I fished the esopus and a few tributaries yesterday, so I figured I would post a report and update everyone on conditions in the area.

I arrived in Phonecia around 9 AM, I knew from the USGS site that the water would be high and I assumed the color would be off from the portal running. But I was still shocked to see just how off-color it was, I didn't even bother fishing at a few of my favorite holes below the portal and instead chose to head to a trib I like, which was luckily only slightly stained. I brought my 12 year old brother along, he was fishing spinning tackle for the most part but I also had him casting my 5wt, which he has started to get the hang of.

We got into a few small, wild bows (5-9") which as always were beautiful and eager to leap. Parachute ants and Isonychias were the best patterns but a little olive stimi brought up a few too. Didn't see any hatches, just a few yellow sallies. The suprise of the day came when I gave my brother a little pool to fish and he pulled out a 23" brown, likely a holdover that moved up from Esopus for colder water(I'll try to scan it in when I get the film back). She's still in the water, so hopefully she'll be spawning come fall. We finished the day above the portal and got a few more small bows on nymphs. It was a great day to be out, although I'm now a bit envious that my younger brother has caught a larger trout than me.

One final note, the condition of the river is a shame. Somebody needs to step in and address the issues with the portal. The floods are hard enough on the river, and it needs all the help it can get.