Freestone · Sandstone Shale · New York, US

Esopus Creek

Esopus Creek flowing over a rocky streambed with forested mountains in the background, Catskills, New York.

The Catskills' rainbow river — a tumbling freestone famous for hard-fighting wild 'bows, with a hydrology quirk all its own: the Shandaken Portal pipes water through the mountain from the Schoharie watershed and can colour the upper river up with no rain in the sky at all.

Today · Not the day for it
Pheasant Tail Nymph
Forecast · Today
Not the day for it
Not much stacked in your favour today. Worth an hour if you are nearby, not worth the special trip.
45% projected
Today's fly
Pheasant Tail Nymph
Pheasant Tail Nymph
Conditions on the water · Today
Live gauge
Level
Rising
1.61 m
Lifting fast
Water temp11.7°C
ClarityUnfishable
Weather9°C
WindN 7 km/h
Pressure1035 hPa
Rain · recent6.4 mm
Rain · ahead0.0 mm

The nearest gauge doesn't record temperatures, so we've estimated it — defer to the river keeper's advice.

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Ideal
12°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Brown Trout
When
Nymphing can work through most of the day.
Where
Cover mixed depths.
Method
Start with tight-line nymphs and adjust if fish rise or drift higher.
Kit
9 ft #4 rod, floating line, 12 ft tapered leader to 4–5 lb fluoro tippet.
Why this works
Excellent — conditions well-balanced, with water temperature particularly in your favour.
Likely species
Mayflies
Chironomids
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 9pm

12pm(now) — Eastern Blue-Winged Olive

Stage: On emergersApproach: Emerger or dryActivity: 35%
Peak emergence window3 food groups active

Peak activity at 9pm — Brown Dun (Brown Dun, 3 food groups active)

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

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Evidence
Records-basedModerate confidence

Based on species-occurrence records, not local invertebrate surveys.

Through the year
0–3 scale · October highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
Brown DunHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Quill GordonHatch
2
2
Blue QuillHatch
2
3
2
HendricksonHatch
2
2

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Brown Trout fly box
Local fly shops: Dette Flies·Beaverkill Angler
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • General season plus artificial-only extension
  • Verify NY DEC.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 4
Neversink River
31 km
77
Brown trout · Rainbow trout · Brook trout
Willowemoc Creek
47 km
75
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
Beaverkill
53 km
81
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
Wappinger Creek
55 km
0
Brown trout · Rainbow trout · Brook trout
Gallery · 2
  1. Esopus Creek flowing over a rocky streambed with forested mountains in the background, Catskills, New York.
    Esopus Creek
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

The Catskills' rainbow river — a tumbling freestone famous for hard-fighting wild 'bows, with a hydrology quirk all its own: the Shandaken Portal pipes water through the mountain from the Schoharie watershed and can colour the upper river up with no rain in the sky at all. Read the portal, not just the weather, when you judge the water here.

  • Sandstone shale
Water quality · US Clean Water Act
  • Aquatic life: Not assessed
What this classification means

EPA ATTAINS assessment unit 'Esopus Creek, Upper, and minor tribs' (NY1307-0007), 2022 Integrated Report. Aquatic Life use: Insufficient Information. This is a Clean Water Act assessment-unit classification (the US analogue of WFD), not a live reading.

Status is for the Clean Water Act assessment unit covering this reach.

EPA ATTAINS (Clean Water Act) · NY1307-0007

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 90%
How the 85 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time70 × 13%9.1
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity65 × 12%7.8
Conditions total= 85
Can you trust it?
Water temperaturelive gauge readinggauge
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitymodelled from regional profilemodelled
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 1 April → 31 December
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts