Neversink Headwaters

[moosekid]

http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/lands_forests_pdf/catmapguide.pdf The thread about back country camping got me looking at maps...Now I've got my eye on a stretch in the slide mountain wilderness that borders the east branch of the neversink. On paper, it looks like a cool stretch that probably gets very little fishing pressure. Has anyone ever fished these headwaters?? Basically wondering if its too vertical to be fishable. If it's step pool after step pool I might not spend the time bushwacking all the way up there. Thanks.

 

[tompg]

It's mostly private up there and the publicly accessible head waters can be quite small depending on the time of year. It's also a farther drive from the back country camping the the B'kill, EB, and Willow. The camping/hiking in the Neversink Valley is however quite nice. If you want to camp/hike more than fish, do the Neversinnk valley and explore places like Biscuit Brook and any other trail heads that go near water. Driving to the Espous is also an option from that area. You will have a longer commute to your campsite though. If you want to fish more of the bigger Catskill waters, camp closer to the B'kill like was discussed in the other thread.

 

[madison]

Moose boy,
The Frost valley YMCA is an excellent place to access the upper Neversink. For a small yearly fee you have access to all of their water, which includes the very private and for decades posted waters of the upper Neversink.
My good friend ran their Fly fishing school for some time.....the infamous "Neversink Jimmy". You will find the trout on the smaller side for the most part, due to the infertel water, and the shit storm that Hurricane Irene
unleashed on the river. By the way, they own around 6,000 acres, so you wont have any problem with crowds.
Mads

 

[thrashers.wheat]

Just got back from the Russell Brook campsites...Several nice places to camp with enough space to pull in a small trailer, nobody else up there. If you get to this area check maps out for access...Russel Brook Rd? is inaccessible.

 

[eddavidson9]

there is an unmarked/minimally marked "fisherman's path" that is a standard part of a bushwhack route to hike the nearby peaks. I haven't (yet) been on it.

Catskill Hiker: Rocky Mountain

 

[Corndog]

Just got back from the Russell Brook campsites...Several nice places to camp with enough space to pull in a small trailer, nobody else up there. If you get to this area check maps out for access...Russel Brook Rd? is inaccessible.

TW, Yea I've stayed there a few times when the kids were small. They always talk about playing in the brook. They even caught a few little trout there. Mostly with their hands or a minnow net. One time my 2 littlest came to me and said "Daddy Daddy, there are trout in the brook." I made a mistake of saying, "No there aren't." They proceded to fill a coffee can with little brookies or brownies, I can't remember which. At least 7 or 8. Mostly dead by the time they got them to me. I had alot of xplanin to do about C&R that day.

If you remember nothing else I ever say...remember this... NEVER EVER jump in that pool!!! I almost lost my nuts the water was so cold. Fortunately blue is ok...purple is bad.

Cdog