This weekend’s April showers added some much-needed rain to our rivers and streams and contributed a growth spurt to the parched lawns and gardens. Seemingly overnight the trees and shrubs are pushing out their tiny light-colored greenery and buds are swelling ready to pop open with the first warm sunny days. Even the returning songbirds seem to be singing more sweetly and with gusto, and our resident robin has suddenly taken new interest in last year’s old nest up on our porch eve.

On Saturday afternoon the Beaverkill at Cooks Falls crested at about 1700 cubic feet per second; by Monday morning the river had receded down to a flow of 820 cubic feet, which is still above average median flow on this date of 669 cfs over 111 years of record-keeping. Let’s hope that this spring continues to bring enough rain to sustain a good water year ahead.

Water temperatures last week were all up and down, as is expected for this time of year; ranging from a low of 47 degrees last Tuesday morning to a high reaching 57 degrees last Wedesday, Thursday and Friday - but then after the weekend rains, took a nosedive back down to about 45 on Monday morning. Our weather forecast promises a few sunny and partly cloudy days with more rain expected towards the end of the week.

Mayfly activity has started, rather sporadically, with some Quill Gordons and Blue Quills seen on the water, along with smaller black caddis flies. Not too many were seen out fishing on the Willowemoc or Beaverkill this past week, however a couple of fly-fishers who went out before the rains came reported some success.

Ed Walsh, of Livingston Manor, went out last Tuesday, when the weather had warmed to the mid-60s. 

He was fishing at about 7:30 in the evening on the Willowemoc, and reported quite a bit of fly activity, with some Quill Gordons on the water. Ed noticed quite a few rises in the seam on the far side of the pool where he was wading, and made a few casts. He then changed to a size #14 emerger fly with a visible post, and after a couple of casts to a rising fish, caught a nice 12 - 13-inch brown trout. Ed mentioned that he had seen Bob Adams, of Roscoe, fishing the same spot a couple of days before, and witnessed Bob catch a nice-sized holdover brown trout.

And Tom Mason, also of Livingston Manor, fished on Friday afternoon at about 3:00. Tom headed down to the Willowemoc and noted there were some flies in the air, but not on the water. He decided to fish with wet flies as there were no fish rising and then spotted a single rise. He changed his fly to an Apple Caddis dry fly, size #14, but was unsuccessful in getting the fish’s attention. He then tried on a CDC Hendrickson fy but still had no action. The fish continued to rise, and Tom looked closely at the water and noticed a couple of Quill Gordons. He switched flies to a size #10 Quill Gordon dry and cast. The fish came up 2 or 3 times, but didn’t take Tom’s fly - and then it stopped. Tom noticed a fish rising a bit further downstream, in the same location he had noticed a rise the day before, and figured he’d rest the first fish and try for the new one. On the second cast the fish took the fly - a very sizable trout! Tom was well satisfied that he was successful in hunting down a fish he had seen before, and catching what turned out to be a “fish of the year.”

Fly-fishers should be on the lookout for more Hendricksons - that most beloved hatch that the Beaverkill is famous for. Sunny skies and warm temperatures to start our week will help to get local streams back up into the “sweet spot” of 50+ degrees, spurring on more Quill Gordons, Blue Quills, and early season Caddis fly hatches - hope to see you Streamside!

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.