5 Best Flies for Trout in New York

The Quill Gordon is where American dry-fly fishing begins - literally and historically. Theodore Gordon developed this pattern on the Beaverkill in the late 19th century after corresponding with English fishing writer F.M. Halford, adapting British dry-fly principles to American conditions. The Quill Gordon hatch in April on the Beaverkill and Willowemoc is what the season is built around for Catskill devotees.

The pattern's stripped peacock quill body, teal-blue dun wing, and stiff hackle produce a fly that rides perfectly on the surface film. When the hatch is on - typically during warm April afternoons - the fish rise freely and the classic upstream presentation to rising fish is the right approach.

The Hendrickson follows the Quill Gordon by a week or two, and together they define the Catskill spring season. Named for A.E. Hendrickson who first had Roy Steenrod tie the pattern in the 1910s, the Hendrickson is one of the most important and best-documented mayfly hatches in Eastern fly fishing. On every Catskill stream, this hatch draws anglers who've been planning since winter.

The female Hendrickson (with the pink-amber body) is the standard pattern. The male, with a somewhat different coloring, is also represented by the Red Quill. Fish both during the hatch - the fish sometimes show a preference for one over the other.

Caddis hatches on the Delaware River system and Esopus Creek provide consistent dry-fly action from May through September, and the Elk Hair Caddis covers the most common species across all New York trout rivers. On the West Branch Delaware and East Branch, where caddis emergences can be dense in the evening hours, tan in #14–16 is the go-to pattern.

On the Ausable River in the Adirondacks, the Elk Hair Caddis is equally important - the Ausable has strong caddis populations and the fly fishes well in the river's faster, rockier pocket water. A #14 Elk Hair Caddis presented to the foam lines and current edges covers a lot of productive water efficiently.

June evenings on the West Branch Delaware are one of the great dry-fly fishing experiences in the Eastern United States. When Sulphurs emerge on the West Branch in the last hour of daylight, the river's substantial wild brown trout population comes alive, rising actively in the flat pools and current edges throughout the no-kill section below Cannonsville Reservoir.

The Sulphur Parachute in #16 is the standard imitation. The hatch can be dense and the fish selective - watch rising fish carefully and make precise, careful presentations rather than covering water broadly. Evenings in late June and July on the West Branch during a Sulphur hatch are worth planning a trip around.

New York's Catskill rivers and Delaware system hold dense populations of Baetis and other mayfly nymphs, and the Pheasant Tail Nymph is the subsurface workhorse that covers them. Between the famous hatches, or on days when surface activity is minimal, a PT Nymph fished deep in the pools and runs of the Beaverkill and West Branch produces a steady stream of fish.

On the Esopus Creek, where the water can be slightly off-color from Schoharie Reservoir releases, a bead-head PT Nymph fished under an indicator produces well even when visibility is reduced. It's the reliable subsurface fallback that keeps you catching fish on slow days.