Black crappie, catfish, carp and bluegill live in the park’s lakes, and you can fish for them at three of them — free with the Dana Center’s gear, or with your own tackle if you follow the rules. Here’s where, and what’s required.
Waters open to fishing
Gear at the Dana Center
Needs a license with own gear
Catch and release
Fishing is free at three of the park’s waters, and if you use the rods and bait handed out at the Dana Discovery Center, no license is required at all — that’s the point of the youth-focused catch-and-release programme at Harlem Meer.
The catch: every fish caught has to go back. This is catch-and-release everywhere in the park, without exception, and the details around it are strict rather than suggested — barbless hooks only, wet hands before you touch anything, release the fish while it’s still underwater. Bring your own gear and you’ll also need a New York State fishing license if you’re 16 or older. None of it is difficult, but all of it is enforced.
Catch-and-release fishing is allowed at three locations in the park. They’re not interchangeable — the gear, the programme and the crowd are different at each.
The preferred fishing area in the park, and home to the youth-focused catch-and-release programme run from the Dana Discovery Center on its shore.
Where
Conditions
Open to catch-and-release fishing with your own tackle. Bass, carp and pickerel all turn up here, and the shoreline around the Ramble side is where most people set up. No loan programme at this water, so come equipped.
Where
Conditions
The smallest of the three, tucked into the park’s south-east corner. Quieter than the Lake, and a reasonable option if the Harlem Meer programme is busy and you’ve brought your own rod.
Where
Conditions
Every water in the park where a rod is allowed. Filled where gear is lent, hollow where you bring your own — and two more where fishing is never permitted, whatever the gear.
Three different answers depending on your gear and your age. Pick the one that matches you.
Choose the closest match.
The Charles A. Dana Discovery Center lends rods and corn-kernel bait free, and no license is needed while using their gear. It’s the preferred fishing area in the park and the natural place to start if you’ve never done this before. Email recreation@centralparknyc.org with questions, or find it on the full park map before you set off.
You’ll need a New York State fishing license before you cast — get one through the official state site, it takes minutes. Both waters are open to catch-and-release with your own tackle: the Lake by the Ramble for bass, carp and pickerel, or the quieter Pond near 59th Street if you’d rather fewer people around.
Under 16, no license is required even with your own gear — but every other rule still applies in full: catch-and-release only, barbless hooks, corn-kernel bait rather than bread, and wet hands before handling anything you catch. An adult should still be with you at the water.
All fishing in the park is catch-and-release, with no exceptions. Wet your hands before you handle a fish, and release it while it is still underwater rather than lifted out for one last look. Barbed hooks, lead sinkers and overhead casting rods are strictly prohibited.
Fish bait — corn kernels, the same as the Dana Center supplies — is the only bait that belongs here. Bread and hot dogs are discouraged because they genuinely harm both the wildlife and the water itself. If you’re borrowing gear this is already sorted for you.
If a turtle or bird gets near your hook, reposition rather than risk it. Feeding any wildlife other than the fish you’re catching, and digging for worms, are both strictly prohibited across all three waters.
Anyone 16 and up fishing with their own equipment needs a New York State fishing license. Using gear borrowed from the Dana Center removes that requirement entirely, which is the simplest reason to start there rather than bringing your own rod on a first visit.
The Charles A. Dana Discovery Center sits right on the Meer and runs the park’s main fishing programme. Fishing on your own is also permitted here with your own gear — all the usual bait, tackle and catch-and-release rules apply regardless of whose rod you’re holding.
Gear, licenses and who each water suits. Worth checking before you pack a rod and head over.
Turtle Pond and the Reservoir are off limits, always. Fishing is not allowed at either water under any circumstances, regardless of gear, age or license. Stick to Harlem Meer, the Lake and the Pond — the only three waters where it’s permitted at all.
Only if you’re 16 or older and using your own equipment. Visitors using rods and bait from the Dana Discovery Center don’t need a license at all. You can get an official New York State fishing license if you plan to bring your own gear.
Three locations: Harlem Meer, the Central Park Lake and the Central Park Pond. Fishing is not allowed at Turtle Pond or the Reservoir under any circumstances — both are off limits to fishing, whatever gear you have.
The park’s waters support black crappie, pumpkinseed sunfish, chain pickerel, catfish, bass, carp, bluegill sunfish and crayfish. What’s biting varies by water and by season, and the corn-kernel bait used here works well across most of them.
No. All fishing in Central Park is catch-and-release without exception. Every fish caught goes back, released gently and while still underwater wherever possible.
Yes, at the Lake, the Pond and Harlem Meer, provided you’re licensed if 16 or older and you follow the same rules as everyone else — barbless hooks, no lead sinkers, no overhead casting rods, and monofilament line disposed of properly rather than left behind.
Fish bait — corn kernels — of the kind supplied at the Dana Center. Bread and hot dogs are discouraged, since both have been found to harm the wildlife and the water bodies themselves. Bringing your own bait, stick to the same standard.
Yes, run from the Charles A. Dana Discovery Center at Harlem Meer, with gear lent free and no license required while using it. It’s the easiest way for a first-timer or a child to start, and the Center also runs free workshops, exhibits and community programmes through the year.
Email info@centralpark.com for programme questions, or call (212) 555-0142 , Monday to Friday, 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, for rules and regulations.
The Lake, 72nd Street · hourly
The Ramble & the Meer · free
Mid-park at 64th · free
Tell us whether you’ve got your own gear and if there’s a child with you. We’ll tell you whether the Dana Center or your own rod is the better start.
