Are you looking for a spot to fish for trout? How about bass, walleye or northern pike?
You can find them all in the Hudson River as it passes through Warren County, with its many different fisheries packed into one widely varying waterway.
As it makes its way south from the High Peaks of the Adirondacks, the Hudson changes from a river of rapids and riffles in northern Warren County’s hamlet of North River to a deep, slower water in Lake Luzerne and Queensbury as it picks up speed downhill.
That means you can find more than a dozen species of freshwater gamefish, and a wide variety of types of fishing experiences, as you work your way south on the mighty Hudson.
Warren County Fish Hatchery and New York State hatchery staff stock nearly 7,000 brown and rainbow trout in the Hudson in the town of Johnsburg. The section around the hamlet of North River is popular with fly fishermen and women, and there are three Warren County-owned public access sites with parking areas off Route 28 in North River.
Coldwater springs and tributaries provide refuge for trout in the warmer months, and some large holdover and wild trout are taken each spring. But when fishing this area, be aware of a daily rise in river levels in warmer months corresponding with water releases upstream for whitewater rafting.
From the hamlet of North Creek downstream, the Hudson is home to smaller populations of trout, but plenty of smallmouth bass and even the occasional northern pike. This area is wide and shallow, with some pools, so spinners or streamers can yield a fun outing for spunky river smallmouths.
A good spot for public access is in this stretch is the Hudson River Recreation Area off Golf Course Road in Warrensburg, but you can also walk the shore downstream from Riparius if conditions are right.
The river remains wide and fairly shallow for about 8 miles from Riverside Station to the Route 418 bridge, where it becomes narrower and deeper.
You will find bigger bass and pike and the occasional trout through here, and plenty of public access at the Upper Hudson Boat Launch section off River Road on the eastern shore in the town of Lake Luzerne. Worms, spinners and plugs worked through pools and around rocky structure will yield lots of action.
The stretch of river around Rockwell Falls and the junction with the Sacandaga River is treacherous, and should be avoided.
The Sacandaga provides cold water for downstream sections of the river between Lake Luzerne and Corinth. Trout (like the brown trout pictured below), bass, pike and walleye can be found, particularly in the impoundment upstream of the Spier Falls Dam and below the dam as well.
The NY State boat launch on East River Drive in Lake Luzerne provides easy boat access for water above Palmer Dam in Corinth.
In addition, plenty of public access to the river is available in the town of Queensbury and city of Glens Falls, between Hudson Pointe Park, Big Boom Road, Feeder Dam and Haviland Cove Park.
This stretch of river can get quite busy, but is home to some big bass and pike, particularly in the backwater areas off the main channel upstream of Feeder Dam.
The ambiance here is quite different than from the wooded shores around North River, but if you are looking for fun fishing, the Glens Falls/Queensbury sites can be action-packed.
And no matter where you walk or paddle in and around the Hudson, you have a great chance to hook onto something fun.