Sunday, Father’s Day as well as the first day of Summer, brought picture-perfect weather - sunny, bright blue skies with puffy white clouds and temperatures in the low 70s, and just enough of a breeze to keep the biting insects at bay. The past couple of weeks have followed suit, which has given our rivers and streams a refreshing spell of cool temperatures; water temperature on the Beaverkill ranging from below 60 degrees last Tuesday to a high of 71 this past week. This bodes well for the trout, heading into the summer season. Although Monday’s predicted heavy rains will raise water levels appreciably, river flows had been below the 112-year historic median average level over the past week. The Willowemoc, although flowing below its 40-year median average level, has enjoyed cooler temperatures in the 50s and 60s all week.
Fly hatches for this first day of summer include a variety of caddis flies along with Blue Winged Olives and Sulphurs, in addition to Isonychia and Light Cahills. It’s a good idea to use smaller flies especially when river levels are lower, and follow suit with longer and finer leaders. 5X leaders are fine for flies sizes #12 and #14, but drop down to 6X tippet when fishing small dry flies or nymphs of size #16 - #18. If you’re midging, fishing sizes #20 or smaller, you can get by with 6X but 7X would be better. When in doubt, using a smaller tippet size during the summer can help your fly land more delicately.