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16 May '17

East Branch Croton River (Brewster-Croton Falls, NY)

Posted by Thomas Zarecki

East Branch Croton River

(Brewster- Croton Falls)

Putnam County, NY

The recent rainfall has kept the Sodom Reservoir, & Diverting Reservoirs spilling over the top. The East Branch is very swollen at the moment seeing flows around 325+ cfs, this a dramatic change from the historical average <100cfs.

EB Croton - Phoebes Bend Looking Upstream

       This being said the entire upper section is not fishing very well and wading is very difficult. Although the conditions are not great we are hoping this water is bringing in a flush of new reservoir browns. Hopefully when the water levels recede we will be finding the great fishing has returned.

    For now, we would recommend fishing the section of the EB below the Diverting reservoir along Rt.202. There are a few obvious pull offs to access the river. The fishing has been very productive with nymphs and dries and the flow is a lot more manageable. Browns and Rainbows are ranging from 10 - 15 in. the runs are a bit tighter down here and would recommend using a 7 or 8' (2-4wt) rod.  

 

Fishing nymphs seems to be the most consistent way to find fish but risers are popping occasionally in the pools. Be sure to watch closely in the faster water.  Caddis and Bwo's are the main bugs in the mix but most mayfly dry fly patterns are working with sizes ranging from 14-18. The hot pattern for nymphing is the ole' faithful Hares Ear in all sizes. 

EB Croton (Below Diverting Reservoir)

04 May '17

Ten Mile River (NY & CT)

Posted by Thomas Zarecki

Ten Mile River (NY & CT)

05.03.17

Trout fishing on the Ten Mile River from Dover to Wingdale areas are picking up every day. The water clarity is at about 80% and waiting on some more consistent surface activity. The best bet is to throw a streamer around and try to locate where the fish are holding. Then dial in with some nymphing or a dry dropper. 

The fishing in the TMA (Trout Management Area) in the Connecticut section of the Ten Mile River is in perfect condition at the moment. (accessed from the Bulls Bridge, Appalachian Trail head) From our experience we project these conditions will last for about another 6 weeks. The water temps rise pretty quickly on this river and levels will continue to drop everyday if we do not have a consistent rainfall. 

*update* 5/5/17

Went down again in the afternoon 4-630pm on 5/4/17 and it is amazing what 24hrs can do. The water temps dropped 4-5 degrees from the day before. We had a cold night and I think the warmer runoff water from the previous days rainfall worked itself through the system. The sudden change in water temperature seemed to shut down the fish activity. I went from the day before landing a half a dozen and missing at least a dozen more to just only getting 1 and missed 4. On a positive note I rolled a large brown 17-18" class on a small streamer. That was encouraging. So, that's fishing.. one day it is hot and the next day can be a whole new story. Good Luck and don't get discouraged if you are not able to find fish right away. I was out there for about 2 hours and only had a flurry of action for a 10-15min stretch and then nothing. I will be back for revenge....

Hatches: Caddis, Hendricksons, Yellow Sally's, Midges, Blk Stones

Fly Patterns:

Nymphs:

Prince Nymphs, Hares Ears, Soft Hackles, Copper Johns, Stoneflys 

Try a variety of sizes from (12-16)

Dries:

Hendricksons, Rusty Spinners, Elk Hair Caddis (Tan) Stimulators, Yellow Sally's

Streamers:

All sizes and colors ( fish were chasing everything regardless of size or color)

I had success with a B.H. Woolly Buggers in Olive, White, or Black.

Water Temps:

The water temps in the lower section of the TMR are already in the low 60's towards the end of the day. These trout are a bit more acclimated to warmer temperatures and seem to be most active and on the feed between 58-67 degrees. Once we go beyond that point the small mouth will take over. Lots of fun!

21 Sep '16

East Branch Croton River Fishing Report - 9/21/2016

Posted by Thomas Zarecki

The fish are getting more active with the cooler temps!

Water is low but the temps are in mid - low 60's. Work on being stealthy and quiet while wading in the river. I found the two fish pictured below yesterday evening. Activity seemed to pick up after 4pm. One was taken on a size 22 Olive CDC loop wing emerger and the other was on a woolly bugger in shallow riffels. - TZ

Croton Brown Trout - Olive cdc Emerger size 22  Croton - brown trout - spots - wild - streamer

Guide Report From Frank Degrazio "Hendrickson Spinner"

The fish on the Upper east branch of the Croton seem to be concentrated between Trestle bridge to below Borden bridge.  Fish are feeding on small black, olive, and tan midge dries and emergers in sizes 20-22.  You will see some caddis in the riffles size 16-20.  Look for active fish.  Sporadic summer stenos are around, and look for spinners in the evening.  You should  go down to 7x when dry fly fishing to increase your odds.  Dry dropping has been effective, especially in the riffles.  I have used caddis and larger ants as the top fly, dropped off hare and copper and then a zebra midge.  Sometimes the fish just comes up and noses the dry, but then at least you know where he is.  I have had success czech nymphing hare and copper with bead head midge larvae and then zebra midge or very small mayfly size 20.  small green caddis larvae have been working too.

Good Luck! 

 

14 Sep '16

Updated Fishing Conditions 09/12/16

Posted by Thomas Zarecki

Updated Fishing Conditions 09/12/16

Croton Watershed: EB (47cfs) WB (32cfs) Fishing has been decent. The rivers are low but good water can be found for nymphing and the occasional flurry of surface action. Don't be shy to search around the pools & pockets with a small woolly bugger if nothing seems to be active.
Local Streams: Wappingers Creek, Fishkill Creek, Amawalk, Ten Mile River are all currently not in great shape. Water Levels are down and although air & water temps are dropping everyday we recommend to fish elsewhere until we see more water in the rivers. 
Beaverkill River: (92cfs) Low. Water temps are dropping & fishing will improve. 
Willowemoc Creek: Low
Esopus Creek: (280 cfs)
water temps dropping and levels are good.  
East Branch Delaware River: (160 cfs Harvard*) The Upper east is cool and wadable. fishing has been tough during the day. Most action is coming from Nymphs & Streamers. The lower east is still warm. 
West Branch Delaware River: (1150 cfs) In between Hatches, still just wadable. water is about 60 degrees. 
Mainstem Delaware River: (1500 cfs) Still In between hatches, most action on nymphs and streamers.
Salmon River: (409 cfs Pineville) Waiting on first big push of rain to get the salmon filling up the river. Fish being seen by anglers each day but not many hookups or "run" to speak of yet. 
Farmington River: River is still low but cold water is still found upstream towards the dam with reports of active fish. 
Housatonic River: (108cfs) Very Low. Water Needed. Fishing will improve everyday as water temps drop more fish will move out of there refuges and start behaving like trout again. Hatches should pick up as well.
18 May '16

5/18/2016 Tenmile Fishing Report

Matt here and pretty pumped for the local fly game.  The Tenmile river showed signs of an early year about a month back when the air temps were way above average and the rivers were very low.  Since then colder nights and rain has put mother nature back on course.

I spent four hours on the Tenmile last night and lets just say the river is fully awake.  Many smaller stocked fish were splashing around chasing emerging caddis and sporadic mayflies.  This activity was focused on the smoother water with some pace to it.

The larger fish were sitting below the riffles in between the nymping runs and dry fly pools.  The bigger fish did not have to show their noses and were gorging the middle water column hard.  Many small fish on top and some nicer browns below.  The Tenmile is in great shape with both flow and water temp.  GET OUT THERE!

Tight Lines Wet Nets

-Matt


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