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Esopus Creek Fishing Report

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

The Catskills' wild-trout freestone: the Upper Esopus runs to Ashokan Reservoir, fed below the Portal by Schoharie water.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Flow
1,030 cfs
Air / High
53 / 54 F
Wind
NNE 6 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 01362500, 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.

Esopus Creek asks for patience today: short windows, precise presentations. The river is running 1,030 cfs, on the rise. Today brings clear skies, wind NNE around 6 mph, rising pressure near 1027 hPa and a high of 54. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:30 AM-11:30 AM and 9:60 PM-11:60 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutExcellent

In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Brown troutExcellent

Below 50°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 50°F is the fall spawning band (40-50°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 53 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

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 →

Chasing rainbow 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 Esopus Creek at Coldbrook.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 01362500.

4316679031,030 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 95 years of October 23

At 1,030 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 01362500 (Esopus Creek at Coldbrook) is at the 85th percentile for the date: above normal. In half of the 95 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 307 cfs; the highest was 10,800 cfs and the lowest 20 cfs.

p10 50median 307p90 1,256

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 01362500; today’s reading is the latest instantaneous value. Classes follow the ones the USGS used on its WaterWatch maps (retired at the end of 2025): below 10th, much below normal; 10th–24th, below; 25th–75th, normal; 76th–90th, above; over 90th, much above.

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp53 F
High / Low54 / 37 F
WindNNE 6-7 mph
Pressure1027.0 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:19 / 18:03
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (gauge)58 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 Esopus Creek this week

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

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

Today, Oct 23 — Tough

Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Solunar majors
9:30 AM-11:30 AM and 9:60 PM-11:60 PM
Minor period
3:52 AM-4:52 AM
Sun
07:19 to 18:03
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 10 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

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

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Spring and fall in most lakes; rivers fish year-round while the water stays cool

A cold-water trout native to Pacific drainages from Alaska to Baja California, now stocked in most states and fished in rivers, tailwaters and lakes. In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

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 50°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 50°F is the fall spawning band (40-50°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 Esopus Creek 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
Rainbow trout
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 Esopus Creek 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. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 59 F, wind to 15 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 59 F, wind to 8 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 61 F, wind to 12 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. DEC's Wild-Quality rules apply the same above and below the Portal, with a harvest season and a catch-and-release season limited to artificial lures; check the current DEC regulations for dates and limits.

Access

Nearly 14 miles of public access between Lost Clove Road and Ashokan Reservoir: state land, NYC DEP recreation land, county and municipal land, and public fishing rights easements.

About this water

The Upper Esopus in Ulster County, New York, above Ashokan Reservoir, fed below the Portal by the Shandaken Tunnel; USGS gauge 01362500 is at Coldbrook.

Fishing Esopus Creek: the full guide

A wild-trout creek

Esopus Creek flows 65 miles from the Catskills to the Hudson at Saugerties, and Ashokan Reservoir splits it at its midpoint. NYSDEC manages the 18 miles from Lost Clove Road in Big Indian down to the reservoir as Wild-Quality water: stocking ended in 2021, the reach holds wild rainbow and brown trout, and wild brook trout live in the upper creek.

The Portal

The Shandaken Tunnel, an 18.2-mile aqueduct completed in 1926, delivers up to 600 million gallons a day from Schoharie Reservoir into the creek just downstream of Shandaken. Above this outlet, known as the Portal, the creek is 30 to 40 feet wide and shaded; below it the creek widens to 70 to 90 feet and its flow, temperature and clarity depend heavily on tunnel releases, which can run turbid.

Reservoir runs

DEC's management plan notes that rainbow trout from the Ashokan move upstream to spawn in spring, sometimes holding in the lower creek until early May, while Ashokan brown trout run in late fall. A smaller summer fishery targets resident wild rainbows.

Access

DEC counts nearly 14 miles of the upper creek open to anglers on state land, NYC DEP recreation land, county and municipal land, and public fishing rights easements, mostly reached from roads that parallel the creek. A 2017 statewide survey put the upper Esopus among New York's 20 most-fished trout streams.

Common questions

Are the rainbows wild?

Yes: DEC manages the upper Esopus as a wild trout stream and no longer stocks it, so its rainbows and browns are produced in the creek and its tributaries.

What does the Portal do?

It releases Schoharie Reservoir water through the Shandaken Tunnel, which shapes flow, temperature and clarity in the creek below it.

When do the reservoir fish run?

Rainbows in spring and browns in late fall, according to DEC's management plan.

Is fishing good at Esopus Creek 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 Creek29 miBeaverkill35 miDelaware River43 miHousatonic River49 miLake Waramaug54 miWest Branch Delaware River55 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 01362500 — Esopus Creek at Coldbrook
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 42.0300, -74.3000 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.