We’re still waiting for the water temps to climb a bit more before fishing really takes off. The cold nights, releases, and spill are keeping the temperatures low.  We had reports of a few- very few upright wings mixed with the stoneflies on the West Branch yesterday.  Nothing was eating them.

Streamers fished slow are still your best bet to connect with a fish right now.  Hopefully the water warms up over the next week and the bugs really begin to pop.

Blue Quills- coming soon!

Hatching:

Tiny Black Stoneflies #18 – Capniadae sp.

Early Black and Brown Stoneflies #14 – 16 Taeniopteryx sp.

That last storm filled the reservoirs and both Pepacton (100.1%) and Cannonsville (100.7%) are spilling.  All the rivers in the system are up and the cold, cold nights mixed with cold spill have dropped the water temps.  We are on a bit of a warming trend.  Daytime highs in the 50′s and nights in the 30′s over the weekend.  The best bet for fishing over the next few days is fishing streamers in the slower sections.  Nymphing may be effective in some of the riffles with a good drop off.  I would keep the nymphs small to imitate the naturals so mostly #16 & #18 thin body pheasant tails and copper johns.

We’ll see Hendrickson nymphs doing this at some point this Spring. We need the water to warm up first!

Hatching:

Tiny Black Stoneflies #18 – Capniadae sp.

Early Black and Brown Stoneflies #14 – 16 Taeniopteryx sp.

Well that was an interesting storm yesterday.  Lots of rain, some ice, and then some snow.  The wind was a bonus!  The West Branch is off color but starting to clear like normal.  Today air temps are going to be in the mid 40′s and in the 20′s at night.  If you are going to fish today the upper West Branch looks like the clearest and lowest water in the system.  Above Oquaga Creek should be fine and the rest of the river will continue to clear throughout the day.  Cannonsville is 98.1% and the release is 1502 cfs.

Lets look at the Cannonsville inflow.  The West Branch above Walton is 4,220 cfs and Trout Creek is running 198 cfs.  Add in all the little feeders to the reservoir and we have a lot of water flowing in right now.  Great news for the next few weeks!

The view out front this morning- it will look better by the weekend!

Hatching:

Tiny Black Stoneflies #18 – Capniadae sp.

Early Black and Brown Stoneflies #14 – 16 Taeniopteryx sp.

Crazy April weather!  The wind blew yesterday, but al least it was warm.  We have rain right now with pleasant temps hitting the low 60s but tonight it drops below freezing changing our rain into snow.  Then tomorrow we’re basck in the 40s and improving everyday right through the weekend.  Fish we’re eating streamers but we haven’t had consistent rising to the stoneflies yet.  Look for the warmest water in the system for you best opportunity of seeing fish on top.  Hpefully we get enough rain and snow to get Cannonsville spilling!  We’re at 98.2% capacity with a release of 1499.  That number makes me laugh- you know somewhere there was a meeting about releases and 1500 cfs came up.  Some guy in the back had to stand up and say “no, no that’s too much water.  Lets go with 1499 cfs”

Early Stone trying to get off the water- don’t be afraid to add some action to your fly

Hatching:

Tiny Black Stoneflies #18 – Capniadae sp.

Early Black and Brown Stoneflies #14 – 16 Taeniopteryx sp.

The East Branch temperatures peaked over 50 degrees yesterday but the 30 mph wind gusts did not help the fish rise.  Today looks like a mirror image of yesterday.  Air temps in the 70s, beautiful morning with winds coming in the afternoon gusting in the high 20 mph range.  The fish have been chasing streamers on the West Branch and Mainstem, a few have been committing to the fly but most are turning off.  We need the water temps to come up a few more degrees.  We have some rain coming in tonight and lasting for a couple of days.  We should receive over an inch- hopefully making Cannonsville spill.  The Cannonsville release is currently 1499 cfs and the reservoir level is 97.9%

Hatching:

Tiny Black Stoneflies #18 – Capniadae sp.

Early Black and Brown Stoneflies #14 – 16 Taeniopteryx sp.

If there was a day so far this season the fish would eat stoneflies this looks like it- they are calling for 75 degrees today!  It may be just enough to raise the water temps a few degrees to get the fish active.  The winds don’t sound great- decent gusts pushing 30 mph.  Let’s hope they’re wrong on that part.  Hopefully this trend continues and blue quills start coming off soon.  Looks like some decent rain coming our way over the next few days.  Hopefully Cannonsville spills and we get some alewife fishing! Cannonsville is 97.9% with a release of 1499 cfs.

Hatching:

Tiny Black Stoneflies #18 – Capniadae sp.

Early Black and Brown Stoneflies #14 – 16 Taeniopteryx sp.

Yesterday afternoon’s rain brought more needed water into the system.  The rivers came up slightly overnight and Cannonsviile is still rising slowly (97.9% capacity this morning)  The WB  release continues to be 1499 cfs.  Accuweather is calling for 65 degrees today, which is going to feel like summer!  We should have decent stonefly activity this afternoon, we’re just hoping the water temps warm up enough to energize the fish.  Otherwise stick with small streamers fished slow and nymphs- The program of the spring so far.

Hatching:

Tiny Black Stoneflies #18 – Capniadae sp.

Early Black and Brown Stoneflies #14 – 16 Taeniopteryx sp.

Yesterday was the nicest day we’ve seen since September.  We had some wind in the afternoon but the sky was blue and the sun was shining bright.  The warm weather brought the stoneflies out in force.  The fish still are keyed on them completely but that should change as the water temps come up and the bugs keep hatching.  If you looked hard enough yesterday you could find a fish eating off the top here and there but nothing to get crazy about.  The streamer action was okay and should improve over the weekend.  The river temps are starting a little higher this morning which should be good for the fishing.  Cannonsville is now at 97.9% capacity and the release continues at 1499 cfs.

Matching the hatch

Hatching:

Tiny Black Stoneflies #18 – Capniadae sp.

Early Black and Brown Stoneflies #14 – 16 Taeniopteryx sp.

The wind blew yesterday.   On a good note the fish seemed a little more active chasing streamers than they have been.  The afternoon water temps are still peaking a little higher everyday so it’s only going to get better.  We had a little frost this morning but Accuweather is calling for a high of 66 degrees.  Even if we discount that number a little since they are not always quite “accurate” we’re in for a warm Spring day!  Streamers should be a great bet this afternoon.  Keep an eye out for stoneflies- looks like a great day!

Cannonsville:  97.8% with a 1499 cfs release

West Branch streamer run – by Jordan Davenport

Hatching:

Tiny Black Stoneflies #18 – Capniadae sp.

Early Black and Brown Stoneflies #14 – 16 Taeniopteryx sp.

Yesterday was a classic spring mix of periods of sun, then wind, then rain, then back to sun.  The weather really improves Thursday and lasts through the weekend with air temps in the 60s every day.  Cannonsville is at 97.8% capacity and they are releasing 1499 cfs (FFMP table 4G for those of you that follow the plan).  I’d rather see spill right now and a flush of alewife protein for the trout!  Nymphing is a tougher with the higher flows so I’d start with streamers fished slow and keep an eye out in the tailouts and edges for fish eating stoneflies.  We’re keeping an eye out for the early olives and blue quills.  The water temps need to come up just a few more degrees.

Everyone is looking for fish

Hatching:

Tiny Black Stoneflies #18 – Capniadae sp.

Early Black and Brown Stoneflies #14 – 16 Taeniopteryx sp.

Great news- Cannonsville is 97.4 % full!  Another interesting number according to the phone message – The release from Cannonsville is now 1,499 cfs. I’m really glad they’re conserving that 1 cfs.

According to the weatherman we are on a warming trend.  The daytime temps look comfortable and the night time temps are climbing over the next few days.  This should help the water temps climb closer to the magic number of 50 degrees bringing some insect activity.  Add in a little light rain and the conditions are definitely improving!  As the water warms the fish will be more likely to come to the surface to eat the early brown and black stoneflies.  Keep an eye on the slower pools and edges for splashy rises and cover them quick.  Streamers and nymphs should be more productive as the water warms up too.

Brown Head

Hatching:

Tiny Black Stoneflies #18 – Capniadae sp.

Early Black and Brown Stoneflies #14 – 16 Taeniopteryx sp.

Yesterday was the nicest day we’ve seen since early October!  The water temps climbed to the mid 40s on most of the system bringing  us closer to decent hatching.  The weatherman is calling for low 50s today with some rain starting in the afternoon lasting through the night.  They are calling for some wind today but they are never correct anyway.  Water temps are low again this morning so streamers and nymphing will be your best option.  Hopefully by mid afternoon the temps will increase enough to get the fish looking up for stoneflies.  If the warming trend continues we should see Blue Quills before too long.

Hatching:

Tiny Black Stoneflies #18 – Capniadae sp.

Early Black and Brown Stoneflies #14 – 16 Taeniopteryx sp.