May 26, 2015

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 26, 2015

Time for another break or wade fish the upper West Branch or the Upper East Branch in the pathetically low water being released under the FFMP.  The combination of low flows, warm air temperatures, and sun has caught up with us again.  The Lordville gauge showed a peak yesterday around 69 degrees.  We still feel that gauge measures cooler than the actual river temperature.  Callicoon peaked over 70 degrees, Fishs Eddy was 69 degrees, and the West Branch under the 191 Bridge hit 67 degrees.  All of the rivers in the system are starting off with higher morning temperatures today.  The forecast is calling for air temperatures in the 80’s with the possibility of a thunderstorm this afternoon.  It should be sunny for most of the day which will drive the water temps up again.  It looks like the lower West, East, and the Mainstem will hit 70 today.
Accuweather has not been too accurate this season predicting rainfall so we’ll have to wait and see.  They are calling for a small amount of rain tonight with a half inch coming scattered throughout the day tomorrow.  If the rain misses us we are hoping for a directed release for the Montague flow target by the weekend.

Back to temperature graphs.  The Lordville gauge seems to read cooler than actual temps.

Hatching:
Slate Drake #12-2xl – Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur #16-18 – E. dorothea
Green Drake #8-2xl – E. guttulata
PED / Pink Lady #14 – E. vitreus
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22-26 – Pseudo sp. (now classified as Acentrella sp.)
March Brown #10-2xl – S. vicarium (now classified as Maccaffertioum vicarium)
Gray Fox #12-2xl – S. fuscum (now also classified as Maccaffertioum vicarium)
Tan Caddis #16-18 – Hydrosyche sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Dark Chimarra sp.

Flows and Temps as of 8:00 AM:
Click on the gauge below to view the latest update

May 25, 2015

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 25, 2015

Yesterday was another bright sunny day.  The fish and bugs were shy again but did rise in the shaded areas and things picked up as the sun dropped.  We are seeing some coffin flies in the evening so be prepared.  Nymphing is the best strategy for picking up fish during the day but there are some fish rising if you are patient. There are little olives on the water so if you see fish rising and no large mayflies try a #24 pseudo emerger.
Today is another sunny day with light winds in the forecast.  The air temps will reach the 80’s with a 20% chance of Thunderstorms over the next couple of days.  Nighttime air temps will drop back to the 60’s.  Hopefully we receive some relief from either the rain or directed releases to meet the Montague flow target.  By late this afternoon we need to fish with our thermometers again.

Josh sent us this picture from the weekend

Hatching:
Slate Drake #12-2xl – Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur #16-18 – E. dorothea
Green Drake #8-2xl – E. guttulata
PED / Pink Lady #14 – E. vitreus
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22-26 – Pseudo sp. (now classified as Acentrella sp.)
March Brown #10-2xl – S. vicarium (now classified as Maccaffertioum vicarium)
Gray Fox #12-2xl – S. fuscum (now also classified as Maccaffertioum vicarium)
Tan Caddis #16-18 – Hydrosyche sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Dark Chimarra sp.

Flows and Temps as of 8:00 AM:
Click on the gauge below to view the latest update

May 24, 2015

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 24, 2015

The combination of low water and bright sun made the fish shy yesterday.  We had the same mix of mayflies hatching with green drakes, march browns, sulphurs, gray fox and cahills coming off.  There were also a few decent flushes of small olives and isonychias mid day on some river sections.  Accuweather also missed the wind forecast and we definitely had gusts stronger than the 8 mph originally called for yesterday.  We should see a coffin fly spinner fall soon so definitely carry those with you if you are fishing until dark.
Today is the beginning of a warm up with air temperatures forecasted in the high 70’s.  If Accuweather is correct today the winds should be low with gusts to 8 mph.  The rivers are still cool this morning after the cold night.  We should have some clouds moving in this evening with some light rain overnight.  Hopefully the weather moves in a little early and gives us some cloud cover this afternoon.

A Green Drake feeling artsy. Photo by Jared Makowski

Hatching:
Slate Drake #12-2xl – Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur #16-18 – E. dorothea
Green Drake #8-2xl – E. guttulata
PED / Pink Lady #14 – E. vitreus
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22-26 – Pseudo sp. (now classified as Acentrella sp.)
March Brown #10-2xl – S. vicarium (now classified as Maccaffertioum vicarium)
Gray Fox #12-2xl – S. fuscum (now also classified as Maccaffertioum vicarium)
Hendrickson #16 – E. X species
Tan Caddis #16-18 – Hydrosyche sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Dark Chimarra sp.

Flows and Temps as of 8:00 AM:
Click on the gauge below to view the latest update

May 23, 2015

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 23, 2015

We are coming off another cold night that dropped into the 30’s.  It’s been great news for the river system with all the rivers starting off cool this morning.  Yesterday was another mix of green drakes, sulphurs, march browns, and gray fox.  The hatching did seem to be concentrated in certain areas so it wasn’t river wide.  The fish were a little shy when the sun was bright but they adjusted and a lot of people were able to find some nice fish eating.  The wind was the biggest issue but protected areas fished well.

Today’s forecast looks good with light winds, temps in the 60’s, with a little more sun.  Mid afternoon is seeing the best activity as the water warms up a bit but keep an eye out earlier for morning spinner falls, left over flies, and caddis.  We have another cool night ahead of us before we come into a heat wave.  The march brown and green drake spinners should be coming soon.

George with a nice brown from yesterday. Photo by Steve Shen

Hatching:
Sulphur #16-18 – E. dorothea
Green Drake #8-2xl – E. guttulata
PED / Pink Lady #14 – E. vitreus
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22-26 – Pseudo sp. (now classified as Acentrella sp.)
March Brown #10-2xl – S. vicarium (now classified as Maccaffertioum vicarium)
Gray Fox #12-2xl – S. fuscum (now also classified as Maccaffertioum vicarium)
Hendrickson #16 – E. X species
Tan Caddis #16-18 – Hydrosyche sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Dark Chimarra sp.

Flows and Temps as of 8:00 AM:
Click on the gauge below to view the latest update

May 22, 2015

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 22, 2015

Yesterday was bug soup with the stars being sulphurs and green drakes.  Aside from those two we had decent hatches of march brown, gray fox, and even a few of the #16 hendricksons.  Some people found fish rising from 8 am until 6 pm.  Overall most people were calling it the best dry fly day of the season so far.  It was a great combination of overcast skies, no wind, and cool water.  It’s great to see two days in a row of daytime green drakes too.
Today should be decent with a little more sun, some clouds, and manageable winds around 8 mph.  The release from Cannonsville has been increased to 200 cfs under the FFMP Plan table 4A.  The cold nights have helped the water temperatures.  Lordville is 56 degrees this morning and the West Branch under the 191 Bridge is 51 degrees.  Cannonsville Reservoir is 96.8% capacity.

Dave with a pretty brown yesterday. Photo by Steve Shen

Hatching:
Sulphur #16-18 – E. dorothea
Green Drake #8-2xl – E. guttulata
PED / Pink Lady #14 – E. vitreus
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22-26 – Pseudo sp. (now classified as Acentrella sp.)
March Brown #10-2xl – S. vicarium (now classified as Maccaffertioum vicarium)
Gray Fox #12-2xl – S. fuscum (now also classified as Maccaffertioum vicarium)
Hendrickson #16 – E. X species
Tan Caddis #16-18 – Hydrosyche sp.
Apple Caddis #16-18 – Light Brachycentrus sp.
Hendrickson – #14 – E. subvaria (male)
Hendrickson – #12 – E. subvaria (female)
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Dark Chimarra sp.

May 21, 2015

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 21, 2015

You know you’re in for an interesting day on the Delaware when you see green drakes, march browns, small hendricksons, and blue quill spinners all in the same afternoon.  We had a slow start yesterday with strong winds and little action early.  Even nymphing was tough early on in the day.  Late afternoon gave us a decent daytime green drake hatch that made the fish happy.  At times the drakes were hard to see because they were blown flush in the film by the wind gusts but the fish were able to find them.  Compara emergers worked well as blown over cripples.
We are coming off another cold night so the water temperatures are in great shape this morning.  The West Branch under the 191 Bridge is 52 degrees and the Mainstem at Lordville is 58 this morning.  Today is shaping up well with a forecast of 61 degrees, little wind, and cloud cover.

Ray working in yesterdays wind. Photo by Steve Shen

Hatching:
Green Drake #8-2xl – E. guttulata
PED / Pink Lady #14 – E. vitreus
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22-26 – Pseudo sp. (now classified as Acentrella sp.)
March Brown #10-2xl – S. vicarium (now classified as Maccaffertioum vicarium)
Gray Fox #12-2xl – S. fuscum (now also classified as Maccaffertioum vicarium)
Hendrickson #16 – E. X species
Tan Caddis #16-18 – Hydrosyche sp.
Apple Caddis #16-18 – Light Brachycentrus sp.
Hendrickson – #14 – E. subvaria (male)
Hendrickson – #12 – E. subvaria (female)
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Dark Chimarra sp.

May 20, 2015

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 20, 2015

We are back in a cold snap.  Air temps at night are back in the 40’s with daytime temps in the 50’s and 60’s.  The system should cool down over the next few days and if we’re lucky by the weekend we’ll get some directed releases from Cannonsville for the Montague flow target.  Lordville was 65 degrees at 6:30 this morning but was still dropping.  The West Branch under the 191 Bridge in Hancock was 59 degrees this morning and also dropping.  Lordville hit 70 degrees yesterday afternoon.  Keep an eye on the temps if you fish but with the cooler air temps and morning cloud cover it shouldn’t climb as fast today.
We are still seeing a lot for different bus on the water so we’re sticking with the term bug soup.  There are even some blue quills still hanging around.  The key to this season seems to be patience.  The water and air temps have the hatches coming off at odd times and we’ve seen a lot of morning and mid-day spinner falls.  If all else fails throw a rusty spinner.  Nymphing is still productive in the riffles with smaller flies.  The winds are going to up today so you’ll find more risers in protected areas.
Cannonsville is 96.3% capacity.  Most of the rain over the last few days seemed to hit west of us so the inflow at Walton is 176 cfs.

Richard Franklin sent us this shot from the weekend

Hatching:
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22-26 – Pseudo sp. (now classified as Acentrella sp.)
March Brown #10-2xl – S. vicarium (now classified as Maccaffertioum vicarium)
Gray Fox #12-2xl – S. fuscum (now also classified as Maccaffertioum vicarium)
Hendrickson #16 – E. X species
Tan Caddis #16-18 – Hydrosyche sp.
Apple Caddis #16-18 – Light Brachycentrus sp.
Hendrickson – #14 – E. subvaria (male)
Hendrickson – #12 – E. subvaria (female)
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Dark Chimarra sp.

May 19, 2015

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 19, 2015

The release from Cannonsville has dropped to 150 cfs this morning.  It seems that the rain and some down river power generation has added enough water to meet the Montague flow requirements so we have been cut back.  We had more rain overnight so the flows are increasing at Hale Eddy, Fishs Eddy, and Lordville due to natural runoff.  So far the clarity is good and if we do get a little color it may make the fish a little friendlier.  The water at Lordville is 65 degrees this morning and the West Branch under the 191 Bridge is 60 degrees.  Check the river temps with a thermometer before fishing this afternoon.
Nymphing proved effective once again during the afternoon and there was some sporadic hatching.  A lot of fish seem to be eating the tan caddis in #16 – 18 plus the hendrickson spinners.  We are seeing decent numbers of march browns but they are coming off sporadically throughout the day rather than coming in concentrated hatch.
The forecast for today is air temps close to 80 degrees with some clouds and a couple of brief showers spread out during the day.  Winds should only be 6 mph.  Overall it looks like a decent day for fishing.

Mitchell with a nice fish on the West Branch. Photo by Steve Shen

Hatching:
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22-26 – Pseudo sp. (now classified as Acentrella sp.)
March Brown #10-2xl – S. vicarium (now classified as Maccaffertioum vicarium)
Gray Fox #12-2xl – S. fuscum (now also classified as Maccaffertioum vicarium)
Hendrickson #16 – E. X species
Tan Caddis #16-18 – Hydrosyche sp.
Apple Caddis #16-18 – Light Brachycentrus sp.
Hendrickson – #14 – E. subvaria (male)
Hendrickson – #12 – E. subvaria (female)
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Dark Chimarra sp.

May 18, 2015

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 18, 2015

Yesterday’s warmer water temperatures and bright sun slowed the daytime hatches down.  It seems that most of the mayflies hatched very early in the day or after dark.  We did run into enough tan caddis and tiny blue winged olives on the water to get some fish looking up. A #18 tan caddis pupa turned out to be the dry fly of the day. The fishing was definitely better during periods of cloud cover and in shaded areas.  Nymphing was the most productive method yesterday.  The rivers colored up a bit from the rain and the fish seemed to less shy than they have been lately.  A few people had success throwing streamers in the off color water.
Today is another day to check the water with your thermometer before you fish.  Lordville is 66 degrees already this morning so I would stick to the East and West Branches.  The West Branch under the 191 Bridge is 59 degrees.  The East Branch at Fishs Eddy is 63.  Air temps will be in the high 70’s or the next two days but we should have some cloud cover with a chance of showers.  Wednesday the forecast is calling for cooler temps which will be a great help.

Dave holding a nice brown caught by Dave

Hatching:
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22-26 – Pseudo sp. (now classified as Acentrella sp.)
March Brown #10-2xl – S. vicarium (now classified as Maccaffertioum vicarium)
Gray Fox #12-2xl – S. fuscum (now also classified as Maccaffertioum vicarium)
Hendrickson #16 – E. X species
Tan Caddis #16-18 – Hydrosyche sp.
Apple Caddis #16-18 – Light Brachycentrus sp.
Hendrickson – #14 – E. subvaria (male)
Hendrickson – #12 – E. subvaria (female)
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Dark Chimarra sp.

May 17, 2015

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 17, 2015

Good cloud cover and a brief afternoon thunderstorm kept the river temperatures down throughout most of the system yesterday.  We had a decent mix of march browns and olives on the water during the afternoon.  Most of the fish eating on top were focused on the olives and spinners.  Just about everyone we spoke with saw decent mid-day spinner falls and very little at dark. The fishing was decent overall with enough risers to keep it interesting for most of the day.   Hopefully the fish recognize the bigger bugs as food soon.
The thunderstorm and overnight rain has added some water to the system.  We are looking at an air temperature of 80 degrees today with a mix of clouds and sun.  There is a chance of another thunderstorm so bring your rain gear.
The Mainstem at Callicoon peaked around 67 degrees yesterday.  The higher flows should provide some protection from today’s heat but definitely fish with your thermometer.

Marc with a nice fish from yesterday. Photo by Samantha Dennis

Hatching:
March Brown #10-2xl – S. vicarium (now classified as Maccaffertioum vicarium)
Gray Fox #12-2xl – S. fuscum (now also classified as Maccaffertioum vicarium)
Hendrickson #16 – E. X species
Apple Caddis #16-18 – Light Brachycentrus sp.
Hendrickson – #14 – E. subvaria (male)
Hendrickson – #12 – E. subvaria (female)
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Dark Chimarra sp.

May 16, 2015

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 16, 2015

The water temperatures are okay throughout the system this morning.  Lordville is starting off at 63 degrees so definitely check the water with your thermometer before fishing this afternoon.  The release was increased to 325 last night to help meet the flow target at Montague, NJ.  This is still not enough cold water to protect the Mainstem from thermal stress on hot sunny days so keep pressuring the politicians.  We have some warm air temps coming today and tomorrow but luckily today we will have some cloud cover with the potential for brief showers.  Hopefully it will be enough to protect the exposed rocks from heating up.
The hatching is still bug soup.  Bring everything and definitely do not forget the March Browns.  We still have some blue quills and plenty of #16 hendricksons on the water.  Sulphurs can’t be too far behind.

Please check the water temps often over the next two days and if you see temps approaching 67 just move up river closer to the dams.

Dane with a nice brown yesterday. Photo by Stephen Shen

Hatching:
March Brown #10-2xl – S. vicarium (now classified as Maccaffertioum vicarium)
Gray Fox #12-2xl – S. fuscum (now also classified as Maccaffertioum vicarium)
Hendrickson #16 – E. X species
Apple Caddis #16-18 – Light Brachycentrus sp.
Hendrickson – #14 – E. subvaria (male)
Hendrickson – #12 – E. subvaria (female)
Blue Quill – #16 – Paralep. adoptiva
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Dark Chimarra sp.

May 15, 2015

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 15, 2015

It looks like we have a very small directed release to help meet the minimum flow target of an average of 1750 cfs at Montague, NJ.  The release from Cannonsville is 176 cfs this morning.  Hopefully they will increase the directed release this afternoon or tonight and not release any water from Lake Wallenpaupack or Rio Reservoir.  The cooler temperatures have left the system in good shape this morning with a water temp at Lordville of 60 degrees.  Our daytime air temperatures are going to climb over the weekend but the overnight temps look okay.  The water is still low exposing a lot of the gravel and boulders.  Sun can heat the rivers up quickly in this situation so double check the water temperatures with your thermometer before you fish, especially on the Mainstem and lower East Branch.
The system fished well yesterday with the smaller #16 hendricksons seeming to be the hatch of the day.  It’s still bug soup with everything from blue quills to march browns hatching.  We are still finding blue quill nymphs on the West Branch so carry everything.  Nymphing has been very productive in between hatches but most people are finding enough rising fish to keep it interesting.  Do not forget to bring hendrickson spinners!
Bottom line- we need releases for the weekend to protect the Main.

Richard with a healthy rainbow in the sun yesterday.

Hatching:
March Brown #10-2xl – S. vicarium (now classified as Maccaffertioum vicarium)
Gray Fox #12-2xl – S. fuscum (now also classified as Maccaffertioum vicarium)
Hendrickson #16 – E. X species
Apple Caddis #16-18 – Light Brachycentrus sp.
Hendrickson – #14 – E. subvaria (male)
Hendrickson – #12 – E. subvaria (female)
Blue Quill – #16 – Paralep. adoptiva
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Dark Chimarra sp.