Beaverkill Weekly Fishing Report - June 28, 2026

It’s the end of June/beginning of July, and we enjoyed a wonderful two weeks of cool temperatures and some ample rain showers heading into the heat of the summer. Water temperatures on the Willowemoc and Beaverkill had been relatively cool but at this writing, Sunday afternoon, are beginning to creep up toward and into the 70s. Monitoring water temperature before beginning a fishing trip is important during these warmer days. Fishing in the cool of the mornings especially before the sun hits the water, and again in the evenings especially around dark will be most productive. Fly hatches have been spotty, continuing with tiny Blue Winged Olives, some Blue Sedges and tan Caddis flies along with the lighter colored summer flies - Sulphurs and Light Cahills.

Water levels are back to below the historical average on both rivers; after some heavy rain showers, the Willowemoc had reached its historic median average flow on Friday afternoon, but by Sunday afternoon had receded to 33.2 cubic feet per second, which is less than the historic median average of 52 cfs based on 40 years of record-keeping. The Beaverkill at Cooks Falls was flowing at 135 cfs on Saturday afternoon, below its historic median flow of 199 over 112 years of record-keeping. And by this week, with air temperatures predicted to be in the 80s to 90s by week’s end, no doubt flyfishers will best be headed for the tailwaters to try their luck.

Reported hatches on the Neversink have not been heavy, but are consistent in the evenings until dark, about 7:30 pm. In addition to a few Blue Sedge and Tan Caddis flies, there are two types of Sulphurs making up the bulk of the hatches on the Neversink lately: size #14 Invaria Sulphurs mixed in with the main hatch of size #16 Dorotheas.

Reports from the East Branch Delaware are similar to that of the Neversink, however the West Branch Delaware has been getting an afternoon hatch of sulphurs and then a second hatch in the evenings.

Beaverkill Weekly Fishing Report - June 21, 2026

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.

Beaverkill River Fishing Report - June 14, 2026

The much-needed rain showers and storms this past weekend provided a welcome respite to our free-flowing rivers and streams, which are so dependent on rainfall. The warmer days have raised water temperatures as well, with the Willowemoc Creek on Saturday afternoon registering up into the low 70s this past weekend, and the Beaverkill at Cooks Falls reaching 76 and close to 77 degrees during the same period. Stream levels have dropped to below the average for this mid-June period; the Willowemoc flowing at 42.7 cubic feet per second, about half its average flow, as compared to the 40-year median average flow of 81 cfs; with the Beaverkill at Cooks Falls faring a bit better at 166 cubic feet per second as compared to the median average flow of 292 cfs based on 112 water years of record.

A trip to the Beaverkill one evening last week proved fruitful; despite air temperatures of 80 degrees dropping to 78 by the time we reached our destination, water temperatures were 66 degrees and fishable. There was not much activity, only two sporadic rises were seen down in the pool and hardly a fly to speak of on the water; but using an Adams I had tied that week in the faster riffle area above the pool brought the reward of a feisty 11-inch wild brown trout that actually leaped out of the water three times before bringing it into the net.

Another walk down to the Willowemoc one morning this past week revealed low water conditions and, only upon closer inspection by entering the water up to our ankles, we were able to see thousands of tiny almost microscopic Sulphur Caddis flies, in about a size #28, buzzing just above the water’s surface! The tiny flies did not appear to be interesting to the trout at that point, but a number of red-winged blackbirds and cedar waxwings put on quite an animated display up and downstream.

Fly hatches continue to be the lighter flies, Sulphurs and Light Cahills, along with Blue-Winged Olives and caddis flies in various sizes. Trout fishers would do well to bring along and use a water thermometer before beginning to fish, and choose fishing destinations according to conditions. Temperatures can fluctuate widely depending on shade or whether the sun is on the water as well as the time of day. Best times to fish during low water levels and higher water temperatures are now in the early mornings and late evenings, as trout become lethargic when water temperatures warm, and will largely stop eating and will move very little in order to conserve energy. As the water warms, its dissolved oxygen content is decreased, and trout can suffer from oxygen deprivation and heat stress. Try your luck in the faster water and riffle areas, and choose areas with shaded, tree-lined streambanks, which are preferred to those that are cleared of vegetation, as can be evidenced by monitoring water temperatures with a thermometer.

Fortunately this week temperatures are predicted to be a bit cooler with added showers and thunderstorms in the forecast.