The middle of June - that lushest month - is upon us. Thanks to consistent rain showers our rivers and streams are in great shape for a Farewell to spring, heading into the summer. This much-welcomed weekend of the month has been relatively cool, and thoughts on this Father’s Day turn to those leisurely June pastimes of fishing, baseball, barbecuing and picnics. 

Perhaps due to the weather, or that it was a Sunday, life seemed to slow down a bit. There was less traffic to be heard, and the cheerful sounds of the songbirds in the yard did much to raise the spirits. 

Despite the overcast skies, there was a pleasant breeze that ruffled the leaves of the poplar tree at the wood’s edge behind the garden, which made the work of weeding and planting some vegetable and herb seedlings an even more pleasant one.

 I could hear the cardinal whistling in the woods, and enjoyed a ‘conversation’ with him; I whistled back in the same cadence and he would respond, sometimes changing the number of whistles before the long ‘chatter’ that I dutifully attempted to answer.

 I thought of friends and family who live in the city, who are accustomed to the wail of sirens just outside, or the hum of the air conditioner as they escape summer heat indoors, and thought how fortunate we are to be here in our beautiful Catskill Mountains, where life is still somewhat simple, and the pleasures of nature abound.

A whole host of flies are hatching, from Sulphurs, various Caddis flies and Blue-Winged Olives in the mornings, to Isonychias, more Sulphurs and Light Cahills in the evenings. Last week while fishing the Willowemoc above Livingston Manor it was heartening to see so many nymph cases/shucks on the rocks in the stream - the prolific insect life a testament to the health of the river. 

And with so much water in the systems, the trout are growing and faring well, and fishing has been productive. From the Willowemoc to the Beaverkill to the East Branch, local trout fishers have not been disappointed, whether fishing during the mornings, afternoons or evenings.

Seth Cavarretta had successful fishing this past week. While out on the lower East Branch Delaware on Saturday evening, he related that the trout were rising steadily to Blue-Winged Olives, Sulphurs and Cahills, with a few Isonychia as well. He shared a photo of a beautiful brown trout that he caught on an Adams.

Late in the evening last Sunday, the fishing trio of Tom and Martha Mason and myself witnessed an amazing hatch of Blue Sedges (Psilos) that occurred shortly before 8:00 and resulted in wave upon wave of the caddis flies coming upriver. They seemed to pop right up into the air, with no “drying time” on the water’s surface; as a result, the trout were snatching them up as they came up off the bottom through the water column, and so we observed no “proper” rises, just tails emerging and splashing on the surface. We all had action and had fish on and, although Tom said he’s never very successful in catching many fish during this hatch, he netted and released a couple of nice browns, one of which was missing the top of its tail! 

No doubt there would have been more caught and released, but a steady downpour with the threat of heavier rainfall caused us to reluctantly leave the stream and head back to the truck by 8:30 p.m. Last Tuesday Gold Star families traveled to the Catskill Fly Fishing Center & Museum and were provided with casting lessons and trout fishing in the Willowemoc, guided by Mark Williams, Christina Muller and Trout Unlimited’s Jesse Vadala. Gold Star is an esteemed group composed of families who have lost an immediate family member in military service. 

The fishing programs are coordinated by veteran-focused organizations or state agencies, and lend wonderful opportunities for fishing as a form of therapy, recreation, and remembrance. The Gold Star group will be fishing on the Upper Beaverkill later this week due to the efforts of John Conolly, of the Clear Lake Stream Club, and others working with the Ultimate Sacrifice Foundation. 

Each year Gold Star families have returned to the area, and are grateful for the opportunity. It is quite a rewarding and memorable experience, to be able to provide instruction and work with these families, many of whom are able to catch their first trout here in the Catskills. It is experiences like these that remind us of the many ‘gifts’ we are given each day - the pleasures of the quiet and simple life we can enjoy here, in the mountains, near our beloved Catskill rivers and streams.

Judy Van Put is a long-time member of the NYS Outdoor Writers Association, and is the recipient of the New York State Council of Trout Unlimited’s Professional Communications Award.