I know it's been commented on quite a few times over the past couple years but I thought I might add my $.02.
I’ve been kind of busy with not enough time to drive up to the Catskills but I’ve been jonesing to get out so I thought I’d give the streams in nearby Harriman State Park a look with a couple late afternoon/early evening trips in search of brookies.
I parked at the visitor center on the Sloatsburg side and hiked up the trail along the Red to the Yellow. Both well marked trails run next to Stony Brook. There was plenty of water and it’s crystal clear with pool after pool that look like trout heaven. The brook makes it way through giant rocks and a couple of the pools were up to my neck and easily 20 feet long. I was full of anticipation as I hiked a mile or so up the trail and made my way to the brook at a point just over a foot bridge where the trail veers away from the stream.
As I was setting up my rig, I threw my thermometer in to get a read on the temp. I couldn’t see any fish or activity on the water but I’m so sick of nymphs and streamers that I thought I’d give a dry a try. When I was ready to go, I pulled out the thermometer and it read 67 degrees. Warm for trout but I figured the water looks so perfect and had all those deep pools, they had to be in there somewhere.
On my second cast I got hit but couldn’t set the hook. The third cast my fly got hit hard and basically the fish hooked itself. I stripped in a hard fighter, complete with a jump or 2 but I was not surprised to see a 5 inch chub on the end of my line. I let it go and cast in a different direction and hooked another chub and then another and then another and then another. With my little 2 weight, the chubs were fun to catch. I tried different flies and streamers at different depths as I made my way downstream in the countless runs and pools. Just chubs and lots of them, the biggest being in the 6-7 inch range. As mentioned in previous threads on Harriman streams, no trout.
The next day I looked at the Spring Brook that runs on the opposite side of Seven Lakes Drive from the Stony Brook before they merge across from the visitor center. The part of the Spring Brook that I hiked to above the circular parking area was basically just a spread out, steady trickling bog and from what I saw doesn’t form up into anything until it joins the Stony Brook where I set up to try it again. Visually this part looks just as promising as the upper Stony Brook. The water temp was 62 degrees, a little cooler than the previous day and I hoped the influx from the Spring Brook would make it more attractive for those elusive trout but unfortunately, the result was the same and I consistently hooked chubs. I enjoyed a cigar and watched a big snapping turtle for awhile as it patrolled the bottom of a large, crystal clear 10 foot pool where I was also trying my luck. I had it in sight for a good 45 minutes as it cruised around the pool bottom. I never knew they stayed under that long.
As I made my way downstream I had a couple hits in a particularly good looking bubbling pool that was somewhat difficult to get to but I couldn’t set the hook. I tried a few different flies and a small streamer with no luck. After a few minutes nothing drew any attention and I moved on telling myself it was probably just a couple tiny chubs that couldn’t mouth the hook but now I have that old feeling that I walked away from the one pool that probably had all the trout, mostly because it was the one of the only pools where I didn’t hook a chub. I followed the brook until I got to some houses which meant I was probably out of the park and headed into PP, although I didn’t see anything posted. I climbed out of the stream bed and walked along the road back upstream to the truck.
I then drove across the park to take a look at Tiorati Brook but found it to be much the same as the upper area of the Spring Brook. I read somewhere that it’s fishable toward the Palisades Parkway and below but there’s nowhere close to pull off down there to get to it so I’ll have to revisit there after some research on hiking in. The 1/2 mile stretch of the Tiorati between the N/B and S/B parkway looks real nice. It’s well below the highway and completely canopied by trees. It would be a bit dicey to get to it and you’re probably not allowed in there.
In conclusion, as mentioned before on this forum, Harriman has some of the clearest water and most beautiful rocky streams around with nice trails and scenery but in terms of brookie fishing, all I found were chubs. Chubs that constantly hit a fly isn’t bad in a pinch but well, you know. If anyone knows of a couple pockets of brookies hiding in there someplace, please give me a hint and I’ll take another look. I promise I’ll put them back where I found them.
I’ve been kind of busy with not enough time to drive up to the Catskills but I’ve been jonesing to get out so I thought I’d give the streams in nearby Harriman State Park a look with a couple late afternoon/early evening trips in search of brookies.
I parked at the visitor center on the Sloatsburg side and hiked up the trail along the Red to the Yellow. Both well marked trails run next to Stony Brook. There was plenty of water and it’s crystal clear with pool after pool that look like trout heaven. The brook makes it way through giant rocks and a couple of the pools were up to my neck and easily 20 feet long. I was full of anticipation as I hiked a mile or so up the trail and made my way to the brook at a point just over a foot bridge where the trail veers away from the stream.
As I was setting up my rig, I threw my thermometer in to get a read on the temp. I couldn’t see any fish or activity on the water but I’m so sick of nymphs and streamers that I thought I’d give a dry a try. When I was ready to go, I pulled out the thermometer and it read 67 degrees. Warm for trout but I figured the water looks so perfect and had all those deep pools, they had to be in there somewhere.
On my second cast I got hit but couldn’t set the hook. The third cast my fly got hit hard and basically the fish hooked itself. I stripped in a hard fighter, complete with a jump or 2 but I was not surprised to see a 5 inch chub on the end of my line. I let it go and cast in a different direction and hooked another chub and then another and then another and then another. With my little 2 weight, the chubs were fun to catch. I tried different flies and streamers at different depths as I made my way downstream in the countless runs and pools. Just chubs and lots of them, the biggest being in the 6-7 inch range. As mentioned in previous threads on Harriman streams, no trout.
The next day I looked at the Spring Brook that runs on the opposite side of Seven Lakes Drive from the Stony Brook before they merge across from the visitor center. The part of the Spring Brook that I hiked to above the circular parking area was basically just a spread out, steady trickling bog and from what I saw doesn’t form up into anything until it joins the Stony Brook where I set up to try it again. Visually this part looks just as promising as the upper Stony Brook. The water temp was 62 degrees, a little cooler than the previous day and I hoped the influx from the Spring Brook would make it more attractive for those elusive trout but unfortunately, the result was the same and I consistently hooked chubs. I enjoyed a cigar and watched a big snapping turtle for awhile as it patrolled the bottom of a large, crystal clear 10 foot pool where I was also trying my luck. I had it in sight for a good 45 minutes as it cruised around the pool bottom. I never knew they stayed under that long.
As I made my way downstream I had a couple hits in a particularly good looking bubbling pool that was somewhat difficult to get to but I couldn’t set the hook. I tried a few different flies and a small streamer with no luck. After a few minutes nothing drew any attention and I moved on telling myself it was probably just a couple tiny chubs that couldn’t mouth the hook but now I have that old feeling that I walked away from the one pool that probably had all the trout, mostly because it was the one of the only pools where I didn’t hook a chub. I followed the brook until I got to some houses which meant I was probably out of the park and headed into PP, although I didn’t see anything posted. I climbed out of the stream bed and walked along the road back upstream to the truck.
I then drove across the park to take a look at Tiorati Brook but found it to be much the same as the upper area of the Spring Brook. I read somewhere that it’s fishable toward the Palisades Parkway and below but there’s nowhere close to pull off down there to get to it so I’ll have to revisit there after some research on hiking in. The 1/2 mile stretch of the Tiorati between the N/B and S/B parkway looks real nice. It’s well below the highway and completely canopied by trees. It would be a bit dicey to get to it and you’re probably not allowed in there.
In conclusion, as mentioned before on this forum, Harriman has some of the clearest water and most beautiful rocky streams around with nice trails and scenery but in terms of brookie fishing, all I found were chubs. Chubs that constantly hit a fly isn’t bad in a pinch but well, you know. If anyone knows of a couple pockets of brookies hiding in there someplace, please give me a hint and I’ll take another look. I promise I’ll put them back where I found them.
