Author: Jim Swift
Delaware River Report / Conditions July 31, 2014
While yesterday’s cloud cover was intermittent, the system proved to fish well during the day. The evening fishing picked up down river with olives, cahills, and Isonychias. If you were fishing the main you saw golden drakes and golden drake spinners along with the usual mix of summer insects. Today looks like an exact copy of yesterday: passing cloud cover and a possible evening thunderstorm.
Hatching:
Sulphurs #16 -20 E. dorothea
Light Cahill #14 – E. Invaria
Pale Evening Dun #14 Epeorus vitreus
Summer Stenos #12-16 various species
Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.
Dark Blue Winged Olive #16 -20 – E. deficiens, lata, etc.
Light Blue Winged Olive #16 -20 – E. conutella, etc
Slate Drakes #12-2xl – Isonychia bicolor
Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.
Golden Drakes – #12-2xl – Potomanthus sp.
FLOWS AS OF 8:00 AM: | |
West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 609 cfs @ 46º |
West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY | 676 cfs @ 48º |
East Branch at Harvard, NY | 601 cfs @ 49º |
East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 1,080 cfs @ 55º |
Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 1810 cfs @ 60º |
Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 264 cfs @ N/A |
Delaware River Report / Conditions June 16, 2014
With the bright sun yesterday, the streamer bit was ok and the bugs started around 3pm on the lower river. Among the mix were dorotheas, isos, invaria, green drakes, pseudos, and even some March browns still! With the dropping water levels, the fish are becoming more active in the afternoon and today should be fairly similar to yesterday. The West Branch is wadable nearly everywhere and so is the Upper main.
Hatching:
Sulphurs #16 -18 E. dorothea
Light Cahill #14 – E. Invaria
Pale Evening Dun #14 Epeorus vitreus
Green Drake #8-2xl E. Guttalata
Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.
Slate Drakes #12-2xl – Isonychia bicolor
Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.
FLOWS AS OF 8:00 AM: | |
West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 494 cfs @ 44º |
West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY | 773 cfs @ 50º |
East Branch at Harvard, NY | 292 cfs @ 54º |
East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 1540 cfs @ 56º |
Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 2860 cfs @ 60º |
Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 917 cfs @ N/A |
Delaware River Report / Conditions June 15, 2014
By yesterday evening, the water had cleared up enough to produce some decent dry fly fishing. Sulphurs, iso’s, and some small olives were among the hatches yesterday. Many places are now becoming wadable, and more should become available by this evening. With these higher water levels, the fish should be less cautious and the hatches more plentiful.
Hatching:
Sulphurs #16 -18 E. dorothea
Light Cahill #14 – E. Invaria
Pale Evening Dun #14 Epeorus vitreus
Green Drake #8-2xl E. Guttalata
Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.
Slate Drakes #12-2xl – Isonychia bicolor
Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.
FLOWS AS OF 8:00 AM: | |
West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 502 cfs @ 45º |
West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY | 938 cfs @ 50º |
East Branch at Harvard, NY | 326 cfs @ 53º |
East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 2180 cfs @ 56º |
Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 4300 cfs @ 58º |
Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 1390 cfs @ N/A |
Delaware River Report / Conditions June 14, 2014
We asked for water, and we got water….but we are currently still off color. The West branch peaked at almost 2000 cfs and is now dropping at about 100 cfs an hour. We should expect decent fishing tomorrow into next week with the higher water. The water at Stilesville, above Oquaga creek, is wadable and starting to clear. The lower river should start to clear by this afternoon. In the meantime, I hope everyone is enjoying the World Cup and tying flies.
Hatching:
Sulphurs #16 -18 E. dorothea
Light Cahill #14 – E. Invaria
Pale Evening Dun #14 Epeorus vitreus
Green Drake #8-2xl E. Guttalata
Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.
Slate Drakes #12-2xl – Isonychia bicolor
Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.
FLOWS AS OF 8:00 AM: | |
West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 502 cfs @ 45º |
West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY | 1660 cfs @ 55º |
East Branch at Harvard, NY | 461 cfs @ 55º |
East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 4580 cfs @ 58º |
Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 8210 cfs @ 60º |
Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 3050 cfs @ N/A |
Delaware River Report / Conditions June 13, 2014
We finally received some well needed rain and the West Branch is starting to rise! There is currently a light tint to the water, but that will clear up by tomorrow at the latest. Yesterday the river displayed hatches of sulphurs, cahills, epeorus, and of course those miniscule pseudocleon. With no fierce gusts of wind today, we should have a repeat of yesterday with more rising fish.
Hatching:
Sulphurs #16 -18 E. dorothea
Light Cahill #14 – E. Invaria
Pale Evening Dun #14 Epeorus vitreus
Green Drake #8-2xl E. Guttalata
Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.
Slate Drakes #12-2xl – Isonychia bicolor
Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.
FLOWS AS OF 8:00 AM: | |
West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 519 cfs @ 45º |
West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY | 698 cfs @ 49º |
East Branch at Harvard, NY | 203 cfs @ 55º |
East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 681 cfs @ 59º |
Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 1,580 cfs @ 60º |
Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 417 cfs @ N/A |
Delaware River Report / Conditions June 12, 2014
With clouds and light rain, today is starting to look like a typical BWO day. So make sure to carry some small olives, #18 -22. Despite the gusting winds, yesterday yielded more green drakes, isonychias, and sulphurs. Nymphing has been productive with small pheasant tails and hares ear patterns. If you head out today, don’t forget your raincoat!
Hatching:
Sulphurs #16 -18 E. dorothea
Light Cahill #14 – E. Invaria
Pale Evening Dun #14 Epeorus vitreus
Green Drake #8-2xl E. Guttalata
Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.
Slate Drakes #12-2xl – Isonychia bicolor
Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.
FLOWS AS OF 8:00 AM: | |
West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 494 cfs @ 45º |
West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY | 543 cfs @ 49º |
East Branch at Harvard, NY | 182 cfs @ 53º |
East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 638 cfs @ 59º |
Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 1,270 cfs @ 60º |
Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 333 cfs @ N/A |
Delaware River Report / Conditions May 29, 2014
Well I’m kind of tired of the inaccuracy of Accuweather. The winds felt two times what was predicted and the bottom fell out of the air temp mid afternoon. It definitely hurt the hatching yesterday and made the fish more hesitant to rise. There were sections of the system that fished okay. Hopefyully this front is finished moving and everything will settle back down to normal. Today should have a high air temp of 66 degrees and the winds should be low. We have clouds this morning and it looks like a decent fishing day. The small hendricksons are coming to an end and the March Browns and Gray Foxes are here. Green Drakes are just starting on some sections and should offer some great fishing over the next couple of weeks.
Hatching:
March Brown #10 – 2xl – S. Vicarium
Gray Fox # 12-2xl – S. Vicarium (formerly fuscum)
Small Dark Hendrickson #16 – E. X
Dark Hendrickson #14 – E. Subvaria
Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
FLOWS AS OF 8:00 AM: | |
West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 567 cfs @ 49º |
West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY | 692 cfs @ 49º |
East Branch at Harvard, NY | 310 cfs @ 54º |
East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 885 cfs @ 58º |
Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 1,840 cfs @ 60º |
Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 394 cfs @ N/A |
Delaware River Report / Conditions May 28, 2014
All of the rivers in the system are now wadeable and most are great for floating. Yesterday was an interesting mix of clouds, light rain, and bright sun. The majority of the daytime thunderstorms seemed to go north of us but we could definitely hear them! On the section I fished we had an interesting mix of bugs, mostly March Browns, Gray Fox, a few Hendricksons, plus some other smaller stenos. The bugs should have been stronger and the fish should have been happier with what they had but there were fish eating on top. It’s hard to complain when you find decent fish willing to eat a March Brown on top. The picky fish fell for a floating pheasant tail emerger. You’ll find more hendricksons and hendrickson spinner further up the system but it is coming to an end and the March Browns are showing there too.
Hatching:
March Brown #10 – 2xl – S. Vicarium
Gray Fox # 12-2xl – S. Vicarium (formerly fuscum)
Small Dark Hendrickson #16 – E. X
Dark Hendrickson #14 – E. Subvaria
Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
FLOWS AS OF 8:00 AM: | |
West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 653 cfs @ 52º |
West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY | 779 cfs @ 50º |
East Branch at Harvard, NY | 425 cfs @ 57º |
East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 1,060 cfs @ 61º |
Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 2,170 cfs @ 61º |
Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 434 cfs @ N/A |
Delaware River Report / Conditions May 26, 2014
The #16 Hendricksons continued on the WB yesterday offering some decent fishing, especially in the evening. The EB and MS turned on in the evening and most of the fish were not picky. A #14 -16 Rusty Spinner worked well. The thunderstorms never developed here and we received just a small sprinkle in the afternoon so the rivers continue to drop to wadeable levels. Stilesville is now under 1000 cfs and the Beaverkill / Willowemoc look great. The March Brown / Gray Fox continue to hatch and it won’t be long before the fish recognize the big bugs as food.
Hatching:
March Brown #10 – 2xl – S. Vicarium
Gray Fox # 12-2xl – S. Vicarium (formerly fuscum)
Small Dark Hendrickson #16 – E. X
Light Hendrickson #12 – E. subvaria
Dark Hendrickson #14 – E. Subvaria
Apple Caddis #16 – Lt Brachycentrus sp.
Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Little Black Caddis #18-20 – Chimarra sp.
FLOWS AS OF 8:00 AM: | |
West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 962 cfs @ 57º |
West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY | 1,110 cfs @ 52º |
East Branch at Harvard, NY | 654 cfs @ 54º |
East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 1,390 cfs @ 57º |
Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 2,870 cfs @ 55º |
Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 539 cfs @ N/A |