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Beaverkill Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

The best-known of the Catskill trout rivers: brown trout, classic mayfly hatches and two year-round catch-and-release stretches below Roscoe.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Flow
224 cfs
Air / High
58 / 59 F
Wind
NNE 5 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 01420500, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Beaverkill fishes cold and honest: earn your bites in the deep stuff. The river is running 224 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings clear skies, wind NNE around 5 mph, rising pressure near 1027 hPa and a high of 59. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:33 AM-11:33 AM and 10:03 PM-12:03 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Brown troutExcellent

Below 50Β°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

Brook troutExcellent

Below 50Β°F is the fall spawning band (40-50Β°F in Vermont), so stay off spawning gravel. In winter Maine IFW finds pond fish close to shore in 4 to 12 feet of water under the ice.

Tomorrow: Similar at 59 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

New York requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $25.00 for residents. What a New York licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing brown trout here? Check the size and bag limits with DEC before you keep anything. The season dates for New York, read off the agency, are on the New York seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from Beaver Kill at Cooks Falls.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 01420500.

196317437224 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp58 F
High / Low59 / 36 F
WindNNE 5-8 mph
Pressure1026.8 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:21 / 18:06
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (gauge)50 F USGS
Water temp (seasonal)~47 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Which day to fish Beaverkill this week

The best day on Beaverkill this week looks like Sunday Oct 25, at 4 out of 5, against 2 today.

Best day this week: Sunday, Oct 25 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Tough

Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Solunar majors
9:33 AM-11:33 AM and 10:03 PM-12:03 AM
Minor period
3:55 AM-4:55 AM
Sun
07:21 to 18:06
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 8 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Beaverkill: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Brown trout illustration

Brown trout

Spring along Great Lakes shorelines; low light and overcast days in rivers; fall spawning runs

A European trout first stocked in the US in 1883 and now fished in rivers and lakes nationwide; it tolerates warmer water than other trout, and mature stream fish feed mostly at night. Below 50Β°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

Brook trout illustration

Brook trout

Spring and fall in ponds and lakes, when fish come shallow; summer in the coldest headwater streams

The brook trout is a char native to eastern North America, a fish of cold, clean streams and ponds, and the state fish of Michigan. Below 50Β°F is the fall spawning band (40-50Β°F in Vermont), so stay off spawning gravel. In winter Maine IFW finds pond fish close to shore in 4 to 12 feet of water under the ice.

When to come: the Beaverkill calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Brown trout
Brook trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 47 F (estimated, not a reading).

30405060JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~47 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Beaverkill today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Brown trout led the card at excellent. High of 63 F, wind to 11 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Brown trout led the card at excellent. High of 65 F, wind to 9 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Brown trout led the card at excellent. High of 66 F, wind to 9 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

New York requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

New York fishing license required. DEC special regulations (Delaware and Sullivan counties): from the Sullivan County line below Roscoe downstream 2.5 miles to the old railroad trestle, and from 1.6 miles below to 1 mile above the Iron Bridge at Horton, all-year catch and release, artificial lures only; the Horton section is closed to angling July 1 through August 31. Other listed reaches are Stocked-Extended water with an April 1 to October 15 harvest season and catch and release the rest of the year. Confirm limits in the current DEC Inland Trout Stream Special Regulations before fishing.

Access

Much of the riverbank is private; fish the public sections and respect posted land. Check DEC's Trout Stream Fishing Map for Public Fishing Rights easements.

About this water

A Catskill trout river in Sullivan and Delaware counties, New York, joining the East Branch Delaware River downstream of Downsville. USGS gauge 01420500, Beaver Kill at Cooks Falls (drainage area 241 square miles).

Fishing Beaverkill: the full guide

A river at the center of Catskill fly fishing

NYSDEC's guide to Catskill fly fishing calls the Beaverkill probably the best known of the Catskill fly waters and ties its reputation to brown trout, introduced to Catskill rivers by the early 1880s, which thrived in lower water too warm for native brook trout. The lower river is big water, with long riffles and wide, deep pools, and it joins the East Branch of the Delaware about 15 miles downstream of Downsville. The Willowemoc Creek, its largest tributary at 26 miles, meets it at Roscoe.

Hatches

The DEC guide singles out Quill Gordons, Hendricksons and March Browns as favorites, and the Green Drake as the hatch that brings the river's largest trout to the surface. Its Catskill hatch chart spans April through October, beginning with the Quill Gordon and Hendrickson.

Stocked and catch-and-release water

DEC stocks brown trout in the Beaverkill in the towns of Rockland (Sullivan County) and Colchester (Delaware County); its spring 2026 plan lists releases from early April into the first week of June, a mix of 9- to 10-inch yearlings and 12- to 15-inch fish. Most fly anglers concentrate on the two catch-and-release sections, which total 5.1 miles and hold good numbers of brown trout according to DEC.

Summer temperatures

The lower river warms in summer. DEC closes the catch-and-release section around the Iron Bridge at Horton to all angling from July 1 through August 31 to protect thermally stressed trout; check water temperature before fishing anywhere on the lower river in hot weather.

Common questions

Why is the Beaverkill so well known?

DEC describes it as probably the best known of the Catskill fly-fishing rivers, built on brown trout and dense mayfly hatches that produced some of the best dry-fly fishing in the East.

Is any of it closed in summer?

Yes. DEC closes the catch-and-release section around the Iron Bridge at Horton from July 1 through August 31 to protect trout stressed by warm water.

Is the Beaverkill stocked?

Yes. DEC's spring 2026 stocking plan lists brown trout for the Beaverkill in the towns of Rockland and Colchester from April into early June.

Is fishing good at Beaverkill right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Willowemoc Creek8 miDelaware River14 miWest Branch Delaware River21 miEsopus Creek35 miLake Wallenpaupack38 miOtsego Lake58 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 01420500 β€” Beaver Kill at Cooks Falls
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 19:00 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 41.9470, -74.9770 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 5, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 5, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.