May 11, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 11, 2014

Despite a few downpours yesterday fished very well throughout the system.  Hatches Hendricksons, Blue Quills, Blue Winged Olives, and both light and dark Brachycentrus caddis had the fish very happy.  The Hendrickson spinners throughout the day were the icing on the cake.  Lots of fish were eating and lots of fish were landed on dry flies.  It looks like the rain has increased the spill from Cannonsville overnight.  The flow at Hale Eddy is dropping and should level off this morning.  We have slight color but it’s still clear enough for dryfly fishing.  Today looks good with warm air temps and sun.

Life is good for Mark on the West Branch. Photo by Steve Shen

Life is better. mark with another fish. Photo by Steve Shen

Hatching:

Light Hendrickson #12 – E. subvaria

Dark Hendrickson #14 – E. Subvaria

Blue Quill #16 – Paralep sp.

Apple Caddis #16 – Lt Brachycentrus sp.

Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans

Quill Gordon #14 -Epeorus pluralis

Little Black Caddis #18-20 – Chimarra sp.

Tiny Black Stoneflies #18 – Capniadae sp.

Early Black and Brown Stoneflies #14 – 16 Taeniopteryx sp.

May 10, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 10, 2014

Despite the weatherman being incorrect on his wind gust estimates the river fished very well yesterday.  Hendricksons, Blue Quills, Apple Caddis and Dark Brachys all brought fish to the net.  The hatching started mid afternoon and we still had fish picking junk up until dark. m It was a great classic Delaware day.  The rain early Friday morning did bring the rivers up and muddied the East.  The flows throughout the system are dropping and the WB looks great this morning.   The weather today looks the same with a little more wind, and sun.

Jim holding a fat brown yesterday – they love the rusty spinner. Photo by Steve Shen

Hatching:

Light Hendrickson #12 – E. subvaria

Dark Hendrickson #14 – E. Subvaria

Blue Quill #16 – Paralep sp.

Apple Caddis #16 – Lt Brachycentrus sp.

Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans

Quill Gordon #14 -Epeorus pluralis

Little Black Caddis #18-20 – Chimarra sp.

Tiny Black Stoneflies #18 – Capniadae sp.

Early Black and Brown Stoneflies #14 – 16 Taeniopteryx sp.

May 9, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 9, 2014

Yesterday fished very well with a great mix of Hendricksons, Blue Quills, and Apple Caddis.  The fish were up and happy when the sun was blocked by clouds in the afternoon.  There were a lot of fish playing nice and a lot of fish landed.  The lower water levels, warm air temps and sun have finally warmed the rivers enough to get some good afternoon dry fly action.  The air temps stayed surprisingly warm last night so we are starting off with great water temps this morning.

Steve Shen with a WB brown.  Photo by Jordan Davenport

Hatching:

Light Hendrickson #12 – E. subvaria

Dark Hendrickson #14 – E. Subvaria

Blue Quill #16 – Paralep sp.

Apple Caddis #16 – Lt Brachycentrus sp.

Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans

Quill Gordon #14 -Epeorus pluralis

Little Black Caddis #18-20 – Chimarra sp.

Tiny Black Stoneflies #18 – Capniadae sp.

Early Black and Brown Stoneflies #14 – 16 Taeniopteryx sp.

May 8, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 8, 2014

Yesterday was a good day all around.  The hatches were a healthy mix of Blue Quills, Hendricksons, Little Black Caddis, and lots of Apple Caddis starting to show on the lower river.  The best part was no wind!  Today looks even better with light rain, light wind,  and warm air temps.

Justin in the dark on the Main. Photo by Bob Lewis

Hatching:

Light Hendrickson #12 – E. subvaria

Dark Hendrickson #14 – E. Subvaria

Blue Quill #16 – Paralep sp.

Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans

Quill Gordon #14 -Epeorus pluralis

Little Black Caddis #18-20 – Chimarra sp.

Tiny Black Stoneflies #18 – Capniadae sp.

Early Black and Brown Stoneflies #14 – 16 Taeniopteryx sp.

May 7, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 7, 2014

The wind was with us again yesterday.  We had hatches of Blue Quills and Hendricksons on most of the system but the risers were tough to find during the wind gusts.  Fish were eating in the protected areas through the afternoon.  Nymphing drop offs was very productive.  Most of the activity shut down as the sun set and the temperatures dropped.  Today looks like a beautiful day with temps in the 60s, sun, and winds actually under 6 mph.  Cannonsville is now 100% capacity.

Release photo by Bob Lewis

Hatching:

Light Hendrickson #12 – E. subvaria

Dark Hendrickson #14 – E. Subvaria

Blue Quill #16 – Paralep sp.

Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans

Quill Gordon #14 -Epeorus pluralis

Little Black Caddis #18-20 – Chimarra sp.

Tiny Black Stoneflies #18 – Capniadae sp.

Early Black and Brown Stoneflies #14 – 16 Taeniopteryx sp.

May 6, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 6, 2014

The Cannonsville release has been cut back.  The recording says the release is 541 cfs but the USGS gage shows Stilesville at 407 cfs.  They did not do a stellar job of ramping down the water either.  Cannonsville is currently at 99.8% capacity.  Most of the system had a decent hatch of Hendricksons mixed with Blue Quills yesterday.  The fish were eating when the wind wasn’t gusting.  Today looks great with a high of 60, sun, and moderate winds with some decent gusts.

Jim Swift II with a brown

Kevan holding a WB brown

Hatching:

Light Hendrickson #12 – E. subvaria

Dark Hendrickson #14 – E. Subvaria

Blue Quill #16 – Paralep sp.

Quill Gordon #14 -Epeorus pluralis

Little Black Caddis #18-20 – Chimarra sp.

Tiny Black Stoneflies #18 – Capniadae sp.

Early Black and Brown Stoneflies #14 – 16 Taeniopteryx sp.

May 5, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 5, 2014

Well that was a strong wind yesterday.  There were decent hatch es of blue quills and hendricksons on most of the system yesterday but the wind made fishing tough.  Fish were caught but a lot of time was spent watching bugs float by uneaten.  The hatching should continue today with less wind relatively speaking.  winds in the low teens and gusts to 20 which should be manageable.  The fish should be eating in wind protected areas.  The river temps are hitting the magic number of 50 degrees.

Bernie with a WB Brown photo by Steve Shen

Tom with a WB Brown Photo by Steve Shen

Hatching:

Light Hendrickson #12 – E. subvaria

Dark Hendrickson #14 – E. Subvaria

Blue Quill #16 – Paralep sp.

Quill Gordon #14 -Epeorus pluralis

Little Black Caddis #18-20 – Chimarra sp.

Tiny Black Stoneflies #18 – Capniadae sp.

Early Black and Brown Stoneflies #14 – 16 Taeniopteryx sp.

May 4, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 4, 2014

Blue Quills and Hendricksons were the flies of choice yesterday.  We also had some black caddis and a few stoneflies in the mix.  The insects and rising activity has been increasing over the last few days and it finally feels like spring.  We are still dealing with cold nights so it’s taking longer for the water temps to rise during the day making the hatching a little later than “normal”.  According to the weatherman we have some serious winds coming in today- lets hope he’s wrong.

Another West Branch brown. Photo by Steve Shen

Hatching:

Light Hendrickson #12 – E. subvaria

Dark Hendrickson #14 – E. Subvaria

Blue Quill #16 – Paralep sp.

Quill Gordon #14 -Epeorus pluralis

Little Black Caddis #18-20 – Chimarra sp.

Tiny Black Stoneflies #18 – Capniadae sp.

Early Black and Brown Stoneflies #14 – 16 Taeniopteryx sp.

May 3, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 3, 2014

Finally we had what felt like a real Hendrickson hatch.  Not a blanket hatch, but enough hendricksons to get the fish up feeding steady.  Todays weather is a mirror image of yesterdays.  Partly cloudy, high near 60, and moderate winds. Some light rain moving into the area tonight.   Looks like decent fishing day.  Cannonsville is 99.5%

Pete with a dryfly brown

Hatching:

Light Hendrickson #12 – E. subvaria

Dark Hendrickson #14 – E. Subvaria

Blue Quill #16 – Paralep sp.

Quill Gordon #14 -Epeorus pluralis

Little Black Caddis #18-20 – Chimarra sp.

Tiny Black Stoneflies #18 – Capniadae sp.

Early Black and Brown Stoneflies #14 – 16 Taeniopteryx sp.

May 2, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 2, 2014

Yesterday ended up being a tough day on the river. The weather was great and the water temps looked good but the fish never really got going.  Dry fly shots were few and far between and nymphing was tough with the slight color in the water.  Streamers fared better in the evening as the sun dropped.  Today should be better fishing on falling water rather than the rising water we had for a good part of yesterday.  Cannonsville is at 99.3% capacity.

Jack Regan with a WB brown yesterday – photo by Bruce Miller

Hatching:

Light Hendrickson #12 – E. subvaria

Dark Hendrickson #14 – E. Subvaria

Blue Quill #16 – Paralep sp.

Quill Gordon #14 -Epeorus pluralis

Little Black Caddis #18-20 – Chimarra sp.

Tiny Black Stoneflies #18 – Capniadae sp.

Early Black and Brown Stoneflies #14 – 16 Taeniopteryx sp.

May 1, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 1, 2014

It looks like the West Branch escaped most of the rain. The color looks fine  right now with some feeders bringing the flow up at Hale Eddy a little.  It does not seem that Cannonsville is spilling yet.  The WB at Walton is 733 cfs.  Yesterday was an interesting weather day with periods of rain and cool temps.  There was a nice hatch of Blue Quills in the afternoon and a few fish were caught on top.  Nymphing was also productive throughout the day.  Today the weatherman is calling for highs in the 60s with winds gusting to 11- not too bad.  This should be a good fishing day and we’ll keep an eye on Cannonsville for spill.

Photo by Jerry Quinn

Hatching:

Light Hendrickson #12 – E. subvaria

Dark Hendrickson #14 – E. Subvaria

Blue Quill #16 – Paralep sp.

Quill Gordon #14 -Epeorus pluralis

Little Black Caddis #18-20 – Chimarra sp.

Tiny Black Stoneflies #18 – Capniadae sp.

Early Black and Brown Stoneflies #14 – 16 Taeniopteryx sp.

April 30, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions April 30, 2014

The rivers are still in decent shape after yesterdays cold and rain.  River temps are starting off in their normal range and the flows only had a minor bump.  More cool temps and rain on the way today but Thursday’s weather looks great for fishing.  The rivers still fished yesterday with a number of fish landed on nymphs and the weather never seemed as bad here as the weatherman was making it sound.  Cannonsville is at 99.2% capacity.

Payoff in tough weather conditions. Photo by Kevan Smaracko

Hatching:

Light Hendrickson #12 – E. subvaria

Dark Hendrickson #14 – E. Subvaria

Blue Quill #16 – Paralep sp.

Quill Gordon #14 -Epeorus pluralis

Little Black Caddis #18-20 – Chimarra sp.

Tiny Black Stoneflies #18 – Capniadae sp.

Early Black and Brown Stoneflies #14 – 16 Taeniopteryx sp.