October 26, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 26, 2014

We were hit by a strong thunderstorm overnight but so far the West Branch remains clear and has only risen around 20 cfs at Hale Eddy.  While it’s still rising slowly this morning it should level off soon.  The flows throughout the system have all risen slightly but it seems like a minor event overall that should not change the fishing conditions today.  We should be in the low 50’s today and if the wind stays down we should see some pseudos hatching in the afternoon.  Nymphing has been productive when the wind blows.  Most success has come on Pheasant Tail and Copper John nymphs that match the small olives in #18 -22.  Cannonsville is at 49% capacity with an inflow on the Upper West Branch of 373 cfs.  The West Branch under the 191 Bridge in Hancock is 51 degrees this morning.

Hatching:

Olive/Sulphurs #18 -20 H. hebe

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

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

Slate Drakes #14 -Isonychia bicolor

October 25, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 25, 2014

The wind was definitely a factor yesterday until late afternoon.  Once it settled down it was actually very pleasant out for the end of October and there were a few fish rising to the left over olives.  Today looks much better on paper with winds at 5 mph and gusts to 8 mph.  The air temperature should be around 60 with mostly sun.  We should see decent Pseudo hatches mid afternoon plus the odd left over Isonychia.  We have been seeing a lot of caddis in the evenings.  They are mostly flying but occasionally one hits the water while laying eggs  and the fish get a chance to eat. If you see a slashing one timer try putting a #16 dark caddis over it.

The eagle shot you end up with after forgetting to check your shutter speed

Hatching:

Olive/Sulphurs #18 -20 H. hebe

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

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

Slate Drakes #14 -Isonychia bicolor

October 24, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 24, 2014

Yesterdays rain did add a little water to the system but all the rivers remain wadeable and in decent shape this morning.  It looks like the flows at Hale Eddy and Fishs Eddy have leveled off and should be dropping during the day.  The wind made fishing tough yesterday and traffic was light but some people braved it and were rewarded with some fish rising to Pseudos in the afternoon.  The weather looks decent today with highs in the high 50s to low 60s.  Hopefully Accuweather is wrong about the wind today.  We have a bit of a warming trend moving in over the weekend that looks great for the end of October.

Hale Eddy is at a great fishing level this morning

Hatching:

Olive/Sulphurs #18 -20 H. hebe

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

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

Slate Drakes #14 -Isonychia bicolor

October 23, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 23, 2014

So far we’ve had a little sporadic rain this morning but nothing major and the rivers have come through it just fine.  We should see brief showers during the day with highs close to 50 degrees.  The wind was not s bad as predicted yesterday so lets hope it stays down today too.  We are seeing more pseudos hatching than other insects so make sure you have them covered in #22 – #26.

Finding some pictures on The Bobs camera card

Hatching:

Olive/Sulphurs #18 -20 H. hebe

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

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

Slate Drakes #14 -Isonychia bicolor

October 22, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 22, 2014

We had some rain overnight but so far the flows have only seen a slight bump up since yesterday.  Most people reported fewer olives yesterday than the previous few days but there still were enough to get some fish eating on the West Branch in the late afternoon.  Today we are looking at temps in the low 50’s with some intermittent rain so hopefully the hatching comes a little earlier today.  There have been a few fish eating sporadically already this morning likely on a mix of left over olives from yesterday and a few caddis that found there way on to the water.  If the wind stays down this could be a decent day for late October.  The West Branch under the 191 Bridge in Hancock is 52 degrees this morning.

A nice October morning so far

Hatching:

Olive/Sulphurs #18 -20 H. hebe

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

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

Slate Drakes #14 -Isonychia bicolor

October 21, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 21, 2014

We had a little rain overnight but so far the flows on the system have barely budged.  Yesterday fished well for October with pseudos and a few Isonychias on sections of the Mainstem.  The wind picked up a little but never became a real problem.  We are looking at sporadic light showers over the next few days with air temps peaking in the low 50’s.  I hope Accuweather is correct on their wind predictions with gusts only reaching 4 mph today.  This could turn out to be a great olive afternoon.  The entire system remains wadeable and the flow at Stilesville is 171 cfs this morning. The West Branch under the 191 Bridge in Hancock is 50 degrees this morning.

It seems NY forgot how to ramp down the releases from Cannonsville.  Hopefully not too many redds were exposed on the upper West Branch this week.

NY can protect spawning trout from anglers but not from their own water policies.

Hatching:

Olive/Sulphurs #18 -20 H. hebe

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

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

Slate Drakes #14 -Isonychia bicolor

October 20, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 20, 2014

The wind made fishing extremely tough yesterday.  Once the cold front started pushing in the gusts increased and the air temperature dropped.  We even had a brief mid-morning five minute snow storm.  Despite all of that there were still some pseudos on the water but nymphing was definitely more productive and the way to go.  We had our first frost this morning but temperatures are climbing now and we are on a warming trend over the next few days.  We should have some rain moving in but so far it looks like the largest part of the storm will go north of us.  The predicted winds seem manageable today with gusts to 9 mph. Last nights cold air temps have dropped the water temps so things should start a little slower today until we warm up.  The West Branch under the 191 Bridge in Hancock is 47 degrees this morning.  The entire system is wadeable and the flows continue to drop slowly.

Congratulations to John on his first Delaware fish! Photo by Bob Lewis

Hatching:

Olive/Sulphurs #18 -20 H. hebe

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

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

Slate Drakes #14 -Isonychia bicolor

October 19, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 19, 2014

The rivers have settled down and everything remains perfectly wadeable this morning.  We’ve had a little off and on light rain this morning that should end until later in the afternoon.  The air temps have dropped but so fat it’s a comfortable Fall day.  It looks to be shaping into a great blue winged olive type of day.  The winds have definitely been variable over the last few days but even on the windy days there are still enough leaves on the trees to provide some breaks on the river and the fish seem to be eating well in between the gusts.  The West Branch under the 191 Bridge in Hancock is 53 degrees this morning.

Bob with a nice brown this month. Photo by Jordan Davenport

Hatching:

Olive/Sulphurs #18 -20 H. hebe

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

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

Slate Drakes #14 -Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.

October 18, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 18, 2014

The rivers have receded dramatically since the rain leaving all of the system is wadeable and floatable this morning.  The West Branch flow is lower than we’ve seen in quite a while which is great news for the waders.  The lower flow should also make the fish more apt to rise to the smaller olives.  The rivers fished well yesterday once the wind died down in the afternoon.  We did find fish earlier in wind protected spots too.  Today looks like another decent olive day with clouds and a 40% chance of a light shower mid-day.  The rivers should continue to drop throughout the day offering even more opportunities for wading this week.  The olive hatch continues and we are still seeing a few Isonychias on the water just to keep things interesting.  The West Branch under the 191 Bridge in Hancock is 56 degrees this morning.

This turned out to be a beautiful Fall to fish

Hatching:

Olive/Sulphurs #18 -20 H. hebe

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

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

Slate Drakes #14 -Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.

October 17, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 17, 2014

The runoff is currently meeting the flow targets down stream so the release from Cannonsville has been cut back and the current flow at Stilesville is 168 cfs.  The flow at Hale Eddy is 992 cfs and still falling as the streams drop.  As the flows drop we should be set up for some of the better wading opportunities we’ve had on the West Branch in months.  We expect the river to clear as it drops with the lower release putting less particulate in the river.   Remember the West Branch above the Monument is now closed for the season but the border water is open for fishing.  Today should be pleasant with temps in the mid 60’s and some light showers and clouds coming in for the weekend.  According to Accuweather we should not receive any significant rain over the next few days which is perfect for the river right now.  The Mainstem is dropping back quickly but still getting quite a bit of water from the smaller tributaries.  The West Branch under the 191 Bridge in Hancock is 57 degrees this morning.

Delaware Highlands Conservancy has started a fundraiser to improve the Long Eddy access – check it out at:  https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/improve-the-long-eddy-river-access

Hopefully once this project is complete someone will take a serious interest in improving the Lordville access.

Yes they are still around!

Hatching:

Olive/Sulphurs #18 -20 H. hebe

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

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

Slate Drakes #14 -Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.

October 16, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 16, 2014

We finally got the rain we have been wishing for this fall.  We’ve had steady showers leading into downpours since yesterday afternoon giving some much needed water to the Beaverkill and East Branch.  While a lot of the early rain soaked into the ground we now have some pretty decent runoff coming down the river.  The release from Cannonsville has been cut and Stilesville is flowing at 725 cfs this morning and dropping.  The flow at hale Eddy is 2,770 cfs and dropping quickly.  We should clear nicely with the lower release once the rain stops and the flow drops back another 1000 cfs- possibly by this afternoon.  Once the runoff subsides we should have less reservoir sediment in the West Branch allowing much of it to filter out by the time it reaches the lower river sections.  This could be great news for people wanting to fish the West Branch over the next week.  The lower East Branch definitely has color to it and usually takes an extra day or so to clear.  Keep an eye on the graphs – once hale hits a little under 100 cfs we should be in great shape.  This morning the river looks prime for a streamer run.  The West Branch under the 191 Bridge in Hancock is 59 degrees.

artist Flick Ford getting some casts in before the rain hit this week

Hatching:

Olive/Sulphurs #18 -20 H. hebe

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

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

Slate Drakes #14 -Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.

October 15, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 15, 2014

Everything looked great yesterday except for the wind!  There were decent Psuedos hatching mixed with a few Isonychias.  We did find fish rising in wind protected areas during the day and once the wind dropped in the late afternoon the activity definitely increased. Today is going to be in the low 70’s with some light rain and fair wind.  The key will be finding the edges that are wind protected and watching for the subtle rise forms when the fish are sipping olives.  The release from Cannonsville has bee dropped to 868 cfs this morning which should help some of the color settle out as it moves down river.  The West Branch under the 191 Bridge in Hancock is 57 degrees this morning.

Bob with a nice brown this week. Photo by Bruce Miller

Hatching:

Olive/Sulphurs #18 -20 H. hebe

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

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

Slate Drakes #14 -Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.