September 7, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 7, 2013

Tough day out there. As a friend put it, it was a “Big Sky Day” – lots of bright, warm sun during a day that felt cold when you were out of it. With the sun, there was not a great abundance of activity early on in the day, save for some nice big Trico flights in Home Pool, Methodist Pool, and Junction Pool. Not many fell on the water, but it definitely provides a reason to head out on the water around 9:30 – 10:00 AM. Otherwise, there were decent flushes of bugs here and there from Hale Eddy all the way down to Buckingham, and while the fish were only up sporadically, they were definitely eating and catch-able if you could put a cast over them in time. Today, we’re looking at warmer weather, with the possibility of some showers as well. The additional cloud cover coupled with the warmer air temps definitely bode well for hatching, and we should certainly see more day-time action as well!

While the browns are starting to move upstream, we are still seeing plenty of hungry ones in the West Branch! Photo: Jim Swift

What’s Hatching:

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 & #18 – starting to wane

Epeorus vitreus – PED / Pink Lady – #14

Isonychia bicolor – Iso – Slate Drake – #12-2XL, #12

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16

Current Flow Conditions:

September 6, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 6, 2013

Windy! That is definitely what yesterday was, but fortunately only in bursts, unlike what was predicted. The oddball aspect of the day was the hatching – it was pool-to-pool, instead of river-wide. Certain sections would see great flushes of stenos, hebes, and BWOs, but move just a few hundred yards downstream, and there could be nothing happening at all. The fish were definitely up in the evening, but only steady in those areas with the aforementioned heavy flushes of bugs. The Main Stem was cool all day (water temp wise) and it showed, with a bit more consistent hatching than the West Branch. With incredibly cool overnight temps (it is only 41 at the club as of 7:45 AM), the Main and the East will start to fish again in fairly short order. The West will take a little while to heat back up this morning, so don’t rush out on the water – with partly cloudy skies, and temps under 70, it may take awhile for the bugs to kick in, and the fish to start looking up for them!

Look out Rainbow! Joe Galgano is going to eat you!!! Joe caught this nice fish last night on the Main. Photo: Bruce Miller

What’s Hatching:

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 & #18 – starting to wane

Epeorus vitreus – PED / Pink Lady – #14

Isonychia bicolor – Iso – Slate Drake – #12-2XL, #12

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16

Current Flow Conditions:

September 5, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 5, 2013

It was opposite day yesterday evening – when the sun was out, there were bugs, when the shade hit the water, the bugs disappeared. Up is down, left is right, cats and dogs, living together – mass hysteria (kudos to all those getting the last reference). There were a few isos out, as well as some larger (#18) olives, and fish were very sporadically taking them, with barely visible sips. Definitely catchable if you could put the cast over them quick enough. The daytime was pretty quiet, even on the subsurface front, likely due to the high pressure system that moved in during the afternoon. Today, we’re looking at cooler temperatures, variable cloudiness, but definitely some wind thrown in throughout the day which will make things interesting. The pressure is slated to remain steady at least, so hopefully the bugs will be active during the day, and certainly during the evening as the wind dies down as well.

Everything was upside down yesterday! (Isonychia bicolor  dun) Photo: Bart Larmouth

What’s Hatching:

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 & #18 – starting to wane

Epeorus vitreus – PED / Pink Lady – #14

Isonychia bicolor – Iso – Slate Drake – #12-2XL, #12

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16

Current Flow Conditions:

September 4, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 4, 2013

The river definitely cleared up yesterday as we thought, starting upstream and working down. Cloud cover throughout the day did produce some good hatches in various spots throughout the river, albeit spotty insofar as timing went. The evening saw the wind come up a little bit, which pushed some of the smaller olives off the water early, but there were flushes of stenos and isos to keep the trout at least looking up. Today the water temps are starting much cooler thanks to our cold overnight, but we are expected to get up into the high 70s today – our warmest day of the week, with the witchdoctors calling for “sunny and pleasant” – not the best for daytime fishing, but there should be some trico activity this  morning, and I would fully expect some very nice hatching in the evening as well.

They’re still hungry! Nice Summer Brown. Photo by: Tom Noble

What’s Hatching:

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 & #18 – starting to wane

Epeorus vitreus – PED / Pink Lady – #14

Isonychia bicolor – Iso – Slate Drake – #12-2XL, #12

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16

Current Flow Conditions:

September 3, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 3, 2013

Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend! Now, take a look at that graph below – it could be the path for a new roller coaster, or it could just be the West Branch flow at Hale. Pretty crazy huh? We actually got quite a bit of rain last night, but it appears the majority hit the reservoir and the East Branch Basin (which is currently ripping). We are definitely up, but are by no means blown out this morning (at least across the street). The river is already beginning to fall, so we will likely have a good day here today, especially if the cloud cover persists. The fish have finally realized that the small olives are actually food, and as such those fishing BWO emerger patterns have been doing pretty well. There are still ants about, and the Isos have not taken a break yet either. We have a little more rain in the forecast today, but it doesn’t look like it will affect the flow / river color – just make the olives happy!

Jeff Biller took advantage of some night time action this weekend! Photo: Dave Price

What’s Hatching:

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 & #18 – starting to wane

Epeorus vitreus – PED / Pink Lady – #14

Isonychia bicolor – Iso – Slate Drake – #12-2XL, #12

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16

Current Flow Conditions:

September 2, 2013

Delaware River Report / Condtions September 2, 2013

Another day that didn’t quite turn out as planned. With good clouds, and fairly steady pressure, there were olives popping throughout the day yesterday, but the fish did not seem to notice for whatever reason. Later on, there were definitely ants on the water (#18 black), and even sporadic risers could be tricked into snacking on them, but the key word there was sporadic – even into the dark there was not much in the way of steady, rising fish. Very strange for sure. We are expecting another warm, humid, cloudy day today, which will hopefully let the olives continue. I am also praying that the fish realize that they are food, because if they do, it will be a rip-roaring day out there today!

Dave Price with a nice brown taken in Home Pool this weekend. I think he caught it on a nymph, so I am not sure if that really counts. Photo: Jeff Biller

What’s Hatching:

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 & #18 – starting to wane

Epeorus vitreus – PED / Pink Lady – #14

Isonychia bicolor – Iso – Slate Drake – #12-2XL, #12

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16

Current Flow Conditions:

September 1, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 1, 2013

Apologies on the delay this morning – rural internet connections are always fun.

When Mother Nature decides to put on a light show, she sure means business! We had some serious thunderstorms roll in throughout the late afternoon and into dark that many were wise enough to hide from. There were breaks in the weather that allowed you to get back in the water, but unfortunately there was not a ton of activity during all those crazy pressure changes. Those heathens….I mean fishermen throwing nymphs actually did quite well, as the fish seemed very eager to feed, but the bugs did not cooperate. That being said, those in certain areas were able to see an amazing sight – HUGE clouds of Iso spinners, going up 50+ feet into the sky. The picture below hopefully does it some justice. Unfortunately, they were blown back off the water before they could have a chance to fall. Today, we’ve got high water as a result of the rain, and quite a bit of color as well. It is definitely not as bad as early in the week, but it will take a little bit to clear throughout the day. The weathermen were completely off yesterday insofar as amount of precipitation / storm prediction goes, but what is new there. Today they claim we will be warm, with little wind and the “possibility” of afternoon t-storms. Basically the same call as yesterday. That being said, if they are correct, we could certainly see some decent action throughout the day in the cloud cover, and as the river clears up.

Those are Iso Spinners. What a beautiful sight! Photo: Bart Larmouth

What’s Hatching:

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 & #18 – starting to wane

Epeorus vitreus – PED / Pink Lady – #14

Isonychia bicolor – Iso – Slate Drake – #12-2XL, #12

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16

Current Flow Conditions:

August 31, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 31, 2013

That did not go as expected yesterday. The cloud cover never really materialized, depressing the afternoon hatches / action, and even when evening rolled around there were fewer bugs than expected, and certainly fewer fish than expected. Some did see good flushes of Isos once the sun dropped down, but the fish never really got too excited about them, much to everyone’s chagrin. This morning there are plenty of olives, stenos, and flying ants on the side of the house, so the bugs did hatch at least a little – we just need more. Hopefully we will get it today, as they are actually calling for clouds all day, and the possibility of a few thunderstorms thrown in for good measure. No real extremes of precipitation to bring up the river(s), but hopefully enough of a pressure change to get the bugs rocking.

A newly-molted Steno spinner with its shuck. More of this please! Photo by: Jeff White

What’s Hatching:

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 & #18 – starting to wane

Epeorus vitreus – PED / Pink Lady – #14

Isonychia bicolor – Iso – Slate Drake – #12-2XL, #12

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16

Current Flow Conditions:

August 30, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 30, 2013

While the river did not clear as quickly as we anticipated yesterday (due to another bit of storms up by deposit late the previous night), it did drop and clear enough for the fish to see the bugs popping off. We had good numbers of dark Blue Wing Olives early, then the sun decided to make an appearance, which curtailed the hatching activity until the clouds rolled in yesterday evening. We had big flushes of BWOs at night (size 18 to 22), with a good number of Isos popping off in the mix. The fish were seeing the bugs through the colored-up water, and some folks had a pretty decent night. It does appear that the East Branch Basin caught a good amount of water last night, which has brought up the Main significantly both in flow and temps. That should drop quickly as well, but due to the higher water temps, I would avoid the upper Main for a bit. With more clouds predicted today, and just the right amount of color in the West Branch, it has the potential to be a great day – let’s see how it turns out!

Just the perfect amount of color – it means we might be able to get away with 5X all day! Photo: Bart Larmouth

What’s Hatching:

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 & #18 – starting to wane

Epeorus vitreus – PED / Pink Lady – #14

Isonychia bicolor – Iso – Slate Drake – #12-2XL, #12

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16

Current Flow Conditions:

August 29, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 29, 2013

Interesting does not begin to cover the weather yesterday. There was a localized thunderstorm that just sat over Deposit yesterday afternoon, and completely blew out Oquaga creek, which in turn blew out the West Branch. That being said, the river did not look completely like chocolate milk, and there were risers looking up in the evening. Overnight the river did hop back up again, and is already on  its way back down. If we have the clouds predicted today, even with the discoloration the fishing should be pretty dang decent, and the river will be wade-able again by mid day.

Wow! Bruce Miller knows how to smile for a picture!

What’s Hatching:

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 & #18 – starting to wane

Epeorus vitreus – PED / Pink Lady – #14

Isonychia bicolor – Iso – Slate Drake – #12-2XL, #12

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16

Current Flow Conditions:

August 28, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 28, 2013

The weathermen did it to us again. Our “very cloudy’ day turned into a bright, sunny, perfect August afternoon. Which, while great for the rest of the populace, isn’t the best for us crazy fisher-folk. As a result, there was not too much bug activity during the day on the West Branch, and when we got to the evening, there were some pretty substantial pressure changes as thunderstorms tried (and failed) to form. This limited the hatching to just a few short windows, but fortunately the fish were definitely ready for it, and took full advantage. This morning we also had a good variety of bugs on the side of the shop, including some funky looking steno spinners (light cahills). As for today, we are supposed to see another cloudy day, and some scattered rain thrown in for good measure, with a fairly steady barometer. If this holds true, we will be in for a great day, and an even better evening!

A very unusual Steno on the porch yesterday. I obviously lack Jeff’s talent for Bug Photos. Photo by: Bart Larmouth

What’s Hatching:

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 & #18 – starting to wane

Epeorus vitreus – PED / Pink Lady – #14

Isonychia bicolor – Iso – Slate Drake – #12-2XL, #12

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16

Current Flow Conditions:

August 27, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 27, 2013

The clouds did not offer up the amount of action that we were so greatly hoping for yesterday. There were certainly olives around, and sulphurs here and there throughout the day, but there were few fish up and rising steadily until we moved into evening. We had some decent thunderstorms right in the “magic” hours of 6-8, which while normally kills all chance of a good hatch, did the opposite – those who waited (from the safety of shore!) for the storms to pass were rewarded with a pretty decent flush of bugs right at the buzzer, and many did well. There was a nice steady rain after dark here on the West, but fortunately it did not jump us up too much, and the water clarity is still fantastic (at least in front of the club). The Beaverkill shot up quite a bit, taking the East with it, very likely muddied up. As for the weather, with similar conditions today, I would normally expect a fantastic day of fishing – and I still hope it will be!

Wesley Smith showing off a nice brown! Full disclosure – a nice MONTANA Brown. But, he’s representing in the DRC hat, and we love that! Photo courtesy of the angler.

What’s Hatching:

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 & #18 – starting to wane

Epeorus vitreus – PED / Pink Lady – #14

Isonychia bicolor – Iso – Slate Drake – #12-2XL

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16

Current Flow Conditions: