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3. Catskill weekend report May 3-4

The weather is improving, temps warming slightly, rivers receding...all in all a bright outlook for spring! I fished Saturday afternoon on a couple different streams. an hour on one, and a couple on the next. I probably would have been better off staying in one place and working the area over, but I was looking for the Hendricksons and when they were not there, I moved. I'll tell you what there are a lot of everywhere and that's tiny caddis, tan around a size 18. Those things were downright prolific, but with the water temps still down no fish were looking up. I found water temps in the high 40*s on most of the streams and 54* on the other.

At around 6:00pm on a trib to the main stem of the Delaware I found myself standing under hundreds of Hendrickson spinners, most with eggs and hovering around 20ft above the water. Every once in a while one would fly low enough for me to see them clearly, but I didn't see any on the water and still no fish rising anywhere. I should mention that this particular body of water runs a little warmer than most of the others in that area and the hatches are typically 2 weeks earlier there. I did take a few fish on wet flies dead drifted and then left swinging downstream, I suppose they were keying in on emergers. Landed 5 all together, missed a few on those downstream takes but it was a great few days up there.

A few shots...

12" rainbow... < />

How do these things fly carrying that many eggs! < />

14" wild brown, last fish of the day... < />

Looks like we have entered the fishing zone, wont be long before the rivers are loaded up with anglers!
CJ

Hi John-

I should know better than to respond to a rhetorical question, but the answer is quite well, as the spinner stage of a female mayfly is absent digestive organs, which would presumably weigh approximately the same as all those eggs. :-)

Glad to hear things are settling down up there,finally.I'm heading up to the West Kill and maybe the upper stretch of the Esopus tomorrow and wednsday.May check out Woodland Creek if I find time.First time out this year,I'm psyched.

Glad to hear you're getting out, Carl. You've had a heck of a winter.

Thanks,Paul,really looking forward to it.

So,on Tues I decided to explore a creek closer to my home base in Dutchess county.I went to the Wassaic creek and Swamp River.The water was still quite high on the Wassaic,about 4-5ft deep at the access point so I went to the Swamp river nearby.Got one small stocked brown,saw no bugs at all.On wendsday I went to Woodland Creek,a trib of the Esopus,in the morning.Small creek that is pretty steep where I was,so it was some fast water with some surprisingly deep small pockets.I had caught a few brookies there last fall but nothing this day.About lunch time I headed up to the West Kill,fished about a half mile or so stretch up near Spruceton,no bugs no fish.Water is still kind of cold,but not uncomfortble to stand in with non-insulated waders.Weather was absolutely perfect,but the fish didnt thinks so,maybe next time.