Troutline

Esopus Creek

New York·Catskills·42.05° N, 74.32° W
Flow
192 CFS
Esopus Creek at Coldbrook
Water Temp
66°F
Esopus Creek at Coldbrook
Condition
Well Below Normal
Weather
63°F
Areas Of Smoke
near Phoenicia

Insights

Wind
Wind 2 mph — calm
Easy casting and clean surface presentations.
Flow
Low flows at 192 CFS
Fish are spooky. Lighten tippet and lengthen leaders.
Water Temp
Water 66°F — warm
Fish low-oxygen areas only. Land fish quickly and keep them wet.
Pressure
Pressure rising
Feeding may slow as fish sit tight.

The Esopus is the working-man's Catskill river — less genteel than the Beaverkill or the branches of the Delaware, but it fishes when everything else in the region has gone the color of chocolate milk. The reason is the Shandaken Portal: an NYC DEP tunnel that pipes cold water out of Schoharie Reservoir and dumps it into the upper creek below Shandaken, up to 600 million gallons a day. That artificial cold-water injection turns the reach from the Portal down through Phoenicia into a de-facto tailwater, holding wild rainbows through July and August when the freestone Catskill streams have gone warm and thin. When a thunderstorm blows out the Beaverkill, the Esopus is often still fishable. The catch is the same tunnel giveth and taketh away — Portal releases and the notoriously turbid Stony Clove Creek can cloud the water up on their own schedule, independent of local weather, so you judge clarity here, not just the CFS.

This is a wild rainbow fishery first. The Esopus grows one of the densest wild rainbow populations in the Catskills — most fish run 8-12 inches, with the odd holdover pushing past 20 in the deep pools during late fall and early spring. Wild browns are present throughout and, per the Catskill Mountains Trout Unlimited chapter, slowly gaining ground on the rainbows; they're the fall story, best in the pre-spawn weeks on streamers. Native brook trout hang on in the small upper water above Lost Clove Road and in the tributaries. It's pocket water for most of its length — fast riffles and plunge-y runs above Phoenicia, widening to hundred-foot pools and long runs down toward the Ashokan Reservoir. Nymphing a stonefly or a Prince through the pockets is the bread-and-butter, but the Isonychia (slate drake) hatch runs from June into October, plus caddis, sulphurs, and the classic spring Quill Gordon and Hendrickson, and brings fish up. You wade all of it; nobody floats the Esopus.

The creek carries real historical weight — this is Catskill dry-fly country, water fished by Theodore Gordon and Art Flick, and the Jerry Bartlett Angling Collection hatch chart lives in the Phoenicia library. Access is good and mostly public: NYSDEC Forest Preserve land, NYC DEP lands (which require a free DEP access permit), and a patchwork of Public Fishing Rights easements, with parking pullouts strung along Route 28 between Boiceville and Big Indian. It gets pressure — it's under two and a half hours from the city, and Phoenicia is a tubing and hiking hub — but the sheer length of fishable water spreads people out, and two fly shops sit right in town.

Species

  • Rainbow Trout
    Primary · May-Oct · 8-12", holdovers to 20"+

    The dominant fish and one of the densest wild rainbow populations in the Catskills. Most run 8-12 inches; occasional holdovers push past 20 in the deep pools late fall and early spring. The Portal-fed reach holds them cold through summer.

  • Brown Trout
    Common · Sep-Nov · 10-18"

    Wild and some holdover fish present throughout, slowly gaining on the rainbows per Catskill Mountains TU. Best in the fall pre-spawn weeks on streamers through the big lower pools.

  • Brook Trout
    Present · May-Jun, Sep · 5-9"

    Native char holding in the small upper 'Wild' reach above Lost Clove Road and in the cold tributaries — Woodland Valley, Stony Clove headwaters, Broadstreet Hollow. Small water; a short 2-4 wt is the tool.

Ideal wading flow45–160 CFS
Blow-out>350 CFS
Ideal water temp50–65°F

Spring (late April-May) is the marquee dry-fly window — Quill Gordon and Hendrickson over cold water and full flows. Summer is the Esopus's secret weapon: when the rest of the Catskills runs too warm, the Portal-to-Phoenicia reach stays cold and fishable, with Isonychia and caddis in the evenings. Fall (September-October) brings BWOs on cloudy days, pre-spawn browns on streamers, and the October 16 catch-and-release season. Judge clarity before you go — the creek can be dirty from Portal releases or Stony Clove sediment even when the flow number looks fine.

Sections

5 sections on this river

The Tributaries — Stony Clove, Woodland Valley & Broadstreet Hollow

WadeBrook Trout · Rainbow Trout

The feeder streams are small-stream destinations in their own right, fished under the upstream 'Wild' statewide regulations with a short 2-4 wt. Stony Clove is worth naming for two reasons: it holds wild trout, and it's the single largest source of the sediment that clouds the lower Esopus after rain — when the mainstem is dirty but flows look fine, Stony Clove is usually the culprit. Woodland Valley and Broadstreet Hollow run cold and clear. Ungauged — read them off the mainstem gauges and by eye.

Best for: Native brook trout and small wild rainbow trout on small dries, beetles, and short-line nymphs in tight, brushy quarters.

Big Indian to the Portal (Shandaken)

WadeBrook Trout · Rainbow Trout

Medium pocket water with riffles, picking up Birch, Bushnellsville, Fox Hollow, and Peck Hollow creeks over about five miles. This reach sits above the Shandaken Portal, so it's still true freestone — no tunnel cooling — which means it warms in summer and fishes best in spring and after rain. Route 28 pullouts tap a mix of Forest Preserve, DEP, and Public Fishing Rights land.

Best for: Wild rainbow trout on nymphs and dry-dropper rigs through the pockets, plus brook trout up toward the tributaries.

The Portal to Phoenicia — the Signature Reach

WadeRainbow Trout

The de-facto tailwater and the reason to fish the Esopus. Below the Shandaken Tunnel outlet the creek runs cold and often clouded — pocket water with riffles and runs widening downstream from Allaben through Mount Pleasant to the Stony Clove confluence at Phoenicia. This is the reach that fishes when the rest of the Catskills is blown out or too warm, and the one most affected by Portal on/off cycles and turbidity. The USGS Allaben gauge (01362200) sits just below the Portal and reflects the tunnel-boosted flow.

Best for: Wild rainbow trout all summer thanks to the cold releases — nymphing stoneflies, swinging a wet Isonychia, and streamers around rock drop-offs and undercut banks.

The Wild Section — Winnisook Lake to Lost Clove Road (Big Indian)

WadeBrook Trout · Rainbow Trout

The headwaters — small, steep pocket water falling fast off the shoulder of Slide Mountain, roughly eight miles of narrow mountain stream along the Route 47 / Oliverea corridor. Access is limited to NYSDEC Forest Preserve land. This is the only reach managed as 'Wild,' where native brook trout and small wild rainbows hold under statewide regulations rather than the special-reg season.

Best for: Native brook trout and small wild rainbow trout on short-line nymphing and small dries — a 2-4 wt, 6-8 ft rod is ideal in the tight quarters.

Phoenicia to the Ashokan Reservoir

WadeBrown Trout · Rainbow Trout

The big water — the creek widens to a hundred feet with large pools, long runs, and deep pockets over about eight miles down to the reservoir at Boiceville, the most trophy-capable holding water on the river. Stony Clove Creek (the single largest source of the turbidity that dirties the lower creek after storms), Woodland Valley Creek, and Broadstreet Hollow all enter here. The USGS Coldbrook gauge (01362500) just above the reservoir is the mainstem headline. A 5-6 wt earns its keep in this bigger water.

Best for: Larger wild rainbow trout and the river's best shot at a 15"+ brown trout — nymphing deep, streamers through the pools, and dries to pool-tail risers, with the fall pre-spawn brown fishing at its best here.

Regulations

Current fishing rules and restrictions

Governed by NYSDEC under the 2021 statewide trout-stream framework — open to fishing year-round, with catch-and-release only from October 16 through March 31 and a harvest season April 1 through October 15. The regulation changes at the Lost Clove Road bridge: statewide inland trout stream rules apply above it, and NYSDEC Inland Trout Stream Special Regulations govern the main fly water below. Both reaches are managed as self-sustaining wild fisheries with no stocking.

  • Open to fishing year-round; catch-and-release only October 16 - March 31.
  • Harvest season April 1 - October 15 under the applicable creel and size limits — confirm the current bag/size on the DEC special-regs table before harvesting.
  • Above the Lost Clove Road bridge (the 'Wild' reach) and in the tributaries: statewide inland trout stream regulations apply.
  • Below Lost Clove Road (the main fly water to the Ashokan): NYSDEC Inland Trout Stream Special Regulations apply.
  • A free NYC DEP access permit is required to fish from NYC DEP lands along the creek; respect Public Fishing Rights easements on private land.
  • New York State freshwater fishing license required.

No stocking — both management reaches are self-sustaining wild fisheries. The Lower Esopus below the Ashokan Reservoir is a separate, warmer smallmouth-and-trout fishery and not covered here. Verify current-year season dates, creel, and size limits on the DEC regulations table before a trip.

Source: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Regulations change annually — verify before fishing.

Access & Logistics

Getting there, fly shops, and lodging

Getting There

Phoenicia, NY

~2 hr 15 min from NYC (I-87 to Kingston, then Route 28 west); ~1 hr from Albany. Nearest airports are Albany (ALB, ~1 hr) and Stewart/Newburgh (SWF, ~1 hr 15 min).

Fly Shops

Camping & Lodging

No access fee — roadside pullouts line Route 28 between Boiceville and Big Indian, tapping NYSDEC Forest Preserve land, NYC DEP lands, and Public Fishing Rights easements. Phoenicia is the hub for food, gear, and lodging (motels and inns), with Mount Tremper, Shandaken, and Boiceville nearby; Kingston and Woodstock are ~20 minutes out for full services.

A free NYC DEP access permit is required to fish DEP lands along the creek. This is a wade fishery end to end — nobody floats the Esopus. Phoenicia is a busy tubing and hiking town in summer, so expect company near the road, though the length of fishable water spreads anglers out.

Conditions data is live from public monitoring networks. Regulations change annually — always verify current rules with your state fish & wildlife agency before fishing.

More in New York

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Catskills

Beaverkill RiverNY

The birthplace of American fly fishing — the freestone Theodore Gordon and the Dettes fished, meeting the Willowemoc at Junction Pool in Roscoe, "Trout Town, USA." A wide, classic Catskill river of long riffles and deep pools with the sport's most storied named water (Cairns, Barnhart's, Hendrickson, Horse Brook Run) in the no-kill reaches below Roscoe. Wild and stocked browns throughout, wild brookies up high, on a hatch calendar that runs from Quill Gordons in April through the famous dusk Green Drake spinner fall in late May. A wade river best in spring and fall — the lower reaches warm into the 70s by July, which is why DEC closes the Horton reach July 1-August 31.

Willowemoc CreekNY

One of the two streams the Catskill dry-fly tradition was built on — it meets the Beaver Kill at Junction Pool in Roscoe, "Trout Town USA." A classic medium freestone of tea-stained riffles and pools, mostly stocked browns and rainbows in the lower river with wild brookies up in the small headwaters, best fished during the famous hatch parade from Quill Gordons in April through summer Sulphurs. A wading stream end to end, anchored by a year-round catch-and-release no-kill stretch above Roscoe.

Other regions

Delaware RiverNY

The "Big D" — the largest wild-trout river in the East, formed where the cold West and East Branch tailwaters meet at Junction Pool in Hancock. Powerful, technical flat-water pools full of stream-bred wild rainbows and browns, a rare Catskill spring shad run, and legendary Hendrickson, sulphur, and green drake hatches. Summer water temperature, not low flow, is the limiting factor.

East Branch Delaware RiverNY

The Catskills' quieter tailwater — cold releases from Pepacton Reservoir hold the upper river in the 50s through summer, growing wild, selective browns on long flat pools when the freestones nearby run too warm. Below the Beaverkill it doubles in size, warms, and turns to drift-boat water with more rainbows down to Hancock.

Neversink RiverNY

The river where American dry-fly fishing was born — Theodore Gordon worked out the first American-tied dries here in the 1890s. Today it's really two rivers split by a dam: a cold, technical no-kill catch-and-release brown-trout tailwater below Neversink Reservoir that stays fishable through August heat, and a warmer wild freestone above the reservoir near Claryville holding brook and brown trout.

Salmon RiverNY

New York's marquee Great Lakes tributary: a short, dam-controlled Lake Ontario river that fills with Chinook and coho salmon every fall and holds fresh steelhead and lake-run brown trout all winter. A run-timing, egg-and-swing fishery from the Altmar hatchery down to the Pulaski town pools and the private Douglaston Salmon Run, with flow set by the Lighthouse Hill hydro dam, not the weather.

West Branch Ausable RiverNY

The most famous trout stream in the Adirondacks: a boulder-strewn freestone of plunge pools and pocket water tumbling past Whiteface Mountain, where Fran Betters tied the Ausable Wulff. Wild browns and brook trout, easy roadside access off Route 86, and two year-round catch-and-release stretches.

West Branch Delaware RiverNY

The East's premier cold dry-fly tailwater, running below Cannonsville Dam to Junction Pool at Hancock. Bottom-release water keeps wild browns and rainbows on flat, gin-clear pools where selective fish and long, fine leaders are the price of admission.