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/Tailwater
Species
Brown Trout (Wild and stocked)
Rainbow Trout (Wild)
Brook Trout (Native)
Size
Small-Medium
Location
Southeastern New York
Nearest Towns
Kingston New York
Season
April – November 30th
Access:
Good
Non-Resident License
State of New York
Seasons:
There’s little change in the tailwater section of the Esopus because of an almost constant water temperature.
Spring:
Many of the traditional Catskills hatches occur in the Spring and it’s a good time to fish the stream. Springtime is probably the best time to fish the creek.
Summer:
The hot months of summer can be one of the best times to fish the Esopus because of the cold water
discharge.
Fall:
Autumn is a beautiful and productive time to fish the river. Brown trout migrate upstream from Ashokan Reservoir to spawn in the fall.
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
Esopus River New York- Fishing Report – December 08, 2024
The stream is flowing above a normal level and highly stained. There are very good hatches taking place. Give it a day or two to drop and clear. Our pre-rigged in tandem midge larva/pupa flies are working very good along with our Sculpin streamers.
Stream Conditions:
Rate: 976 cfs
Level: 5.56 ft.
Afternoon Water Temperature: 38
Clarity: stained
USGS Real-Time Stream Flow Data At Coldbrook, NY
Weather Forecast:
Recommended Trout Flies:
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
Winter Stoneflies; size 16/18, nymphs 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.
Fly Fishing The Esopus River (Creek) New York
The Esopus River has a very unique source of water. and is used for drinking water for New York City. A tunnel for the Schoharie Reservoir carries water to the portal at Shandaken, providing water for the Esopus River. It is called Esopus Creek by some. The water flows down to the Ashokan Reservoir. The tunnel was intended only to transport drinking water for New York but it also provides a perfect rainbow trout habitat because it keeps the water cool throughout the summer.There are two parts to the river. The section above the point the portal enters the river to the east of Shandaken is the natural flow of the river. From Winnisooks Lake the river flows down county road # 47 past Big Indian. It flows to Shandaken where it converges with Bushnellsville Creek. Above Big Indian there’s ample public access to the river. The trout in this section are rainbows, browns and native brook trout. This part of the river is relatively small.Below the portal the Esopus River is, in my opinion, a tailwater. Many do not call it a tailwater because the water doesn’t come directly from a dam turbine discharge, It comes from the portal. Whatever you want to call it, it is a very good cold water discharge of water suitable for trout. Much like a dam, the discharges can be strong enough to make the Esopus tough to fish. The stream is not small below the portal. It’s rather large with deep pools, runs and riffles much like a freestone stream which in a structural sense, it is, I suppose. There’s good access in this section all the way from the Five Arches Bridge to the portal. Route 28 follows along the stream.
Fly Fishing Guide to the Esopus River:
Fly Fishing the Esopus River varies between its two main sections because the stream varies in makeup, hatches and water temperatures. It’s almost like you need two fly fishing guides for this river. The Esopus River is one of New York’s better trout streams. It’s rainbow trout are wild. It’s brown trout are also wild but they are supplemented by stocking.The uppermost part of the stream, above the portal, flows mostly through private property but there’s some places you can access it. In this section, the stream falls at a fairly steep decline. This section, just over eight miles in length, runs from Winnisook to Big Indian. It is narrow and consist mostly of pocket water. The fish are plentiful but not as large as they are in the larger sections of the stream.From Birch Creek downstream for about five miles to the portal at Allaben, the stream changes from a narrow creek to a wide stream because of increased flow from four tributary streams. The first is Birch Creek, then Bushnellsville Creek, Fox Hollow Creek and Peck Hollow Creek. It is primarily pocket water. From the Portral downstream to Stony Clove Creek, a distance of about four miles, the river or creek, whichever you want to call it, widens even more. The water from three more tributaries are added to its flow – Broadstreet Hollow Creek, Woodland Valley Creek and Stony Clove Creek. There’s several large pools in this section of the river but it’s still basic pocket water with riffles and runs.From Stony Clove Creek the stream flows another eight miles down to Ashokan. It continues to be quite wide, up to a hundred feet wide in places, with some large pools, big pockets yet still plenty of runs and riffles. This section also has plenty of rainbow trout. The rainbows average about ten to twelve inches in length and are all wild trout. The browns are larger and are both wild and stocked.There’s one disadvantage to fishing this wonderful trout stream. Tubes, kayaks, canoes and other similar type recreational boating is very popular during the summer. Another thing some anglers consider a disadvantages is the color of the water. It stays a little cloudy and at times, can even get a little muddy but it doesn’t seem to affect the fishing very much.
Esopus River (Creek) 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 Esopus Creek 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 Esopus River, or Esopus Creek some call it, has many of the normal Catskill aquatic insect hatches but nymph fishing is usually the most productive fishing technique. Dry flies will catch fish, especially in the upper section of the river, but not over long periods of time. Like most tailwaters, the varying water discharges through the tunnel affect the fishing in the lower section quite a bit. Stoneflies are the main insects to focus on when you are nymph fishing. There are also lots of mayfly nymphs and caddisfly larvae, but the stream is well suited for stoneflies. Winter stoneflies, Little Brown Stoneflies, Little Yellow Stoneflies and Golden Stoneflies exist in the stream.Blue-winged Olives, both the little species and larger Eastern Blue-winged Olives, are present in the stream. They hatch in the early part of the season and again in the later part of the season. The Eastern Blue-winged Olives usually hatch during the month of June. Blue Quills start hatching in mid April and can last a month. Quill Gordons hatch starting about the middle of April and last until the first week of May. The Gray-winged Yellow Quills follow right behind them. Hendricksons hatch the last of April into the first part of May. American March Browns are very plentiful and hatch about the middle of May. There are a few Sulphurs that hatch in June. Light Cahills are quite plentiful and hatch in June and into August. Slate Drakes hatch over a very long period of time starting in June and off and on through most of the month of October. Caddisflies can be important especially in the upper section. Little Black Caddis hatch in April. Cinnamon Caddis are around for most of the summer starting in June and lasting into September. Green Sedges are also important. The larvae, or rock worms, are great flies you can use during late spring and early summer. Midges are plentiful, especially in the lower section of the river. They can be very important when nothing else is hatching. Never forget about streamers. The water is often very cloudy and sometimes stained. Bright yellow and white streamers work often in the off colored water.