Camping in the Catskills

I just returned from a great weekend of camping on the Beaverkill near Roscoe. This was a family trip for my wife and I (and our dogs) so not a lot of fishing to report about this time. We had a great weekend just hanging out on our scenic little campsite right on the river, grilling food, and spending time together. Hearing the sound of the rushing water right outside while we slept was amazing. I was ever watchful for any kind of hatch on the water below us and had a rod strung up and ready to go. For some reason there was surprisingly little bug activity where we were on the water. Maybe my wife wisely called ahead and pulled some strings to minimize distractions. We did hit the stream together one afternoon for a bit and she picked up casting almost right away. We didn't catch anything, but seeing her casting and even mending line like a pro was better than any fish would have been. Still, it would have been pretty great to see her land that first trout. We also brought our new dog Pete to the river and I was happy to see how comfortable he was just hanging out on the banks while we fished. I've been really wanting to bring him fishing with me and it looks like that's fine with him too.

I was able to squeeze in a short session on a different part of the Beaverkill late one afternoon. I was given some expert tips on where and what to fish from a friend in the know. The area I went to was beautiful- but intimidatingly big water. I'm really a small stream guy at heart. Catskills rivers seem endlessly wide and shallow to my untrained eye. Definitely not my comfort zone. With no rises in sight, I first tried nymphing in any small runs and around rocks I could find but had no success. The water was still gin clear in the setting sunlight. With no perceivable hiding spots or holes in sight, I imagine it's very difficult to sneak up on these pressured trout. I switched to a dry and prospected around the shadows of the far bank and anywhere that looked promisingly. I had a few tentative takes, just tiny little splashes but couldn't connect. I headed back to camp for dinner. Fish or no fish this time- this is a beautiful river and a breeze to wade. And the scenery is just unbeatable. It was a challenging taste of Catskills fishing and more than a little humbling. Clearly I have some homework to do before my next visit. 

Reservoir Smallies

In

After what seems like endless rain, the fishing options have been pretty limited for weeks. The streams are totally blown out- I checked out the East Branch while driving by and it's higher and more chaotic than I've ever seen it. But I wanted to fish.  So, Kensico it was. This morning was perfect reservoir fishing weather- barely any wind and a little overcast. I was able to take my time and row along the shoreline, tossing a popper at the occasional rises I saw. And unlike picky trout, the bass would usually hit the fly when it landed near them. The popper also got some refusals from the deeper dwellers- so I rigged up a streamer dropper and that was the ticket. I hadn't tried this before. Using the popper like an indicator made it easy to see strikes, though the water was so clear I saw most of the fish take it under the surface. Apparently smallies can't resist a black woolly bugger. I love the simplicity of bass fishing. I didn't have to change or adjust this rig all day and the action was steady. It's been a real disappointment to have the streams off the table for almost two weeks in prime trout time- but today made me really appreciate Kensico and the bass that thrive there.

Amawalk Brown

I fished the Amawalk for a little while yesterday and it was a bit disappointing. I'd hoped for some sulphurs around dusk, but other than a few here and there it was pretty dead. On the way back to my truck I saw a pair of anglers staring glumly at the stream from the bank, their gear still packed. It was getting dark, but on a whim I stopped at the upper section near the reservoir on the way home. I've never been to that part and have meant to check it out for a while now. Totally different story there- the first cast brought a nice little brown to hand right away. By now it was pretty dark so I called it a night and thought about coming back to explore more of this area the next day.

So I did. And I caught the biggest brown I've ever caught from this stream. I had walked by a tiny little plunge pool, about the size of a bathtub, and thought there must be fish in there. It just looked like a deep hole that could hold a lunker. A couple casts later, this guy hit my Caddis nymph dropper and the little pool just exploded. I had my 3 weight and 6x tippet, so I really had to follow him around and play it safe as he zipped up and down. I really didn't want to lose this one. I finally netted him and was surprised at its size. I've heard the Amawalk can hold some big ones, but I've never caught one. And he hit that black bead Caddis nymph I just tied, which made it even better. I pulled a few more fish out of this spot afterwards- they were just stacked up in there, taking advantage of a premium lie.

I fished a ways downstream and stuck around for sunset, waiting for that overdue sulphur hatch. No sign of them. I didn't really mind that much.

Kensico Bass

Temperatures are high, as is the water on most streams- so I took a break from the trout and hit Kensico for some bass fishing this morning. It's known mostly for its trout fishing, but this reservoir is just full of largemouth and smallmouth bass and they are a blast to catch on the fly. One area in particular is the ideal habitat: flats, drop offs, submerged logs and lots of the rocky structure that smallmouths thrive in. I drifted along the shoreline here and threw a popper at any structure I could see in the clear water. The action was almost nonstop. Every few casts a dark shadow would dart out from cover and just smash the popper on the surface. Or some would leisurely inspect the fly for a minute and then pounce when I gave it a twitch.

Every fish was a scrappy fighter, but one almost took me into the backing. I set the hook and the bass just took off on an immediate, powerful run. I made the mistake of letting it go, thinking I was in deep water and in the clear. Nope. It quickly took most of my line and then just stopped. Naturally, it had found a log on the bottom and gotten tangled up. I rowed over and tried to free it, but it managed to break the tippet and escape with my favorite Orvis sneaky pete. I did get to see it briefly underwater- a football of a largemouth. Definitely would have been the largest fish of the day. Lesson learned. With the 4x tippet I had on, I should have put more pressure on and stopped that run. Those bass dudes on TV horse them in for a reason- bass always run for cover. All in all, it was a really fun morning on the water. If it wasn't so damn hot I could have stayed there all day.