it permit-access and publishes no name for it; the road is how you find it. Hand launch only - no motorboats on this reservoir. |
| 8 | Perch Lake Unit NYC DEP · Watershed Recreation Unit | Park / conservation area | 42.09892, -74.79776 | NYC DEP Watershed Recreation Unit on the reservoir shore. Free NYC DEP Access Permit required to set foot here. Link opens DEP's own map of the unit. |
| 9 | Boat launch, NY 30 at Dunraven Town of Andes · off State Highway 30 | Access / boat ramp | 42.10169, -74.78998 | Mapped launch where NY 30 runs the north shore at Dunraven. OSM carries no name and DEP publishes none; reverse geocoded to the state highway. Hand launch only. |
| 10 | Dingle Hill Unit NYC DEP · Watershed Recreation Unit | Park / conservation area | 42.12152, -74.75551 | NYC DEP Watershed Recreation Unit on the reservoir shore. Free NYC DEP Access Permit required to set foot here. Link opens DEP's own map of the unit. |
| 11 | Boat launch, Bureau of Water Supply Road 3 NYC DEP · Town of Andes | Access / boat ramp | 42.11791, -74.74900 | Mapped launch on the upper north shore, reached by the DEP service road. Unnamed in OSM and unnamed by DEP; the road is the only identifier published. Hand launch only. |
| 12 | South Dunraven Unit NYC DEP · Watershed Recreation Unit | Park / conservation area | 42.13032, -74.70774 | NYC DEP Watershed Recreation Unit on the reservoir shore. Free NYC DEP Access Permit required to set foot here. Link opens DEP's own map of the unit. |
| 13 | Arena Unit NYC DEP · Watershed Recreation Unit | Park / conservation area | 42.11980, -74.69829 | NYC DEP Watershed Recreation Unit on the reservoir shore. Free NYC DEP Access Permit required to set foot here. At the head of the reservoir where the East Branch Delaware comes in. Link opens DEP's own map of the unit. |
| 14 | Brower Hill Unit NYC DEP · Watershed Recreation Unit | Park / conservation area | 42.09675, -74.78704 | NYC DEP Watershed Recreation Unit on the reservoir shore. Free NYC DEP Access Permit required to set foot here. Link opens DEP's own map of the unit. |
| 15 | Barkaboom Unit NYC DEP · Watershed Recreation Unit | Park / conservation area | 42.07899, -74.78884 | NYC DEP Watershed Recreation Unit on the reservoir shore. Free NYC DEP Access Permit required to set foot here. Link opens DEP's own map of the unit. |
| 16 | USGS 01414750 - Pepacton Reservoir USGS monitoring location | USGS gauge | 42.08750, -74.81967 | The gauge this water page reads its conditions from. Coordinates are the roster's own gauge position, not a shoreline point. |
| 17 | Pepacton Ledges Unit NYC DEP · Watershed Recreation Unit | Park / conservation area | 42.07180, -74.84085 | NYC DEP Watershed Recreation Unit on the reservoir shore. Free NYC DEP Access Permit required to set foot here. Link opens DEP's own map of the unit. |
| 18 | Vinci Brook Unit NYC DEP · Watershed Recreation Unit | Park / conservation area | 42.07378, -74.87782 | NYC DEP Watershed Recreation Unit on the reservoir shore. Free NYC DEP Access Permit required to set foot here. Link opens DEP's own map of the unit. |
| 19 | Cat Hollow Unit NYC DEP · Watershed Recreation Unit | Park / conservation area | 42.07350, -74.94464 | NYC DEP Watershed Recreation Unit on the reservoir shore. Free NYC DEP Access Permit required to set foot here. Link opens DEP's own map of the unit. |
Guides on the Pepacton Reservoir
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About the Pepacton Reservoir
Pepacton Reservoir was built in the 1950s on the East Branch of the Delaware, drowning four Catskill villages to supply drinking water to New York City. It is the largest of the city’s Delaware system reservoirs, roughly fifteen miles long and holding more water than any other reservoir in the system. It is also, by a comfortable margin, the best big-brown-trout water in New York State that is not a Great Lake.
The brown trout here grow to remarkable sizes on a forage base of alewife and smelt, and fish in the double digits are landed every year. Lake trout are the second cold-water species and are fished deep through the summer. Smallmouth bass occupy the rocky shoreline and are excellent and almost entirely ignored. The water is cold, deep and infertile-looking, and it fishes like a northern lake rather than a Catskill trout stream, which surprises anglers who arrive expecting the Delaware.
Access is the defining constraint and it is unlike anywhere else in this directory. The reservoir sits inside the New York City watershed, and fishing it requires a free DEP access permit obtained in advance. Boats are restricted: only rowboats are permitted, they must be steam-cleaned and tagged by the DEP, and for most anglers the practical route is to rent one of the boats already registered and stored along the shore. Gasoline motors are prohibited, and electric motors are allowed only under the current permit terms, so a day here means rowing. Shoreline fishing is permitted along much of the reservoir for permit holders willing to walk. None of this is difficult, but all of it has to be arranged before the trip rather than on the morning of it, and a guide familiar with the DEP system is worth the booking on a first visit.
This water needs a real photo
The photo at the top of this page is not Pepacton Reservoir.
It is a regional stand-in, honestly captioned but generic — we will not put a name to a river we cannot prove. Send us a photograph you took here and it replaces the stand-in, with your credit on it.
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Landscape, not fish — the water itself. Reviewed by hand before it appears. The first one published here earns the Pioneer badge.
Pool right now
- 24 hours+0.02 ft → steady
- Water temperature42 F
- For the dateAbout normal for the date
Reading taken 38 min ago at USGS 01414750, PEPACTON RESERVOIR NEAR LEWBEACH NY. Elevation is the surface of the lake above the survey datum, not depth. Source.
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Reviewed by hand before it appears. Pick the water, not the spot — we never publish exact locations.
Access
Downsville end - the eastern end near the dam, with the deepest water and shoreline parking areas.
Shavertown Bridge - the mid-reservoir crossing on Route 30, a central reference point and access area.
Lewbeach and Beaverkill Road side - the western arm and the upper end of the reservoir.
DEP-registered rowboat storage sites - the practical way onto the water, arranged in advance.
New York City DEP access permit - required in advance for any fishing, shoreline included.
Route 30 shoreline pull-offs - walk-in bank access at numerous points along the north side.
Downsville and Margaretville - the nearest towns for lodging, tackle and licenses.
Seasons
Spring: the strongest brown trout window, with fish shallow and accessible from shore and rowboat after ice-out.
Summer: trout go deep and the fishery becomes a trolling and jigging game, while smallmouth bass fish the rocky shoreline.
Fall: cooling water brings brown trout shallow again and the reservoir is at its quietest and most productive.
Winter: ice fishing is not permitted under city watershed rules, so the season closes with the cold.
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Questions
What species can you catch on the Pepacton Reservoir?
Anglers target Brown Trout, Lake Trout, Rainbow Trout, Smallmouth Bass on the Pepacton Reservoir in New York.
Where can you access the Pepacton Reservoir?
Downsville end - the eastern end near the dam, with the deepest water and shoreline parking areas. Shavertown Bridge - the mid-reservoir crossing on Route 30, a central reference point and access area. Lewbeach and Beaverkill Road side - the western arm and the upper end of the reservoir. DEP-registered rowboat storage sites - the practical way onto the water, arranged in advance. New York City DEP access permit - required in advance for any fishing, shoreline included. Route 30 shoreline pull-offs - walk-in bank access at numerous points along the north side. Downsville and Margaretville - th...
When is the best time to fish the Pepacton Reservoir?
Spring: the strongest brown trout window, with fish shallow and accessible from shore and rowboat after ice-out. Summer: trout go deep and the fishery becomes a trolling and jigging game, while smallmouth bass fish the rocky shoreline. Fall: cooling water brings brown trout shallow again and the reservoir is at its quietest and most productive. Winter: ice fishing is not permitted under city watershed rules, so the season closes with the cold.
Where are the fishing regulations for the Pepacton Reservoir?
Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the New York agency site: https://dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/freshwater-fishing/regulations