30 . Willowemoc Creek

       Location: Southeastern New York, about a 2-hour ride from New York City; a 2-hour ride from Newark, New Jersey; a 3-hour ride from Hartford, Connecticut; and a 4-hour ride from Boston, Massachusetts. Full-service airports are available in all four cities.

      Willowemoc Creek is a tributary of the Beaverkill River and part of the Upper Delaware watershed. It shares the same prolific hatches, healthy trout populations, and stunning beauty. Unfortunately, the reputations of the other rivers in the area—including the Delaware, its two branches, the Neversink, the Esopus, and the Beaverkill—often overshadow the quality fly fishing found in the Willowemoc.

      The Willowemoc has a rich fly-fishing history. Author George M. L. LaBranche cast his first dry fly on the creek at

      its confluence with Mongaup Creek. Theodore Gordon (of Quill Gordon fame), well-known Catskill fly tier Rube Cross, and authors Alfred W. Miller (aka Sparse Grey Hackle), Ed Van Put, and Edward R. Hewitt all frequented the Willow. The Dette, Darbee, and Kuttner fly shops overlooked the creek. It is home to the Catskill Fly Fishing Center & Museum, which is located along the catch-and-release section. There are two covered bridges over the stream: Vantran Covered Bridge in Livingston Manor and Willowemoc Covered Bridge in Willowemoc, both built in 1860.

      This picturesque Catskill Mountain stream flows 27 miles before terminating at the Beaverkill in Roscoe, New York. The Willowemoc accounts for roughly 60 percent of the water in the Beaverkill’s famed

      Junction Pool. Throughout its length, it is largely undeveloped, with the exception of the last 5 miles between Livingston Manor and Roscoe. The stream is mostly open to the public, with the exception of about 4 miles in the middle section. Countless easements and state-owned lands were purchased long ago to ensure access.