Meaningful rainfall has returned to the Catskills at last! Wading anglers are not smiling today, with rivers high and muddied by runoff, but the needs of the rivers and the aquifers which feed them must outweigh the needs of the fishermen for a time. As I wrote those words, I heard rain trickling from my roof, the beginnings of today’s contribution to the as yet unfilled Delaware reservoirs.
I messaged my best friend to prepare, to free some time for a couple of days of floating. I expect, I told him, that the reservoir dams will begin to spill just about the time these tailwater rivers clear to welcome fishermen once more. The rise and drop of our rivers has been dramatic, a sharp spike on the USGS graphs, from the variable rainfall amounts our region received over the weekend. Hancock recorded just less than three inches through yesterday, and the word is the eastern Catskills received a heavier dose. Every drop of it was sorely needed!
Generally, we are embarking upon a run of typical early April weather for the second week of May. The mountains have grown brighter each day with new greenery. Spillage over the dams will mean a longer time of sustained flows, flows often limiting wade fishing to a little or none proposition.
There is work to be done now, those oars must be readied, the boat cleaned out, and the boat bags checked for the proper mix of flies, clothing and gear to cover all the varying possibilities of an unsettled spring day on the river. My beloved cane rods will be in waiting, as the long graphites more suited to the rigors of drift boat fishing are checked and readied. They have seen little use these past few seasons, and their reels will need their lines cleaned and new leaders affixed.
Bright Waters Catskill 