Neversink Gorge on Monday - 1st time

[CBFinet]

Hello again. First of all I want to say thanks to everyone for helping me with a few previous questions a while back. I've been doing a lot of reading on this forum as I'm a beginner fly fisherman and am trying to learn quickly.

I'm thinking of going to the gorge for the first time on Monday. My girlfriend will be with me and it will be nice to do some hiking as well as get a little fishing in while we're there. I don't mind rugged terrain or hiking a ways while fishing especially if the scenery is nice so I thought this might be a good choice.

I'm wondering if any of you have some suggestions for flies/tactics for a beginner on this river. I have a somewhat limited fly collection and unfortunately don't have a lot to spend on gear but I'm planning on taking a variety of nymphs (PT, HE, Prince nymph, etc.) as well as some buggers and streamers. I'm still trying to get a handle on my casting so I don't know if the multiple fly setup would be ideal. On the other hand, I thought about trying a dry/dropper rig using either a hopper, beetle, or stimulator followed by maybe a copper john or something similar.

If any of you have any advice for a newbie going to the gorge for the first time I would really appreciate it. I'm planning on hiking in from Katrina Falls rd. and spending all day there. We may stay the night somewhere up there and try to hit other parts of the river too. I'm not sure wether to try further upstream closer to the reservoir or down near oakland valley.

Also, with summer arriving and having a bit more free time I'm looking to get out of the city and try to improve my skills more regularly. I live in Manhattan and keep a car so if anyone would be interested in carpooling for some day trips I would be more than happy to drive just to fish with someone more experienced.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[coolkyle]

Like a good crackwhore, those fish like it deep. Your nymphs should work, make sure to use (no lead please) split shot if you aren't getting any hits. Those boulders like to eat flies and human legs, so bring some extra of both. Target the tops of pools and any slowish water adjacent to fast water. Have fun! I might fish above the gorge if my car gets fixed by tomorrow.

 

[CBFinet]

Thanks Kyle. Would you suggest an indicator for this sort of water when fishing nymphs? I get the impression that with some of the smaller pools and pocket water that I might encounter there that my casts would be short and high-sticking would be possible.

I'm still not sure if we'll stay two days or not. If so, I'm looking at the stretch near Thompsonville, Fallsburg, and Woodbourne. It's a lot of water and I'm not sure if any of it is posted but I see that there are a few roads that follow the river off and on through that stretch.

I'm not asking to be spoon-fed as I enjoy exploring a new stream but being new to flyfishing and the area I thought it might be good to have an idea of what I'm doing.

Thanks again.

 

[McRiffle]

Chris,

I've fished the Neversink Gorge four times, twice from the Katrina Falls trailhead, so I'm not an expert but here's my advice.

Most of the gorge is pocket water and I didn't use an indicator since it was mostly high stick nymphing (imagine holding the rod tip up with about a rod's length fly line out plus leader) and tracking the nymph as it coursed through the pockets. Pheasant tail, prince nymphs, scuds, the standard stuff, caught fish. Just make sure to cover all likely spots and keep moving. The fish are generally spaced out. If you aren't having luck strip a bugger or scuplin through likely spots. Big bushy drys work too but the drifts are short and IMO not as effective but definitely mix it up because I'm far from an authority.

Like most folks on here I hope you'll C&R since fish in the gorge are wild.

Good luck!

 

[mob201]

hey chris -
I'm no expert having only been down there once, but you're right that you don't need an indicator for that kind of water for the most part, and since the depth changes a lot and the fish are way down low you probably don't want one. Just bump your nymphs along the bottom with a split shot, keeping as little slack as possible in the line so you can feel any strikes. The nymphs you mentioned should be fine is my guess. (Truth be told, I don't think trout aren't that picky about nymphs anyway, since the aquatic stages of a lot of insects look pretty similar.) Have fun!
mike

 

[coolkyle]

Like most folks on here I hope you'll C&R since fish in the gorge are wild.

Good luck!

...and because it's the law. :holy:

 

[Simms]

I know alot of you like highsticking for close in, but I use an indicator whether im fishing pocket water 2 feet from my ankles, or 20 feet...Call me a cheat, but its the way I roll...For beginners, I would HIGHLY reccomend using an indicator, esp in hairy pocket water

I use the Seirra Pacific POP TOP indicators from Cabelas..I yank out the plastic tubing from the center and use a tooth pick...works absolutely flawless...

 

[jlajoie]

Chris-
Also, definitely fish in some of the faster, rougher water between pockets. the "B" water as it is known (AJ) You never know what you will pull out of it. I managed a couple good sized rainbows and a nice wild brookie in the B water last weekend. I would suggest finding the depth of the pockets if you can, so, if you choose to use an indicator, you can get your nymph setup as close to the bottom as possible. Just remember, an indicator is one more link in between you and the fish, along with split shot, too much line out, and numerous other things, those all lead to missed strikes!
Now, the way I fish, I don't need any extra stuff to miss strikes! I do fine by myself.
reghardless of how you fish, have a good time and enjoy the "nature" of the trip. It is worth it to get out of the city for a day or two!

 

[CBFinet]

Thanks to everyone for their helpful replies. Hopefully I can put them to good use. I'm planning on stopping at Urban Angler over the weekend to pick up a few flies that I may be short on. I think the Catskills may get some rain before Monday and if the water is a little high or off color it seems that some darker buggers and streamers may be a good idea.

I'm also thinking about picking some dries to fill out my box before I go. I'm not sure what hatches are like on the Neversink so if you have any suggestions please let me know. I thought some fairly generic dries like Adams and some general Mayfly imitations might be in order.

I will of course release any fish I catch in the gorge as I C&R 95% of the time but if I fish further upstream I may keep a stocker or two - no wild fish will go home with me, that's for sure.

Chris

PS. if anyone from the city is interested in getting up to Pulaski for summer run steelhead later this summer, let me know. I fished steelhead for years as a kid but never on a fly rod and it sounds like a blast. I would be happy to drive from the city if that is any incentive to fish with a relative beginner.

 

[Simms]

I would be more than happy to join you. I go up every summer, a few weekends. I TRY to target the Skamania, however I have been unsuccessful more than I have been successful. What is good about that is, when there isn't summer steelies, there is always 6-8'' Salmon to play with, and the HUGE smallies that inhabit the river at that time. My buddy has a place on the river up there so lodging would be free

 

[McRiffle]

Hey CB,

How did you do today?

 

[Burtbords149]

The nature of the Neversink Gorge lends itself perfectly to Euro-Nymphing as advocated by AJfromNJ. I've recently given it a shot and it's absolutely deadly. You will be able to fish all of those pockets at the Neversink Gorge which is one of the most productive stretches around. It's too long to explain here but search around for Euro-Nymphing and you'll find things. It's really not that complicated but very effective.

 

[ahlandco]

Hey CB -- By any chance did you get eaten alive by the misquotes down in the Gorge? I was in there over the weekend (see my recent post about c&r ethics) and left with both my arms absolutely COVERED in bites. It was nasty.

Pretty good fishing though.

 

[irish1]

Hey CB -- By any chance did you get eaten alive by the misquotes down in the Gorge? I was in there over the weekend (see my recent post about c&r ethics) and left with both my arms absolutely COVERED in bites. It was nasty.

Pretty good fishing though.

Same for the Toms river. Went saturday and the only bites I got...

 

[CBFinet]

So I made it to the Neversink on Monday and had a great time. We got to the gorge around 9:00 and stayed into the afternoon. We parked at Katrina Falls rd. and hiked the "Blue Trail" until we got near the river then took another trail down and fished from just above the first falls down to below what I think is the second of the two that are shown on some maps.

All told I ended up with a couple of 8 - 10" rainbows and a bunch of missed strikes plus about 50 or 60 mosquito bites. It was well worth it though - it's a really beautiful area and I'll definitely be back again. To be honest, I probably did as much hiking looking around the river as I did fishing if not more. I was wet wading and my girlfriend was with me who was trying to stay dry so I did a bunch of running back and forth to help her with snags, tangles, etc.

Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures because the camera was in the backpack and not in my vest. Both fish were really healthy looking and had very bright coloration. I struggled casting with split shot so most of the time I used weighted nymphs... I'm sure if I wasn't such a hack with the fly rod it could have been much more productive but I guess I'm looking at it as good practice in a really beautiful place and some great hiking.

Thanks again to everyone for offering their advice. I usually don't say much on this board because I'm trying to learn as opposed to having much to offer but I'm always reading. I'll try to have some pictures for next time.

Chris

 

[nmakota]

Thursday may 29th, air temp 42 at 6 am. Water flow at 168cfs which was dissapointing as it was 260 just hours before. I prefer higher flow and little off color as thats the time big boys come out to play. Always wear long sleeve shirt so no problems with mosquitos. Parked at k falls rd and hiked to high falls took me about an hour and 10 mins. Got to the falls and just stood there enjoying the scenery. Crossed the falls and started fishing under the falls. Caught 7 browns and 2 shad right at the falls. Slowly started working my way up river skipping most of the pocket water and fishing only larger slower pools. By the time i arrived at thelis pool where there is a fallen treee and right side high cliff i caught well over 30 fish, all browns and all wild except one big 22 inch brown which might have been a holdover fish he didnt have those marks like other big boys i caught that day. Saw couple of snakes and also saw something sprint in front of me while i was walking back to the car i couldnt catch what it was it wasnt big maybe size of a 30 lbs dog. There were 3 more people with me that day and we all had a great day excelt when i gotto the car i found out one of my friends hurt his knee and hardly made it back to the car. Well at least he made it i was happy he fished w my father and he was able to help him.

My setup is 9 ft 5weight rd with 4x 9 ft leader and then indicator and two tung bead head nymph one immitating a stone fly nymph with brown and yellow woven body and cdc collar size 10 and another one caddis woven with green back and yellow body with mix of cdc and hares ear dubbing tied using magic tools by petite jean. No split shot needed when fishing this setup even in pocket water. Caught most of my fish on woven caddis and maybe 5 on woven stonefly.

Rewind one week back water was 360 cfs and real off color me and my bro caught again well over 20 fish each fishing mostly pocket water no fish was less than 15 inches with multiple fish going above 20 inches again mostly browns one rainbow and one big brookie.

 

[sunsignarcher]

Got any pics of those flys.
Thnx

 

[nmakota]

Here are the pics.

for stonefly body is yellow belly brown back, fine silver wire for rib, your choice of dubbing for abdomen i usually put flashy stuff like trout ice dub pink or orange but just a bit. then i tie in one brown cdc feather and wind it around and after the cdc feather i take amber color hares ear dubbing and dub around it.

for caddis its green back yellow belly, fine silver wire for rib, and then i take magic tool and lay down one olive cdc feather on top of it i put some dubbing and then i split my thread and insert both materials into the thread and wind it on. you can also put little dubbing first then wind the cdc feather then finish with little more dubbing but i find the operation is done easier with magic tool.

 

[Thursthouse]

Great looking flies

I have such a hard time with woven bodies.. I find them time consuming and frustrating - often wishing i have an extra hand. They do look great when I eventually tie em, I just wonder if the effort is worth the reward when you could use something like thin skin.

 

[nmakota]

I kind of got good at tying woven body nymphs as i tie it with two bobbins makes the floss easy to control and plus when u let go of the floss before tying it off the weight of the bobbins holds everything in place. if i have time i ll try to make a video, but no promises. i think the cdc feather takes more time for me than weaving the body, those little feathers are very fragile, thus why i use the magic tool.
in my opinion i think there are three major factors in the success i have had with these flies.

first one is different color of the fly, belly vs back. because i kept looking at pictures of nymphs and most of them have different colors.
second one is that CDC feather which holds air pockets and also gives movement like no other soft hackle does
third is the weight I add to these flies, by winding lead free wire plus using tung bead heads thus eliminating need of a split shot when nymphing which in my opinion gives better presentation of the fly and more natural movement.

i also let these flies swing like normal soft hackle flies thus increasing chance of catching fish in three different levels of water column. bottom at the beginning of the drift, mid column when they pass by me at 45 degrees and just bellow the top when they are all the way down bellow me.

like i said these are all my opinions, i do believe in these flies and they catch fish for me. as long as thats going on i ll keep using them even if it takes me longer than usual to tie one

 

[flymantis73]

I know alot of you like highsticking for close in, but I use an indicator whether im fishing pocket water 2 feet from my ankles, or 20 feet...Call me a cheat, but its the way I roll...For beginners, I would HIGHLY reccomend using an indicator, esp in hairy pocket water

I use the Seirra Pacific POP TOP indicators from Cabelas..I yank out the plastic tubing from the center and use a tooth pick...works absolutely flawless...

i started using an indicator more this season, and it's improved my chances more.

 

[Rusty Spinner]

i started using an indicator more this season, and it's improved my chances more.

Tale of two cities: I always teach/guide newbies with an indicator while one of our guides never does. We both have solid success in teaching our respective methods. But when I'm nymphing, I do both depending on the water and the conditions.

 

[flymantis73]

Tale of two cities: I always teach/guide newbies with an indicator while one of our guides never does. We both have solid success in teaching our respective methods. But when I'm nymphing, I do both depending on the water and the conditions.

the game seems to change constantly with trout, i have learned a lot but have so much more to learn!
the two i landed in pt. mountain last friday were a good confidence booster, i put some more time into off the water development too ( knots, studying equipment, techniques) i know tere will be days i get skunked still, but i'm on the right path, thanks to the helpful fisherman out there, and the interwebs!

 

[nmakota]

the game seems to change constantly with trout, i have learned a lot but have so much more to learn!

the two i landed in pt. mountain last friday were a good confidence booster, i put some more time into off the water development too ( knots, studying equipment, techniques) i know tere will be days i get skunked still, but i'm on the right path, thanks to the helpful fisherman out there, and the interwebs!

Ofcourse there is so many things that matter when fly fishing and everything needs to be in order for fish to strike but i think one of the biggest problems that i had and see other fisherman have is trying to have that perfect drift be it nymphing or dry. In this case i would say maintaining perfect drift with no drag is much harder when nymphing then dry fly because nymphs u cant see. This can only be learned by spending time on the water. Lot of fisherman just dont get that drag free drift sometimes even overmending thus creating drag