Late Sunday afternoon, April 6, the USGS website showed that the Beaverkill at Cooks Falls was flowing at about 607 cubic feet per second, which is well below the median average flow for this date of 1180 cfs based on 111 years of record-keeping. The maximum flow recorded on this date was 6720 cfs in 1973, and the minimum flow recorded was just 235 cubic feet per second in 1915. 

Air temperatures hovered around 50 degrees and water temps about 48 on Sunday afternoon, which encouraged a couple of hopeful anglers to try their luck on the upper Beaverkill and Willowemoc (this past week water temperatures reached a high of just about 52 late Friday afternoon!) For those hardy souls who ventured out this week, fishing was pretty much below the surface, with a few tiny midges, caddis and stoneflies on the surface; but those who saw some success were limited to using nymphs and small streamers.

Although the first week of the regular Trout Fishing Season in New York has come and gone, the typical chilly and dreary days of early April couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the trout fishing community that gathered together again and again at a number of events over the past several days. From the chilly waters of Junction Pool on Opening Day to the warm hospitality (and hot soup) at the Catskill Fly Fishing Center on Saturday, bamboo-rod casting at Roscoe School and Livingston Manor’s Dette Flies and the Catskill Brewery celebrating Open Weekend with fly-tying and fly-casting instruction, to Saturday evening’s record-breaking crowd at the Rockland House to enjoy the annual Two-Headed Trout Dinner sponsored by the Roscoe Chamber of Commerce, trout fishers and well-wishers were satisfied with good feelings and smiles all around.

Many hours were spent planning each of these events; all were well attended and successful. Beginning at 9 am, a couple dozen bamboo rod enthusiasts met at the Roscoe School Gymnasium, site of the annual “Meet Your Maker: The Mike Canazon Catskill Cane Revival”, most of whom brought along a bamboo fly rod to share in casting and “trying out.” 

Many had been hand-made by the owners, and it was fun to try out different styles, tapers and lengths, and try to cast into the center of the hoops set out on the gym floor. Mike Canazon, the much-beloved rod builder who passed away December 26, 2023, initiated this annual event several years ago to encourage people to cast bamboo rods, and meet the people who made them. Some attendees got to try out bamboo for the first time, all went away happy for the experience.

From 10 am till 3 pm, Dette Flies, Waterwheel Junction in Livingston Manor, hosted their Season Opener with hot coffee and snacks, and guest fly-tyers Catskill John Bonasera and Nick Mango demonstrated their skills in the shop. At noon until 6 pm, the Catskill Brewery, Livingston Manor, held a Flyfishing Opening Day Celebration, with expert-led casting lessons courtesy of the Theodore Gordon Flyfishers and hands-on fly-tying lessons by Catskill Fly Tyers Guild member Mark Sturtevant. Live music with Michael Francis McCarthy followed in the afternoon.

The Catskill Fly Fishing Center had their grand Opening Weekend celebration on Saturday from 10 am - 4 pm. Featuring free admission to the Museum and grounds, the freshly re-opened and re-decorated Gift Shop was stocked with exciting new offerings and featured the new “Hook & Book” Exhibit, which traveled up from New York City earlier this week. 

“Hook & Book” is a temporary traveling exhibition of historical writing and fly fishing materials from the Catskill Fly Fishing Museum (CFFCM) archives, which had its “sneak preview” at the Filson Flagship Store in NYC on March 6, 2025, and is comprised of displays of five famous trout fishing authors: Hoagy Carmichael, Art Flick, the legendary Theodore Gordon, Edward R. Hewitt, and Ed Van Put.

 Keeping with tradition, CFFC Director of Operations Laura Colangelo and Judy Van Put made and ladled out gallons of Agnes Van Put’s famous soups, with her special and rum cake brownies and deliciously recreated by Laura Colangelo and Martha Mason. Seth Cavarretta baked loaves of his homemade breads, and Mark Williams outdid himself with a huge homemade lasagne with sausages and rolls. Over in the Museum, guest fly-tiers Tom Mason, John Apgar & Phil Street from the Catskill Fly Tyers Guild entertained onlookers while creating their expertly tied flies.

On Saturday evening, the Roscoe Chamber of Commerce held its Annual Two-Headed Trout Dinner at the Rockland House, where Tommy and Marea Roseo and family prepared a delicious dinner for a record-breaking crowd of 230 enthusiastic attendees. 

Dinner Committee Co-Chairs Rachael Tipping and Wendy LaManque, along with Chamber President Christine Routledge prepared a beautiful program detailing the evening’s entertainment, sponsors of the many raffle items and prizes, guest speakers and fly-fishing histories. Honored at the dinner were Phil and Donna Vallone, who won the Golden Trout Community Service Award, and Dette Flies, on which was bestowed the 2025 Joan Wulff Excellence in Fly Fishing Award

Judy Van Put is a long-time member of the NYS Outdoor Writers Association, and is the recipient of the New York State Council of Trout Unlimited’s Professional Communications Award.