Catskills, any shot for this weekend?

V

VTPAangler

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So I have a big trip scheduled (and paid for) in the Catskills this Labor day weekend (Thursday-Monday). Anyone with experience up there think there is any shot that the rivers (particularly the West Branch) will be fishable by that time? As I type they are all still on the rise. West Branch is at 7,000 cfs and rising. I just don't have enough experience up there to know how quickly things can get back to normal after an event like this.
 
I'm thinking that trip will have to be written off. They are in a state of emergency and I'd guess the dams will dump water as soon and the main stem begins to drop.
 
krayfish wrote:
I'm thinking that trip will have to be written off. They are in a state of emergency and I'd guess the dams will dump water as soon and the main stem begins to drop.
Click to expand...


I have no doubt Andy is correct. They hold back and release water sometime soon after the River crests and begins to recede downstream. It is likely the release will be ratcheted up for quite some time to get the reservoir down to a decent level. Sorry VTPA.

Maybe a FAST float will be possible. Hey Andy, this is your chance to make that Stilesville to Callicoon float you always wanted to do...........Jay's game!
 
Based on the current flows, that's a half day float. LMAO
 
Maybe this will help put it in perspective:



I'd look for fish keying in on pseudos in the next 2-3 days. NOT
 
krayfish wrote:
Maybe this will help put it in perspective:
Click to expand...


This is why we must protect the ozone layer....
 
The amount of water in the Upper East (above the reservoir) yesterday was astonishing. I now see it looks like Pepacton is spilling over 10K! I think it was at 92% of capacity prior to the rains.
 
Looks like the West Branch is at 2,600 cfs and on the drop. Should be fishable by Friday, though less than ideal. Such a shame that the Catskills have had so much flooding in recent years.
 
VTP, it might be dropping, but what your not understanding is, they are going to begin releasing more water out of the reservoir.

FEW is going to begin release 3500 cfs again, I believe starting tomorrow.
 
Cannonsivlle is only at 83% full so there's a good chance the release will stay around 600cfs. The fishing will depending on spillage and color, could be a good weekend for white streamers.
 
Don't be fooled. That 83% reading is from last Friday. A lot of times that site, when there is a lot of rainfall, is not updated for a few days if not longer. I bet cannonsville will see spill in the next day or so.

And spill or no spill I imagine we will get a 1500cfs release. I believe that is what the plan calls for when combined reservoir storage is this high at this time of the year. Unless the downbasin flood people complain loud enough and demand higher releases to make voids quicker.

That said, you can have great streamer fishing if the water is somewhat clear when Hale Eddy reads 4K. Boat of course. Catching Chrome will prolly be out there :)
 
I'll floating it as well. The best I had this year Hale was at 5700.
 
Thanks for the invite Jimmy! Oh well, you probably would have bailed anyhow.
 
THat stream drops pretty fast but that flood was amazing I doubt it will be fishable. Maybe it will drop enpught by Saturday.

Margaretville got destroyed. Our friends pizza place is gone-right next to the CVS. Hope everyone there was able to get out OK.
 
The west may be fishable by the weekend but wading will be very limited. If you don't have a boat, you may want to think twice. The EB and Main are whooped on and won't be fishable.

Also, keep an eye on the Lordville cfs. Once that drops, they very well may beging dumping 1500-2500 cfs down the WB. No wading available at those flows.
 
kray,

Looks like they already started jacking up the WB earlier today.
 
Yep, they bumped up the release. We're cooked. Might be able to drift one day. Otherwise it'll be smaller streams for brookies. Problem is we know nothing about those opportunities in the Catskills. We'll make the best of it. We wouldn't go if not for the significant amount of money we invested in lodging.
 
Sorry to see the flow bumped but I had a feeling that would happen. The WB Angler rents drift boats but you'd like to see the Hale Eddy gage at 1600 or less if you don't have much rowing experience. The Beaverkill may be fishable by the weekend. The upper EB needs to drop a ton before you can think of hitting it. You could also rent a canoe from Border Water Outfitters. Other than the Beaverkill and small brookie waters, you'll be pretty limited on wading.
 
Cannonsville is now releasing 1570 as of last night. The EB, WB, and the MS are all way up there. The D is done for right now.

Here is today's report from Catskill Flies:

The Beaverkill and Willowemoc- Both rivers are receding and clearing. There is some limited wading possible today. Yesterday’s early morning water temps was 58 degrees. Both of these rivers should be wadeable this weekend..With the cool night air temps, water temps remain fine on both these rivers. The East Branch remains high and is not wadeable. It is unlikely that it will be wadeable this weekend.. The West Branch is floatable but completely unwadeable. Yesterday, August 31st, there were increases in the release rate starting at 12:05 P.M. and increasing by 100 cfs each hour until 5:05 p.m. when it reached it’s peak of 1500 cfs release. In all likelihood, they are looking to reduce storage in the reservoir. The Neversink is unfishable and there was some real flooding at the ski area. This river remains high and is still muddy. There may be some fishing possible by later in the weekend. .. The Main Stem is unfishable but still receding. It has a while to go-.It is still running like the mighty Mississippi. .The Esopus is unfishable. It is high and dirty and may be some time before it clears. It was heavily impacted by the rains from the Hurricane…..

Link to source: http://www.catskillflies.com/stream-conditions/

Maybe the BK or the Willow??

Anyway, good luck and have a good time VTPA.
 
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