October 12, 2016

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 12, 2016

The release from Cannonsville has been raised to 326 cfs this morning.  Yesterday fished better with a nice hatch of small olives, caddis, and isonychias.  Nymphing and swinging wets is still the most productive method but there were enough fish feeding on the surface to make it interesting.  Today’s weather looks similar to yesterday with winds under 10 mph, sun, and air temperatures in the mid 60’s.  We have a decent chance of receiving 1/4″ of rain tomorrow but most of that will soak into the ground.

Hatching:
Slate Drake – #12 – 14- Isonychia bicolor
Olive Sulphur – #18 – 20– Heptagenia hebe
Tiny Blue Winged Olive – #22 – 26 – Psuedocloeon spp.
Blue Winged Olive – #18 – 20 – E. lata
Tan Caddis – #16 – 20 – Hydropsyche spp.
Dark Brachycentrus sp. – #14 – 18 – Dark Grannom
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Chimarra sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (updated name: Baetis tricaudatus)

October 11, 2016

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 11, 2016

The Upper Delaware Wild and Scenic Creek is still low this morning with a flow of 406 cfs at Lordville.  The release from Cannonsville has been raised to 244 cfs this morning so we will se a very, very small bump in flows on the West Branch and Mainstem.  Very small.  We will have to live with this until they stop dropping the level of Lake Wallenpaupack.  Luckily we have had some very cool nights with a little frost so water temperatures are in great shape.  The wind made dry fly fishing tough yesterday but some fish were caught on top.  Blind fishing isonychias in the riffles seemed to be the best bet for surface action.  Nymphing and swinging wets are still the most effective methods.  We are seeing decent numbers of heptagenia and caddis mixed in with the olives.  The wind forecast looks better today with gusts staying under 10 mph.

Dan with a dry fly caught rainbow yesterday. Photo by Jared Makowski

Hatching:
Slate Drake – #12 – 14- Isonychia bicolor
Olive Sulphur – #18 – 20– Heptagenia hebe
Tiny Blue Winged Olive – #22 – 26 – Psuedocloeon spp.
Blue Winged Olive – #18 – 20 – E. lata
Tan Caddis – #16 – 20 – Hydropsyche spp.
Dark Brachycentrus sp. – #14 – 18 – Dark Grannom
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Chimarra sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (updated name: Baetis tricaudatus)

October 10, 2016

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 10, 2016

The release from Cannonsville is 193 cfs.  The Mainstem at Lordville is a ridiculous 419 cfs. What can you even say about that.
The wind was tough yesterday so while we saw a fair amount of mayflies and caddis most of the fishing was underneath.  We are coming off a cooler night so water temperatures have dropped a bit on the East Branch and Mainstem.  Today will stay cool with some winds in the afternoon dropping into the evening.  I looks like another good day to nymph, swing wet flies, or strip small woolly buggers in the riffles.  If you find a wind break definitely have your small olives, isonychias, and heptagenia patterns ready.

Hatching:
Slate Drake – #12 – 14- Isonychia bicolor
Olive Sulphur – #18 – 20– Heptagenia hebe
Tiny Blue Winged Olive – #22 – 26 – Psuedocloeon spp.
Blue Winged Olive – #18 – 20 – E. lata
Tan Caddis – #16 – 20 – Hydropsyche spp.
Dark Brachycentrus sp. – #14 – 18 – Dark Grannom
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Chimarra sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (updated name: Baetis tricaudatus)

October 9, 2016

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 9, 2016

The release from Cannonsville has been dropped slightly to 186 cfs.  This still leaves massive amounts of exposed river bed on the Mainstem.  Water temperatures are fine and if you do fish down there you certainly do not need chest waders.  It’s pretty damn sad that we cannot get a small amount of water released to cover the river bottom.  In the Spring DEP put out a press release about being “Good Neighbors” to the downstream users.  We’re going to delve into that one over the winter.

Nymphs and wet flies still provided the most action yesterday.  There were some fish rising but most fish were feeding underneath.  Smaller flies are working better right now for both nymphs and dries.  There are some isonychias around but the majority of insects were seeing are small olives, heptagenia, and small caddis.

Lordville under 500 cfs

Hatching:
Slate Drake – #12 – 14- Isonychia bicolor
Olive Sulphur – #18 – 20– Heptagenia hebe
Tiny Blue Winged Olive – #22 – 26 – Psuedocloeon spp.
Blue Winged Olive – #18 – 20 – E. lata
Tan Caddis – #16 – 20 – Hydropsyche spp.
Dark Brachycentrus sp. – #14 – 18 – Dark Grannom
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Chimarra sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (updated name: Baetis tricaudatus)

October 8, 2016

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 8, 2016

Nymphs and wet flies have still been the best bet for landing fish.  There are some fish eating on top but most seem to be chasing caddis pupa in the water column.  We have a good chance of some light rain today with winds staying below 10 mph.  This could be a good olive day and definitely carry your isonychias.

The release from Cannonsville has been dropped again down to 235 cfs.  The downstream flow targets are being met by Lake Wallenpaupack releases.  Water temperatures have not been an issue due to the cold nights.  The issue is now exposed river bed.  On October 4th the flow at Stilesville dropped from close to 700 cfs down to 150 cfs is one day.  The Mainstem then dropped just as quickly with the flow at Lordville dropping below 500 cfs on October 5th.  A quick severe drop like that strands all sorts of river life in the gravel.
This is an odd situation since we are caught in the 5 year Wallenpaupack drawdown that will drop that lake 5 feet below normal.  It’s not surprising.  What is surprising is the lack of consideration for the health of the river between the dams and the mouth of the Lackawaxen.
When people used to talk about the trout fishery it always ended in Callicoon.  After a while it moved up to temperature targets in Hankins.  Now everyone talks about targets at Lordville.  It seems like if certain people get their way we’ll all be talking about targets at Hale Eddy in a couple of years.

And the Park Service will have to rename the Upper Delaware Wild and Scenic River to the more accurate Upper Delaware Wild and Scenic Creek

Exposed river bed on the Mainstem October 5th. It’ still exposed today

Hatching:
Slate Drake – #12 – 14- Isonychia bicolor
Olive Sulphur – #18 – 20– Heptagenia hebe
Tiny Blue Winged Olive – #22 – 26 – Psuedocloeon spp.
Blue Winged Olive – #18 – 20 – E. lata
Tan Caddis – #16 – 20 – Hydropsyche spp.
Dark Brachycentrus sp. – #14 – 18 – Dark Grannom
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Chimarra sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (updated name: Baetis tricaudatus)

October 7, 2016

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 7, 2016

The Cannonsville release has been increased to 320 cfs this morning until further notice – or no notice and we find out by checking the USGS site every two hours.  So the yo yo continues.  Yesterday seemed to be a day of caddis pupa with most fish either landed by swinging wet flies or nymphing.  There were a couple of fish landed on dry flies but the people fishing underneath had better success.  Today looks like a mirror image of yesterday.  Saturday is our best chance of clouds and light rain with precipitation of less than 1/4″.  Our release for the weekend will be totally dependent on what they do with Lake Wallenpaupack.  We’ll put up an update if we find anything out.

The Yo Yo continues

Hatching:
Slate Drake – #12 – 14- Isonychia bicolor
Olive Sulphur – #18 – 20– Heptagenia hebe
Light Cahill – #14 – 16
Tiny Blue Winged Olive – #22 – 26 – Psuedocloeon spp.
Blue Winged Olive – #18 – 20 – E. lata
Light Blue Winged Olive – #16 – 20 E. attenuatta
Tan Caddis – #16 – 20 – Hydropsyche spp.
Dark Brachycentrus sp. – #14 – 18 – Dark Grannom
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Chimarra sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (updated name: Baetis tricaudatus)

October 6, 2016

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 6, 2016

The cool nights have kept water temperatures in check despite the low water.  We are in for a couple of days of sun and light wind with a possible light rain on Saturday.  There are fish eating little olives on top with some fish eating isonychias on some arts of the system.  We did see quite a few fish chasing caddis pupa yesterday so swinging wet flies should work well.  Nymphing in the low water will work before the dry fly action starts.  Look for deeper water to nymph once the fog burns off and the sun hits the water.
The release from Cannonsville has been cut back again as the yo yo releases continue.  The release is 150 cfs this morning.  The Mainstem flow at Lordville is 494 cfs.  Of all the crazy release BS we’ve seen over the years this has to be way up there.

Hatching:
Slate Drake – #12 – 14- Isonychia bicolor
Olive Sulphur – #18 – 20– Heptagenia hebe
Light Cahill – #14 – 16
Tiny Blue Winged Olive – #22 – 26 – Psuedocloeon spp.
Blue Winged Olive – #18 – 20 – E. lata
Light Blue Winged Olive – #16 – 20 E. attenuatta
Tan Caddis – #16 – 20 – Hydropsyche spp.
Dark Brachycentrus sp. – #14 – 18 – Dark Grannom
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Chimarra sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (updated name: Baetis tricaudatus)

October 5, 2016

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 5, 2016

The release from Cannonsville Reservoir is 226 cfs this morning.  This is up from the 150 cfs they had dropped us to yesterday afternoon.  We were at 580 cfs yesterday afternoon.  They did some worthless ramp down that so quick the graph looks like a free fall to 150 cfs.  Then this morning they micro adjust us up to 226 cfs.  The downstream flow targets are being met by releases from the Lake Wallenpaupack draw down.  This happens every 5 years so it’s not really a surprise.  It’s unfortunate that we end up getting these yo yo releases.  The cost of water to level these releases out would be minimal while the benefit to the downstream users would be huge.
The river seemed to fish well yesterday with more fish being landed.  Fish were landed on dries, streamers, and nymphs.  The clouds stuck around for the most part and the rain held off.  Isos, Heptagenia, and small olives.  Luckily the release was dropped mid day so people downstream still had decent flows to fish.  Today looks like a pleasant fall day with an air temperature of 70, some sun, and very light winds around 3 mph.

Phil with a nice brown yesterday. Photo by Jared Makowski

Hatching:
Slate Drake – #12 – 14- Isonychia bicolor
Olive Sulphur – #18 – 20– Heptagenia hebe
Light Cahill – #14 – 16
Tiny Blue Winged Olive – #22 – 26 – Psuedocloeon spp.
Blue Winged Olive – #18 – 20 – E. lata
Light Blue Winged Olive – #16 – 20 E. attenuatta
Tan Caddis – #16 – 20 – Hydropsyche spp.
Dark Brachycentrus sp. – #14 – 18 – Dark Grannom
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Chimarra sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (updated name: Baetis tricaudatus)

October 4, 2016

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 4, 2016

This morning’s release from Cannonsville has been cut back to 585 cfs.  Yesterday we had a bit more sun than expected but the clouds dd move in and out during the day.  Streamers and wet flies seemed to be the best bet but some people were able to find some fish eating on top.  We did see some spinners in the air in the evening but they didn’t hit the water until well after dark.  Today’s weather should be similar to yesterday- mostly overcast with little or no precipitation.  Wind gusts should be a bit lower peaking around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Samantha with a nice fish yesterday. Photo by Theo May

Hatching:
Slate Drake – #12 – 14- Isonychia bicolor
Olive Sulphur – #18 – 20– Heptagenia hebe
Light Cahill – #14 – 16
Tiny Blue Winged Olive – #22 – 26 – Psuedocloeon spp.
Blue Winged Olive – #18 – 20 – E. lata
Light Blue Winged Olive – #16 – 20 E. attenuatta
Tan Caddis – #16 – 20 – Hydropsyche spp.
Dark Brachycentrus sp. – #14 – 18 – Dark Grannom
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Chimarra sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (updated name: Baetis tricaudatus)

October 3, 2016

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 3, 2016

We had a slight bump in the release from Cannonsville to 738 cfs.  At this level the West Branch is still in decent shape for wading and floating.  There is only 232 cfs at Fishs Eddy which leaves the East Branch wadeable.  The Main is in good shape for wading and floating.  Today looks like a great weather day with clouds, a slight chance of light rain, and winds 6 mph and below. Yesterday was a mixed day with some streamer action, some wet fly actions, and some fish eating  olives on top.  It seemed to vary by section but the fish are eating.  We’ve also seen a few fish caught on light cahills and isonychias.  The caddis are around and will eventually hit the water offering some really good fishing.

Jared with an ice fish to start October. Photo by Bruce Miller

Hatching:
Slate Drake – #12 – 14- Isonychia bicolor
Olive Sulphur – #18 – 20– Heptagenia hebe
Light Cahill – #14 – 16
Tiny Blue Winged Olive – #22 – 26 – Psuedocloeon spp.
Blue Winged Olive – #18 – 20 – E. lata
Light Blue Winged Olive – #16 – 20 E. attenuatta
Tan Caddis – #16 – 20 – Hydropsyche spp.
Dark Brachycentrus sp. – #14 – 18 – Dark Grannom
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Chimarra sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (updated name: Baetis tricaudatus)

October 2, 2016

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 2, 2016

The release from Cannonsville Reservoir is 696 cfs this morning.  This leaves the West Branch is decent shape for both floating and wading.  The Mainstem will rise a little this mornign but will also remain good for wading and floating.  The East Branch temperatures are decent this morning.  We had a little more rain come down over night but not enough to bring up the flow.  It is in decent shape for wading and we have been hearing some reports of fish being landed on the lower stretches.  We have another cloudy day ahead of us but the chance of any significant rain is very slim.  Wind gusts should peak around 6 mph.  Wet flies and caddis pupa have been working for the nymphers while small dark streamers are taking some fish.  We are seeing some isonychias in spots.  They still seem a little spotty but some people are finding decent numbers of them.  Most of the dry fly action has been on small olives in the afternoon.

Hatching:
Slate Drake – #12 – 14- Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur – #16-20 – E. dorothea
Light Cahill – #14 – 16
Tiny Blue Winged Olive – #22 – 26 – Psuedocloeon spp.
Blue Winged Olive – #18 – 20 – E. lata
Light Blue Winged Olive – #16 – 20 E. attenuatta
Tan Caddis – #16 – 20 – Hydropsyche spp.
Dark Brachycentrus sp. – #14 – 18 – Dark Grannom
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Chimarra sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (updated name: Baetis tricaudatus)

October 1, 2016

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 1, 2016

The Release hotline is saying we have a release from Cannonsville of 461 cfs this morning.  The Stilesville Gage is showing a flow of 391 cfs.  It has been around 8 hours since the last flow yo yo so I guess someone felt it was time to mix it up.  The runoff and releases from Wallenpaupack and Rio must be meeting the downstream flow requirements so we have been cut back again.  This winter we’ll put up some posts looking at how often the Upper Mainstem hit 70 degrees,   how they gradually ramped the flows up and down (or didn’t), and how often they let the temperatures on the lower West Branch climb unnecessarily high.  We could also look at all the days the West Branch releases were very high while the East Branch was dry and hitting 75 degrees but I’m not sure we have enough bandwidth to cover that BS.  In November the first thing we should look at is when they released additional water this season, how many times, and why.
We did find some fish eating on top yesterday with a mix of small olives and isonychias.  Some people found success swinging caddis pupa in the riffles.  Today looks like another good weather day with some light rain and an overcast sky.  Winds will be light under 10 mph.

Rob found a riser yesterday, Photo by Jared Makowski

Hatching:
Slate Drake – #12 – 14- Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur – #16-20 – E. dorothea
Light Cahill – #14 – 16
Tiny Blue Winged Olive – #22 – 26 – Psuedocloeon spp.
Blue Winged Olive – #18 – 20 – E. lata
Light Blue Winged Olive – #16 – 20 E. attenuatta
Tan Caddis – #16 – 20 – Hydropsyche spp.
Dark Brachycentrus sp. – #14 – 18 – Dark Grannom
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Chimarra sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (updated name: Baetis tricaudatus)