Well, I survived the trip and had a great time. The fishing was not the best because the rain was unrelenting. Here is a typical view from the back of my car parked a few yards from the Beaverkill.
Those white lines are rain, and you can see that the gravel is absolutely saturated. I had to take shelter under the hatchback with Carter Hall providing solace (And yes Ron, I wore clothes).
Don't make fun of my fishing sunglasses, I've heard them all before.
The rain had been significant in the past few weeks and turned wadeable streams with lovely pools and pockets into roaring rivers.
I drove up to the upper end of the Willowemac and found a bit of river that was amenable to my style of fly fishing between downpours. It was here that I had the catch of the trip, a nice fat brown trout that put up quite a fight. I had the leader in my hand when he got off, so I'm counting him as a catch. I know, no picture so it didn't happen.
Finally, I found a nice brook trout stream called Fir Brook if I remember correctly. It was a nice relaxing place to fish and the brookies were active enough that i had some fun.
Towards the end of my time in the Catskills I visited the Catskill Fly Fishing Museum. I try to make a stop there whenever I'm in the area. They have a fantastic historical exhibit of classic Catskill style flys (my favorite variety to tie) and they are constantly rotating items in and out of displays.
The 4th of July weekend was spent in Northern Vermont with my dad, brother, sister, and niece and nephew. We built a gate, cut some firewood, and worked on his truck. No time for fishing, but that was okay because I was glad to dry out a bit.
I took Monbla's excellent advice and did not smoke while actually fishing. I have enough trouble casting, so adding a pipe to the mix would get me dunked in the river or on fire, or both. Overall it was a great trip. As the saying goes, a lousy day fishing beats a good day working every time.
Mike.
