Our rental was literally right on the Beaverkill at Cooks Falls. Three inches of rain fell in 6 hours and all systems were raging. Saturday morning we packed it after visiting with Dennis at Catskill Flies, since there would likely be no fishing for several days. Catskill Flies is a must-stop if you're in the area in Roscoe, NY. Great fly shop and Dennis always has a story! Checking all the flows between NY and RI, we found none fishable on Saturday, but one…the Wood River in RI! A 500 mile trip to the Wood which would normally be 35 minutes! Levels were high but fishable and we managed a few fish on emergers with little real surface action.
The Wood did provide a few surprises; a few Gray Drake duns, the "mysterious" mayfly as Thomas Ames writes in his "Hatch Guide to New England Streams," a must for all fly fishermen. We've seen hordes of these spinners at dusk on the Natchaug, but they don't fall until who knows when at night. The Siphlonurus is indeed mysterious! We also ID'd a few golden stoneflies, another large and beautiful insect.
The Gray Drake
Sunday the Natchaug was fishable; barely. Earlier in the week our guest, Matt, new to the area, hooked a few under similar circumstances. We did introduce him to several sections of the river and he'll be back! We found few rising trout despite caddis and BWO's emerging. Once again emergers took some fish with Monday being mostly the same. The insects are there, the trout not eager to rise with rapid changes in flows and levels.
The best laid plans…and so it goes!
DRAG FREE everybody!
T & E, Thanks for the great tour of the Natchaug a few weeks back! I really had a great time hitting all those spots. Had the chance to fish it again last night at the bridge, with several small rainbows coming to hand at the first pool, and one fatty in the riffle below. And the best part - I stayed out of the trees!!
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