Posted on April 26 2025
In case you haven't noticed, there have been dandelions in bloom everywhere, and still the Hendricksons have not made a meaningful appearance on most sections of the river system. The only Hendricksons I've seen have been at Lordville the past two nights. I have assumed they were the remnants of a full blown hatch that took place during the standard 3:00 - 5:00 Hendrickson hatch period. The caddis, on the other hand, have been everywhere, in numbers that are hard to imagine.
A couple of weeks ago I was looking forward to large sections of the river without boats. Thought there would be lots of fish that would be happily eating flies without a care in the world. We are still in April and it's evident that I was wrong, if we don't get enough rain to both fill the reservoirs and raise the level of the rivers, it's going to be a very difficult year fishing wise.
Why? At 1,250 cfs, on the BR, the fish are trying to avoid being concussed by oars and anchors. Anyone who gets a BR fish to eat a dry with boats parading down the river 50 to 100 yards apart deserves a medal, (Jim N. caught a 20, and two 18s, and god only knows how many other fish at Stockport yesterday, all with exquisitely tied flies that look nothing like the real thing). The rest of the river system has very few boats but the number of wade fishermen is just astounding. With nothing but a few caddis hatching, pools on the BK today had fishermen lined up almost shoulder casting to water that had no rising fish. The EB had a combo of both boats, wade fishermen, and fish that already know the game,
The fishing - It's challenging to say the least. Right now avoiding a skunking is an accomplishment. It can all change with a good soaker that raises water levels, and the emergence of paraleps and Hendricksons.
How'd I do today? It was pretty much a carbon copy of yesterday. I have a little Chimarra egg layer tied on a size 20 hook that the fish are willing to eat, most likely because after a couple of jumps they are free again. Was four for six when I left my first stop, four for seven after the second stop, (did catch a couple of big fall fish there), and a humiliating four for ten after the third stop, closed out the day at the Lordville riff in a light rain with Hendricksons on the water. A 15 inch brown, (the only non rainbow I hooked all day), got me to five for eleven. A
Angler119- Fished the Willow and the BK yesterday. A decent blue quill hatch on the BK at 3 ish and a few ( very few) Hendricksons. Landed a 14” fall fish, my first fish of the season , after several fish less outings. I was thrilled to “break the skunk”.Around 5 on the Willow a few Henricksons( stragglers ?)but I landed 17” and 16” browns on a stillborn dun. A sparse spinner fall yielded two more 16” ers and the it started to rain. A tough day but I was a very happy guy. P.S Congrats to Jim N on catching some great fish . Including a 21+” browns. Fantastic
Finished my 3 day trip with a long wade to new water on the Main. Not as many Caddis in the air today. Maybe they prefer full sun? A 19" Bow and an 19" ugly bright red faced fall fish were the biggest of the day all caught on black Caddis (exquisitely tied by the way).
But the best part of my day was a conversation with a lady who was mowing her lawn. She stopped her John Deere tractor and we talked about the area and the house her father built in the 40s. When asked about how it had dealt with floods she told me in 2006 there was water half way up the first floor windows and it shifted the house 60 degrees. But after realigning it on the foundation, there was no warping…she was very proud of it. She wished me a blessed day and that is exactly what I had!
Unable to get down to the Catskills because of a few commitments I decided to hit my local stream that usually produces a few good fish(CNY is where I live) ..hit the water at the appropriate time and proceeded to see not one bug or rise form for the two hours I was committed to…there were plenty of fishermen but I believe bait casters..an odd year to start.. my barometer was always the forcythia blooming for the Hendricksons and it has been blooming for two weeks now..hmmm
Amazing!!! Double digits again!! I’d be happy with a crooked number. Going to give it a try tomorrow hope this rain helps the flow a bit and brings a few bugs