October 8, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 8, 2013

They definitely made a mountain out of a mole hill – at least as far as the “huge rain” that was predicted for yesterday. Even the hours of heavy winds predicted amounted to about a half hour around mid-day. We did get a decent dousing, but the ground certainly soaked up much of it. The West Branch did get a bit on the muddy side towards evening, but has cleared already, and is starting to drop again. The Beaverkill /East Branch peaked late last night, and have finally started to fall, and it is likely starting to clear already this morning. Today we’ve got a cooler day on par, with Mostly sunny skies predicted. With all the flux in the weather recently, it’s a crapshoot as to what will happen out there today, but there is only one way to find out – get out and fish!

Almost to scale (kidding) – size 8-2XL caddis – Platycentropis radius. There are plenty of these guys around now, sometimes called “October Caddis” – but unfortunately you won’t find many fish eating them as they live and hatch in the slow outer reaches of the river. Photo by: Jeff White

What’s Hatching:

Isonychia bicolor – Iso – Slate Drake – #12-2XL, #12

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Ephemerella lata – Dark BWO – #18

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16

Current Flow Conditions:

October 7, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 7, 2013

While not gangbusters, yesterday was a marked improvement over Saturday, that much is for sure! There were bugs and rising fish sporadically throughout the day, but they were not uber-picky, and definitely could be caught. The big news of the morning is NYC DEP’s lovely move of dropping us from a 1010 cfs release down to a 244 cfs – WITHOUT stepping/ramping it down. Let’s just hope that the Browns had not started to make redds yet, and that not too many bugs moved to shore to hatch in the last week or so. This yo-yoing is the one of worst thing that they can do to the river, and who knows how the fishing will be affected today. We do have heavy rain in the forecast, and the ground is fairly saturated, so let’s hope that we get plastered, and get the flows back up again quickly.

Not that we will be streamer fishing again anytime soon, but here is a crazy photo that shows a way to catch a caddis – still in the case! Photo: Bart Larmouth

What’s Hatching:

Isonychia bicolor – Iso – Slate Drake – #12-2XL, #12

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Ephemerella lata – Dark BWO – #18

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16

Current Flow Conditions:

October 6, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 6, 2013

Every time you have a tough day on the river, there is always a saving grace – when everyone else does as well. This was definitely the case yesterday. Despite “perfect” weather conditions for dry fly fishing, there was very little surface action at all, despite times of HEAVY clouds of pseudo spinners taking up the air – so much that you needed to keep your mouth closed at times. Folks on the West definitely moved fish on streamers, and some limited activity on nymphs, but overall quite a slow day. Today could be a game changer, with even more cloud cover than yesterday (the sun popped out way more than was predicted), as well as scattered rain and thunderstorms, these low pressure systems will hopefully get the fish and bugs up and moving!

Chris Anderson with another colored up Brown! Photo: Bob Lewis

What’s Hatching:

Isonychia bicolor – Iso – Slate Drake – #12-2XL, #12

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Ephemerella lata – Dark BWO – #18

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16

Current Flow Conditions:

October 5, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 5, 2013

What a difference a little cloud cover and precipitation can make! The fish were definitely more active yesterday, and sections of the West and Main had very good hatches later in the afternoon. The only downer was the wicked thunderstorm that rolled through the area right around that time, forcing many to get off the river. We had more ground strikes than I have seen in a long time, including a car right in front of the club (everyone was fine)! A good time to lean on the old adage, “discretion is the better part of valor.” Today we are looking at clouds pretty much throughout the day, very little wind, and a chance of some showers here and there, no thunderstorms predicted fortunately. This should allow those who are heading out to take full advantage of the bugs that should come with a day like this!

Mark Sheivachman with a NICE main stem brown taken yesterday before the thunder. Photo: Bruce Miller

What’s Hatching:

Isonychia bicolor – Iso – Slate Drake – #12-2XL, #12

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Ephemerella lata – Dark BWO – #18

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16

Current Flow Conditions:

October 4, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 4, 2013

A little better on the dry fly action in the evening last night, depending on where you were fishing. There were plenty of spinners in the air river-wide, but they decided not to bother coming down until right before dark for most folks. I choose poorly and did not have that luck. The streamer bite was also a bit slower than it has been lately, likely due to the bright sun (and beautiful day in general). The good news is that we have clouds and rain in the forecast (at least in limited amounts) over the next few days. The additional cover should get the fish to start looking up some more, and will definitely encourage those lazy spinners to get to business and hit the water!

Tom took this nice Brown Trout yesterday evening while fishing with Bruce. Photo: Bruce Miller

What’s Hatching:

Isonychia bicolor – Iso – Slate Drake – #12-2XL, #12

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Ephemerella lata – Dark BWO – #18

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16

Current Flow Conditions:

October 3, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 3, 2013

It was another tough one out there yesterday. While some browns were out and active swiping at streamers, the majority decided to lay low for the majority of the day. The bugs did a little bit of the same, with sporadic flushes appearing from mid-afternoon on, with just a little glimmer of action right at dark. I am not really sure why it was slow, but we did have a mild pressure change sweep through, bringing the warm weather in, which could be the culprit in this case. Today we’ve got a carbon-copy on our hands with warm air temps, very little wind, and a decent amount of cloud cover. Coupled with a fairly steady release, this should get the bugs (and fish!) up and moving today!

Pat McPartland with a nice blue-hued Von-Behr Brown! Photo: Bob Lewis

What’s Hatching:

Isonychia bicolor – Iso – Slate Drake – #12-2XL, #12

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Ephemerella lata – Dark BWO – #18

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16

Current Flow Conditions:

October 2, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 2, 2013

While an absolutely stunning fall day yesterday, it was definitely better for looking at the changing foliage than the fishing. Bugs were slow to come throughout the day, and there was just a little baby flush at night, nothing really to write home about. Those swinging streamers had decent actions on pre-spawn browns, but otherwise it was pretty quiet overall. Today we are expecting more cloud cover, and similar temperatures to yesterday, with the only main variable is a drop in flow – down from a 1,050 release to 812. This is not a drastic swing, but it could definitely affect the fish further. The good news is there is only one way to find out what is going on – get out there and fish!

Dave Price with a BIG West Branch ‘Bow. Photo: Bob Lewis

What’s Hatching:

Isonychia bicolor – Iso – Slate Drake – #12-2XL, #12

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Ephemerella lata – Dark BWO – #18

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16

Current Flow Conditions:

October 1, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 1, 2013

Happy October! Business first: Don’t forget, if you have a NYS Fishing License, it expiered yesterday, and it is time to get a new one. They are available at most sporting goods shops in New York (being in PA, they won’t let us sell them), and also online using the NYS DECALS system. Click there to be taken over, but read the rest of the report first – it’s the polite thing to do!

Yesterday was a bit of a tough one for the dry-fly enthusiast, with little or no bug activity until right before dark, and even then the fish were not too keen on rising with any regularity. Those blind casting Isos did pretty well, with the fish in the shallower riffles and along the banks eager to please. Those throwing streamers also had another great day, at least on the West Branch. Today the flow has been raised again (let’s just be glad they are ramping it, instead of just yo-yo-ing us) by another 100 cfs. This should not be overly noticiable to those who were out yesterday, and hopefully will not adversely affect any action that might take place today. We are expecting another warm afternoon, with highs in the mid-70s, and some decent cloud cover to boot. Although yesterday was tough, today definitely could be a whole different animal.

Chris Anderson with a beautiful West Branch Brown caught this past Sunday. Photo: Bob Lewis

What’s Hatching:

Isonychia bicolor – Iso – Slate Drake – #12-2XL, #12

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Ephemerella lata – Dark BWO – #18

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16

Current Flow Conditions:

September 30, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 30, 2013

What a difference a day can make (at least on the West Branch!). The higher flows were as hock to the system early on, but the fish have certainly adapted. The Browns were highly aggressive for the majority of the day on streamers and wet flies, and the late afternoon turned into some great dry fly fishing, with the trout up and after the psuedos, cahills, hebes, and isos that were coming off. Much to my delight, Bob had great luck just throwing the cheeseburger (Iso) last night – convincing fish that were obviously sipping the psuedos to come and eat the big flies instead. Today, we’ve got a bit more cloud cover predicted, which can only help both the streamer fishing as well as olives popping more throughout the day. The release has also been bumped up to 950 cfs, which should not make too much of a difference in where the fish are hanging out. Time to put in the boat!

Self Explanatory.

What’s Hatching:

Isonychia bicolor – Iso – Slate Drake – #12-2XL, #12

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Ephemerella lata – Dark BWO – #18

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16

Current Flow Conditions:

September 29, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 29, 2013

Well that was disappointing. Despite some better flows and a bit of good color in the water, the fishing yesterday was mediocre at best. The browns were certainly not as aggressive as they were the previous day, and even though there were very good numbers of Stenos hatching, they did not entice the fish to rise until the very last light of day. Looking in the crystal ball for today, it remains just as foggy as the air outside currently is here at the club. The  flows have been bumped up again to help with Montague flows, so there will be another good surge of cold water making its way through the system today. This increase could depress the action a little bit, or it could also mean that the fish will be more active during the bright sunlight predicted for today. Fortunately, there is a way to find out – go forth and fish!

Geoff Adams caught this funny looking trout on the West Branch yesterday. Just look at that kype! Photo: Nate Eckhaus

What’s Hatching:

Isonychia bicolor – Iso – Slate Drake – #12-2XL, #12

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Ephemerella lata – Dark BWO – #18

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16

Current Flow Conditions:

September 28, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 28, 2013

Definitely an interesting day on the river Friday. With a small bump in release, there was great color in the water, and the browns were very active, and chasing streamers on the West Branch. Emphasis on “chasing,” as hooking them seemed to be a challenge at times! The dry fly action was pretty slow throughout the day, with a big flush of bugs around 3PM, but nothing else until about 20  minutes before dark – likely a result of all the sunshine hitting the water. Today we are in for an interesting day. The release has been brought up to 763 CFS to meet the Montague minimum flow level. This will certainly be flushing a bunch of vegetation down, and certainly affect where the fish want to hold in the river itself. It should also make for some excellent streamer fishing while the water is high with a bit of color, and the browns being as aggressive as they are, could definitely be a boon for everyone!

Jeff Biller showing one of the reasons he leads our customer contest. He rocked this colored-up Brown yesterday on an olive and white streamer. Photo: Bart Larmouth

What’s Hatching:

Isonychia bicolor – Iso – Slate Drake – #12-2XL, #12

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Ephemerella lata – Dark BWO – #18

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16

Current Flow Conditions:

September 27, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 27, 2013

Well, it definitely did not turn out as planned yesterday. The fish were hunkered down for much of the day, ignoring streamers and nymphs for whatever reason, but turned on briefly during the evening. “Briefly” is a euphemism for about 20 minutes right before dark. Certainly a tough day, as we did not get the active behavior we were expecting from the fish, but I guess that’s why we call it fishing! Today, we’re looking at a slightly cloudier day (excellent), with temps in the mid-70s. I would postulate that we will see more dry fly and sub-surface action today than yesterday due to the break from the sun, but if all my predictions came true, I would have been the guy with the $400M Powerball ticket last week!

Even the Von-Behr browns are getting colored up!  This guy was dang near blue with orange spots just on the tail (not visible). Killer photo by: Bob Lewis

What’s Hatching:

Isonychia bicolor – Iso – Slate Drake – #12-2XL, #12

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Ephemerella lata – Dark BWO – #18

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16

Current Flow Conditions: