Our guides are now back to being on the river every day. With the current high water conditions we are working the non hatch periods hard with streamer flies. We are also timing the floats to be in areas of slow water when the bugs appear each afternoon. This approach is getting our guests some nice fish but neither the dry fly nor streamer fishing is hot yet. Right now you have to work for your opportunities. The photo is from Guide Chris during the One Bug Tournament The action is about to change as 70 degree weather is forecast for mid week. The Trout's metabolism will rise right along with the water temps. The warmer weather should also coincide with the river flows dropping into more

Things are finally starting to get moving in the Upper Delaware watershed. The warmer weather over the last few days and especially the warmer nights have been the deciding factor. Yesterday I managed to get a few afternoon hours on the river and noticed a marked improvement over the prior few days. The bugs (quill gordans, blue quills, caddis and stone flies) were the heaviest ive seen so far this year. It wasn't a blanket hatch, but at this point id say that's not far off. We also finally managed to land a fish on a dry (quill gordan knock down dun). Right now your only shot at rising fish is going to be in really slow water in areas that concentrates bugs. Look for the most surface activi

First I want to start with some Sad News. This morning a great man and fellow fly fisherman will be laid to rest. Many of you know Mike Gartland. He spent a lot of time in Roscoe, fishing our local waters. Mike fished with me every week and he was a big part of the fraternity of fishermen who meet every morning at our fly shop. The link below is from the Poughkeepsie Journal. It contains information about Mike and the scholarship fund in his name that friends can donate to. http://poughkeepsiejournal.ny.newsmemory.com/publink.php?shareid=0cc664d72 Below are a few shots of Mike in his element. RIP my friend. The fishing continued to slowly improve yesterday but there was not enough change to

Action Improving Daily! Over the weekend all of our guides had guests on the water. For the first time this season we can report some improved fishing conditions. All of our guests had ample opportunity and most everyone put one in the net. Our guides really spread out. We had float trips fish the East and West branches while other guides chose to walk our guests on the Beaverkill, Willowemoc and Upper East Branch. Despite the high water conditions we got it done. The best action remains with streamers fished slow and deep. Below is Mr. Brown chomping on the Baxter House Version of the Circus Peanut. This week we should see the streamer bite continue on the East and West. The Trout in our F

Cold Weather and Snow Squalls about to become History? As far as Trout Fishing conditions go, this week was one to forget. Cold still has a grip on the Upper Delaware and Catskill Rivers. The weather forecast is indicating that Trout Season in Roscoe NY may start in the coming week. Starting tomorrow we are expecting to see the sun and 50 degree and above temperatures. Everything else is ready. Our rivers are bank full of water and the insect hatches have begun. There are Stoneflies, Caddisflies, Mayflies and Midges on the water! Yesterday I was doing some maintenance on my boat trailer and there were lots of Caddisflies crawling around on my drift boat. Guide Zach floated the West yesterday

Today is a day for Fly Tying not Fishing More Rain and High Water This report will be pretty brief and to the point. This morning we woke to some pretty heavy rain falling. This rain has been on and off throughout the day. At this point it looks like all of our rivers are going to rise pretty high. Most likely we will be blown out for a few days. The only river that may escape this will be the Upper East Branch and I will keep you posted on it's condition. The good news for us Trout fishermen is that the entire season is still ahead of us. The cold lingering winter has put most all action on hold. As soon as we get our first string of several warm days in a row, look for the action to pop an

Warm Weather and Bugs This weekend is set to be our first real shot at decent weather and decent fishing. There are also lots of events planned for the weekend as the Roscoe Chamber of Commerce hosts the Annual Two Headed Trout Dinner. I will be giving a presentation at the dinner on our favorite topic, fly fishing the Upper Delaware. There are some tickets still available for the dinner if you would like to join us. You can call the shop for details. 607-290-4022 We are also partnering with the Roscoe Beer Company to present a series called Trout Talk. Tomorrow at noon Baxter House Guide, Chris Calabrese will be at the Brewery presenting a talk on early season trout tactics, Join Chris and

Over the past few days we have sent 5 boats out and a few foot warriors as well. The fishing is gradually picking up as the air temperatures climb. Although it has been slow and cold the bugs are waiting to pop. We expect this weekend for the pop to happen. All of our boats have reported seeing good numbers of Paraleps on the water. We are excited for this warm front because we haven't had warm weather like this yet this year. Here is the extended forecast below for the local area around Roscoe. The rain shouldn't muddy up the water to much and the predictor graphs don't have the levels coming up to much. The Beaverkill and Willowemoc will be wadable while the bigger rivers are goin t

The trout fishing season is getting off to a slow start. Over the last few days the Upper Delaware has had blustery weather with pretty steady snow squalls. Over the last few days probably 5more inches of snow has been added to the mountains surrounding our rivers. Despite the fact that the conditions are tough to fish today, long term this weather is probably good for the river ecosystem. It looks like a warm may be coming soon. The forecast is calling for temperatures to climb slowly through the week to around 60 degrees for next weekend. This is perfect spring weather and at a perfect time. Next weekend there are lots of activities planned in town. Roscoe will be celebrating, spring and t

Upper Fly Fishing Report 4/6/2018 Guide Zachary Anderson Well things are off to a pretty slow but typical start here in the Upper Delaware watershed. As I write this, im looking out the window at lightly falling snow, fortunately not much is predicted. If it wasn’t April id call it beautiful, but we’re ready for spring! Reservoir levels- Cannonsville 101.5% Pepacton 96.6% River levels- Beaverkill- 1220cfs Upper east-531cfs Lower east-1880cfs West-3080cfs Mainstem-6170cfs Currently we’re sitting pretty with full reservoirs and rivers, the west is even spilling. I understand that high cold water combined with cabin fever is a little frustrating, but its better than the alternative. Until flows

Slow cold start should make for an excellent long year for the Catskills. Even though were all itching for the Hendricksons to kick off the game, it wont be long. Hang in there! APRIL 4 - Ups and Downs, Ups and Downs. The temperature over the next week is fluctuating from mid fifties to the mid twenties. All rivers are high and healthy with a hint of the early season chalky look to em'. The fishing has been difficult but here are some tips to hopefully get you some fish. The days where it is warmer the water temps will near the mid 40's later in the day. However with cold nights the water will drop to the upper 30's. Streamers and buggers should begin working consistently later in the

Well after a long cold wait, its that time of year again! To us at the Baxter House, and trout fisherman all over, April 1st is like a holiday, and after a winter like this one the anticipation is palpable. I couldn’t be more excited to share another season on the Upper Delaware with my trout fishing family. Currently, the watershed is in great shape and we are on track for another spectacular spring. Both the Cannonsville and the Pepacton are 92% of capacity. I took a ride up to the Cannonsville recently, and the water level was not far below the spillway. There is also plenty of heavy snow up in the hills, in some shady areas I bet we have over a foot of heavy wet snow pack. Additionally,