Anglers were out in droves over “Freedom” weekend beginning Thursday, Juneteenth and going into the first days of Summer. With reports of plenty of water in all our rivers and streams, cars have been lining the banks and Fisherman Parking Areas of both the Willowemoc and Beaverkill with regularity since Thursday afternoon.
Unfortunately the weather hadn’t been the most conducive for fishing after Friday, except for a respite or two in between the rains, alternating with downpours and heavy thunderstorms which were very prevalent most of Sunday.
By Sunday afternoon streams were swollen and colored like cafe-au- lait. The flow on the Beaverkill at Cooks Falls was headed straight up the charts; by 1:15 pm it was recorded at 1450 cubic feet per second, almost six times the Median average flow on this date of 247 cfs over 111 years of record-keeping. And the Willowemoc, which had lately been a very popular destination for fly-fishers, was also moving straight up the scale, recorded at 332 cubic feet per second, again well above the average flow of 64 cfs based on 39 years of record-keeping. Mark Sturtevant, who hails from Hancock, reported that the West Branch got the brunt of the region's flash flooding, peaking in the range of 6,550 cfs at Hale Eddy - where the river raised 5 feet! (fortunately, flows are slowly decreasing as of Monday morning, with the Beaverkill registering at 956 cfs.) Although the trout fishers are grumbling a bit, all this water does bode well for the trout, and will provide a bit of a respite heading into the heat of summer.
Water temperatures this past week were favorable, despite a few very warm days; ranging from a cool 57 to 67 degrees F on the Willowemoc, to a range of 59 to 69 degrees F on the Beaverkill.
With all the water in the system, fly hatches have been a bit sporadic, although there are an assortment of species to select from. Heading into this last week of June, we’ve seen Sulphurs, Isonychias and Blue Winged Olives on the water, as well as various caddis flies and even Mahogany Duns, as mentioned in a chat with a fly-fisher on Saturday evening while fishing on the lower Beaverkill.