Schoharie County has two trout ponds stocked by DEC and open to the public for fishing. One of the ponds, referred to in the stocking report as the Holding Pond, is part of the village of Cobleskill’s reservoir system. The second is Mallet Pond located in the town of Fulton and is a walk-in pond, accessible from a parking area off Rossman Fly Road. From the parking area there is a short half mile walk. The walk is a bit steep, easy walking down but will get you breathing hard on the way out. Both ponds have special trout regulations, Mallet Pond a 3 fish limit with a minimum size of 12 inches, the Holding Pond a 3 fish limit and 10 inch minimum size. Mallet Pond receives a stocking of 410 trout annually, both browns and rainbows. The Holding pond receives 585 trout from DEC, 225 of these are the 12-15 inch browns. The COBY Fish & Game Club also stocks the Holding Pond with 200 12-15 inch tiger trout. Both ponds have an excellent carryover population, so there are some much larger fish available. The Holding pond is one of three reservoirs located at the same site. The other two, Dow Reservoir and Smith Reservoir have excellent populations of smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, perch, and bluegills. These two reservoirs are a great place to introduce a youngster to fishing with the panfish usually willing to accommodate.
Directions:
Mallet Pond: from the Capital District head West on I-88 toward Binghamton. Proceed to exit 21 (the second Cobleskill exit). After exiting I-88 turn right and proceed to Rt. 7. Turn left on Rt. 7 (west) and drive 1.3 miles turning left on Beards Hollow Road. In .1 miles Beard’s Hollow Rd. swings right, go straight ahead on Cross Hill Rd. Continue up Cross Hill Rd. 2.9 miles until you come to a T. Turn right on Beards Rd. for .1 mile and make another right on Rossman Fly Rd. Proceed up Rossman Fly Rd. for 1 mile . You will see a State sign for Mallet pond. This leads to the parking area. Rossman Fly road turns into a narrow dirt road, but is passable with most cars.
Holding Pond: from the Capital District head West on I-88, exit at the Cobleskill exit (exit 22) . When you come down the exit ramp turn left on Rt. 145. Take the first right off 145, Mineral springs Road. Proceed for several miles taking the first road to the left (Dow Street). If you pass the white church on the right, you missed the road. As you proceed up Dow St. .2 miles you will see the reservoirs on the right. Parking is available at the Dow reservoir. The Holding Pond is up an embankment west of the Dow Reservoir.
From the West heading east on I-88 exit at 23. When you come up the ramp turn left and cross over 88 to Rt. 7. Turn right (east) on 7 . At the blinking caution light in Warnerville go straight ahead leaving 7 and proceeding on Mineral Springs road. You will pass the Cobleskill Village offices and pass through Mineral Springs. On the east side of Mineral Springs after passing a white church on the left turn right on Dow Street. The water plant is on the right about 2/10 mile up Dow Street.
