First off - sorry, no pics. The one time I tried to snap a pic, I was unprepared. The rest of the day, I left the camera in the bag.
Back up.
About a week before Opening Day, the streams in the Catskills looked to be setting up for a great start. Flows were below normal for the year, which means they hadn't suffered run-off floods yet. Well, a heavy Monday rain fixed that. The Beaverkill swelled to 20,000+ cfs in a day. It had returned to about 2,000 cfs when I fished the opener, but it was still much to high to wade. I haven't fished from shore in years, but I needed to get out.
Now it appears it will be some time before we see 2,000 cfs again. Heavy rains on Saturday caused major flooding that exceeded the levels of last Fall, when the remnants of Atlantic hurricanes dropped seven inches of rain on us. The Beaverkill topped off at 46,000+ cfs, which if you aren't aware, means houses were flooded and people were evacuated. Fishing was the least of anyone's worries. A lady is still missing in Ellenville after her car overturned by some rushing waters.
As much as I look forward to better weather and good fishing, I find myself wishing more that the people who were evacuated returned to find the damage not too bad, and their insurance premiums paid in full.
It was a scary night.
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