Debby’s rains came through Hancock in waves yesterday, accompanied by swirling winds and warmer tropical air. Our western Catskill rivers in the Delaware drainage flooded accordingly, and all are now receding. On April 8, 2022, when the photo above was taken, the gage height at Fishs Eddy, NY reached a crest of 14.8 feet. Last night after 10 PM, that gage recorded a crest of 14.5 feet with a peak flow of 29,600 cubic feet per second. A spring flood and a summer, tropical hurricane system flood, both bringing eerily similar results to Crooked Eddy.
This storm system brought flooding to the rivers and tributaries above the NYC reservoirs as well as to the tailwater reaches below. There will be some refilling, but it will take some time before we anglers see if that results in increased releases and better fishing through late summer, as it will take a lot of worrying and number crunching before NYC determines how that affects their schedule for the Delaware Aqueduct repair. In short, as always, Mother Nature rules.
The flow here in Crooked Eddy itself is unknown, there being no river gage in Hancock. Fish’s Eddy lies several river miles upstream, mountainous, winding river miles that receive a great deal of additional runoff. The Lordville, NY gage, the next in line, lies miles downstream on the Mainstem. Lordville’s gage recorded a crest of 17.73 feet, just short of the 18-foot Action Stage, the river flowing some 43,900 cubic feet per second.
All of these numbers mean there will be no fishing for something like a week. After that 2022 flood, I was able to return to a still high Beaver Kill on April 13th when a few representative mayflies were seen. No trout rose and no actual fishing occurred until April 15th when a ten-minute hatch caused one brown trout to rise. That fish became my first dry fly trout of the season.
For this hardened old angler, a week off is easier to weather in midsummer than it is at the end of a long winter. There is a trip to the cardiologist scheduled, my porch deck is due to be painted, and the lawn will need to be mowed once it dries out. Fun stuff!
As that week crawls along, I will begin to fiddle with tackle, tie a few flies and think about fishing once the work is done. Hope will be growing as the rivers clear and recede…
Bright Waters Catskill 