For those who like to fish the Catskills, some have been suggesting that the fish and bugs were washed away by the terrible floods of the last several years. It ain't true!!!! The fish are there, the bugs are there, and the streams rebounded as they always have. The floods were terrible and caused all kinds of damage for the poor residents up there, but the greatest damage to the streams was not the floods, but the efforts to "control" them for the future. Some tribs were channelized and remedial road work leaves some areas vulnerable to siltations, but the browns and bows are back where they used to be, and the sulphers and blue winged olives are popping. Isonychia, tan caddis, golden stones -- they've been all over the place this season.
My daughter chased golden stones on virtually every blade of grass on one spot downriver on the mainstem back on Memorial day. Stonefly nymphs are fast water creatures and lousy swimmers, but they survived, and so has everything else.
The thing about the Delaware, and particularly it's mainstem, is that there are never "tons" of fish like on some other rivers (with the exception of the West Branch, which has the numbers), and those that live in the system don't show much of the time. I can't tell you how many times I've looked over a barren pool or run for hours during daylight only to have the same stretch start boiling at dusk. Maybe it's the quantity of bugs in relation to the fish or the sheer size of the river, but the fish are elusive and not in every run you'd expect and don't always like to show themselves. Sometimes they ignore blizzard hatches too, like the Apple Caddis in the spring, but when they're on, you'd think they all just moved in at that moment and decided to throw a party. It's a miracle.
So, the rivers will and have rebounded from the crazy floods -- three years ago the mainstem ran 150 times its normal volume and appliances were in the trees. You just have to have faith in their ability to recuperate and rebound. I regret that my saltwater fishing has prevented me from spending much time up there this season, but my friends have been hitting it hard up there. One buddy got 8 fish this past weekend up to better than 20 inches on the West and East Branches, so the Catskills still remain the best in the East. Thanks Goodness!!!
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