We’re only a few days into summer, and The Big Apple is in a jubilant mood. The New York Knicks play an outsized part in the high spirits, of course. After a 53-year drought, the Knicks are NBA Champions again and all seems right with the city. This is not unlike fly angling. As anglers, we can spend an inordinate amount of time on the water before the magic strikes. And we well know the seemingly interminable lulls between the strikes are integral to the endeavor’s exquisite satisfactions. Now that summer is upon us, it’s time to get out of the city for rest, relaxation, and recreation. Whether you’re heading to the Catskills, the remote brook trout ponds of Maine, or further afield, we hope you get the respite you seek. (And I’d be remiss not to implore you to mind the water temperature and switch to your smallmouth setup if the temps get above 68 degrees.) Wherever you’re headed, we wish you plenty of magical moments. May your summer angling be as euphoric as Knicks in 5!
Tight lines,
D. Barb Hooks |
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| | Sausages, Pies, and Pasta: In the Stream with Chef Jake Eberle |
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| | NYC TU recently sat down with Chef Jake Eberle to discuss cooking, learning how to fly fish, and making the big move from Brooklyn to the Catskills. “It’s nice to get compliments on a dish, but making something and having it come out the way you want is, for me, the greatest satisfaction.” —Jake Eberle |
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| Maybe we can thank billionaire show creator Taylor Sheridan for drawing new attention to fly fishing with his show The Madison. Or maybe our collective social media posts successfully romanticize catching a trout. Or maybe fly angling is simply a logical antidote to the urban experience. Whatever the reasons, it seems this activity (lifestyle?) of ours is having a moment. At this year’s NYC TU annual trip to the Beaverkill and Willowemoc (aka BeaMoc), we doubled our attendance from last year. Half the attendees were familiar faces, the other half brand new. Some had never touched a fly rod before, committing an entire weekend to learning the sport. We even had support from Rivian, which sponsored part of the trip. Between that, growing attendance, and the influx of newcomers, it feels like NYC TU is having a moment, too. |
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| | With water low and trout eternally picky, the fishing was hard. Catching a fish for the newcomers seemed like a slim-to-none prospect, but persistence and good guiding paid off. By Sunday, several newbies were casting confidently and a few had landed their first trout on a fly. Of course, no BeaMoc trip would be complete without a little adversity. We were treated to lightning, hailstones large enough to inspire concern, a multi-day phone recovery operation, and an electric vehicle that arrived at camp with approximately three remaining electrons. Despite all of that, we enjoyed campfires, a riverside sauna, and some of the most beautiful scenery the Catskills have to offer. As usual, the stories between the fishing ended up being just as memorable as the fishing itself. |
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| | The mix of personalities on this trip produced endless laughs and future fishing buddies. At the risk of sounding overly sentimental, these are our people: people who value food, folks, fly fishing, and fun. Like McDonald's, if McDonald's had fly fishing on the menu. If there was ever a group with a realistic chance of starting a successful commune, this would be it. Everyone was ready to pitch in, whether that meant teaching, cooking, lending gear, driving, cleaning up camp, tracking down lost phones, or simply keeping morale high when the weather had other plans. |
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| | At NYC TU, we believe that fly angling in wild places is a gateway drug to conservation. After a weekend soaking up everything the Catskills have to offer and sharing camp with a group of people who genuinely care about these places, it seems like a good bet we've planted a few seeds. Faith in humanity, sustained. —Josh Ethan Johnson, NYC TU Board Member |
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| | | | Reminder: Fish with NYC TU on the Farmington River |
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| On the other side of the Hudson lies one of the prettiest and most productive trout rivers in the east—Connecticut’s Farmington River. We’ll be setting up at Austin Hawes Campground, right along a fantastic stretch of the river. Lodging options include campaign (BYO equipment) and a rustic cabin (limited space). $75 per person, covering campsite reservations and meals. Sign up today, as space is limited.
ℹ️ What: Farmington River camping trip
📅 When: Friday, July 31 - Sunday, August 2
📍 Where: Austin Hawes Campground, New Hartford, CT 06063
Sign up
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| | | Attention TIC Volunteers! Stay Tuned for Sweepstakes Drawing |
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| | Our 2026 Trout in the Classroom (TIC) season is in the books. This year, 34 volunteers from the NYC and Croton Watershed chapters assisted in 34 releases, helping 1,913 students from 32 schools release 1,968 trout. In partnership with the Croton chapter, we’re offering sweepstakes for those 34 qualified volunteers. This year’s prizes include: We’ll hold a drawing via video call for the volunteers later this summer. If you volunteered, we’ll share a calendar event for the real-time drawing with you soon. You’re still eligible if you can’t join, and we’ll notify you if you won a prize. Thank you to all the staff, volunteers, and sponsors who made this TIC season a success! Your time and energy directly support youth education and watershed awareness across the region. |
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| | Making Conservation Tangible: A Reflection on TIC |
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| NYC TU members operate at a unique divide: we live, work, and raise families in the city while obsessing over a sport that exists almost entirely outside the five boroughs. Angling is our excuse to maintain a connection to nature in a city that makes it easy to forget anything else exists. Perhaps we’re walking oxymorons, New Yorkers who daydream about clean, cold streams. |
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| | Trout in the Classroom (TIC) helps bridge this divide for the next generation. The program’s mission of “connecting students with their watersheds” says it all. Every spring, K-12 students from NYC release their schoolroom-raised fingerlings into local waters on field trips to places like Ward Pound Ridge Reservation. The TIC curriculum teaches students about the habitat, biology, and importance of our cherished fish.
Photo at left by Ron Goldin |
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| I grew up on the southern border of Ward Pound Ridge, camping there with the Boy Scouts, exploring Leatherman’s Cave, and fishing the Cross River. The Cross begins in the Reservation and feeds the Cross River Reservoir, part of New York City’s water supply system since 1908. Five-pound-plus browns supposedly live in the reservoir, though they’ve managed to elude my flies all these years. This beautiful corner of the watershed is an excellent classroom. My TIC group consisted of 70 fourth graders from PS 84 in Brooklyn, and I’ll admit I was intimidated at first. Fortunately, the day was led by two pros. At the river, TIC Program Coordinator Mackenna Hackimer, orchestrated the trout release with remarkable energy and enthusiasm. Students were hopping around with their hands raised to answer her questions like, “Why are trees important to fish?” and “What makes a good trout habitat?” On the walk down to the river, I overheard one student tell another she had never been in the woods before. That moment captured what TIC is really about. Mike Billy, a retired science teacher and dedicated TIC volunteer, led the macroinvertebrate session. Students gathered around buckets of stream water teeming with macros while Mike explained why the bugs signify a healthy stream ecosystem. The kids reacted with oohs, aahs, and shrieks to the mayflies, caddisflies, and gnarly hellgrammites. A few students lingered afterward to inspect the bugs more closely and ask us thoughtful questions, including one Spanish-speaking student navigating the field trip with the help of a bilingual classmate. TIC is special. Watching children experience nature through the lenses of science, recreation, and conservation is equal parts inspiring and rewarding. Conservation becomes tangible when you witness these kids learn how their world connects with the trout's. TIC uniquely bridges the gap between urban life and the natural world, and NYC TU members (that’s you!) are especially well-positioned to help foster that connection. I encourage you to consider lending a hand with next year’s releases. —Andrew Bianco, NYC TU chapter member and TIC volunteer |
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| The WAVE citizen science sampling season is nearly here, and NYC DEC invites you to participate. Water Assessments by Volunteer Evaluators (WAVE) is a DEC program where volunteers collect “stream bugs” to measure water quality in wadeable streams. Anyone who can kick over a rock can participate. The sampling season is from July to September. WAVE contributes to DEC’s professional monitoring program and local programs throughout the state. WAVE data are especially useful for documenting high quality stream segments and for flagging locations for professional follow-up. Communities have used WAVE data to highlight and preserve valuable local resources. Documenting high-quality streams can jumpstart local preservation projects and inform community planning. Find out how to become a WAVE volunteer and review the WAVE Sampling Guide. Email wave@dec.ny.gov with questions. |
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| | | A roundup of recent news stories about conservation and the fly angling community: |
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| | Contribute to The New York Drift |
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| We know the chapter is full of talented and passionate individuals. Have a penchant for words and want to contribute to The New York Drift? Want to see us invest in different types of content? If so, we want to hear from you! Email us at nyctrout@gmail.com to let us know what’s on your mind. |
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