Best month to fish the Beaverkill River

Month-by-month fishing quality

Why these months?

Two things decide your odds on the Beaverkill River: flow and season. You need the river in its fishable-flow band — so a freestone in spring runoff is out no matter how good the hatch would be, while a dam-fed tailwater holds shape year-round. On top of that, the hatches and water temperatures line up best in July and August and September, which is why those months edge out the rest. The Beaverkill River's season runs the classic catskill freestone — no dam, so flow tracks rain and snowmelt directly; spring runoff blows it out, then it settles into the long, gin-clear summer/fall dry-fly window the river is famous for.

The Beaverkill is one of the birthplaces of American fly fishing — Theodore Gordon developed the American dry-fly style on its pools in the early 1900s, and water like Cairns Pool and Hendrickson's Pool are still fished today much as they were then. It is a true freestone with no dam upstream, so its character swings hard with the weather: a raging spring torrent that settles by summer into long, clear, technical pools holding wild browns.

Where to fish the Beaverkill River

The lower river around Cooks Falls and Horton holds the most public water and the famous named pools; the upper river above Roscoe (the "Junction Pool" town where the Beaverkill meets the Willowemoc) is smaller and more intimate. New York fishing license required; check special-regulation catch-and-release sections near Roscoe.

Guided trips & lodges to book