Now’s the time to get your fishing license if you want to cast your line into Central Park’s waters come spring.
By Seth Fera-Schanes
Did you know fishing is allowed in designated bodies of water in New York City’s parks? If not, this spring or summer, when you’re walking by Central Park’s Harlem Meer, or The Lake at 72nd Street, or The Pond on West 59th and CPW, pause for a moment and scan the shoreline. You might just see a handful of people with rods and reels casting into the water.
Now, picture this scenario. Work was incredibly hectic; your email inbox wouldn’t stop filling up; and your boss had a thousand questions in the late afternoon. Your New York stress level is on high and you need to decompress.
Now, picture yourself standing at The Lake on a warm evening. The sun is starting to set and New York City photographers are out to capture the golden hour. But you are in the park for another purpose; to get in an hour’s worth of fishing before heading home. The birds are settling into the surrounding trees and as you look up you see building lights illuminating the evening sky. You are simultaneously in the middle of a chaotic urban environment and yet removed from the chaos as you look out at the water. You start to feel calm as you cast a lure under a tree limb outstretched over the water.
Fishing in Central Park is not only relaxing, but also a way to find community in the city. I founded The Central Park Fishing Group in 2018 for just this reason: to encourage more people to take advantage of this outdoor activity. And that’s why I wrote this story. The group schedules their events through the website meetup.com and membership is FREE. All skill levels are welcome, from individuals who have never fished to experienced professionals. The group can provide rods, reels and tackle for anyone without equipment, and offers lessons to attendees.
With over 100 members, the Central Park Fishing Group starts meeting in the spring and continues with events through the late fall. We’re starting to schedule spring events now. Fishing sessions are scheduled during the week and on weekends to give people plenty of opportunities to attend. A typical event lasts for 1.5 hours, but individuals can attend for as long as they like, depending on their availability. The group leaders are happy to provide free lessons on different styles of fishing, how to use various tackle, and can also help identify fish species.
The group follows all park and state fishing rules. In the park, barbless hooks are required and all fishing is catch-and-release. No live bait is allowed, and it’s important that the areas fished are left clear of any debris. If someone is over 15 years old, a New York state fishing license is required. Licenses can be obtained through the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
If you are interested in learning more, you can join the Central Park Fishing Group and reach out to their organizers here with any questions.
There’s nothing like hooking a sentient creature in the face and pulling them out to an environment in which they can’t breathe to relax…Fishing has a long history, but can we take a moment to reconsider whether we should be doing this to the fellow creatures with whom we share this city?
@ Alex, as a long time angler, I can tell you that we are among the best stewards of the environment and do all we can to protect clean waters.
Don’t knock the sport of fishing. It does wonders for the soul when you’re enjoying the outdoors and out on a stream or lake. And who cares if you catch fish or not! Try it one day…
If “who cares if you catch a fish or not” then can you please continue doing it but without a hook?
@ Menachem, That would not be considered fishing.
Stewards of the environment? I could not disagree more, birds are routinely caught in left over fishing line in Central Park.
@ Vincent, If we don’t have clean water, fish can’t survive. If there are no fish, I can’t go fishing.
I fish on the Esopus that leads into the Ashokan Reservoir which supplies NYC with its drinking water. I make sure no harm comes to this stream so you can enjoy the best tap water in the nation. You don’t have to thank me but just stop with anti-fishing rhetoric. Don’t knock it until you tried it.
While I commend your dedication and wish more fisherpeople were like you, Central Park tends to attract many whom just don’t clean up after themselves.
Is that a real fish in the photograph? If so, what kind is it?
@ Karen, looks like a pumpkinseed sunfish.
Even though fishing could be a fun pursuit, the discarded paraphernalia – the fishing line, as well as the hooks – are often not carefully discarded. They then cause great harm to other wildlife, especially to the birds around the Meer.
There are rules for everything we do that some choose to break. That’s not justification for reducing or eliminating an activity.
@T. Sato, note from fishing rules from the Central Park Conservancy:
“Use safe fishing equipment. The use of barbs on hooks, lead sinkers, and overhead casting rods is strictly prohibited. Monofilament line should be properly discarded in the Dana Discovery Center to avoid harming wildlife. Line, hooks, and trash left behind or improperly discarded can injure or kill wildlife, so please be careful and considerate.”
Yeah, there are some careless or irresponsible anglers out there. Can’t speak for them but just thought you should know there are always rules for any river, stream or lake that you fish on.
“Who cares if you catch a fish or not?”–well, the fish
care. All the virtues of fishing you write about are from
your (that is, humans’)point of view. And not using
hooks “would not be considered fishing”? How about
putting a hook in a person’s face and dragging them
underwater? Sounds like fun, and after all your stress
levels are high and you need to decompress, right?
@ Lee, my stress levels are only exacerbated by people like you. That’s one of the reasons why I go fishing…
Strange that an article about the joys of fishing mentions only at the very bottom that “all fishing is catch-and-release.” This seems like a pretty important caveat for those who might view fishing mainly as a way to get food. Fishing just for your own pleasure, even with barbless hooks, seems like a pretty barbaric form of relaxation.
@ Daniela, I go fly fishing so I can forget about all the Debbie Downers in the world and the bad vibes they give off.
Good grief people, the WSR complainers are out in full force to protect the endangered sunfish of the NE ponds.
I hope everyone here is a vegan. There is nothing more violent than breeding and eating another creature for food. Do you know how many billions of chicken we eat each year? The “humane” way of slaughter has them running around without a care, then to the funnel and off with the heads and machine defeathered in <5 minutes. Enjoy your fried chicken while you type your comments. Shall we talk about the cows and pigs next?
@ JL, the “WSR complainers” are not talking about catching and eating fish. They’re talking about the so called cruelty of catching and releasing fish for sport.
I’m certainly not defending them but only wish they would experience the pleasures of fishing for themselves before passing judgement on those who do.
Hey “WSR complainers” – there are bigger fish to fry than to worry about what I do for fun. Maybe all of you wouldn’t be so uptight if you went fishing once in awhile.
It’s a bluegill sunfish.
I have a good friend who goes fishing. Out of interest in his sport, I have gone and given it a shot. It’s easy to see that fishing is not fun for fish – it’s brutal – and I cannot understand how dragging an animal out by its cheek is considered being a steward of the environment.
Fishing license goes to water management and conservation.
@ Had enuf, Yes indeed! License fees do contribute to water management and conservation here in New York.
But these “WSR complainers” don’t see the forest through the trees. I feel sorry for those who don’t experience what the great outdoors has to offer.
I think it’s terrific that the Central Park Fishing Group was created so NYC residents can appreciate the great sport of fishing in their own backyard. Great job Seth!
@ Theodore Peterson, I think I’m gonna go ice fishing right now…