Hook Line and Sinker by Judy Van Put

The last week has brought us showers and thunderstorms, with some much-needed rain. Our vegetable garden shot up appreciatively and lawns looked somewhat less parched. However, even the three inches of rain that fell last Sunday and additional inch or two this past week didn’t seem to do much as far as bringing up the water level in the Beaverkill and other free-flowing streams.

Weather extremes over this past week brought area rivers to dangerously low levels and then back to a more normal flow, thanks to heavy thunderstorms and driving rains on Sunday afternoon.
The Beaverkill at Cooks Falls was flowing at 195 cubic feet per second at about 5 a.m. Tuesday. This is above the average flow of 149 cfs over 98 years of record keeping. The highest flow recorded on this date was 2,250 in 2000; the lowest recorded flow was just 43 cfs back in 1965.

Al Carpenter of Al’s Sports Store in Downsville reported that the trout in Pepacton Reservoir are starting to ‘fatten up’ and that good numbers of trout are being caught, but many are still thin. The trout are starting to come up toward the surface but most fish are being seen at from 28- to 30-feet down.

The first “official” weekend of summer dawned with beautiful sunny skies, temperatures in the 70s to low 80s with just enough of a breeze, the kind of weather you wish could be bottled up and taken out from time to time!

As of Monday evening, the Beaverkill at Cooks Falls was flowing at 262 cubic feet per second (cfs.) This is just above the average flow of 210 cfs over 98 years of record keeping. The highest flow recorded on June 25 was 2,810 in 2011; the lowest recorded flow was back in 1991 when just 69 cubic feet of water trickled past the gauging station.

According to the NYC DEP website, our Catskill reservoirs are at about 96.4 percent of capacity. The average or “normal” capacity for late June is 97.3 percent. Our average rainfall for this past April was lower than the historical average – 2.83 inches as compared to 3.71; while May was higher. We received 4.89 inches of rain as compared to the historical average of 4.27. This June, however, we received significantly less – just 2.16 inches as compared to the historical average of 4.10 inches.

Recently Catskill Mountain News Publisher Dick Sanford drove along the Esopus Creek and reported to me that it still looked terribly scoured from last summer’s flood. He also said that that there was almost no vegetation growing along major stretches of the stream, making it look like a dead river. He wondered if any trout had survived the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, and asked if I knew of anyone who fished the Esopus regularly and might be able to report on his findings.

Recent rains continue to keep our area rivers and streams at higher than normal levels for this time of year. However, trout fishing continues to be productive.

The East Branch of the Delaware River was flowing at 1,260 cubic feet per second (cfs) on Monday. This is above the average flow on this date of 554 cfs over 57 years of record keeping. The highest flow on the East Branch during this period was 2,890 cfs in 1968; the lowest recorded flow was 220 cfs in 1977.

Tom Phillips of the Pepacton Bait & Tackle Store on Route 28 in Arkville reminds us that beginning this Friday the City of New York is allowing canoes, kayaks and sailboats on the Pepacton Reservoir.
Interested boaters need to bring a valid DEP permit and have their watercraft steam cleaned and a sticker affixed. Pepacton Bait & Tackle is one of the locations that offers steam cleaning and stickers from 6:00 a.m. on. Watercraft may be put in at Margaretville (the public parking area near the Freshtown store and bridge) and travel all the way down to the reservoir.

Recent rains have brought river levels up, as the USGS website revealed on Tuesday morning. The Beaverkill at Cooks Falls was flowing at 1,920 cubic feet per second. Average flow for this date over 98 years of record keeping was 525 cfs, with the highest flow recorded of 4,460 cfs back in 1937.

The lowest flow recorded occurred in 2001 when just 149 cfs trickled past the gauging station.

The first week in May proved to be full of promise for both for turkey hunters and trout fishers. The showery weather we’ve had hasn’t compensated for the lack of April rains, but nonetheless has helped it to keep water levels near normal.
Fly hatches continue to be occurring ahead of schedule, with March Browns reportedly making their appearance – and other mayflies and caddises also seen in good numbers hatching and on the water.