Author: Jeff White
Delaware River Report / Conditions April 16, 2019
The runoff is slowly subsiding and the river flows are dropping or at least leveling off.. The West Branch is at a level that is okay for floating. The Eastern drainage and Mainstem still have quite a bit of water coming down but they are dropping. Wading is not an option today. It will mainly be a streamer game unless you get real lucky and find a fish rising in one of the longer slow pools or big eddys. Count on streamer fishing today. Cannonsville, Pepacton, and Neversink Reservoirs are all spilling. The next couple of days look nice so things should continue to settle down. There is some rain in Friday’s forecast but the report changes every time we look.
The West Branch is already fishable by boat
Hatching:
Click on the fly to see the patterns in our online store
Blue Quills – #16 – 18 – Paraleptophlebia adoptiva
Tiny Stonefly– #18- Capniidae spp.
Early Brown and Black Stoneflies – #14 -16 – Taeniopteryx spp.
Blue Wing Olives – #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Little Black Caddis – #18 – 20 – Chimarra
Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 2,560 cfs | 39° |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY | 4,040 cfs | 40° |
| East Branch at Harvard, NY | 11,500 cfs | 40° |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 16,500 cfs | 50° |
| Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 18,300 cfs | 41° |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 3,730 cfs | 40° |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Release | 1,499 cfs | |
| West Branch at 191 Bridge | N/A | 40° |
| West Branch at Walton (Cannonsville inflow) | 3,090 cfs | |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Capacity | 101.9% | |
| Pepacton Reservoir Capacity | 100% |
Delaware River Report / Conditions April 15, 2019
We must have been hit with some major rain last night. The West Branch is fine at 3,750 cfs. It’ll go up more during the day but should peak mid afternoon and begin to drop if we don’t get more rain. The Beaverkill is pushing way over 10,000 cfs into the lower East Branch. The Beaverkill at Cooks Falls is a couple of feet over the National Flood Stage. The Mainstem is high but the Beaverkill water has not made it down to the gauge at Lordville yet. Obviously no wading today. The West Branch will calm down first. It has some color and the feeder streams are adding a lot of water below Hale Eddy but it will be fine. We did see some bugs on the water and fish rising here and there in between the rain yesterday afternoon. It looks like Pepacton Reservoir is spilling this morning with a flow at the Downsville Gauge of 3,710 cfs. Cannonsville must be close to spilling but the flow at Stilesville is only 1,610 cfs.
Derek with a nice West Branch fish yesterday. Samantha Dennis photo
Hatching:
Click on the fly to see the patterns in our online store
Blue Quills – #16 – 18 – Paraleptophlebia adoptiva
Tiny Stonefly– #18- Capniidae spp.
Early Brown and Black Stoneflies – #14 -16 – Taeniopteryx spp.
Blue Wing Olives – #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Little Black Caddis – #18 – 20 – Chimarra
Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 1,610 cfs | 40° |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY | 3,750 cfs | 45° |
| East Branch at Harvard, NY | 3,190 cfs | 44° |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 16,500 cfs | 50° |
| Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 8,400 cfs | 47° |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 15,900 cfs | 49° |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Release | 1,499 cfs | |
| West Branch at 191 Bridge | N/A | 42° |
| West Branch at Walton (Cannonsville inflow) | 2,640 cfs | |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Capacity | 99.5% | |
| Pepacton Reservoir Capacity | 99.9% |
Delaware River Report / Conditions April 14, 2019
Yesterday looked good on paper but it didn’t produce the great dry fly action we were hoping for. People did find fish and it was actually decent for April 13th but we expected better after Friday’s fishing. It could have been the increased flows or the periods of bright sunshine. Today is a new day. The weather forecast has been changing a lot but looks pretty good right now. We’ll have some wind but most of the rain should fall later in the day. We should have decent clouds by mid morning. The river flows are up again this morning so wading will be tough. There were a few people out there yesterday wading the edges. The release from Cannonsville has been increased to 1,499 cfs so be careful. This could be a streamer / nymph day but there is a shot of finding some fish eating dries in the longer, slow pools.
Peter makes the blog again with this one from yesterday. Bruce Miller photo
Hatching:
Click on the fly to see the patterns in our online store
Blue Quills – #16 – 18 – Paraleptophlebia adoptiva
Tiny Stonefly– #18- Capniidae spp.
Early Brown and Black Stoneflies – #14 -16 – Taeniopteryx spp.
Blue Wing Olives – #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Little Black Caddis – #18 – 20 – Chimarra
Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 1,570 cfs | 39° |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY | 1,940 cfs | 41° |
| East Branch at Harvard, NY | 1,280 cfs | 41° |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 2,380 cfs | 46° |
| Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 5,600 cfs | 48° |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 1,620 cfs | 45° |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Release | 1,499 cfs | |
| West Branch at 191 Bridge | N/A | 42° |
| West Branch at Walton (Cannonsville inflow) | 887 cfs | |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Capacity | 99.5% | |
| Pepacton Reservoir Capacity | 99.9% |
Delaware River Report / Conditions April 13, 2019
Blue Quills showed up in good numbers yesterday making the fish pretty happy. The olives and caddis were out too but of course they were overshadowed by the cooler newer mayflies. We had some light rain in the afternoon but most of the heavy rain held off until late evening. It’s been great to see the fish rise over the last two days. The river flows are up pretty good this morning from a mix of rain and increased releases. Most of the river flows are still rising this morning at 6 am. Wading looks tough at these levels. There may be some spots that will work if you know the river but be cautious. The West Branch is Home Pool looks clear this morning. Today looks beautiful with a forecast of 71 degrees, morning clouds, some sun, and winds around 8 mph. We have some decent rain in the forecast tomorrow but the forecast has been changing quite a bit. Keep an eye on the river gauges for the latest flow info.
Peter with a nice fish yesterday. A good start to a father and son weekend. Bruce Miller photo
Tim with a good one yesterday. Bruce Miller photo
Hatching:
Click on the fly to see the patterns in our online store
Blue Quills – #16 – 18 – Paraleptophlebia adoptiva
Tiny Stonefly– #18- Capniidae spp.
Early Brown and Black Stoneflies – #14 -16 – Taeniopteryx spp.
Blue Wing Olives – #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Little Black Caddis – #18 – 20 – Chimarra
Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 1,210 cfs | 39° |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY | 1,710 cfs | 42° |
| East Branch at Harvard, NY | 991 cfs | 43° |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 2,380 cfs | 46° |
| Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 4,280 cfs | 45° |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 2,020 cfs | 45° |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Release | 1,184 cfs | |
| West Branch at 191 Bridge | N/A | 43° |
| West Branch at Walton (Cannonsville inflow) | 957 cfs | |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Capacity | 99.5% | |
| Pepacton Reservoir Capacity | 99.9% |
Delaware River Report / Conditions April 12, 2019
There were quite a few fish rising on the West Branch late yesterday afternoon. It looked like a good number of olives on the water with some caddis in the mix. The weather was great and it was a pleasant day out there. Today should be warmer with the air temp reaching the high 50’s. There is a breeze this morning but so far it”s manageable. We may see some wind and rain push through in the early evening but most of it seems to be coming towards dark. We should have decent cloud cover all day. The forecast changes every time we look so keep an eye on the latest. The release from Cannonsville has been increased to 880 cfs this morning. The release from Pepacton has also been increased and the flow at Downsville is 643 cfs.
Hatching:
Click on the fly to see the patterns in our online store
Tiny Stonefly– #18- Capniidae spp.
Early Brown and Black Stoneflies – #14 -16 – Taeniopteryx spp.
Blue Wing Olives – #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Little Black Caddis – #18 – 20 – Chimarra
Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 929 cfs | 38° |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY | 1,180 cfs | 40° |
| East Branch at Harvard, NY | 788 cfs | 40° |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 2,030 cfs | 42° |
| Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 3,560 cfs | 42° |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 1,030 cfs | 40° |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Release | 880 cfs | |
| West Branch at 191 Bridge | N/A | 40° |
| West Branch at Walton (Cannonsville inflow) | 876 cfs | |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Capacity | 99.2% | |
| Pepacton Reservoir Capacity | 99.7% |
Delaware River Report / Conditions April 11, 2019
Yesterday was a tough one out there. The air temp hovered in the low 40’s with only a brief period of sun in the late afternoon. The wind added to the chill. There were some olives out and a few people had dry fly shots but overall it was a streamer / nymph day. Things are improving beginning today. We’ll see warmer air temps and may even see 70 degrees on Saturday. We have some weekend rain in the forecast but the amounts change every time we check. So far it looks like they are reducing the amount expected.
Water temps should improve along with the fishing over the next couple of days
Hatching:
Click on the fly to see the patterns in our online store
Tiny Stonefly– #18- Capniidae spp.
Early Brown and Black Stoneflies – #14 -16 – Taeniopteryx spp.
Blue Wing Olives – #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Little Black Caddis – #18 – 20 – Chimarra
Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 741 cfs | 38° |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY | 999 cfs | 40° |
| East Branch at Harvard, NY | 617 cfs | 38° |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 2,180 cfs | 41° |
| Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 3,920 cfs | 42° |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 1,280 cfs | 39° |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Release | 727 cfs | |
| West Branch at 191 Bridge | N/A | 40° |
| West Branch at Walton (Cannonsville inflow) | 962 cfs | |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Capacity | 98.9% | |
| Pepacton Reservoir Capacity | 99.5% |
Delaware River Report / Conditions April 10, 2019
Yesterday was a beautiful Spring day until the wind showed up in the late afternoon. We had a storm come through that dropped some heavy rain for a very short period. Some of the feeders were pushing a little color but have cleared up this morning. The release from Cannonsville has been dropped back to 727 cfs. Today looks cooler with the air temp reaching the mid 40’s. Wind will be out of the North around 10 mph with gusts higher. That may force it to become more of a streamer / nymphing afternoon unless we get some lulls or you find a protected area. We’ll start to warm back up tomorrow and continue on that trend through the weekend.
We’re still finding good bugs on the West if the wind isn’t blowing
Hatching:
Click on the fly to see the patterns in our online store
Tiny Stonefly– #18- Capniidae spp.
Early Brown and Black Stoneflies – #14 -16 – Taeniopteryx spp.
Blue Wing Olives – #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (light hatching)
Little Black Caddis – #18 – 20 – Chimarra
Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 741 cfs | 39° |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY | 1,050 cfs | 42° |
| East Branch at Harvard, NY | 675 cfs | 42° |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 3,020 cfs | 44° |
| Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 4,680 cfs | 46° |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 1,920 cfs | 41° |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Release | 727 cfs | |
| West Branch at 191 Bridge | N/A | 43° |
| West Branch at Walton (Cannonsville inflow) | 1,390 cfs | |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Capacity | 98.8% | |
| Pepacton Reservoir Capacity | 99.5% |
Delaware River Report / Conditions April 9, 2019
The rain held off yesterday and the sun came and went with the clouds. It turned into a beautiful afternoon to be on the water. Most people are still nymphing and throwing streamers early and then looking for rising fish in the afternoon. We’re still seeing olives, little black caddis and stoneflies. The last few days of warm weather has really helped the water temps. That should help push the bugs improving the dry fly fishing. Today looks like another warm one with the air temp hitting 60 degrees. We may see a thunderstorm or two with some rain around 1/4″. The release from Cannonsville has been dropped back slightly to 774 cfs.
Jeremy with a rainbow from Sunday
Hatching:
Click on the fly to see the patterns in our online store
Tiny Stonefly– #18- Capniidae spp.
Early Brown and Black Stoneflies – #14 -16 – Taeniopteryx spp.
Blue Wing Olives – #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (light hatching)
Little Black Caddis – #18 – 20 – Chimarra
Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 817 cfs | 39° |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY | 1,130 cfs | 42° |
| East Branch at Harvard, NY | 714 cfs | 43° |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 2,600 cfs | 45° |
| Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 4,430 cfs | 46° |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 1,630 cfs | 42° |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Release | 774 cfs | |
| West Branch at 191 Bridge | N/A | 43° |
| West Branch at Walton (Cannonsville inflow) | 1,100 cfs | |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Capacity | 98.8% | |
| Pepacton Reservoir Capacity | 99.4% |
Delaware River Report / Conditions April 8, 2019
We had a bit more wind and cloud cover than was in the forecast but overall yesterday was a great day to be on the water. Nymphing worked early but we eventually found some steady rising fish in the afternoon. Olives, stoneflies, and little black caddis. We saw more caddis on the water where we were fishing but the fish didn’t seem picky on pattern. The rivers are starting off warmer today which hopefully pushes the bugs a little earlier. We should hit 70 degrees today with good cloud cover. There may be a stray shower or two but no real amount of precip is expected to fall. The flow at Stilesville has gone up slightly and is 929 cfs this morning. The flows are up throughout the system with some runoff and a light overnight rain. Right now there is wadeable water. Pick your spot and you will be fine. Water temps are looking really great. Hard to believe is only the beginning of April.
Jeremy with a dry fly brown yesterday
Hatching:
Click on the fly to see the patterns in our online store
Tiny Stonefly– #18- Capniidae spp.
Early Brown and Black Stoneflies – #14 -16 – Taeniopteryx spp.
Blue Wing Olives – #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (light hatching)
Little Black Caddis – #18 – 20 – Chimarra
Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 929 cfs | 39° |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY | 1,230 cfs | 41° |
| East Branch at Harvard, NY | 675 cfs | 44° |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 2,030 cfs | 46° |
| Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 3,490 cfs | 46° |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 1,190 cfs | 44° |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Release | 874 cfs | |
| West Branch at 191 Bridge | N/A | 44° |
| West Branch at Walton (Cannonsville inflow) | 993 cfs | |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Capacity | 99% | |
| Pepacton Reservoir Capacity | 99% |
Delaware River Report / Conditions April 7, 2019
We saw a really nice hatch of olives yesterday afternoon but the fish seemed not to care. The water temps were still a little low for good dry fly action. We did see some fish cruising the dead water and eddys eating. Streamers worked better better. Still tough fishing but we did have some success throwing a few different patterns. There were some stoneflies and little black caddis around but definitely more olives than anything else. Today looks much warmer so we’re hoping the water temps climb enough to get the fish looking up. We love today’s forecast. 66 degrees with wind 5 – 10 mph from the south. The sun should help warm the water up quicker. All of the river flows are up a bit this morning but are starting off a couple of degrees warmer. The release from Cannonsville has been increased to 874 cfs.
Mark and Kevin found some nice fish yesterday
Hatching:
Click on the fly to see the patterns in our online store
Tiny Stonefly– #18- Capniidae spp.
Early Brown and Black Stoneflies – #14 -16 – Taeniopteryx spp.
Blue Wing Olives – #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (light hatching)
Little Black Caddis – #18 – 20 – Chimarra
Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 915 cfs | 38° |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY | 1,200 cfs | 39° |
| East Branch at Harvard, NY | 546 cfs | 40° |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 1,870 cfs | 41° |
| Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 3,470 cfs | 40° |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 1,030 cfs | 39° |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Release | 874 cfs | |
| West Branch at 191 Bridge | N/A | 39° |
| West Branch at Walton (Cannonsville inflow) | 1,120 cfs | |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Capacity | 99% | |
| Pepacton Reservoir Capacity | 99% |
Delaware River Report / Conditions April 6, 2019
We did get some rain mixed with snow yesterday. The plows were out early. The snow stuck in the grass but overall the roads stayed fine and a few people were out fishing. Hopefully the last of that is behind us . The air temp should reach 55 degrees today with a mostly cloudy sky. The wind should peak around 9 mph. The West Branch look good this morning and the flow of 1,110 cfs at Hale Eddy looks steady on the graph. The rest of the rivers are dropping slowly as the runoff slowly subsides.It may take the rivers a while to warm up but it seems like a great day to be on the water. Nymphs and streamers to start off the day. Keep a lookout for risers in the afternoon once the water temps begin to climb. We’ve seen enough surface activity to keep it interesting but the wind has been tough to deal with so far this Spring.
West Branch above Cannonsville. We may begin to spill a little soon
Hatching:
Click on the fly to see the patterns in our online store
Tiny Stonefly– #18- Capniidae spp.
Early Brown and Black Stoneflies – #14 -16 – Taeniopteryx spp.
Blue Wing Olives – #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (light hatching)
Little Black Caddis – #18 – 20 – Chimarra
Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 817 cfs | 37° |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY | 1,110 cfs | 38° |
| East Branch at Harvard, NY | 461 cfs | 38° |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 1,630 cfs | 37° |
| Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 3,250 cfs | 37° |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 848 cfs | 36° |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Release | 774 cfs | |
| West Branch at 191 Bridge | N/A | 37° |
| West Branch at Walton (Cannonsville inflow) | 1,090 cfs | |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Capacity | 99% | |
| Pepacton Reservoir Capacity | 99% |
Delaware River Report / Conditions April 5, 2019
Yesterday had a bit more wind than we originally saw in the forecast. It started of nice in the morning but gusts had to be hitting 20 25 mph by the afternoon. That made for another day of tough fishing. Nymphs and streamers were definitively the best methods to try. We did see some bugs in the air but they were moving by quickly. We’re going to suffer again today with snow turning into rain before we break into a beautiful weekend. We should hit 56 degrees tomorrow and 61 degrees on Sunday. The warmer air temps seem to settle in after today. Keep an eye on the current flows. Cannonsville is at 99% capacity and the inflow in Walton is 1,000 cfs.
We have all of our Hendrickson patterns back in stock. They’ll be here soon enough
Hatching:
Click on the fly to see the patterns in our online store
Tiny Stonefly– #18- Capniidae spp.
Early Brown and Black Stoneflies – #14 -16 – Taeniopteryx spp.
Blue Wing Olives – #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (light hatching)
Little Black Caddis – #18 – 20 – Chimarra
Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 817 cfs | 37° |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY | 1,100 cfs | 38° |
| East Branch at Harvard, NY | 470 cfs | 38° |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 1,700 cfs | 40° |
| Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 3,320 cfs | 41° |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 899 cfs | 37° |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Release | 774 cfs | |
| West Branch at 191 Bridge | N/A | 38° |
| West Branch at Walton (Cannonsville inflow) | 1,090 cfs | |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Capacity | 99% | |
| Pepacton Reservoir Capacity | 98.7% |
