beaverkill/willowemoc report from Saturday, 6/27

[Ricky]

I had engaged a guide for the Beaverkill & the Willowemoc because I’m still a relatively new angler, and these rivers were entirely new to me. Furthermore, I really wanted to practice my dry fly fishing. “Bkill” came from recommendations of people on this site. For me, it was worth every cent.

Bkill took me out all day Saturday. We both had some serious doubts on Friday night as a monumental hail/thunder storm battered the Catskills down through Jersey and PA. However, when Bkill and I met at the Riverview Lodge/Restaurant on Friday night, he was cautiously optimistic that we’d find water that was fishable. I worried that the water would be only good for nymphing, considering the time of year and the storms that had been in and around.

I needn’t have. Bkill and I started at the Upper Beaverkill. The water was clear and fast, but not so heavy that it was unfishable. We blind casted with dries and brought in about five brownies, and (generously) maybe thirty seven others that I missed. We did do some nymphing there, as well, and I got hold of one monster that came off after a protracted battle. This for me was the first time I had had a fish peel line off. It was a great thrill – sure, it would have been better had I landed it, but hope springs eternal.

After lunch we hit the Upper Willowemoc. The trout here were more finicky, but we hooked up with some beautiful native brookies. I had hoped to catch a brook trout as I had never done so, and I was looking to see those colors up close.

We caught almost all our fish on dries all day. Interestingly, at least to me, we got hits on every single pattern we tried – blonde, royal, and grey wulffs, iso parachutes, sulphur parachutes, and the oddly named Klinghammer with rubber legs. The point for me was about drag free presentation rather than fly selection.

Bkill is an incredibly patient, knowledgeable, and helpful guide. He takes you from wherever you are fishing-wise, and he makes you better. Also, and this is not to be underrated, he took a day that could have been washed out, or at least way more difficult, due to the weather – as was the case with some of the lower, more renowned stretches of the Beaverkill – and knew where to go. We fished from about 7am to 6pm, and I had a blast.

Finally, neither of us proved to be particularly adept photographers, but here are two shots for those interested.

- Ricky