August 20, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 20, 2014

It was tough fishing on the lower West Branch last night with only a few mayflies coming off and most of the fish keying in on a large number of #26 flying ants.  We had just enough summer stenos on the water to get some of the fish interested in eating one but a number of fish keyed on the tiny ants and wouldn’t look at a different fly.  The wind was a bit more than Accuweather predicted but it settled down nicely for prime time.  The sulphur hatch is waning on the Upper West Branch but there were still some coming off plus a few small blue winged olives.  Today looks warmer with a few passing showers.  Hopefully the rain kicks off some decent olive hatches.  Last night was warmer than we’ve been used to but the West Branch under the 191 Bridge is still starting out at a respectable 55 degrees this morning.  The release from Cannonsville has dropped slightly and is now 602 cfs until further notice.

Evan with a West Branch Brown this week.  Photo by Bruce Miller

Hatching:

Sulphurs #16 -20 E. dorothea

Summer Stenos #12-16 various species

Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.

Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.

Dark Blue Winged Olive #16 -20 – E. deficiens, lata, etc.

Light Blue Winged Olive #16 -20 – E. cornutella, etc

Slate Drakes #12 – Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.

Golden Drakes – #12-2xl – Potomanthus sp.

August 19, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 19, 2014

The wind was definitely calmer yesterday which helped the fishing.  In the morning nymphing definitely paid off on the lower West Branch.  The sulphurs and small olives came later in the evening offering some dry fly action.  Spinners are falling early due to the cold weather so if you get a refusal on a dun pattern check the water carefully.  The mid-day sulphurs on the Upper West Branch seem to be waning a bit but there is still a fishable hatch. the fish seem to have been keying on the small pseudos over the last few days.   Today looks warmer with light winds.  The West Branch under the 191 Bridge is 53 degrees this morning.

Mitchell with a nice morning rainbow yesterday

Tyler with one of his own

Hatching:

Sulphurs #16 -20 E. dorothea

Summer Stenos #12-16 various species

Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.

Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.

Dark Blue Winged Olive #16 -20 – E. deficiens, lata, etc.

Light Blue Winged Olive #16 -20 – E. cornutella, etc

Slate Drakes #12 – Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.

Golden Drakes – #12-2xl – Potomanthus sp.

August 18, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 18, 2014

The release from Cannonsville was raised to 661 cfs this morning until further notice. The West Branch is still perfectly wadeable and floatable at 661 and most anglers will only notice a slight difference from yesterday.  Hopefully it flushes some of the green algae out of the upper river but it may not be enough of an increase to help.  The wind blew pretty hard fo rmost of the day yesterday taking the mayflies off the water as soon as they hatched.  When the wind dropped in the evening we settled into our usual sulphurs, stenos, and small olives.  Accuweather is calling for lighter winds today- let’s hope they are correct.  Cannonsville Reservoir is currently at 87.2% and the West Branch at Walton is flowing in at 80 cfs.  We’re wearing fleece again this morning due to the cool nights and the lower West Branch under the 191 Bridge in Hancock is 54 degrees.

Hatching:

Sulphurs #16 -20 E. dorothea

Summer Stenos #12-16 various species

Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.

Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.

Dark Blue Winged Olive #16 -20 – E. deficiens, lata, etc.

Light Blue Winged Olive #16 -20 – E. cornutella, etc

Slate Drakes #12 – Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.

Golden Drakes – #12-2xl – Potomanthus sp.

August 17, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 17, 2014

It looks like our cool weather will continue with highs in the mid 70s today, a few clouds in the morning, and moderate winds.  Accuweather has had the wind predictions wrong all week so it’s hard to say what we will actually receive.  So far it’s calm this morning with a heavy mist.  The cool nights have put a damper on some of the traditional evening spinner falls- look for those spinners during the day – even mixed in with the duns in mid afternoon.  We are still seeing sulphurs on the Upper West Branch and a mix of sulphurs, stenos, and olives on the lower West Branch and Upper Mainstem.  Some of the activity on the lower sections seems to be different from pool to pool.

Old Green Eyes

Hatching:

Sulphurs #16 -20 E. dorothea

Summer Stenos #12-16 various species

Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.

Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.

Dark Blue Winged Olive #16 -20 – E. deficiens, lata, etc.

Light Blue Winged Olive #16 -20 – E. cornutella, etc

Slate Drakes #12 – Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.

Golden Drakes – #12-2xl – Potomanthus sp.

August 16, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 16, 2014

Yesterday’s winds finally did calm down in the evening to the predicted 2 mph giving us some decent dry fly opportunity late in the day.  We saw a mix of olives and small sulphurs on the water with an occasional summer steno floating past.  The air temp dropped once the sun fell behind the mountains slowing the fishing down and making us look for fleece.  The clouds looked threatening all day but we didn’t receive any additional rain.  Today looks  sunny with clouds moving in during the evening and some very light showers overnight.  Similar o yesterday with fewer clouds.  Nymphing has been producing fish on the lower West Branch and Upper Mainstem.  Dry fly activity has been decent on the Upper West Branch during the day and the activity moves downstream in the late afternoons. The West Branch under the 191 Bridge in Hancock is 52 degrees this morning.

Rise

Hatching:

Sulphurs #16 -20 E. dorothea

Light Cahill #14 – E. Invaria

Pale Evening Dun #14 Epeorus vitreus

Summer Stenos #12-16 various species

Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.

Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.

Dark Blue Winged Olive #16 -20 – E. deficiens, lata, etc.

Light Blue Winged Olive #16 -20 – E. cornutella, etc

Slate Drakes #12-2xl – Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.

Golden Drakes – #12-2xl – Potomanthus sp.

August 15, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 15, 2014

Last night turned out to be very cool with a mix of light rain. The rain still did not cause the flows to rise but the weather certainly is keeping the water temperatures in great shape on most of the system.  Lordville is starting off a61 degrees this morning which is almost unheard of in mid- August.  Accuweather is calling for a high air temp here of 69 degrees today with sun and variable clouds.  The winds are predicted to be 2 mph which is a welcome change.  So far they seem to be a bit more than that so hopefully they drop during the day.  The Upper West Branch should offer the normal sulphur and BWO hatches while the Lower WB and Upper Main Stem should see some olive, summer stenos, a few Isonychias, and smaller sulphurs towards dark.  The Tricos have been hatching but the spinner falls are happening later in the day due to the cooler weather.  We’ve even seen them after lunch on some of the colder days.

Coming to the net

Hatching:

Sulphurs #16 -20 E. dorothea

Light Cahill #14 – E. Invaria

Pale Evening Dun #14 Epeorus vitreus

Summer Stenos #12-16 various species

Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.

Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.

Dark Blue Winged Olive #16 -20 – E. deficiens, lata, etc.

Light Blue Winged Olive #16 -20 – E. cornutella, etc

Slate Drakes #12-2xl – Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.

Golden Drakes – #12-2xl – Potomanthus sp.

August 14, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 14, 2014

We didn’t receive the amount of rain we had hoped for, but that means the system is still wad-able and the water clarity is normal.  Their is a chance of a few passing showers throughout the day, but nothing torrential.   Yesterday fished well in the rain with sulphurs and olives in deposit and some #14 Stenos and pseudos on the lower west.  You can expect things to be a little slower today with the sun, but there will be sulphurs in Deposit and the evening will fish well on the lower river.

The river remains virtually unchanged.

Hatching:

Sulphurs #16 -20 E. dorothea

Light Cahill #14 – E. Invaria

Pale Evening Dun #14 Epeorus vitreus

Summer Stenos #12-16 various species

Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.

Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.

Dark Blue Winged Olive #16 -20 – E. deficiens, lata, etc.

Light Blue Winged Olive #16 -20 – E. cornutella, etc

Slate Drakes #12-2xl – Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.

Golden Drakes – #12-2xl – Potomanthus sp.

August 13, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 13, 2014

Most of the river system has seen little change from the overnight rains.  The flows bumped om most of the rivers but the amount is negligible.  The best news is that the water temperatures at Fish’s Eddy and Lordville are starting off lower this morning than they have over the last few days.  They are calling for a few more scattered showers today but nothing terrible.  The light rain and clouds should actually improve the fishing conditions.  The West Branch at Walton is climbing but is only 86 cfs. Cannonsville Reservoir is 88.4% capacity.  The Lower West Branch is clear so far this morning and looks top be in great shape.  I would expect the lower sections of the river to rise slowly today.  If we get hit with a localized storm that changes the conditions we’ll add an additional update here.  We should see our normal sulphurs and summer stenos, plus those rainy day olives in #18 -24.

Dave with a brown in the early morning fog

Hatching:

Sulphurs #16 -20 E. dorothea

Light Cahill #14 – E. Invaria

Pale Evening Dun #14 Epeorus vitreus

Summer Stenos #12-16 various species

Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.

Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.

Dark Blue Winged Olive #16 -20 – E. deficiens, lata, etc.

Light Blue Winged Olive #16 -20 – E. cornutella, etc

Slate Drakes #12-2xl – Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.

Golden Drakes – #12-2xl – Potomanthus sp.

August 12, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 12, 2014

We are waking up to a light rain this morning that is a welcome change from the normal sunshine.  The forecast is calling for light showers off and on all day which should help the fishing by keeping the bugs on the water longer and making the fish a little less spooky.  The are calling for close to two inches total over the next two days but most of it should soak into the ground.  Yesterday saw decent sulphurs in the Upper West Branch and some evening activity on the lower West Branch an Upper Mainstem. Most of the river system is a healthy mix of sulphurs, stenos, small olives, with a few isonychias.  Over the last couple of days the water temps on the Mainstem at Lordville have peaked in the high 60’s and the Lower East Branch at Fish’s Eddy has peaked over 70 degrees.  The West Branch under the 191 Bridge is 56 degrees this morning.

Home Pool rainbow in the sun. Photo by Dave

Hatching:

Sulphurs #16 -20 E. dorothea

Light Cahill #14 – E. Invaria

Pale Evening Dun #14 Epeorus vitreus

Summer Stenos #12-16 various species

Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.

Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.

Dark Blue Winged Olive #16 -20 – E. deficiens, lata, etc.

Light Blue Winged Olive #16 -20 – E. cornutella, etc

Slate Drakes #12-2xl – Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.

Golden Drakes – #12-2xl – Potomanthus sp.

August 11, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 11, 2014

The West Branch is in great shape this morning. We had a small bump in the flow at Stilesville this morning and are running at 620 cfs.  The release is still 600 cfs “until further notice.” The West Branch under the 191 Bridge is 56 degrees this morning.  Today looks like the last sunny day we’ll have to put up with at least through Thursday.  We’ll see how much rain the storms actually bring since most of our weather seems to be localized.  The clouds and drop in air temperature will be a welcome relief.  The best daytime dryfly activity continues to be on the Upper West Branch.  On the lower West Branch try nymphing during the day and look for dryfly action as the sun drops.  The lower East Branch peaked over 70 degrees yesterday and the Mainstem at Lordville peaked close to 67 degrees so fish with your thermometer if you fish anywhere other than the Upper East Branch and Upper West Branch.

Stay late

Hatching:

Sulphurs #16 -20 E. dorothea

Light Cahill #14 – E. Invaria

Pale Evening Dun #14 Epeorus vitreus

Summer Stenos #12-16 various species

Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.

Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.

Dark Blue Winged Olive #16 -20 – E. deficiens, lata, etc.

Light Blue Winged Olive #16 -20 – E. cornutella, etc

Slate Drakes #12-2xl – Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.

Golden Drakes – #12-2xl – Potomanthus sp.

August 10, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 10, 2014

More of the same yesterday.  Mid-day sulphurs in the Upper West and evening sulphurs and cahills on the Lower West and Upper Mainstem.  The fish were eating despite the sun but were much happier when the clouds passed over.  We’ve seen fewer Isonychias lately but the Summer Stenos seem to be making up the difference for the fish.  Swinging wet flies and nymphing has been effective during the day on the lower sections but keep look around for the odd fish rising to stenos in the sun.  If you can mark them and cover them quickly you have a good chance of getting them to eat.  As of August 8th Cannonsville was at 90.3% capacity.  It’s another one of those cold mornings when you need to wear a fleece.  The West Branch under the 191 Bridge in Hancock is 56 degrees this morning.

Spinner patterns can make decent sulphur cripple imitations

Hatching:

Sulphurs #16 -20 E. dorothea

Light Cahill #14 – E. Invaria

Pale Evening Dun #14 Epeorus vitreus

Summer Stenos #12-16 various species

Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.

Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.

Dark Blue Winged Olive #16 -20 – E. deficiens, lata, etc.

Light Blue Winged Olive #16 -20 – E. cornutella, etc

Slate Drakes #12-2xl – Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.

Golden Drakes – #12-2xl – Potomanthus sp.

August 9, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 9, 2014

The sulphurs continue to hatch like clockwork on the Upper West Branch.  They were were some decent fish rising but they were picky yesterday.  A lot of the fish are still eating just under the surface during the main part of the hatch.  We have been having some success with floating nymphs during this period.  As the hatch wanes and their underwater food supply dwindles the fish are turning to the cripples and stillborns on the surface.  The lower West Branch and Upper Mainstem fished better in the evening once the sun dropped with a mix of sulphurs and cahills.  The cahills are hatching sporadically throughout the day so if you are are patient you may find a fish to target even in the bright sun.  Nymphing has been decent below Hale Eddy.  Match your nymphs to the size of the naturals.  We have been using #14 -20 Pheasant Tails and Copper Johns with decent success.  The lower water on the East Branch has started to cause the temperatures to rise at Fish’s Eddy so check before you fish over there.  The West Branch at under the 191 Bridge is 55 degrees this morning.

Ron with a nice brown trout

Hatching:

Sulphurs #16 -20 E. dorothea

Light Cahill #14 – E. Invaria

Pale Evening Dun #14 Epeorus vitreus

Summer Stenos #12-16 various species

Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.

Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.

Dark Blue Winged Olive #16 -20 – E. deficiens, lata, etc.

Light Blue Winged Olive #16 -20 – E. cornutella, etc

Slate Drakes #12-2xl – Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.

Golden Drakes – #12-2xl – Potomanthus sp.