Another weekend in a not so great of a start to the trout season. The combination of snow we had all of March and the rain we have been having recently has made for rough trout fishing. The rivers are washed out, and still very cold. Fishing reports for everything from the Delaware River to the Neversink have been horrendous. I’ve been trying some of the smaller streams next to my house in the hopes that they would be slightly warmer, with lower water levels. That didn’t turn out to be the case with Moodna Creek last week, so I figured I would try the Ramapo River this week.
One of the most popular access points to the river for fly fishing is in Tuxedo NY. This brought memories of way back when I first started backpacking here in the US. There is a train stop in Tuxedo, and from there it is just a short walk into the forest. I decided that I would give fishing a try for a bit and then hit the trails for the rest of the weekend. I had my full backpacking fly fishing kit with me. You can see it in more detail here.
The Ramapo was not as bad as some of the other rivers, but the water level was still high. It wasn’t so bad that it couldn’t be fished though. I measured the water temperature at 42F (6C), which is a bit too cold.
I picked an area that I liked further up the river, and gave it a try. The Ramapo, like most other rivers in the area, alternates its course through state forests as well as private land. There are easements on most private land, allowing fishing of the river and travel on the banks. As a result, some spots are in more populated areas than others. You just have to travel around a bit to find an area you like.
I started fishing right around 7:00 am. I was having absolutely no luck. I tried all of the areas where theoretically there should have been trout. Caddis flies, Mayflies, stone flies, nothing was working.
Around noon, I decided to change strategy and leave the deep pools and instead try for some of the slow shallow water along some of the banks. Some work with a #18 Caddis nymph, and I hooked a few little ones.
Looked like brook trout to me, but I’m not sure. All of them were too small to keep. Maybe I’ll get them again later in the year.
That about did it for the fishing. I put the waders back in the pack and headed up into the forest. It took me the rest of the day to get to the area whare I was to camp.
The weather was nice, but there was a very strong wind. For a while I was worried if the Direkt 2 would hold up after the modification without any additional anchoring, but it did fine.
The night was surprisingly cold. The temperature went from being over 50F (10C) during the day to 22F (-6C) during the early hours of the morning. I hadn’t brought the DAS Parka, and only had my warm weather bag, so I was cold.
In the morning I went back the way I came. I gave fishing another shot, but after losing two flies, I left. I’m definitely not patient enough to be a good fisherman.
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