May 30, 2018

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 30, 2018

It was calm and sunny yesterday.  The river was cool but you noticed the heat as soon as you walked up the bank.  There was some hatching mid afternoon plus the caddis were very active.  There were some fish eating on top in the shade.  Nymphing may have been a better option during the heat of the day.  Once the sun dropped the river came alive and things were still going into dark.  There were a fair amount of cahills, sulphurs, and olives on the water.  A few Gray Fox and March Browns were around but the fish seemed to prefer the smaller mayflies where were fishing.  Today will be a little cooler but we’ll hold onto the sunshine.  We should have clouds and light showers over the next few days.  The flows throughout the system continue to drop and water temps are climbing.

Jim with a nice evening fish. Photo by Samantha Dennis

Hatching:
Sulphur – #16 – E. dorothea
Hendrickson  #16 –  E. subvaria
March Brown #10-2xl – Maccaffertium vicarium
Gray Fox #12-2xl –  Maccaffertium vicarium (formerly S. fuscum)
Light Cahill – #14 – 16 – S. ithaca & canadense
Isonychia – #12-2xl – 12 – Isonychia bicolor
Blue Wing Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #20 – 26 – Psuedo sp.
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Chimarra sp.
Dark Grannom – #14 – 18 – Dark Brachycentrus sp.
Apple Caddis – #16 – 18 – Light Brachycentrus sp.

Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:

May 29, 2018

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 29, 2018

Yesterday had it all.  Clouds, little wind, and falling water levels brought out the bugs and fish.  There are still a lot of caddis around, plus Hendricksons, Blue Wing Olives, and spinners of all sizes.  Sulphurs are hatching while we’re still catching fish on Hendricksons.  March Browns and Gray Foxes are around plus some Isonychias.  May has been a crazy month.  Today  may be the first day all season the flows on all the rivers are at great wading levels.  The release from Cannonsville Reservoir is 450 cfs with 65 cfs coming over the spillway.  Today is going to be warmer with a bit more sun but we should have some clouds around.    Winds should be non existent at 5 mph.  The lower water levels should make nymphing more productive before the hatches.  Keep an eye out for spinner falls throughout the day.  We’ve seen them on the water in the morning, mid day and evening with no rhyme or reason.  Today should fish well.  The rest of the week looks like great fishing weather too.

Art Bartholomew with a spinner eater in the sunshine

Hatching:
Sulphur – #16 – E. dorothea
Hendrickson  #14 – 16 –  E. subvaria
March Brown #10-2xl – Maccaffertium vicarium
Gray Fox #12-2xl –  Maccaffertium vicarium (formerly S. fuscum)
Light Cahill – #14 – 16 – S. ithaca & canadense
Isonychia – #12-2xl – 12 – Isonychia bicolor
Blue Wing Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #20 – 26 – Psuedo sp.
Tan Caddis #16 – 18 – Hydropsyche sp.
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Chimarra sp.
Dark Grannom – #14 – 18 – Dark Brachycentrus sp.
Apple Caddis – #16 – 18 – Light Brachycentrus sp.

Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:

May 28, 2018

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 28, 2018

The West Branch flow at Hale Eddy has finally dropped below 1,000 cfs.  The whole system looks good this morning.  We did have some rain in the morning but most of the storms must have missed us.  There were a lot of bugs out yesterday but the fished seemed a little trickier than we’ve seen.  Despite having Hendricksons on the water tan caddis and small olives seemed to be the answer for a lot of them.  There are some sulphurs and cahills beginning to show so expect those hatches to get stronger this week.  We’ve seen spinners on the water in the morning, mid day, and evening.  When you find a fish eating check the water surface to see what is there regardless of the time of day.  Today will be in the mid 70’s, cloudy, with a chance of an afternoon storm.

Tom in the fading light. Photo by Samantha Dennis

Koby on the caddis by Art Bartholomew

Hatching:
Sulphur – #16 – E. dorothea
Hendrickson  #12 – 16 –  E. subvaria
March Brown #10-2xl – Maccaffertium vicarium
Gray Fox #12-2xl –  Maccaffertium vicarium (formerly S. fuscum)
Blue Wing Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #20 – 26 – Psuedo sp.
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Chimarra sp.
Dark Grannom – #14 – 18 – Dark Brachycentrus sp.
Apple Caddis – #16 – 18 – Light Brachycentrus sp.

Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:

May 27, 2018

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 27, 2018

Yesterday was another good day to be on the water.  By early afternoon there were enough clouds out there to give us some shelter.  We’re on the same program with some river sections still fishing Hendricksons and Apple Caddis while others are March Brown, Gray Fox, and some Isonychias.  Carry your sulphur and Cahill boxes too.  We have some light rain falling this morning with some fog over the water.   The Air temp will be lower but still nice in the mid 60’s.   They’ve been changing the rain forecast every few hours over the last few days.  The latest forecast shows the rain stopping around 4 pm.  The total rainfall may be around 1/2″ spread out over the day.  Most of that should soak into the ground.  All of the river flows dropped overnight and are looking good this morning.  Water temps are up a couple of degrees from yesterday morning.  There are a lot of wade and float opportunities in the system  now.

There is construction on Winterdale Road.  It is closed near the Methodist Camp between us and Hancock.  We have detours listed on our website here:  https://thedelawareriverclub.com/welcome-to-the-drc/getting-here/

Beth with a great fish yesterday. Photo by Steve Shen

Hatching:
Hendrickson  #12 – 16 –  E. subvaria
March Brown #10-2xl – Maccaffertium vicarium
Gray Fox #12-2xl –  Maccaffertium vicarium (formerly S. fuscum)
Blue Wing Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #20 – 26 – Psuedo sp.
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Chimarra sp.
Dark Grannom – #14 – 18 – Dark Brachycentrus sp.
Apple Caddis – #16 – 18 – Light Brachycentrus sp.

Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:

May 26, 2018

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 26, 2018

Yesterday was bright, sunny, and hot.  And not a bad fishing day.  There were caddis early, some mayflies in the late afternoon, and a decent spinner fall in the evening.  Hendricksons are still out there plus March Browns, Gray Fox, and tiny olives.  Apple Caddis are on the colder sections of river plus we’re seeing some charcoal caddis #16 and some tan caddis #18.  Rusty Spinners in #14 should cover most of your evening fishing.  Today the air temperature will be lower staying in the mid 60’s.  Winds should be under 10 mph from the North.  We should see a few clouds move in early the afternoon and increase toward evening.  If Wunderground is correct we shouldn’t have any rain over the weekend.  The Beaverkill and Upper East Branch flows look great for wading this morning.  The West Branch is running 1,270 and falling at Hale Eddy.  The release from Cannonsville will be 733 cfs today.  The spill is 96 cfs.

Tim Glynn – photo by Samantha Dennis

There is construction on Winterdale Road.  A short stretch is closed near the Methodist Camp between us and Hancock.  We have detours listed on our website here:  https://thedelawareriverclub.com/welcome-to-the-drc/getting-here/

Hatching:
Hendrickson  #12 – 16 –  E. subvaria
March Brown #10-2xl – Maccaffertium vicarium
Gray Fox #12-2xl –  Maccaffertium vicarium (formerly S. fuscum)
Blue Wing Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #20 – 26 – Psuedo sp.
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Chimarra sp.
Dark Grannom – #14 – 18 – Dark Brachycentrus sp.
Apple Caddis – #16 – 18 – Light Brachycentrus sp.

Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:

May 25, 2018

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 25, 2018

We’re still catching fish on Hendricksons in the last week of May.  That is hard to complain about.  The river sections that warmed fist are seeing March Browns.  The higher flows spread the bugs out so be vigilant and watch the slow seams and edges.  The sunshine brought the  caddis out and we definitely had the sunshine.  People were finding some sporadic mid day caddis eaters in the riffles.  Spinners were out at dark.  Mostly Hendricksons on the West Branch.  Today is going to be similar to yesterday with sunshine and the air temp reaching the high 70’s. The East Branch and Beaverkill flows are both dropping back to better wading levels.  The West Branch dropped slightly and people are wading a few areas and finding fish.

There is construction on Winterdale Road.  A short stretch is closed near the Methodist Camp between us and Hancock.  We have detours listed on our website here:  https://thedelawareriverclub.com/welcome-to-the-drc/getting-here/

Dave with a nice fish yesterday. Photo by Steve Shen

Isak found one in the sun yesterday

Hatching:
Hendrickson  #12 – 16 –  E. subvaria
March Brown #10-2xl – Maccaffertium vicarium
Blue Wing Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #20 – 26 – Psuedo sp.
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Chimarra sp.
Dark Grannom – #14 – 18 – Dark Brachycentrus sp.
Apple Caddis – #16 – 18 – Light Brachycentrus sp.

Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:

May 24, 2018

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 24, 2018

Anyone out yesterday who said “Today looks like a great spinner day” would have been right on the money.  Carry your rusty spinners in #14 -18 and don’t leave the river early.  The rivers cleared up throughout the day and look pretty good this morning.  Yesterday was warm and the caddis were out in force along with the hendricksons.  Some sections are seeing more March Browns hatching now so there are a lot of choices out there.  The East Branch flow at Harvard has dropped to 786 cfs opening up some more wade opportunities.  People are wading sections of the West Branch.  There are a few places that are good in high water but be careful.  Today looks like a duplicate of yesterday with sunshine and a high in the mid 70’s.

There is construction on Winterdale Road.  A short stretch is closed near the Methodist Camp.  We have detours listed on our website here:  https://thedelawareriverclub.com/welcome-to-the-drc/getting-here/

Bob Lewis releasing a fish this week

Hatching:
Hendrickson  #12 – 16 –  E. subvaria
March Brown #10-2xl – Maccaffertium vicarium
Blue Quills #16 – 18 – Paraleptophlebia adoptiva
Blue Wing Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #20 – 26 – Psuedo sp.
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Chimarra sp.
Dark Grannom – #14 – 18 – Dark Brachycentrus sp.
Apple Caddis – #16 – 18 – Light Brachycentrus sp.

Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:

May 23, 2018

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 23, 2018

It rained again.  The rivers came up and were off color.  The bugs hatched.  People who suffered through the early part of the day and waited for the rain to stop found rising fish.  It was a day you had to take advantage of all your opportunities but it was great just having those opportunities.  Olives, hendricksons, plus a few blue quills are still showing on the West Branch.  Today we will be back around 70 degrees with morning clouds giving way to afternoon sun.  The sunshine should bring the caddis back out of the trees.  Apple greens and tan caddis have been our go to patterns for the last few days.  We may have had a bit more rain late but it looks like the Beaverkill and East Branch flows have peaked and are beginning to hook down.  The West Branch at Hale Eddy is beginning to drop.  We have some color in the water this morning but that should begin to clear by the afternoon.

There is construction on Winterdale Road.  A short stretch is closed near the Methodist Camp.  We have detours listed on our website here:  https://thedelawareriverclub.com/welcome-to-the-drc/getting-here/

Reggie stuck it out in the rain. Photo by Steve Shen

Hatching:
Hendrickson  #12 – 14 –  E. subvaria
March Brown #10-2xl – Maccaffertium vicarium
Blue Quills #16 – 18 – Paraleptophlebia adoptiva
Blue Wing Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #20 – 26 – Psuedo sp.
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Chimarra sp.
Dark Grannom – #14 – 18 – Dark Brachycentrus sp.
Apple Caddis – #16 – 18 – Light Brachycentrus sp.

Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:

May 22, 2018

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 22, 2018

There is construction on Winterdale Road.  A short stretch is closed near the Methodist Camp.  We have detours listed on our website here:  https://thedelawareriverclub.com/welcome-to-the-drc/getting-here/

What a difference a day makes.  Yesterday we had great bugs on the water for most of the day but the bright sun didn’t do us any favors.  There were a lot of bugs out there.  The hendricksons started a little later in the day but we had good numbers on the water.  Emergers and flush floating cripples worked well for us during the day.  Nothing to flashy or that had a large profile.  Once the sun dropped there was a great array of spinners on the water from #14 – 18.  Today looks like a great fishing day with some light rain falling this morning.  We should end up with just around 1/2″.  The rain should taper in the afternoon and stop around 4 Pm.  It’s going to be cooler today and stay in the 50’s.  Bring your olives and hendricksons.

Geoff found on e in the sunshine. Photo by Bruce Miller

Hatching:
Hendrickson  #12 – 14 –  E. subvaria
March Brown #10-2xl – Maccaffertium vicarium
Blue Quills #16 – 18 – Paraleptophlebia adoptiva
Blue Wing Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #20 – 26 – Psuedo sp.
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Chimarra sp.
Dark Grannom – #14 – 18 – Dark Brachycentrus sp.
Apple Caddis – #16 – 18 – Light Brachycentrus sp.

Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:

May 21, 2018

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 21, 2018

Mid morning hendrickson spinner falls, hendricksons hatching, caddis hatching, blue quill spinner falls.  Some people had a good day of non stop action yesterday.  It seemed that the wind was going to screw everything up but the bugs were there and the fish were happy.  We had a couple of very brief showers but the clouds stuck around.   People who decide to fish streamers early were rewarded with some nice catches too.

It looks like both reservoirs are spilling now.  People are still wading the West and East Branches.  Just pick your spot and be careful.  The Beaverkill and lower East Branch flows are dropping quickly. The West Branch is dropping not as quickly as the other rivers.

Today will be warm with the temp hitting the low 70’s.  Winds will be light with a partly cloudy sky.  it looks like another great day to be on the water.

Michael Johnson found a good number of fish yesterday. Photo by Pat Giordano

Hatching:
Hendrickson  #12 – 14 –  E. subvaria
March Brown #10-2xl – Maccaffertium vicarium
Blue Quills #16 – 18 – Paraleptophlebia adoptiva
Blue Wing Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #20 – 26 – Psuedo sp.
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Chimarra sp.
Dark Grannom – #14 – 18 – Dark Brachycentrus sp.
Apple Caddis – #16 – 18 – Light Brachycentrus sp.

Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:

May 20, 2018

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 20, 2018

Yesterday’s rain was never really heavy but it fell for a long time.  There were bugs hatching but the rising river flows made dry fly fishing tough to impossible.  Streamers produced some fish.  Most of the river flows are already dropping back this morning.  The East Branch at Harvard and the West Branch at Stilesville both look like they are steady or maybe even climbing slowly.  That could be the spill over both Pepacton Dam and Cannonsville Dam increasing.  The feeder stream flows will drop slowly over the next few days.  The West Branch out front is clear enough to fish this morning.  There is some color to it but it’s clear enough for fish to rise.  Streamers should be a good option in the morning and things should improve throughout the day.  It will be much warmer today with the air temp reaching the high 60’s.

Mike braved the rain and was rewarded. Photo by Samantha Dennis

The West Branch at Hale Eddy

Hatching:
Hendrickson  #12 – 14 –  E. subvaria
March Brown #10-2xl – Maccaffertium vicarium
Blue Quills #16 – 18 – Paraleptophlebia adoptiva
Blue Wing Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #20 – 26 – Psuedo sp.
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Chimarra sp.
Dark Grannom – #14 – 18 – Dark Brachycentrus sp.
Apple Caddis – #16 – 18 – Light Brachycentrus sp.

Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:

May 19, 2018

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 19, 2018

Yesterday’s clouds weren’t as thick as we hoped but the bugs hatched and the fish ate on top.  Caddis, Hendricksons, Blue Quills, Blue Wing Olives, and March Browns.  We’re lumping all of the caddis together in this post because there are a lot of different species out there and they are everywhere.  We didn’t find one caddis pattern or color any more successful than another but carry:  dark patterns #16 – 20, apple caddis #18, and light or tan patterns #18 -20.  Both light and dark hendricksons were on the water plus a few march browns and small bwos. There is no shortage of food out there now.  The release from Cannonsville Reservoir has been dropped to 600 cfs.

We should have rain all day today but it looks light and steady.  They’ve been changing out forecast every hour but the latest Wunderground shows the total precip around .4″  The river should handle that fairly well since it’s spread out throughout the day.  If the rivers do clod up it could turn into a decent streamer day.  If conditions change dramatically we’ll do an updated blog post.

Photo by Bruce Miller

Hatching:
Hendrickson  #12 – 14 –  E. subvaria
Blue Quills #16 – 18 – Paraleptophlebia adoptiva
Blue Wing Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #20 – 26 – Psuedo sp.
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Chimarra sp.
Dark Grannom – #14 – 18 – Dark Brachycentrus sp.
Apple Caddis – #16 – 18 – Light Brachycentrus sp.

Click on the gauge below for the most recent update: