Sunday, Father’s Day as well as the first day of Summer, brought picture-perfect weather - sunny, bright blue skies with puffy white clouds and temperatures in the low 70s, and just enough of a breeze to keep the biting insects at bay. The past couple of weeks have followed suit, which has given our rivers and streams a refreshing spell of cool temperatures; water temperature on the Beaverkill ranging from below 60 degrees last Tuesday to a high of 71 this past week. This bodes well for the trout, heading into the summer season. Although Monday’s predicted heavy rains will raise water levels appreciably, river flows had been below the 112-year historic median average level over the past week. The Willowemoc, although flowing below its 40-year median average level, has enjoyed cooler temperatures in the 50s and 60s all week.

Fly hatches for this first day of summer include a variety of caddis flies along with Blue Winged Olives and Sulphurs, in addition to Isonychia and Light Cahills. It’s a good idea to use smaller flies especially when river levels are lower, and follow suit with longer and finer leaders. 5X leaders are fine for flies sizes #12 and #14, but drop down to 6X tippet when fishing small dry flies or nymphs of size #16 - #18. If you’re midging, fishing sizes #20 or smaller, you can get by with 6X but 7X would be better. When in doubt, using a smaller tippet size during the summer can help your fly land more delicately. 

Good fishing was reported last week on the Neversink by Seth Cavarretta. He was fishing with an Atherton#3 when he caught a spectacular Brook trout that measured 14”. Seth said it’s the largest brook trout he’s ever caught! And fishing with a Pale Evening Dun, he netted a beautiful wild brown trout of about 16 inches in length. 

The Catskill Fly Tyers Guild held its monthly meeting and in-person fly-tying session on Saturday at the Wulff Gallery, and Guild president John Apgar planned on a theme for fly-tying: caddis flies. After the brief meeting and announcement of the Guild picnic coming up in July, all present were busy at their fly-tying vises, chatting and tying various caddis flies. John visited each station and requested anyone who was comfortable doing so to stand up and talk about the caddis fly they had tied, describe the pattern, and pass the fly around for all to see.  It was a fun way to learn new patterns and enjoy seeing the old favorites. The Guild currently has about 350 members worldwide, and continues to grow in popularity. On Saturday, a new member had just driven in from California, in time to attend the morning’s meeting! 

Summertime: a time of slowing down, and a welcome season of respite. The end of school this week enables families to spend more days together, savoring the wonderfully warmer weather and longer days, free from the fetters of homework and busy school schedules; time to head outdoors and experience all the natural world has to offer, whether picnicking, camping, hiking, or the like. Our little ones love eating outdoors, packing up a ‘picnic’ supper for out on the deck overlooking the garden, where we might pick some greens for our salad, listen to the birds, or watch the billowy clouds passing overhead. And what could be better than taking a youngster out fishing and catching dinner - perhaps to be served with some watercress, sorrel, or other edibles foraged in the wild!

 Summer days are special days, possessing a unique magic that beckons us to commit to memory - a perfect backdrop for creating lasting traditions - whether with camera and film, canvas and palette, or notebook and pencil.

I’ve always kept a journal - a habit started many years ago, as a teenager, of daily activities and happenings. And for my husband Ed, it was a fishing diary - a total of about 60 years’ worth, that added much enjoyment to his favorite pastime by recording each trip in a daily diary. Some were spiral notebooks, most were regular dated diaries, others were beautiful leather-bound journals, often received as gifts. But whatever the format, keeping a record of your fishing trips will enhance your experiences. We would usually record the time spent fishing, the weather/water conditions, water temperature, numbers and lengths of fish caught, and what they were caught on, at times who we fished with,  in addition to any interesting sightings of animals or wildlife. I often recorded flowers that were blooming and flies that were hatching, and found over the years that there was a correlation between the fly hatches and the flowers, in addition to the dates we had the most successful fishing. These journals provide a pretty accurate account of what the fishing was like, the average water temperature, stream levels, and conditions that can become important to review for successive fishing trips. And being able to read what you’ve recorded as the written word, especially if keeping these records on a fairly regular basis, will be of interest not only for your own satisfaction but for that of future generations. 

Enjoy these special days of Summer - see you Streamside!