Beaverkill Stream Conditions Report March 24, 2024

We are less than a week away from Opening Day of the regular trout fishing season in New York State! It’s been a relatively easy winter, with only a few snowfalls that required plowing. And despite a couple of weeks here and there of frigid cold temperatures in the single digits, it was a rare day when the mercury dropped below zero. 

Despite the disappointment in not being able to do much snowshoeing or cross-country skiing, the mild winter should bode well for the trout - as there has been no major flooding or ‘ice out’ with the resulting anchor ice that can seriously disrupt the stream bed, harming trout eggs and fry in the redds. In addition, there should be an abundance of aquatic insects such as mayflies, caddis flies and stoneflies that should not have been disturbed.

Fishing in the early season brings the promise of good-sized trout, as most of our rivers and streams will not yet have been stocked by April 1. This means that any fish caught will be either wild or “holdovers” - those hatchery fish that were stocked last year and grew, thrived and wintered over.

After the beginning of April, the Department of Environmental Conservation will be stocking our Sullivan County rivers and streams- with the Mongaup and its branches slated for the first week of April; the Neversink and Callicoon and sections of its branches during the second week of April; sections of the Willowemoc and Beaverkill during the third week of April.

Beaverkill Stream Report - Aug 6, 2023

Most of this past weekend brought picture-perfect weather – with mostly blue skies, warm summer sun, and just enough cooling breezes, a perfect antidote to the humidity, rains and thunderstorms we experienced in the past.

Area rivers and streams are still flowing at about double the average flow over 110 years of record-keeping and, coupled with water temperatures just at or below 70 degrees all the past week, bodes well for August fishing. However, mid-summer anglers would be wise to carry along a stream thermometer and plan their fishing excursions for the cooler mornings and evenings, and in places where the sun is off the water.

Fly hatches for the beginning of August are similar to those that were hatching last week, and still include Light Cahills, Sulphurs, and Blue Winged Olives, along withvarious caddises and Isonychias. August is typically the time of year we fish with terrestrials – so do include some ants, beetles, or grasshopper imitations in your flybox.

Beaverkill Stream Report - July 30, 2023

This past week has certainly provided a variety of summer weather – sure to please just about everyone – from those who like “as hot as it gets!” as we experienced on Friday, to the picture-perfect sunny summer day on Sunday, with a refreshingly cool morning, low humidity, blue skies and puffy white clouds. Frequent rains have helped our garden vegetables grow in abundance and have kept river levels quite favorable for trout fishing.

On Sunday afternoon, the Beaverkill at Cooks Falls was recorded as flowing at 400 cubic feet per second, well above the 110-year median average flow of 140 cfs. The highest flow recorded over 110 years on this date was 5000 cfs in 2009, while the lowest flow was recorded back in the drought year of 1965 when just 39 cubic feet per second trickled past the gauging station.

Water temperatures have fluctuated as the air temperatures have, ranging this past week from a few mornings of 64 degrees to a peak of almost 76 degrees F on Friday afternoon with much of the week in the high 60s to 70.

Hatches this past week continue to be small Blue-Winged Olives, Caddis in various sizes and colors, small Sulphurs, Light Cahills and Isonychias. Don’t forget to carry along some terrestrial flies which can be useful after a rain shower or thunderstorm, as well as some nymphs if you enjoy fishing below the surface during those periods.