west branch Delaware River

[FishHawk]

Anyone fish the West Branch this year? I heard the fishing was not that good this year.
FishHawk

[BIGE]

I don't fish the West Branch as much as the Beaverkill, but seemed like every weekend I was going to head up it rained like hell and was too high to fish. I think the dam was flowing over the top most of the fall.

[venture]

Used to fish the East Branch near Margretteville and also the Bushkill which is just to the east. This was during the seventies and eigthies when I lived in outside of Woodstock. Some great Hendrixson and caddis hatches on the east Branch. The Bushkill sometimes started early and had great Gordon hatches as well as the usual spring sequence. There were some really nice browns in the Bushkill which made this little river so great. Small water, big fish. We used to fish almost exclusively with dries.....the compari - dun style, with dear's mask wings.

I know several skillful fishers still living up there, and they tell me that the Bushkill is cleaned out, while the East branch of the Deleware till fishes well. The best water is below Margretteville, in the pools above the reservoir. In fact there's a little school house that marks the area of productive water, thus the name "School House". You can hook some big browns there, especially working the water during the March Browns with a floating emergers. That's the current word.

But I haven't heard how the fishing has been in the "Chimney Hole" on the Esopus this fall for the spawning browns....Nor have I heard about the Handcock run of spawners. Usually this is the best time right now right through till the end of the month......Long rods and eggsack flies. It was never my thing, but they get some 10 pound fish in the rivers with those 16 foot noodle outfits.....and mono filled fly reels.

Howie

Howie

[NatickDave]

I fished the Esopus with my uncle (who lives right there in Shokan) and dad a couple of weeks ago. It was my first time, and I really enjoyed it, though we only had a little bit of time on the river between family activities. It is a heck of a fine river...way bigger than the "creek" name implies.

There was a lot of pressure from fly and spin fisherman, with many tossing eggsacks with noodle rods, as Howie mentioned. I caught a gorgeous stream-born rainbow (as they all are now) and lost a couple of others. It was a slow day in general. I understand that it will slow down even more in the next couple of weeks.

NatickDave