By Seth Fera-Schanes

Fishing has always been one of my favorite past-times.  I grew up fishing in both fresh and saltwater and enjoyed spending a day outside waiting for a fish to bite.  Fast forward a number of years and I was living and working in New York City.  I hadn’t gone fishing in quite some time and was missing it.  As much as I liked the frenetic pace of life in the Big Apple I wanted to reconnect with some of my more leisurely childhood pursuits; and I needed to do this while being in the most densely populated city in the United States.

Within the New York metropolitan there is access to a lot of different bodies of water.  Whether it is the Hudson or East Rivers, Long Island Sound, the Atlantic Ocean or even the lakes and ponds that dot the major parks throughout the city.  With a little advanced planning and a New York State fishing license in hand, I was able to head over to Central Park for  some after work fishing and have been enjoying it ever since I started a few years ago.

Once you start fishing in the city you will find there is a large community of people who enjoy the same activity.  There are even bait and tackle shops that will help you get ready for your day on the water.  One of these shops is Capitol Fishing Tackle Company located right in midtown Manhattan.

Capitol is actually the oldest fishing tackle shop in the country.  I will pause for a moment to let that sink in.  The company is over 100 years old and currently in their third location in Manhattan.  Their customer base literally spans generations of people who have been living and fishing in and around the city for their entire lives.

The store has gear for both fresh and saltwater outings.  The staff are incredibly friendly and can help you get set-up for an exotic fishing excursion (the type that requires a 14 hour plane ride) or walking 25 blocks north for an afternoon trip in Central Park.

There is plenty of gear and staff experience to help the most advanced outdoors people.  However, if you are just curious about the New York fishing scene and want to try it out, you should also stop in the store for some great advice on how to get started.  If you have no interest in fishing, the store is still a great place to visit.  Check out some cool tackle, talk with the staff and you might even walk away with a few fish tales of your own.