The first full week of the trout fishing season here in the Catskills saw a mixed bag of weather – from the rainy-day season opener, through a few days of unseasonable mid-70s, back to chilly nights in the teens - and now predictions of very warm temperatures reaching the 80s by Thursday! As many long-time Catskill residents will attest, we often go from winter weather right into summer.

Trout fishers have been out and about all along the Willowemoc during these warmer days, especially over Easter weekend, with a few ‘tight lines’ noted, as well as new anglers out with instructors practicing their casting skills. River conditions have been favorable for the early season, which can oft-times be too high to wade. 

However, if you are out for the first time or just starting your season, use caution when wading, as your favorite fishing spots may have changed since the winter. There could be submerged trees or branches, rocks or boulders that have moved, even larger or deeper holes or pools that formed since the fall.

Water levels have dropped noticeably this past week. The USGS website shows that as of last Sunday April 2, the Beaverkill at Cooks Falls was flowing at 3,000 cubic feet per second, about triple the median average flow on that date of just above 1000 cfs over 109 years of record-keeping. By Wednesday and Thursday, the river was just at the median average flow of about 1200 cfs, but by Monday morning, April 10, evening, water levels were just 648 cubic feet per second, below the 109-year average flow of 1080 cfs.

Water temperatures, like air temperatures, rose and fell all week, with a low of 36.5 degrees F last Monday morning, to a high of almost 50 degrees last Tuesday afternoon. Fifty degrees F is the benchmark that dry fly-fishers anticipate, as once water temperatures reach that level, dry flies begin to hatch, bringing action to the surface and making fly-fishing more exciting! 

Dry-fly hatches to watch for during this week in April are the Quill Gordons, a hatch of Ephemerella mayflies here in the Catskills, small Blue-Winged Olives and soon to follow, Blue Quills. These early-season hatches are a blue-gray dun color, and as with other mayflies, have beautiful upright sail-like wings as opposed to the pup-tent-style folded wings of caddis flies or the stoneflies, whose flat wings lay over their backs. 

 The Quill Gordon dry fly was created back in 1903 by Theodore Gordon, known as the Father of American Dry-Fly Fishing. Gordon originally tied the fly in three different shades of blue – ranging from a silvery water-blue color to a dark smoky blue dun. The fly was tied to be used with a variety of early-season blue-gray flies, not to imitate just one specific hatch. He believed that the two most important features of a good fly were size and color. The Blue Quill is tied with Wings of drake wood-duck flank feathers, a Tail of medium-blue dun hackle fibers, a Body of stripped peacock quill, and Hackle of medium blue dun hackle.

For those who would like to sharpen up their fly-tying skills, or learn how to tie flies, or just spend some time with other fly-tiers and fly-fishers, the Catskill Fly Tiers Guild is holding its first in-person meeting of 2023 on Saturday, April 15. Members and non-members alike are welcome. 

The Guild will be meeting at the Catskill Fly Fishing Center & Museum’s Wulff Gallery from 10:00 am to Noon. The Catskill Fly Fishing Center & Museum are located at 1031 Old Route 17, Livingston Manor, New York along the banks of the Willowemoc. And yes, you can drive across the arched bridge! There will be a presentation on Hendrickson wet flies, but attendees are free to tie whatever they’d like. Coffee and snacks will be provided.