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Home › Waters › New York › West Branch Croton River
Tailwater · Putnam County, the released reach of the West Branch below the West Branch Reservoir dam near Kent Cliffs, running south through the Croton watershed toward Boyd Corners and the Croton Falls system · New York

West Branch Croton River Fishing Guides

A small Putnam County tailwater in the New York City watershed, running cold below a reservoir dam and holding wild and stocked trout within an hour of Manhattan.

Mist lifting off a river between wooded Appalachian ridges
Gauge location. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

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About the West Branch Croton River

The West Branch of the Croton River is a modest piece of water with an outsized reputation, and the reason is proximity. It runs through the Putnam County reservoir system that supplies New York City, and the reach below the West Branch Reservoir dam near Kent Cliffs is a genuine tailwater: a bottom release that keeps the water cold enough to hold trout through a Hudson Valley summer, within about an hour’s drive of eight million people. The Croton system as a whole has been fished since the nineteenth century and the West Branch is one of the more consistent pieces of it.

Brown trout are the mainstay, a mix of stocked fish and wild recruitment, holding in the pocket water and the deeper pools and growing well on an insect base that is richer than the stream’s size suggests. Rainbow trout are present in the stocked reaches, brook trout show in the colder feeder water, and smallmouth bass and rock bass occupy the warmer lower reaches as the river approaches the next reservoir in the chain. The water is small enough to be a wading and short-cast fishery throughout, and because it holds fish within reach of the city it rewards anglers who come on a weekday morning rather than a Saturday afternoon.

Access is the thing to get right before travelling. Much of the Croton watershed is New York City Department of Environmental Protection land, and fishing it legally requires a DEP access permit in addition to a state licence. That permit is free and straightforward to obtain, but it is not optional and the rules about where boats, wading and bank fishing are allowed vary by reach. The gauge reports discharge and stage but no temperature, so the release is the number to read: a steady moderate flow is the sweet spot, while a heavy release scours the pocket water and a very low one warms the reach and pushes trout into the few deep holds. Spring and autumn are best.

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Reader photo license v1.0 — the short version:

  • You grant Guided Floats, LLC a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to publish, resize and crop your photo on guidedfloats.com and in GuidedFloats’ own social posts and apps. You keep the copyright and can use the photo anywhere else.
  • You confirm that you took the photo yourself, that publishing it does not infringe anyone else’s rights, and that anyone recognisable in it (or a parent or guardian, if they are under 18) is happy for it to appear here.
  • Credit is printed beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, using the credit name you give us. Leave it blank and we use your name; write “Anonymous” for no name. Your email address is never published.
  • Withdrawing is one email to hello@guidedfloats.com naming the photo. It comes off the site within 7 days.
Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

Flow alert

Tell me when the West Branch Croton River cfs

Now: 12.1 cfs, read 5:30 am CST, Mon Nov 2, 2026 (USGS 01374581, W BR CROTON RIVER BELOW DAM NEAR KENT CLIFFS NY).

We never use this address for anything else and never share it. See the privacy policy.

Access

Kent Cliffs - the gauge community and the hamlet closest to the release reach.
West Branch Reservoir - the impoundment immediately upstream and the source of the cold release.
Boyd Corners Reservoir - the upstream reservoir in the chain, a reference point for the watershed.
Croton Falls Reservoir - the downstream impoundment where the branch ends.
Carmel - the nearest town of size, with groceries, lodging and the local DEP permit information.
Brewster - the regional base east, with rail access from New York City.
East Branch Croton River - the parallel branch and the obvious alternative when the West Branch is crowded or off.

Seasons

Spring: the strongest season, with cold stable releases, hatching insects and trout feeding through the day.
Summer: the tailwater release keeps the upper reach fishable when nearby freestone streams are too warm, best fished early.
Fall: excellent, with cooling water, brown trout colouring up ahead of spawning and very little pressure on weekdays.
Winter: open and fishable in the release reach on mild days, slow and technical, with few other anglers about.

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Questions

What is the current flow on the West Branch Croton River?

As of Nov 2, 5:30 am, the USGS gauge W BR CROTON RIVER BELOW DAM NEAR KENT CLIFFS NY reads 12 cfs. Conditions update every 15 minutes.

What species can you catch on the West Branch Croton River?

Anglers target Brook Trout, Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, Rock Bass, Smallmouth Bass on the West Branch Croton River in New York.

Where can you access the West Branch Croton River?

Kent Cliffs - the gauge community and the hamlet closest to the release reach. West Branch Reservoir - the impoundment immediately upstream and the source of the cold release. Boyd Corners Reservoir - the upstream reservoir in the chain, a reference point for the watershed. Croton Falls Reservoir - the downstream impoundment where the branch ends. Carmel - the nearest town of size, with groceries, lodging and the local DEP permit information. Brewster - the regional base east, with rail access from New York City. East Branch Croton River - the parallel branch and the obvious alternative when t...

When is the best time to fish the West Branch Croton River?

Spring: the strongest season, with cold stable releases, hatching insects and trout feeding through the day. Summer: the tailwater release keeps the upper reach fishable when nearby freestone streams are too warm, best fished early. Fall: excellent, with cooling water, brown trout colouring up ahead of spawning and very little pressure on weekdays. Winter: open and fishable in the release reach on mild days, slow and technical, with few other anglers about.

Where are the fishing regulations for the West Branch Croton River?

Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the New York agency site: https://dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/freshwater-fishing/regulations