Delaware River Report / Conditions August 2, 2013

What a beautiful, misty day out there yesterday! We had sporadic bugs throughout the day (not as many as we suspected we’d have), but the fish were up, active, and definitely less picky than they have been as of late. The evening saw the best hatching, and it started earlier on (5PM or so), and made for a pretty good night overall! Today, we’re looking at more sun, but some scattered thunderstorms to start us off – we’ll see what kind of affect it has on the fish / bugs, as they are calling for some pretty serious pressure changes as well. Otherwise, expect another nice summer day!

Ken Bowers didn't let his son have all the fun! Photo: Bruce Miller

Ken Bowers didn’t let his son have all the fun! Photo: Bruce Miller

What’s Hatching:

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 & #18

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

Chimarra species – Charcoal Caddis – #16 & #18

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16 – starting

Current Flow Conditions:

FLOWS AS OF 8:00 AM:
West Branch at Stilesville, NY 494 cfs @ 45º
West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY 648 cfs @ 49º
East Branch at Harvard, NY 213 cfs @ 56º
East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY 367 cfs @ 62º
Mainstem at Lordville, NY 1,370 cfs @ 61º
Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY 230 cfs @ N/A
Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release 90.8% – 500 CFS release

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 1, 2013

Happy August! It was definitely an odd one yesterday to finish out the month. During the cloudier portions of the day there were good Sulphur hatches, as well as big stenos as well, but our Iso hatch was one of the weakest in the last few weeks – no real explanation for that one. As the day went on, the sun actually popped back out (exactly the OPPOSITE of what was “predicted”), and slowed the hatching down until later in the evening as it began to set. Then we had all the above bugs, as well as a nice big rush of Heptagenia Hebes (Olive Sulphurs) just for fun. Today is slated to be cloudy, cool, with scattered showers and a late T-storm in the works. Definitely the makings of a great BWO day! We’ll see what happens!

Austin Bowers with a great Brown caught Tuesday evening. Photo: Bruce Miller

Austin Bowers with a great Brown caught Tuesday evening. Photo: Bruce Miller

What’s Hatching:

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 & #18

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

Hydropysche species – Tan Caddis – #16 & #18

Chimarra species – Charcoal Caddis – #16 & #18

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16 – starting

Current Flow Conditions:

FLOWS AS OF 8:00 AM:
West Branch at Stilesville, NY 494 cfs @ 45º
West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY 580 cfs @ 47º
East Branch at Harvard, NY 191 cfs @ 56º
East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY 273 cfs @ 65º
Mainstem at Lordville, NY 1,100 cfs @ 64º
Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY 118 cfs @ N/A
Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release 90.8% – 500 CFS release

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 31, 2013

It was another good day out there yesterday, both in the morning and later on as well! Good flushes of bugs came off from about 10:30 AM on down river, and the afternoon sulphurs made their appearance in Deposit also. The real gem was the evening, when we had BIG flushes of Isos, Stenos, Pseudos, and Dortheas – with the fish keying in on the Isos in particular. Certain sections of river saw the fish being a bit more selective (read: PICKY) than they should have been with Isos on the water, but that’s the Delaware for you. Today we are looking at a slightly warmer one, but with even more clouds shielding us throughout the day. Without anything drastic predicted, we will (hopefully) see the same amount of activity as we did on Tuesday.

The Dinallo brothers had a rare double this past Monday fishing with Jim! Photo: Jim Swift

The Dinallo brothers had a rare double this past Monday fishing with Jim! Photo: Jim Swift

What’s Hatching:

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 & #18

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

Hydropysche species – Tan Caddis – #16 & #18

Chimarra species – Charcoal Caddis – #16 & #18

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16 – starting

Current Flow Conditions:

FLOWS AS OF 8:00 AM:
West Branch at Stilesville, NY 486 cfs @ 45º
West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY 575 cfs @ 47º
East Branch at Harvard, NY 200 cfs @ 56º
East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY 295 cfs @ 64º
Mainstem at Lordville, NY 1,150 cfs @ 63º
Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY 129 cfs @ N/A
Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release 91.1% – 500 CFS release

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 30, 2013

Well the release from Cannonsville has been dropped to 500 cfs as of yesterday afternoon. Still trying to figure out why the drop, I will post once we find out. Otherwise, we had a great night on the river yesterday, with lots of bugs, and eager fish both in the riffs and the still water. Good flushes of Isos and dortheas, as well as a few little golden stones (yellow sallies) thrown in just for some added excitement. Today, we’re expecting similar conditions, with even a little more cloud cover to help us out. We have some dense fog this morning, so early hatches are likely not going to happen, and we’ll hopefully see our normal early-afternoon action pick up, then give way to some great evening fishing as well!

Ed DeSalvio with a honker of a brown caught this weekend. Photo: Jim Swift

Ed DeSalvio with a honker of a brown caught this weekend. He’s got to give these fish a break! Photo: Jim Swift

What’s Hatching:

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 & #18

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

Hydropysche species – Tan Caddis – #16 & #18

Chimarra species – Charcoal Caddis – #16 & #18

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16 – starting

Current Flow Conditions:

FLOWS AS OF 8:00 AM:
West Branch at Stilesville, NY 486 cfs @ 45º
West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY 585 cfs @ 47º
East Branch at Harvard, NY 209 cfs @ 58º
East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY 356 cfs @ 64º
Mainstem at Lordville, NY 1,310 cfs @ 65º
Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY 152 cfs @ N/A
Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release 91.5% – 600 CFS release

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 29, 2013

Definitely a different  morning out there today – we woke up to bright sun already, quite a difference from the clouds and drizzle on Sunday. There were some late-day showers that brought the rivers up slightly in the evening, adding color to the lower West for sure. This did clear up, and we look great out front once again. There were good hatches of Isos and Stenos throughout the evening, and it looks like a nice big rush of Pseudos decided to join the fray as well, judging by the sheer number of them on the side of the shop this morning. Todya we’re back to more “normal” July weather, with partly cloudy skies, but temps only in the mid-70s. I would expect the upper river to fish early in the afternoon, and the activity to shift down as the day progresses, and there are definitely still plenty of bugs to go around!

Pat McPartland with an excellent WB Brown from this weekend. Photo: Jeff White

Pat McPartland with an excellent WB Brown from this weekend. Photo: Jeff White

What’s Hatching:

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 & #18

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

Hydropysche species – Tan Caddis – #16 & #18

Chimarra species – Charcoal Caddis – #16 & #18

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16 – starting

Current Flow Conditions:

FLOWS AS OF 8:00 AM:
West Branch at Stilesville, NY 588 cfs @ 45º
West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY 709 cfs @ 48º
East Branch at Harvard, NY 277 cfs @ 54º
East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY 644 cfs @ 54º
Mainstem at Lordville, NY 1,600 cfs @ 62º
Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY 243 cfs @ N/A
Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release 92.9% – 600 CFS release

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 28, 2013

The rain definitely came late yesterday, right as the light finally faded, but right before it did there was a huge bug-splosion, and if you shined a flashlight on the water, you saw a TON of different bugs coming off. We had caddis, midges, mayflies galore, even yellow sallies and giant yellow stones thrown in for good measure. Were the fish on them? A bit, but we could only guess from the slurping sounds in the distance. Earlier, there was a good flush of Isos on the West, which definitely turned fish on, and those out there throwing them did very well. Today we are starting with a wet overcast morning – never a bad thing! It may push back the early hatches upstream, but should make for a great day otherwise. There are “strong” thunderstorms predicted, but the weathermen’s track record with those as of late is less than stellar. That being said, keep your eye to the sky today just in case!

Ron Reedy with a beautiful brown caught at dusk. Photo: Jim Swift

Ron Reedy with a beautiful brown caught at dusk. Photo: Jim Swift

What’s Hatching:

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 & #18

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

Hydropysche species – Tan Caddis – #16 & #18

Chimarra species – Charcoal Caddis – #16 & #18

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16 – starting

Current Flow Conditions:

FLOWS AS OF 8:00 AM:
West Branch at Stilesville, NY 577 cfs @ 45º
West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY 692 cfs @ 48º
East Branch at Harvard, NY 200 cfs @ 60º
East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY 261 cfs @ 68º
Mainstem at Lordville, NY 1,180 cfs @ 66º
Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY 112 cfs @ N/A
Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release 92.9% – 600 CFS release

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 27, 2013

Interesting day yesterday, with lots of good bugs early in the afternoon both upriver and down, but they definitely tailed off towards evening, leaving the trout a bit unsatisfied. That was a good thing, as those still out were able to throw Isonychia duns and drum up the fish feeding on the bugs straggling towards nightfall. Definitely a fun night! Today, we’ve got warmer temps predicted, and the possibility of some thunderstorms as well. We do not expect to see them until evening, but the good news is that there should be plenty of cloud cover throughout the day, which will hopefully induce some decent, all-day insect activity. Assuming they don’t get lazy again and quit early!

Good friend of the shop Fred Nelson holds a DARK West Branch Brown from his recent trip! Photo: Deb Nelson

Good friend of the shop Fred Nelson holds a DARK West Branch Brown from his recent trip! Photo: Deb Nelson

What’s Hatching:

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 & #18

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

Hydropysche species – Tan Caddis – #16 & #18

Chimarra species – Charcoal Caddis – #16 & #18

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16 – starting

Current Flow Conditions:

FLOWS AS OF 8:00 AM:
West Branch at Stilesville, NY 577 cfs @ 45º
West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY 676 cfs @ 47º
East Branch at Harvard, NY 200 cfs @ 58º
East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY 267 cfs @ 66º
Mainstem at Lordville, NY 1,190 cfs @ 64º
Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY 116 cfs @ N/A
Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release 92.9% – 600 CFS release

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 26, 2013

It was a mixed bag yesterday, with some folks having decent luck, and others having a hard go of it. There were flushes of bugs up and down the West Branch sporadically throughout the day, with the fish deciding to be quite difficult during that period. Around 6:30 or so, a good hatch started in earnest, first with Stenos (Cahills) in #14 and #16, as well as some bruiser #12s thrown in for good measure. Some fish were on these, and anglers did well with the appropriate sized comparadun for sure. As the evening progressed, the bugs shifted to dortheas in #18 and a flush of psuedos towards dark, although those out right until the end had the best luck with #12 Iso patterns. Today we’ve got warmer weather on par, with “partly sunny” skies. I would expect a more “normal” summer day, with bugs early up top, and moving on down as the day progresses. The water is definitely starting much cooler today thanks to the clear skies and overnight lows, so be ready for a little later start river-wide.

From the Great North, Norm Price rocks his DRC hat while holding an Alaska Sockeye! Photo Courtesy of the Angler

From the Great North, Norm Price rocks his DRC hat while holding an Alaska Sockeye! Photo Courtesy of the Angler

What’s Hatching:

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 & #18

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

Hydropysche species – Tan Caddis – #16 & #18

Chimarra species – Charcoal Caddis – #16 & #18

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16 – starting

Current Flow Conditions:

FLOWS AS OF 8:00 AM:
West Branch at Stilesville, NY 577 cfs @ 45º
West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY 681 cfs @ 46º
East Branch at Harvard, NY 206 cfs @ 54º
East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY 285 cfs @ 64º
Mainstem at Lordville, NY 1,240 cfs @ 63º
Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY 122 cfs @ N/A
Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release 93.4% – 600 CFS release

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 25, 2013

Strangely enough, yesterday turned out pretty much how we thought it would, with early afternoon action up top, moving down river as the day progressed. There were definitely more bugs than fish at times, and those that were rising definitely got up on the wrong side of the rock, as they were tough and picky (well, more than usual at least). Today the air temps are supposed to warm up just a bit into the mid 70s, and we should lose a little cloud cover. There should be enough to make for decent hatching up in Deposit, but we might then taper off until later in the evening, when the whole system should fish. Keep your fingers crossed, and maybe the clouds will stick around a bit longer!

Ed gets around - here he is with a nice WB Rainbow! Photo: Bob Lewis

Ed gets around – here he is with a nice WB Rainbow! Photo: Bob Lewis

What’s Hatching:

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 & #18

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

Hydropysche species – Tan Caddis – #16 & #18

Chimarra species – Charcoal Caddis – #16 & #18

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16 – starting

Current Flow Conditions:

FLOWS AS OF 8:00 AM:
West Branch at Stilesville, NY 577 cfs @ 44º
West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY 704 cfs @ 46º
East Branch at Harvard, NY 216 cfs @ 54º
East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY 319 cfs @ 63º
Mainstem at Lordville, NY 1,340 cfs @ 62º
Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY 138 cfs @ N/A
Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release 93.8% – 600 CFS release

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 24, 2013

Scattered rain and cloud cover were the main news yesterday, and good news at that! The fish were happy, and the rivers have come up a little bit thanks to the influx of rain, but not enough to adversely affect the fishing, which made everyone happy. The sun did pop out a bit in the late afternoon, slowing the activity until evening, which turned into another perfect July night. Today, we’re looking at partly cloudy skies, and much cooler temps in the low 70s (hallelujah!). This coupled with the cooler water temps should give us a more “normal” summer fishing day, with bugs up top early, moving down river as the day progresses.

A tough fish comes to the net! Photo and catch by Bruce Miller

A tough fish comes to the net! Photo and catch by Bruce Miller

What’s Hatching:

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 & #18

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

Hydropysche species – Tan Caddis – #16 & #18

Chimarra species – Charcoal Caddis – #16 & #18

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16 – starting

 

Current Flow Conditions:

FLOWS AS OF 8:00 AM:
West Branch at Stilesville, NY 577 cfs @ 46º
West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY 756 cfs @ 49º
East Branch at Harvard, NY 235 cfs @ 59º
East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY 400 cfs @ 68º
Mainstem at Lordville, NY 1,640 cfs @ 66º
Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY 174 cfs @ N/A
Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release 94.2% – 600 CFS release

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 23, 2013

Apologies on the delay this morning, our server was down early this morning. I love technology.

Rain! It started late last evening, but we definitely had some decent showers throughout the night, which have brought the rivers up just a little bit (about 100 cfs on average), and we have a tiny bit of color down in Home Pool, but definitely the good kind of color (that which makes the fish less picky!). There is scattered rain and t-storms predicted throughout the day today, but I doubt that we’ll get any kind of real blow out from this system. It is doing us a favor by filling the feeders back up, and stabilizing the overall level of the river. As for the fishing yesterday, we had good bugs during day (thank you overcast sky) and the fish were definitely up and on them, but they were even pickier than usual. You have to love it! With the stained water and cloudy skies, that attitude should wear off pretty quickly today!

Always beware flying fish! This is why you hold them over the net for photos (he fell right in the basket!). Photo: Frank Audino

Always beware flying fish! This is why you hold them over the net for photos (he fell right in the basket!).  Photo: Frank Audino

What’s Hatching:

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 & #18

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

Hydropysche species – Tan Caddis – #16 & #18

Chimarra species – Charcoal Caddis – #16 & #18

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16 – starting

 

Current Flow Conditions:

FLOWS AS OF 8:00 AM:
West Branch at Stilesville, NY 577 cfs @ 46º
West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY 779 cfs @ 48º
East Branch at Harvard, NY 299 cfs @ 60º
East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY 426 cfs @ 70º
Mainstem at Lordville, NY 1,330 cfs @ 68º
Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY 166 cfs @ N/A
Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release 94.2% – 600 CFS release

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 22, 2013

We woke up to a bit of a surprise this morning- a nice, gentle rain falling outside. It appears to be a little patch that materialized around 7 AM, and will likely hang out for a bit prior to dissipating. It is definitely good news for the guys who are heading out to look for some morning fishing, as it will definitely help push some psuedos to the top. Otherwise, yesterday was actually pretty mediocre for no good reason. Fishing was decent in the mid-afternoon up by Deposit, and then the bugs decided to go on hiatus towards the evening in a totally uncharacteristic way. There were a few fish found and taken, but definitely not the numbers you would expect considering the conditions we had. Today there are some scattered thunderstorms predicted, with a mostly cloudy day, which should produce well, but as usual, we will just have to wait and see!

A beautiful, dark West Branch Rainbow will always please! Photo: Bob Lewis

A beautiful, dark West Branch Rainbow will always please! Photo: Bob Lewis

What’s Hatching:

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 & #18

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

Hydropysche species – Tan Caddis – #16 & #18

Chimarra species – Charcoal Caddis – #16 & #18

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16 – starting

 

Current Flow Conditions:

FLOWS AS OF 8:00 AM:
West Branch at Stilesville, NY 577 cfs @ 45º
West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY 664 cfs @ 47º
East Branch at Harvard, NY 203 cfs @ 59º
East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY 282 cfs @ 69º
Mainstem at Lordville, NY 1,180 cfs @ 68º
Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY 127 cfs @ N/A
Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release 95.1% – 600 CFS release

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