The low humidity and bright sun burned off much of the fog and mist that has been a problem the last few nights, giving way to an fantastic evening of fishing throughout the length of the West Branch. Sulphurs, olives, even a few isos have made a reappearance. During the late morning and into the afternoon, check the riffs for fish slashing at the emerging Hydropsyche caddis (tan #14 & #16) – they aren’t being picky!

A great summer brown caught by Wiley Paul on his day off. Photo courtesy of Wiley.

Hatches:

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

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Stenonema sp. - Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

Hydropsyche sp. – Tan Caddis – #16-#18

Emphemerella invaria - Light Cahill – #12

Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom – Charcoal) #16- #18

Pseudocloeon - Little BWO’s- #22-#26

FOG. Tons of it last night resultant from the super-high humidity brought on by the storms in the late afternoon. Fishing throughout the day was very good – a typical BWO day, and all the bugs on the side of the house this AM are evidence of that. Photo to come, unfortunately any camera you take outside right now immediately fogs over, so the chances of a picture are nil. I will update this post and slap one on soon. Today we are looking at partly cloudy, hot and 84 – a bit of a difference from  yesterday. Expect bugs during those periods of shade in the afternoon, caddis in the morning once the fog clears (it almost is as of 8:30), and evening olives and sulphurs!

Here is a cool video of Mergansers chasing bait around in the meantime:

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

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Stenonema sp. - Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

Hydropsyche sp. – Tan Caddis – #16-#18

Emphemerella invaria - Light Cahill – #12

Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom – Charcoal) #16- #18

Pseudocloeon - Little BWO’s- #22-#26

More of the same! The day-long cloud cover we have been experiencing over the last two days has been a God-send for all of those looking for good mid-afternoon fishing here on the Delaware. Bugs throughout the day, and cooler temps down towards the Main Stem have made it possible to fish and see bugs for the entire length of the  West Branch and a good ways down the Main Stem (at least to Stockport).  Cloudy with T-storms today, so a bit of a wild card – those wild pressure changes can both turn the bugs and fish on, or turn them off as the day progresses. Regardless, I’m  heading out to try my luck!

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

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Stenonema sp. - Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

Hydropsyche sp. – Tan Caddis – #16-#18

Emphemerella invaria - Light Cahill – #12

Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom – Charcoal) #16- #18

Pseudocloeon - Little BWO’s- #22-#26

We’re not sure what happened to these fish, but man are they hungry! Everyone out had a fantastic day on the river, catching fish on caddis early on, and sulphurs and olives into the evening. Fish were holding in SHALLOW riffles, almost as if they wanted to be in the sun! A #14 or #16 tan caddis (almost any pattern) was the trick for drumming them up in those riffles, and a good mix of rainbows and browns were there to be had! The ‘bows kept breaking a few of our guests off with their acrobatics – just what a purveyor of flies likes to hear!

Harold Berry with a nice WB Brown caught YESTERDAY on a tan caddis. Photo by: Wiley Paul

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

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Stenonema sp. - Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

Hydropsyche sp. – Tan Caddis – #16-#18

Emphemerella invaria - Light Cahill – #12

Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom – Charcoal) #16- #18

Pseudocloeon - Little BWO’s- #22-#26

Yesterday was an exciting day – at least as far as weather was concerned. Multiple heavy thunderstorms pounded us several times during the day, hence the ups and downs on the graph below. That being said, the river lit up (i.e. fish went crazy) before the rain and hail made its appearance, and folks were ripping lips left and right on tan caddis around a size #16. All the various pressure changes did mess with the hatching later in the day and into the evening, so we did have a bit slower night than we have been experiencing over the last few weeks. That has now stabilized, so we are looking for hatching throughout the day (due to the cloud cover), and another brilliant night! You have to love consistent flows!

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

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Stenonema sp. - Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

Hydropsyche sp. – Tan Caddis – #16-#18

Emphemerella invaria - Light Cahill – #12

Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom – Charcoal) #16- #18

Pseudocloeon - Little BWO’s- #22-#26

Despite the thick fog and the heavy thunderstorm that hit us yesterday, the fishing was excellent. The sulphurs were strong on the upper West Branch with Iso’s mixed in. Small olives were abundant, in large part due to the overcast skies, which resulted in the fish keying in on them. We are back to the set 500 cfs and should continue at that rate.

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

Ephemerella dorothea –Sulphur- #16/18/20

Stenonema sp. - Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

Hydropsyche sp. –Tan Caddis –#16-#18

Emphemerella invaria - Light Cahill –#12

Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom –Charcoal) #16- #18

Pseudocloeon - Little BWO’s- #22-#26

The temperature-control release ended yesterday afternoon, bringing us back down to a 600 CFS release without much incident. Even with the steep drop, the fishing remained unaffected – the upper river lit up last night with sulphurs, olives and GIANT Isos! A great all around! Today we are expecting a good amount of cloud cover with passing showers (mayyyyyybe a thunderstorm) – in other words, perfect dry fly weather!

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

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Stenonema sp. - Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

Hydropsyche sp. – Tan Caddis – #16-#18

Emphemerella invaria - Light Cahill – #12

Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom – Charcoal) #16- #18

Pseudocloeon - Little BWO’s- #22-#26

It appears that the worst is over (if the weathermen are to believed – really, what other job can you be wrong all the time and still keep?) and the heat has broken for the most part. Temperatures should only get into the low 80s today, with variable clouds – couple this with the 1010 CFS release on the West Branch, and you have the potential for a truly great day of dry-fly fishing!

Nice Summer Brown. Photo by: Tom Noble

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Stenonema sp. - Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

Hydropsyche sp. – Tan Caddis – #16-#18

Emphemerella invaria - Light Cahill – #12

Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom – Charcoal) #16- #18

Pseudocloeon - Little BWO’s- #22-#26

The release from Cannonsville was increased to 1001 cfs to help keep the river cool during this heat wave.  The temperature change should be minmal on the upper West Branch, and we expect the sulphur and olive hatches to continue as normal.  It will likely take a day or two for the green algea to filter through, making dry fly fishing your best option up top.

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Stenonema sp. - Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

Hydropsyche sp. – Tan Caddis – #16-#18

Emphemerella invaria - Light Cahill – #12

Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom – Charcoal) #16- #18

Pseudocloeon - Little BWO’s- #22-#26

As expected, yesterday was the definition of brutality, weather-wise. I hope everyone stayed safe and cool – we came up with some creative ways to move the A/C from the shop into the office, which helped immensely, and having a pool never stinks either!

Those out on the water were doing the “Deposit Dance” as I call it – get in the water, freeze, get out to get warm, start losing 5lbs / minute in sweat, get back in the water and freeze, repeat process. Those that did were rewarded with some decent mid-day and afternoon fishing, however! We are still seeing dortheas and mid-size BWOs (latas, mostly), and the fish are starting to key in on psuedos when they are around, so bust out the 6X tippet. We also are still seeing a plethora of various stenonema species, in sizes 16 through 12, and the fish will pick those guys off on occasion. The fog has hampered the trico activity, but I suspect that once it burns off (almost gone now, for example) we should start to see those little guys bouncing as well!

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Stenonema sp. - Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

Hydropsyche sp. – Tan Caddis – #16-#18

Emphemerella invaria - Light Cahill – #12

Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom – Charcoal) #16- #18

Pseudocloeon - Little BWO’s- #22-#26

Well, 8AM and we’re already near 80 degrees here on the river – it’s going to be a scorcher out there. The 600 CFS release is still going stron, which is the only  reason you don’t see us panicking. About the trout / bugs / river, at least. I am more worried about becoming welded to my chair in the office right now.We still had a good showing of bugs yesterday whenever the sun went behind the clouds, and sometimes when it didn’t – sulphurs, olives, a late (1PM) Trico hatch, and caddis in the morning made for an interesting day – let’s see how it reacts to the mid-90 temperatures coming our way. The only possible ‘serious’ negative impact will be fog on the river if the humidity gets as high as predicted.

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Stenonema sp. - Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

Hydropsyche sp. – Tan Caddis – #16-#18

Emphemerella invaria - Light Cahill – #12

Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom – Charcoal) #16- #18

Pseudocloeon - Little BWO’s- #22-#26

Strong sulphurs on the upper West Branch followed by small olives.  Lots of fish eating just under the surface.  We are seeing a few tricos on the West Branch mid- morning, mixed with brown caddis.

West Branch Tricos Photo by Jeff White

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Stenonema sp. - Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

Hydropsyche sp. – Tan Caddis – #16-#18

Emphemerella invaria - Light Cahill – #12

Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom – Charcoal) #16- #18

Pseudocloeon - Little BWO’s- #22-#26