Fly and Gear ordering and delivery: We can get flies to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Please see the bottom of this column for ordering options.
We also have custom Perfect Fly selections in 3 different price ranges for this stream that come with or without fly boxes. They make excellent gifts. Click Here To Order or Call us at 800 594 4726 or email us at sales@perfectflystore.com.
Type of Stream
Freestone and Tailwater
Species
Brown Trout
Rainbow Trout
Brook Trout
(Wild & Stocked with holdovers)
Size
Upper Freestone part is 19 miles long Tailwater section is about 6 miles
Location
Catskill Region of S.E. New York
Nearest Towns
Claryville, New York
Woodbourne, New York
Season
April 1 – November 15
Access:
Poor in the freestone area – good in
the tailwater section
Non-Resident License
State of New York
Recommended Tackle & Gear
Fly Line:5 or 6 weight
Leaders:
Dry fly: 9 & 12 ft., 5 or 6X, Nymphing:
71/2 ft., 3 or 4X, Streamers 0-2X
Tippets:
Dry fly: 5 or 6X, Nymphing: 3 or 4X,
Streamer 0-2X
Best Fly Rods:
Perfect Fly Superb Five or Ultimate Six
Fly Reels:
For 5/6 fly line
Fly Floatants and Misc Items:
Floatants, KISS Strike Indicators
Tools & Accessories:
Nippers, forceps, retractors, etc.
Fly and Gear ordering and delivery:
Email us at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations. We can get flies and gear to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Your can also call us at 800-594-4726 and we will help you decide what flies and gear to use. All orders are shipped free in the U.S. If under a $100 order requiring Priority mail is a charge of only $8.10. Orders over a $100 are shipped free via Priority Mail.
Copyright 2013 James Marsh
Neversink River Fishing Report – November 17, 2024
Conditions are not good in the freestone section. The water is still very low. It is okay in the tailwater. The discharge from the tailwater is near normal and the freestone section is still flowing well below a normal level and clear. Very good hatches are taking place.
Stream Conditions: At Claryville NY:
Rate: 24.7 cfs
Height: 6.36 ft
Afternoon Water Temperature: 56
Clarity: mostly clear
USGS Real-Time Stream Flow Data At Claryville NY
Tailwater below dam at Neversink, NY:
Rate: 58.9 cfs
Level: 3.26ft
Afternoon Water Temperature: 56
Clarity: mostly clear
USGS Real-Time Stream Flow Data At Neversink NY
7 Day Weather Forecast: (click the box below for more detailed weather information)
Recommended Trout Flies: Neversink River New York
Brown Sculpin and White Belly Sculpin and Articulated streamers, size 6/4
Black Matuka and Olive Matuka Sculpin, size 4/6
Blue-winged Olives: size 16, 18 nymph, emergers, duns and spinners
Aquatic Worms, size 12, pink, red, and others
Midges: Cream and Red (Blood) midges sizes 20/22, larva, pupa and adult. Our larva and pupa midge flies, pre-rigged in tandem, are very popular here. You can fish them under a strike indicator keeping the larva fly near the bottom. https://perfectflystore.com/product/pre-rigged-tandem-midge-larva-pupa-tippet
Little Sister Caddis; 18, pupa and adults
Mahogany Duns, size 18, nymphs, emergers, duns and spinners
Great Autumn Brown sedge; 10, pupa and adults
Perfect Flies are designed and tied to to imitate and behave like the natural foods the trout rely on to survive as much as possible. The more your fly looks like and moves through and on the surface of the water like the real things, the higher your odds of success.
Purchased by the NYSDEC from willing landowners, give anglers the right to fish and walk along the bank (usually a 33’ strip on one or both banks of the stream). purchased by the NYSDEC from willing landowners, give anglers the right to fish and walk along the bank (usually a 33’ strip on one or both banks of the stream). Below the dam at the Neversink Reservoir the river provides good brown trout fishing for about six miles. The water consist of a lot of long pools with rather slow moving water. The river has a variety of aquatic insect hatches and dry fly fishing can be great at times. Quill Gordon, Hendricksons, Blue Quill, Blue-winged Olives, March Browns and Slate Drakes make up most of the mayfly population. There are also a few stoneflies along with a lot of different species of caddisflies.
Brown trout exist in the lower headwater section of the main river. Most of the six mile long tailwater section, from Woodburne to the dam, is open to public fishing. Fishing it is very different from fishing most other tailwaters. This tailwater has long, slow moving pools with short riffles between them. It is relatively smooth water. The water stays cool year round. It is a relatively short stretch of tailwater and is well shaded the entire length. Even though it is short on public waters, fly fishing the Neversink River can be very productive and a lot of fun. One mistake anglers make fishing the Neversink River is they don’t use small flies. Most of the food is small and most of the food in the tailwater section consist of midges. Midges range from a hook size 18 down to a hook size 26. Another problem we have noticed fishing the Neversink is that many anglers attempt to catch trout on the surface when they are feeding down on the bottom. There are some dry fishing opportunities, but anglers tend to over do it. Although it is much more fun to catch trout on the surface, we recommend fishing dry flies only when you observe trout feeding on the surface, or during a hatch.
Fishing in the upper East and West Branches is all brook trout fishing. The fish are small averaging about six to seven inches long. The river is stocked by the state of New York. Both wild trout and stocked trout exist in the river. Much of the popularity of this stream has to do with the history of the fly fishing more than the fishing. It was the home of Theodore Gordon and other early fly fishing writers.
As mentioned before, the Neversink River is both a tailwater trout stream and a freestone stream. Its upper branches consist of small brook trout streams. The tailwater section is completely different from the freestone sections. Therefore, the fly fishing strategies, techniques and methods change drastically depending on where you fish the river.As with most any tailwater, you should never overlook the mighty midge. It can be the number one most productive insect to imitate at times.
The tailwater has its pools, runs, riffles and even pocket water sections. The water discharged from the reservoir stays about fifty to fifty-five degrees year-round. It is mostly shaded by plenty of streamside trees so it stays cool even during the hot summer.
Most of the main stem from Woodburne to the dam, has been opened to the public.(Exceptions to General Angling Regulations) Brown trout, most ranging from 8 to 12 inches long, are more prevalent in this part of the river.
Neversink River Hatches and Trout Flies:
Our information on aquatic insects is based on our stream samples of larvae and nymphs, not guess work. We base fly suggestions on imitating the most plentiful and most available insects and other foods at the particular time you are fishing. Unlike the generic fly shop trout flies, we have specific imitations of all the insects in the Neversink River and in all stages of life that are applicable to fishing. If you want to fish better, more realistic trout flies, have a much higher degree of success, give us a call. We not only will help you with selections, you will learn why, after trying Perfect Flies, 92% of the thousands of our customers will use nothing else. 1-800-594-4726.
The flies you need to fish the Neversink River depends on the particular section you plan on fishing. The stocked trout are fairly easy to catch and can be caught on just about any fly for a short time after they are stocked. To catch one of the larger holdover trout, or one of the few wild brown trout there, requires skill and a lot of luck. Streamers fished during very low light conditions sometimes pays off. Other than that, mayfly nymphs and caddisfly larva and pupa imitations fished near the bottom produce most of the wild and holdover brown trout. One thing you should not overlook is the terrestrials. Again, the low light situations provide the best opportunity. Beetles, ants and hoppers all three work at times. Just don’t expect to catch one every few cast. A larger wild brown trout or even a year, or two year old holdover brown trout, should be considered a very good catch. If you are fishing during the early spring, you may encounter some good hatches in the tailwater section.There are even some Little Brown Stoneflies in the tailwater. If you do run into a hatch of any aquatic insect, by all means fish it. Day in and day out, this will not be the case in the tailwater section. Be prepared to fish subsurface most of the time. There are plenty of caddisflies in the tailwater section and all in all, they provide the best dry fly opportunity. The Cinnamon caddis hatch most of the late spring and summer. There is a decent Little Sister caddisfly hatch. Green Sedges and Short-horned Sedges make up most of the balance of the caddisfly habitat in the tailwater section. Be sure to have plenty of “Rock Worms” (larva stage of the Green Sedge) on hand. They work very well most of the season. If you stick with the caddisflies, midges and nymphs fished deep and you are likely to be successful. Just don’t forget about the midge. It usually becomes the most important insect to try to match in the tailwater section. I would have plenty of them in hook sizes 20 and 22. Terrestrial insects become a choice about the middle of June. Imitations of inch worms, beetles, grass hoppers and ants will catch trout until the first frost appears. We always recommend our own “Perfect Flies”. They are the most realistic and most effective imitations that are commercially available. You will find our caddisfly imitations work great for this stream. We hope you give them a try.