Week of Oct. 11, 2026: Fall Fishing Begins!
After a long wait, the fish are going in the rivers and ponds this week! Rain from Isaias has raised the rivers which will give them room to find their new homes. The week ahead clears up with several days of sun and a high on Wednesday in the low 80s. Thursday drops right back down into the 60s and our next chance of rain is on Friday. That’s not a bad outlook if the rivers don’t drop too fast and catch and release is practiced widely. It is OK to keep fish, of course, and the limit is two trout per day.
The bug situation is looking quite good! The caddis hatch, knock on wood, continues to show up. I was out for a brief spell this morning before opening the shop and saw, around 7 am and in a fair amount of rain, significant caddis on the wing. Fish the flies imitating the larva, the pupa, and the adults this month and into the next. Trend towards tan elk or deer wing and orange stimulators for dry fly opportunities. Check your local rocks before selecting a caddis larva, but green seems to be the go-to. La Fontaine’s sparkle pupa or the bead-head sparkle pupa can be fished alone to cover the water column until the fish start breaking the surface with frequent takes. Stoneflies, jig streamers, pheasant tails, and zebra midges are reliable patterns while the new fish acclimate to their new digs.
My original plan, last week, was to take advantage of some time off and scoot up to the Catskills for a quick overnight. Unfortunately, I woke up on Friday and was not feeling great. I stayed put and slept from 3pm Friday to 10am on Saturday. Luckily, the fever broke and hasn’t returned, so I was able to get out early today. Unluckily, I can’t shake the stench of skunk.
That changes this week! Here is a map with the trout truck’s destinations: 
While it is ok to fish on the day of stocking, please give the truck and Department personnel plenty of space to operate! It takes a lot of time and effort to raise and release 29,000 two year old trout into the water, along with 1000 three year old trout.
Euronymphs and sinking nymphs under an indicator can help locate the new arrivals. Approach the river slowly and wade carefully to increase your chance of spotting fish resting in holes and along seams. Better still, watch a section of river from a distance. If you can’t see a rise, you may see subsurface evidence of fish, especially with a pair of polarized glasses. Fishing upstream offers the most stealthy approach. If you find actively feeding fish, they are taking nymphs moving in the flow as part of a large migration of aquatic insects reacting to the seasonal change of temperature and light. Soon, there'll be very little activity. A brood like the October caddis, also called the Autumn caddis or Giant Orange Sedge, have waited for their turn and this is it! An orange stimulator is a great imitation and can suspend just about any nymph or midge as a dropper.
Don’t forget streamers. More on them next week.
See you out there!
Roy B.