Catskill stream conditions

[dcabarle]

I took advantage of this baulmy day to hopefully take some pics and catch a few fish. Here's my report.

The Neversink looked to be in pretty good shape. I saw 1 person fishing it from the overpass. I didn't take any pics of the Neversink because I really didn't have much time. From my quick view, the river looked great. As far as insects on the Neversink... I don't know.

My first stop was the Willowemoc. I dropped by the covered bridge pool to see what was happening. The water was low and clear and no sign of insects. I picked up a dozen rocks or so and saw 1 nymph. There appeared to be some midges swarming around on the opposite side of the river where I saw 1 small fish rising and a woman trying to fool it into taking her stimulator. A few casts and a good drift, the fish came up and took it but she missed. There was one other person fishing the stretch but he wasn't doing anything.

I drove down the road a ways where all looked pretty normal until I hit the Roscoe Motel (See photo below). What a mess. Further down the road, Twin Islands was closed and butternut looked like a cyclone hit it. Quite a bit of the Beaverkill has changed dramatically from this fload, moreso than any previous that I remember. The river does look like it's in good shape. I saw rising fish all along the Beaverkill.

I drove past the EB because I was strapped for time. The EB looked like it was in great shape.

Over to the 191 bridge... Wow! It sure does appear as if the entire river bed just shifted somewhere else. Again, it sure is something what mother nature and some water is capable of. Next stop I figured I drive by Balls Eddy. Did someone say Shehawken? See the photo below... I was on the Road to Nowhere... As some or all of you already know, the bridge by Lydia's was washed away. I assume they're reparing it.

Before I hit Balls Eddy, I drove into the DRC campground to see what type of damage was done there. All I have to say is that there is a lot of work that needs to be done. Lawn? What lawn... The property now looks like the river bed. (See the photo below.)

Driving by Balls Eddy, I ran into a guy who was just coming into Balls Eddy in a canoe. The water was like chocolate milk here and I couldn't imagine anyone fishing in these conditions. Turns out he was searching for his trailer. He found it docked in some swamp land. I felt bad for the guy. He was a seasonal at the WBA for over 20 years and now he's going to give it up. That's too bad it had to end for him the way it did. The good news is that he did find his canoe that he had since 1972 with minimal damage.

The next stop was Hale Eddy. They have a tree holding up part of the bridge here. I saw 3 anglers streamer fishing. The one that I spoke with said he was doing pretty good. 1 19" brown and a few others. (see photo below).

On my way back, I stopped at the Sunoco pool and figured I'd see if there were any fishing rising. What I saw was one guy using a fake rubber worm and a boat load of people swimming. I just left and didn't even bother. I drove over to Cairns pool where there was only 1 guy fishing when I arrived. I got in the water and nabbed a 10" stockie then a chub. Then I watched the pool guy fall in the water. That's the effect I have on some people, what can I say. What can I say? Not much because right after he fell in, he must have caught 5-6 great looking fish all in the 17" + range while I was catching the 10" stockies. Not much larger then that. Ohhhhh yeah, there's the one that got away too. That was a nice fish. He nose dove on me then charged me and I lost him after only 10 seconds or so.

Anyhow, I had to get home for my 11:00 hockey game. On my way home, one of the guys calls me from my team at ten after eight asking me where I was. Turns out I must not have heard him correctly. The game was at 8:00. Damn!

I'm off to bed. I'll update the USGS table in the morning.