“Red Flag Advisory” here today – having lived in TExas, I am quite familiar with the term: dry and windy condtions that can lead to a wildfire. Something I never thought I’d be faced with once I moved back north of the Mason-Dixon, but here we are. Gusts of up to 40 today, with sustained winds in the teens. We are all pretty used to this by now, and it looks as if it will continue for the near future. The house is currently covered with Paralep spinners, so I expect them to fall at any time, most likely in the morning before the wind picks up. A blessing of the cooler temps is that their short lives are extended, as they won’t desiccate (dry-out) and die as readily as usual. Let’s hope this gives them a good chance to make it to the water and create next year’s brood!

Bob Lewis with a nice Main Stem Brown. Photo By: Steve Shen

Hatches:

Ephemerella subvaria – Hendricksons – #12 & #14

Paraleptophlebia adoptiva (Blue Quill) – #16 & #18

Brachycentrus Caddis – Apple Green – #16 & #18

Baetis species – #20

Chimmarra (little black) Caddis – #18 & #20

HAPPY EASTER!

This is what Wiley gets for all those one-handed fish shots he brings me. Photo by: Tom Noble

I feel like I should just copy and paste every post from the last week – yet again, bright sun, high winds, tons of bugs, incredibly difficult casting / fishing. The fish were there if a calm spot could be found, but unfortunately, those were few and far between. A friend of the shop, Tony Ritter sent me a picture of white-caps on the Main Stem near Callicoon. Well, it appears we are getting a slightly milder version of the same today. Wind gust will be under 30 MPH, but still in the high 20s. Makes that chocolate sound even better! Have a Happy Easter Everyone!

Hatches:

Ephemerella subvaria – Hendricksons – #12 & #14

Paraleptophlebia adoptiva (Blue Quill) – #16 & #18

Brachycentrus Caddis – Apple Green – #16 & #18

Baetis species – #20

Chimmarra (little black) Caddis – #18 & #20

This wind sure does blow. We’re looking at bright sun and sustained winds of 18MPH, gusting to 30MPH at times. In spite of all of this there are tons, and tons of bugs out on the water – Hendricksons, Paraleps, Apple Caddis, etc. The fish have a hard time seeing them, but once the wind lays down, they are happy to oblige.

Also, I have heard several people get in pretty heated debates about the  ‘blanket Hendricksons’ on the upper West Branch. Well, while the Hendricksons are there, the blankets are actually Paraleps, so I thought I would list the following, just for clarification:

This is a Paralep. Photo by: Jeff White

This is a Hendrickson (female, that is). Photo By: Jeff White

Any questions?

Fish pictures tomorrow – waiting on the guides to get them to me!

Hatches:

Ephemerella subvaria – Hendricksons – #12 & #14

Paraleptophlebia adoptiva (Blue Quill) – #16 & #18

Brachycentrus Caddis – Apple Green – #16 & #18

Baetis species – #20

Chimmarra (little black) Caddis – #18 & #20

I should sell the hell out of some Smart Shield lip balm today, judging by how windburned everyone’s lips are today. Yesterday was tough out there – even mentally. With blanket hatches of bugs throughout the day, the wind throwing them against people’s heads and boats, it got a tad bit frustrating. The fish rose when they could see the bugs, but again we had trouble putting the fly where it needed to be. Today is looking like a carbon-copy of yesterday, but with a few higher temperatures. With winds out of the North(ish) the West Branch should offer a bit more protection than the Main and East (which it did yesterday), for those looking to venture out.

In demand in the shop today - $1.95! Works well too. Photo courtesy of Smart Shield.

Hatches:

Ephemerella subvaria – Hendricksons – #12 & #14

Paraleptophlebia adoptiva (Blue Quill) – #16 & #18

Baetis species – #20

Chimmarra (little black) Caddis – #18 & #20

Despite the heavy, heavy winds yesterday, the bugs still popped and the fish followed suit. The poor suckers that went out experienced the frustration of seeing fish whilst being unable to keep the boat firmly anchored to allow for a good presentation. Those wading saw their flies blow right past their target before hitting the water. Needless to say, there was a bit of hair pulling, along with the teeth chattering. The wind is calming down for today, although the temperatures are scheduled to drop. With the ARMY of Paraleps we have around the shop right now (it seems like you can’t turn over anything without disturbing a legion of them), the fish should be up and active.

The bottom of a bag left to air out yesterday afternoon. This is about HALF the number originally on it - the wind blew the majority away instantly. Photo by: Bart Larmouth

Hatches:

Ephemerella subvaria – Hendricksons – #12 & #14

Paraleptophlebia adoptiva (Blue Quill) – #16 & #18

Baetis species – #20

Chimmarra (little black) Caddis – #18 & #20

Windy again yesterday, albeit a bit calmer on the whole. Regardless, we had fish rising throughout the day on Home Pool, and up and down the West Branch. The fish keyed in a bit more on Paraleps, but plenty were still taken on Hendricksons as well. The only major change was in the afternoon, when all activity came to a grinding halt around 4PM – unusual based on the previous few days. We have TONS of spinners in the vegetation on the shore, and it’s only a matter of time before they come out to mate & fall. If it happens mid-day, expect a sign in the shop window reading: “Spinners falling – I’m fishing down front.”

Jeff took another REALLY cool shot yesterday of a chimarra caddis, and even though I put one in yesterday, this one was too neat to pass up – check out the detail & reflection!

Chimarra caddis. Photo by: Jeff White

Hatches:

Ephemerella subvaria – Hendricksons – #12 & #14

Paraleptophlebia adoptiva (Blue Quill) – #16 & #18

Baetis species – #20

Chimmarra (little black) Caddis – #18 & #20

It seems my graph down below isn’t updating, so feel free to click HERE to see the up-to-date one. I blame the USGS.

Regardless, yesterday was bright, sunny, and windy. The cold kind of wind that cuts through you. It was pretty brutal. That being said, there were fish all over the river, and bugs on the water, even in the midst of 20MPH sustained winds. This is definitely going to be one of those years! The wind has calmed down, and we are looking at a high near 60 today, especially in the sun. The West Branch will warm up first, as the levels are still low, and I expect it to fish all day today. We have a few folks going out, and I will actually make it out after we close up tonight, so expect a full report tomorrow!

Chimarra caddis. TONS of these flitting about in the wind yesterday. Photo by: Jeff White

Hatches:

Ephemerella subvaria – Hendricksons – #12 & #14

Paraleptophlebia adoptiva (Blue Quill) – #16 & #18

Baetis species – #20

Chimmarra (little black) Caddis – #18 & #20

Happy Monday! Well, despite absolutely miserable conditions out there yesterday, the river as a whole fished tremendously on the NY opener. The rain brought the river system a much needed bump, but not a huge jump or addition of any discoloration. Hendricksons were the name of the game, coming off mostly in-between the bursts of rain, but on the Upper Main, they came no matter what, and we saw some of our first really ‘big’ fish caught. The clouds are scheduled to move off today, yielding some sun and warming up the rivers quite a bit. The downer today are the 30+ MPH gusts that we are expecting when that wind shifts. This bodes well for the rest of the week, with calm winds and partial sun. We could be looking at a good one!

An example of the misery out there yesterday. Have you ever seen a happier guy holding a 20"+ fish? Nate Eckhaus braved the elements and had a great day. Photo by: Scott Dawson

Scott Dawson, frozen and soaked, showing that he obviously forgot how to hold a fish during the long off-season. Photo by: Nate Eckhaus

Hatches:

Ephemerella subvaria – Hendricksons – #12 & #14

Paraleptophlebia adoptiva (Blue Quill) – #16 & #18

Baetis species – #20

Chimmarra (little black) Caddis – #18 & #20

Happy Opening Day! As much as I’d love to prank everyone with a photo of a Green Drake, I shall refrain. We did have large hatches of Paraleps and Hendricksons on the West Branch and Main Stem throughout the day, regardless of the cold. The activity has been consistent in one way as well – the Main Stem fish, being in colder water, have been much more sporadic and pickier then their West Branch counterparts, who fed voraciously once the water heated up in the afternoon. More rain is expected today, as well as warmer temperatures than yesterday, so we expect to see the fish get friskier – get here now!

Home Pool this morning. Photo by: Bart Larmouth

Hatches:

Paraleptophlebia adoptiva (Blue Quill) – #16 & #18

Baetis species – #20

Ephemerella subvaria – Hendricksons (down river) – #12 & #14

Chimmarra (little black) Caddis – #18 & #20

Well, it appears I blew it with our email blast sent last night, in the fact that something happened on the West Branch that I failed to mention – HENDRICKSONS ON THE WEST BRANCH! Good hatches and good fish showed up for the first time this season. Otherwise, there mixed reports from yesterday, and while it snowed throughout the night, no accumulation to report, due to the warm ground. As for the fishing – the lower Main Stem had BLANKET hatches of Hendricksons, but sporadic and picky fish were all that were found – likely due to the colder water temps. The lower West Branch  was significantly warmer than the Main, accounting for the hatching and active fish. We’ll see what happens with the colder weather moving in.

A crippled female Hendrickson. Photo by: Jeff White

Hatches:

Paraleptophlebia adoptiva (Blue Quill) – #16 & #18

Baetis species – #20

Ephemerella subvaria – Hendricksons (down river) – #12 & #14

Chimmarra (little black) Caddis – #18 & #20

Hello! Get ready, as of tomorrow, we are OPEN FOR THE SEASON! The upper reaches of the West Branch and all of the East open up on Sunday, but with how well it has been fishing we decided to open up a day early this year. It will surely be different from last year, when I was shoveling snow off the deck to open, and we didn’t see fish for two weeks into April. We are expecting some snow overnight, so there is a bit of uncertainty as to what Saturday will bring, but Sunday for sure will be good, as the temps will be back in the 60s. We still have stone fly galore, and you cant walk on the shore around home pool without crunching 20 or more Paraleps (Blue Quill). Fish have been rising all day, so I am settling back into my normal feeling of bitterness as I am now chained to the shop once more! All for  you, good readers! Also, as of tomorrow, we will FINALLY have Dark Brown Dubbing available! I will put it on the webstore shortly – sorry for those who have been waiting forever and a day for it, sourcing has been an issue, but is now resolved – just in time for the Hendricksons to pop, which they did in SPADES downriver (Long Eddy and below), and are slowly moving upstream. It’s going to be an early one! Daily updates will also commence starting, well, I guess today! Enjoy, and I look forward to seeing all of you this season!

Ken House with a CHUNK of a brown caught on the Main Stem - built more like a shad! Photo by: Jeff White

An attempt to show the width of this fish - my hand is 4.5" from that thumb to heel - he was close to 6.5" !!! Photo by: Jeff White

Hatches:

Tiny Black Stoneflies – very infrequent, #18

Paraleptophlebia adoptiva (Blue Quill) – #16 & #18

Baetis species – #20

Ephemerella subvaria – Hendricksons (down river) – #12 & #14

Chimmarra (little black) Caddis – #18 & #20

Sorry for the downtime everyone, had some issues with our web host over the last few days, but all should be rectified! Thanks to everyone who let us know it was down, we greatly appreciate it! I’ll put a new post up later today with some pictures (and hopefully video!) if the tech Gods will it.