Spring has certainly been slow in coming, with the tease of last month's warmer temperatures short-lived, returning to chilly nights and damp days during April…. although, this past weekend we finally experienced significant numbers of rising fish, and trout fishers were out in droves, many finding success.

We visited the lower Beaverkill on Saturday afternoon and found a number of fly-fishers lining the banks and in the water. Many were from New Jersey; in fact there were about as many cars from New Jersey as there were from New York.

As we drove along the river, the windshield was constantly plastered with flies - unfortunately, many were those annoying black flies (gnats) that have been plaguing our horses and goats this past week. It was amazing to see them everywhere we went, not just at home and in the summer pasture, but all along the Beaverkill and Willowemoc wherever we stopped. We had to use a liberal amount of fly repellant in order to fish comfortably.

A sign that confirmed the good fishing occurred while driving along the lower Beaverkill at Horton; we noticed an angler and his dog just below Horton bridge. We watched while he hooked, played, netted and released a fish.

Our next stop was at Cairns pool where we saw a number of fly fishers in the water. A pair of fishing buddies was casting, and it was neat to see that where the first gentleman's fly hit the water there were three to four fish rising at the same time. The lucky angler hooked one, and it was fun to watch him play the trout. We soon realized that he was having difficulty in landing it when we heard him mention that he didn't have his net with him - he had forgotten it at home but decided he wouldn't go back for it as it might ‘jinx' him - and so his companion just downstream offered to net the fish - and he did.

Hatches this week still include Blue-Winged Olives, Blue Quills, Quill Gordons…. and now Hendricksons and Red Quills. The Hendrickson/Red Quills are actually of the same genus, Ephemerella, but interestingly, the female fly is called the Hendrickson; while the male counterpart is the Red Quill. Most people do not differentiate, however, and the hatch is just referred to as the Hendrickson hatch.

In reading through last year's notes, Hendricksons were hatching in good numbers on April 28, 2019. And although we haven't seen any violets out yet this year, we have seen the small but brightly-colored yellow coltsfoot blooming alongside the roadways; these blossoms coincide with the hatching of the Hendricksons.

This most beloved mayfly is perhaps the favorite of Beaverkill trout fishers. Not only is it prolific; it is usually the herald of good hatches and great fishing to come. Our fishing notes over many years show the Hendricksons hatching as early as April 19 and as late as May 20. The heaviest numbers seemed to occur between April 22 and April 28; with another flurry of activity starting up again from May 4 though May 11.

It's interesting to see that despite all the rain and cloudiness we've experienced lately, as of Sunday April 26, 2020, at around noon, the Beaverkill at Cooks Falls was flowing at 638 cubic feet per second, which is below the average flow of 714 cfs over 105 years of record-keeping.

Water levels have been slowly but steadily dropping since last Sunday's flow of 1500 cfs; water temperatures ranged from a low of 39 degrees F on three mornings this past week, to a high on Saturday afternoon of 49 degrees.

No doubt this week's rainy forecast will raise water levels but hopefully temperatures will rise as well and induce more good hatches and fishing opportunities.

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.