Neversink River New York

The Neversink River is a 65 mile long tributary of the Delaware River in upstate New York. It derives its name from an Algonquian Indian word meaning “mad river”. The east and west branches of the Neversink River begin on the slopes of Slide Mountain, which happens to be the highest peak in the Catskill Mountain Range. Many fly fishermen consider the Neversink River to be the birthplace of American dry fly fishing giving competition to the famed Beaver Kill.

Just below the confulence near the town of Claryville, the waters are damed up to form the Neversink Reservoir and is connected with an underground tunnel to the Roundout Reservoir and then to the Delaware Aqueduct. It becomes part of the New York City Water Suppluy System. After that it flows through several small towns and crosses Rt 17 at Exit 107 in the town of Thompson. As it continues toward the Delaware River it goes over the Denton Falls and High Falls in the Neversink Gorge.

Many fly fishermen are well aware of the colorful brook trout that inhabit the rocky waters of the upper reaches of the East and West Branches in the Catskill Preserve. These branches are for the most part in private land. However, Fly Fishing Membership at the Frost Valley YMCSA camp gives you access to over 6 miles of trout streams, including the Neversink River, Biscuit Brook, Pigeon Brook, Lake Cole, White Pond, and Reflection Pond, all of which are NY State licensed fishing preserves.

Below the Neversink River dam the tailwater is cold enough to provide good fishing for brown trout for stretch of about six miles. Almost all of the six mile long tailwater section, from Woodburne to the dam, is open to public fishing, but be careful as portions are private as well. The fishing that you will find here is somewhat different than you might find on other tailwater streams, in that it has slow moving pools punctuated with short riffles. The river is stocked by the state of New York but some wild trout exists there as well. By the time the flow gets to Rt 42, the water has warmed up enough to slow the fishing considerably.

Fishing the Neversink:

The Neversink River has a variety of aquatic insect hatches including your typical mayfly and caddis hatches as well as some stoneflies. The brook trout in the upper freestone portions of the Nevesink respond well to dry flies.

Spring:
The spring of the year is the best time to fish for the trout in the Neversink look for the Blue Quills, followed closely with the Quill Gordons and then the March Browns and the slate Drakes.

Summer:
In the freestone sections above the Neversink Reservoir, fly fishing will remain good in the early days of summer using the dry flies. The fishing below the dam will remain good through the summer due to the cold discharge water which remains cold due to the tree branch cover which also provides opportunity for terrestrials.

Fall:
The fishing remains good in early fall in both the freestone and the tailwater portions.