Today looks like a good fishing day with warm weather this morning and 75% chance of thunderstorms in the evening.  Hopefully the cloud cover increases during the late afternoon and the predicted rain looks light- perfect for Blue Winged Olives and Isonychias.  The Sulphurs are still going strong on the Upper West Branch offering decent daytime activity and the Pseudos are hatching on the mid to lower river in the evening.  This has been a really great July so far with temperatures at Lordville staying in the low 60s and the lower West Branch is starting off in the 50s every morning.  The West Branch is 57 degrees this morning under the Hancock Bridge and Lordville peaked yesterday at 64 degrees!

Mainstem temperatures in Lordville

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.

We have some warmer weather coming coming in bringing some thunderstorms our way today and tomorrow.  It doesn’t look like much and some clouds and sporadic rain should help the fishing bringing the olives and Isonychias out and making the fish less wary to rise.  The sulphur hatches continue to come mid day on the Upper West Branch and the evenings have been decent on other sections.  Nymphing and streamer fishing has most productive in the early mornings before the sun hits the water.

Finding cool spinners in spider webs keep the mornings interesting

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.

We woke up to another cool morning in the low 60′s which is great for the river system- let’s hope it continues all Summer.  The West Branch continues to be in awesome shape for late July with decent Sulphurs in the Deposit are and Summer Stenos and Isonychias on the lower sections.  The hatches are going strong up top but we have also had some surprisingly decent mid day hatches of Cahills on the lower sections.  A lot of the tiny Blue Winged Olives have been coming off mid morning, not too long after the fog burns off.  The West Branch is 56 degrees in Hancock this morning and the flows are steady and perfect for wading and floating.  The water temperatures are decent on the rest of the system and the flows are still slowly dropping back.

Finding solitude on the West Branch. What a pretty start to the day

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.

The Lower East Branch and Upper Main Stem have cleared nicely over the last couple of days and temperatures remain great for July.  Lordville is starting off at 60 degrees this morning and Fish’s Eddy is 56 degrees.  This opens up a lot of water for those who wish to explore a bit.  The West Branch continues to fish well with Sulphurs, some Isonychias, and Light Cahills.  If we get some light rain we should see large flushes of Pseudos.  Just to mix it up up try blind fishing Cahills in the riffles rather than Isonychias- the fish seem to be on them.  The West Branch under the 191 Bridge is 57 degrees this morning.

Dave Price with a nice West Branch rainbow yesterday- photo by Bruce Miller

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.

Today looks like another nice day with some clouds rolling in during the early evening.  The system is slowly receding back to normal levels and the Main Stem still has some color.  The West Branch is still the best bet for wading, floating for dry fly activity.  The afternoons sulphurs are continuing to hatch on the upper river with a mix of summer stenos and Isonychias on the mid to lower river.  Streamers are producing some fish but the activity is best before the sun burns the morning fog off and hits the water.  Nymphs and wet flies are also producing some fish if you stay below most of the weeds.

Isonycias

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.

This is the second morning in a row we’ve had to wear a fleece on the way in to the shop.  These cool temps combined with higher water have really helped the system this Summer.  Here we are in mid- July and the West Branch under the Hancock Bridge is 55 degrees this morning.  Today looks warm with winds gusting to 4 mph- perfect for this time of year.  We should see a continuation of the normal hatching with decent sulphurs on the upper river during the day plus some daytime activity on the lower West Branch with decent fishing towards evening.  If the air temperature starts to drop as the sun sets the activity should be a little earlier.

Catching up on few pictures. Dave Price in the sun earlier in the week

Christine holding a nice brown from Tuesday

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.

It looks like the flow at Hale Eddy is dropping back to normal as the feeder creeks fall opening up some more wading opportunities on the mid to lower West Branch.  The entire West Branch is in decent shape for wading or floating.  The sulphurs are hatching mid day on the upper West Branch.  You will find more fish rising on overcast days but if you hunt you will be able to find enough too make it worthwhile even when the sun is shining bright.  The mid to lower West continues to have mid day hatches of summer stenos and a few olives with the majority of the action coming in the evening.  The rest of the system is still high but continuing to fall slowly.  The temperature under the Hancock bridge is a cool 57 degrees this morning- awesome for mid July!

Jordan with an awesome July fish

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.

We were hit with a bit more rain yesterday but the West Branch came through just fine again.  Most of the system is high and off color so the best wading / fishing today will be the Upper West Branch for the daytime sulphur hatches.  The lower West Branch is slightly high but wading is still possible while floating is possible throughout the river.  They are calling for a bit more sun today so fishing areas that get shade early in the afternoon would be a great place to start.  We are still seeing sulphurs and Cahills during the day mixed with a few Isonychias.  While it doesn’t look like a classic Blue Winged Olive day definitely carry some Pseudos in #22 – 24.

Another brown head. It’s great to see the smaller fish in the system!

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.

The lower West Branch has dropped down to 898 cfs at Hale Eddy this morning and is definitely clear enough for dry fly action.  The flow at Stilesville has level at 609 cfs and is in great shape.  Today’s forecast is calling for a few periods of light rain and clouds- perfect weather for the Olives and Isonychias to hatch.  We are still seeing summer Sulphurs hatching sporadically throughout the day offering some decent opportunitites for those who are patient and hunt for the risers.  The sulphurs on the Upper West Branch are continuing mid day but look out for the masking hatch of the small pseudos.  Most of the recent storms have been slightly south of the reservoir.  Cannonsville is at 97.1% capacity with an inflow from the WEst Branch at Walton of 269 cfs.  The rest of the system is still high but is dropping and slowly clearing.  The rainy days and cool nights have helped hole the cooler water temperatures and the West Branch under the hancock Bridge is 59 degrees this morning.

Theo with a mid day brown on a small olive

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.

Good morning everyone! We finally received the rain we were waiting for.  While the river is high and off color for the moment, Stilesville should still be fish-able.  The rest of the West Branch should begin to clear by this afternoon and become prime for wading by sometime tomorrow.  This rain should keep the system fishing well for the rest of the month.

The graph shows the waters here are still clear enough to fish!

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.

Yesterday was a continuation of the normal sulphur hatching on the upper river plus a light mix of sulphurs, olives, and Isos on the lower sections.  The fish were willing to rise during the day in shaded areas.  We had more clouds than the weatherman called for during the day which was a huge help.  Today it looks like they are calling for periods of rain, some brief periods may be heavy.  We’ll wait and see- most of their recent predictions of heavy rain have fallen short for those of us on the West Branch.  The water temps remain cool with the West Branch under the Hancock Bridge at 58 degrees this morning.  On July 11th Cannonsville Reservoir was at 97.9% capacity.

An awesome rainbow picture sent to us by Mitchell Kaliner

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.

That was an interesting night.  It seems the best hatching was late afternoon into early evening with sulphurs and a few summer stenos mixed in for a few hours.  The normal sulphur hatches were going in Deposit but the fish were hesitant to rise in the bright sun so people who moved a bit and searched out rising fish did better.  The air temperature dropped at dark and while there were a few fish eating left over duns the spinners never really materialized- hopefully we see them tonight!We may get a brief shower late this afternoon that could turn on the small olives and Isonychias.  Tomorrow looks like we are going to have intermittent storms all day which will be a welcome relief to the sun.  The West Branch is 56 degrees under the Hancock Bridge this morning.

Dan with a nice fish this week. Photo by Bob Lewis

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.