The (Other) Catskills

[hooker-of-men]

Looks like I’m moving the family out of the Poconos and up to NY. We’re looking at the northern Catskills / Hudson Valley in the proximity of the town of Catskill. I have some experience with ww in the area, particularly lakes, but my research on trout so far has me nervous.

Roscoe, etc. is 2 hours away, so that’s not gonna cut it for getting in an hour or two here and there throughout the week. Does anyone have any insights into Greene County or Columbia County?

So far, I’m seeing a lot of large,warm put-and-take fisheries( Upper stretches of Catskill Creek, Kaaterskill Creek, parts of Kinderhook Creek). Esopus Creek seems to hold some wild trout about an hour south, and Kinderhook Creek holds trout about the same distance north. Does this sound right?

I’m not really even super picky about wild vs. stocked, but NEPA has spoiled me in terms of being able to find fishable streams 15 minutes from my house year round. Not looking like the case for ny. Any help is appreciated

 

[moon1284]

I don't know that part of the state very well. I think Scoharie creek is not too far. The battenkill should not be that far either. I think you will be able to find brook trout in most small streams in the area. I think the limiting factor in that area is water temp. If you can find cold water, you will find trout.

You can also look southeast towards the NYC water supply reservoirs. I think there are a few smaller tailwaters that fish pretty well.

 

[RLeep2]

You could go to the NY-DEC map here: http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/7749.html

and pick your regions of interest and then look around for wild trout info/easements (NYS has a very good long established trout stream easement program). There's bound to be quite a bit of information available if you search it out. The DEC sites are pretty good...

 

[gulfgreyhound]

Taconic State Park has a nice creek,? Also RolfJansen Kill used to hold nice fish and has public water. I don't know how much pressure there is in that area. When I fished it the creeks were great. GG

 

[moon1284]

Yes I think you will find the fishing to be good. NY is different than PA in that the DEC does not publish class a lists or full lists of wild trout streams. It's a little harder to find info on NY trout streams than in PA.

 

[hooker-of-men]

Thanks to all of you. This is very helpful. I’ll add those streams to my list of places to check out. I’d read previously that the resort at Hunter Mountain offers a guide service on the Schoharie, but I forgot. Hopefully that means it’s somewhat worthwhile.

I’m still getting used to the DEC sites and figuring out that there seems to be much less published info than from PFBC. This has been a surprise for wild streams and for stocking info.

In a way, though, it’s a relief to know that they just don’t publish the wild trout info, as yesterday while house shopping I drove by about 50 nice looking creeks and I was thinking, “Really? There’s nothing about these online!?”

 

[Oregon_OwlII]

Try the West Branch of the Delaware below Delhi in the vicinity of the hamlet of Delancey. You'll turn up some wild browns as well as some stocked fish around the Hamden Covered Bridge. Pretty farm valley not far from SUNY at Delhi.

 

[sandfly]

Unadilla has trout also
check out black creek too

 

[krayfish2]

I'm pretty sure that if you drive just west into the park..... almost any small flowing water will hold wild brookies. As someone mentioned, most of the water supply lakes have small tailwaters that fish well with a mix of wild and stocked fish.

Esopus "seems" to hold wild trout? It is filthy with wild trout. Mostly a nymphing experience and you could run into creek tubers or a naked guy with a guitar (2012 Catskill Jam story). Tons of rainbows in the 7-11" range that are very user friendly. The creek does hold fewer browns but they are much larger as a general rule (12' - 22") and will take dries. In the winter / early spring, you'll find big bows running up out of the lake to spawn in the creek. When I say big, I'm talking bows between 22" & 28". The problem with the creek is the clay that comes in at 'the portal'. I understand that the conditions were better in 2017 and there's some work being done to try and resolve the issue. Try the long section between Shandaken and Phoenicia

My buddy's friend runs that service at Hunter Mtn and I can try to work him for some additional fishing opportunities in the area if you'd like.

 

[hooker-of-men]

krayfish2 wrote:

Esopus "seems" to hold wild trout? It is filthy with wild trout.

Thanks for all the info. I said "seems" just because I've never been anywhere near the creek, other than maybe drinking at a bar in Kingston... I'm working solely off internet research.

If you happen to talk to your buddy, I'd appreciate any info. But all the details here so far have already done a lot to ease my anxieties and get me excited to explore. Thanks to all.

 

[Smike]

Wild Brookies and Rainbows in Katterskill within the gorge, getting to it to fish it is a whole-nuther problem. Platteclove is same with wild Brookies, but access at the top of the plateau is much better. Neither is for the faint of heart. Both ice cold all year inside the park. Headwaters of the Roundout is similar but a bit more tame.

Get some NY DEC maps and look for where the public land lies and get after it. Wild high gradient with multiple waterfalls and a chance to get into some nice wild fish is not matched in most places in the NE (maybe in the west)

 

[krayfish2]

If you are in physical condition....good physical condition, you may want to do a little exploring of the Neversink and the Neversink Gorge area. Wonderfully remote, physically draining to fish and you might be shocked at what it holds.

 

[JeffK]

I have family in Greeneville area, so am a little familiar with the rough area. The creeks are less fertile on the east end of the Catskills, but some fun can be had. The local Hudson drainages are the Esopus and Catskill Ck. I like the part of Catskill Ck between East Durham and Oak Hill. Of course they have small tribs that hold some fish. The Kaaterskill and Plattekill drop off the edge of the Catskill escarpment and can be tough to follow, but sure are scenic. The areas near the roads will be mobbed with tourists on weekends. As an aside, websites promoting swimming holes have been the bane of fishermen and locals up there. High on the list is the spoiling of the famous "Blue Hole" on Roundout CK - a classic brookie spot. (BTW, Roundout drainage has good, less known fishing) Some sections of Catskill Ck have been posted because of swimmers. Swimmers have been using anglers lots to access streams, but fortunately COs have been cracking down on that. PFR's only allow access for fishing, not swimming, camping, picnicking or any other use.

Schoharie Ck starts around Hunter and follows 23A down to Lexington (Art Flick territory) with OK fishing, and some nice brookie tribs come off the mountains. The main Schoharie trib is the Batavia Kill which runs through Windham. This valley is the large source of the red clay that haunts the lower Esopus, but has some secret spots for those who want the explore - nobody is this drainage seems to give up their spots easily.

Roeliff Jansen Kill was mentioned. The streams coming off the Taconic Mountains on the east side of the Hudson get no press, but can be good.

A little further away: I love the Neversink. The gorge is great and is a hike in - but not like parts of the Kaaterskill/Plattekill. The river above the gorge has good spots that are easier to fish, but aren't as attractive since the towns in the area are a little run down. But down by the water they look just fine. Plenty of PFR on the Neversink. BTW, the PFR maps are your friends in NYS

http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/9924.html

The Orthodox camps in the area tend to repel Yuppie fishermen.

The less fertile/less publicized side of the Catskills also means you will have less crowding.

 

[krayfish2]

How much snow do you have on the ground now...12"18"?? Looks like weather channel is predicting another 24"+ if this next nor'easter develops as they are thinking it might. Flows should be fairly healthy through April.

 

[hooker-of-men]

On the whole, I think PA got it worse than NY in those last storms. I'm not living up there yet (out of PA after May), but I did spend last week in Hudson with family because my house in the Poconos didn't have power for 6 days. Fun!

18-ish inches between the two major storms in East Stroudsburg. Closer to the river in Catskill/Hudson, there was only about 6 inches total between all storms. Though, if you went up the mountain towards Hunter, there was more like a foot.

In any case, I think both areas are going to be good on flows for the next few months...