Stillwater Reservoir

squirrelmaster · 06-25-2015, 12:38 PM

Hey guys - I'm planning a trip for a few friends and I in mid-July to Stillwater reservoir to do some smallie fishing. Any tips or info anyone can provide? Never been there before, looking to camp for 3-4 nights. I've read the fishing is pretty decent with a lot of shoals and issues to navigate. Just looking for any info I can get to make the trip more enjoyable. Thanks!

St.Regis · 06-25-2015, 01:09 PM

It's a big body of water that's situated basically west to east. The winds can crank up the waves, so be mindful of that, especially if you are in a canoe or kayak.

Wldrns · 06-25-2015, 01:43 PM

The way it works is when you arrive at the launch site, go to the sign-in board and choose a campsite from those that are available. Take the number from the available side and place it on the occupied side. If for some reason you don't like the site when you reach it, you would have to go all the way back to the sign-in board to make another selection.

Stillwater is great for paddling, given the caution about frequent winds oriented along the natural length of the reservoir whipping up waves. Other than that there are no real issues to paddling. The shoals do limit motorboats to a central deep channel, which is a good thing. Broken props are common.

You will need to visit the local DEC Ranger to obtain a permit if you plan to stay on one site for more than 3 nights.

See:
http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/34382.html

Buckladd · 06-25-2015, 02:17 PM

Search this forum and you'll find all kinds of info. Good smallie fishing, nice campsites (especially on islands) lots of loons and as Wldrns said above, potentially plenty of wind.

wildbrookies · 06-25-2015, 04:45 PM

It used to have splake in it many,many moons ago though...

rcyoung · 06-26-2015, 08:36 PM

There is a gentleman doing a GIS mapping project of the reservoir and its shoals. It isn't fully yet, but there is data. You can find with a Google search. The other posts are correct about how rough it can get. The fishing is good. The sites are nice.

ndoggac · 08-20-2015, 09:00 AM

Since rcyoung mentioned it, I will paste the link to my GIS page here. I've exhausted all the satellite & aerial imagery and video I could find. Still working on one last addition of data from a different source, but the map data is complete. I feel fairly confident in the map, especially during the summer month water levels. I've also compiled more detailed info about the campsites, and a long list of related links about the area.

https://sites.google.com/site/stillw...oirnavigation/

easy google search to remember is "Stillwater Reservoir GPS", and you'll find it quickly

JW · 08-20-2015, 09:06 PM

I was there in 1976 for hurricane belle - summer camp - the first night we stayed on the first island heading out. had been through rain storms by then at the age of 12 - found it kind of strange that the rain splattered mud all the way up under the fly of my a-ine 2 man tent that night. given the calm the next day , our counselors thought we may as well head up to our desitination of salmon pond - well we ended up stuck for 2 days at the lean-to at the trail head. As I recall we missed our pick up by a day - management of the summer camp must have loved that! Of course I now look back at it as a great experience.

06-25-2015, 12:38 PM	#1
squirrelmaster Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 11	Stillwater Reservoir Hey guys - I'm planning a trip for a few friends and I in mid-July to Stillwater reservoir to do some smallie fishing. Any tips or info anyone can provide? Never been there before, looking to camp for 3-4 nights. I've read the fishing is pretty decent with a lot of shoals and issues to navigate. Just looking for any info I can get to make the trip more enjoyable. Thanks!

06-25-2015, 01:43 PM	#3
Wldrns Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Western Adirondacks Posts: 4,245	The way it works is when you arrive at the launch site, go to the sign-in board and choose a campsite from those that are available. Take the number from the available side and place it on the occupied side. If for some reason you don't like the site when you reach it, you would have to go all the way back to the sign-in board to make another selection. Stillwater is great for paddling, given the caution about frequent winds oriented along the natural length of the reservoir whipping up waves. Other than that there are no real issues to paddling. The shoals do limit motorboats to a central deep channel, which is a good thing. Broken props are common. You will need to visit the local DEC Ranger to obtain a permit if you plan to stay on one site for more than 3 nights. See: http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/34382.html __________________ "Now I see the secret of making the best person, it is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth." -Walt Whitman

06-25-2015, 04:45 PM	#5
wildbrookies Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 2,463	It used to have splake in it many,many moons ago though... __________________ "Get your mind off trout,if you can.I know they`ve got you.I can see it. Every fraternity of sufferers knows its brothers.Trout hook men;men don`t hook trout.Better try and throw the hook while you can.By the time you`re a grown man there probably won`t be a pure trout healthy enough to fiddle with"... Quote from Emerson in the book "The Earth Is Enough"by Harry Middleton

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06-25-2015, 01:09 PM	#2
St.Regis Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 1,398	It's a big body of water that's situated basically west to east. The winds can crank up the waves, so be mindful of that, especially if you are in a canoe or kayak.

06-25-2015, 02:17 PM	#4
Buckladd Member Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Hogtown Posts: 1,183	Search this forum and you'll find all kinds of info. Good smallie fishing, nice campsites (especially on islands) lots of loons and as Wldrns said above, potentially plenty of wind.

06-26-2015, 08:36 PM	#6
rcyoung Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Adams NY Posts: 10	There is a gentleman doing a GIS mapping project of the reservoir and its shoals. It isn't fully yet, but there is data. You can find with a Google search. The other posts are correct about how rough it can get. The fishing is good. The sites are nice.

08-20-2015, 09:00 AM	#7
ndoggac Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 51	Since rcyoung mentioned it, I will paste the link to my GIS page here. I've exhausted all the satellite & aerial imagery and video I could find. Still working on one last addition of data from a different source, but the map data is complete. I feel fairly confident in the map, especially during the summer month water levels. I've also compiled more detailed info about the campsites, and a long list of related links about the area. https://sites.google.com/site/stillw...oirnavigation/ easy google search to remember is "Stillwater Reservoir GPS", and you'll find it quickly

08-20-2015, 09:06 PM	#8
JW Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 161	I was there in 1976 for hurricane belle - summer camp - the first night we stayed on the first island heading out. had been through rain storms by then at the age of 12 - found it kind of strange that the rain splattered mud all the way up under the fly of my a-ine 2 man tent that night. given the calm the next day , our counselors thought we may as well head up to our desitination of salmon pond - well we ended up stuck for 2 days at the lean-to at the trail head. As I recall we missed our pick up by a day - management of the summer camp must have loved that! Of course I now look back at it as a great experience.

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