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Yesterday was a picture-perfect Autumn day, which is to say bright sun, no clouds, and a variable breeze whipping the leaves into the air. While perfect in concept, those conditions do not make for an optimal day of dry fly fishing. The river did warm up around 2:00 PM, and we started seeing Stenos and Isos in pretty decent numbers, with the fish again being sporadic-yet-catchable. Today, we’re expecting some slightly warmer temps, with a few passing showers heading through the area. If the clouds hold, the Pseudos should be out en masse today, and their big Slate Drake compatriots will hopefully be in tow!

Pat Giordano made a return to the river after a few months off – obviously he’s forgotten to TILT the the fish when having a picture taken! Nice Brown Pat! Photo: Michael Johnson

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL & #12 & #14

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphur – #16 & #18

Pseudocloeon- Tiny BWO- #22-26

Stenonema stenocron(et al) – Light Cahill – (Male)- #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14 (waning)

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20 (sporadic when cloudy)

Surprisingly enough to me, yesterday turned out pretty much how I predicted it would, with one wonderful exception – the wind did not blow us completely off the water as the witch doctors at Accuweather said it would. We had strong gusts at time, but it was an entirely fishable day wind-wise. Even better, we had great numbers of bugs starting around 2PM (once the water had warmed up slightly) on the West Branch including a decent iso hatch, lots of stenos and big numbers of pseudos when the sun was hidden. The fish were not as excited about this as we were, rising sporadically to grab the occasional big bug that floated overhead. The silver lining was that even those these fish were sporadic, if you marked them and placed a cast (with a decent drift of course) over top of them, many times they would come right up and grab the fly. Today, the East is back down to a bit more of a reasonable level and color, and I would expect it to start fishing as the West Branch has, once the water temps get up and out of the 40’s, most likely sometime this afternoon. We’re looking at a day in the 60’s today, with partly cloudy skies – it could be pretty decent out there!

Jeff White’s nephew John Webber taking his first crack at the sticks. Photo: Jeff White

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL & #12 & #14

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphur – #16 & #18

Pseudocloeon- Tiny BWO- #22-26

Stenonema stenocron(et al) – Light Cahill – (Male)- #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14 (waning)

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20 (sporadic when cloudy)

Looks like all the rivers are falling precipitously, and the cold temperatures overnight have cooled them down quite a bit as well. Yesterday the West saw some decent streamer action as well as fair number of insects hatching, but very few fish coming up to take them. The East and the Main were both very off color, and while there were large numbers of Hebes and Isos, the trout certainly weren’t going to move through 5,000+ CFS to get them. Today however, everything has cleared up tremendously. The East is still fairly turbid, but the West is looking great today. The powers that be have predicted wind, so for once I hope their usual lack of predictive power works in our favor for a change!

A few of these ‘mystery’ Stenos were out and about as well. Photo: Jeff White

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL & #12 & #14

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphur – #16 & #18

Pseudocloeon- Tiny BWO- #22-26

Stenonema stenocron(et al) – Light Cahill – (Male)- #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14 (waning)

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20 (sporadic when cloudy)

Well that was dramatic. Yesterday morning saw some of the loudest thunderstorms I have ever experienced, and they dropped a massive amount of rain here at the club as well as the surrounding areas. The Upper West did not seem to jump as much as the lower (as Oquaga creek likely didn’t take the brunt of the storm), but while Hale was at ~600 cfs, we were at an easy 2,500 cfs in Home pool for the majority of the day. Heck, the creek coming out of  our pond was likely flowing more than the DEP is releasing – enough so that Winterdale Road was flooded in spots, directly outside the club for example. As of this morning, the West is clearing rather nicely, and will likely fish well tomorrow for dries, with today being a pretty good day to throw some streamers to the browns getting ready for the spawn. The East is still raging, and definitely not dropping as fast nor clearing as well as the West, so likely it and the Main Stem will take a few more days to get back down to a ‘reasonable’ level. I guess too many of us were doing a rain dance simultaneously.

Winterdale Road in between the Club’s two driveways. Please don’t drive through this stuff when this happens – you never know if the road is washed out underneath. Photo: Bart Larmouth

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL & #12 & #14

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphur – #16 & #18

Pseudocloeon- Tiny BWO- #22-26

Stenonema stenocron(et al) – Light Cahill – (Male)- #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14 (waning)

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20 (sporadic when cloudy)

UPDATE – YooHoo Out front. We were just hammered by one of the loudest thunderstorms I have ever experienced. While that part was cool, we’ll just have to see how far up the rivers go.

WATER!!! Looking out at Home Pool lately has been a bit tough, having it be only around 225 CFS, but last night we had a good chuck of rain, an the river has jumped up and is still rising a bit this morning. We are likely around 600-700 cfs out front based on my estimation, with a little bit of color, but by no means are we ‘blown out’ as of  yet. The East also jumped quite a bit, but don’t let the graphs fool you – that steep rise is only an additional 400 CFS than it had in it yesterday. All the branches are still rising a bit, and I doubt we will peak until later today, so please click on the links below for the most up-to-the-minute flow info. That being said, today looks like an awesome streamer day, and if all calms down we are in for one fantastic fall weekend. The temperatures will be perfect with overcast skies, and with more (and warmer) water in the rivers, we should be seeing excellent hatches throughout the system. What’s even better (from my selfish prospective)? Looks like I can stick the boat in the water this weekend!

Home Pool this morning with (GASP!) water in it! Photo: Bart Larmouth

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL & #12 & #14

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphur – #16 & #18

Pseudocloeon- Tiny BWO- #22-26

Stenonema stenocron(et al) – Light Cahill – (Male)- #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14 (waning)

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20 (sporadic when cloudy)

It was definitely a beautiful Autumn day on Wednesday. Warm temps, plenty of sunshine, and fairly mild wind on the whole. The bright sun warmed the West Branch quite a bit, with the temperature at Stilesville jumping up into the mid-50s at the warmest part of the day. The same was true for the lower West, as the lower flows can’t sustain the colder morning temperatures with such bright sun and warm air temps. We did see good insect activity when the sun hid behind the clouds, as well as when it started to dip down towards sunset, with a decent number of fish rising on the West into the evening. The trout-to-chub ratio was difficult to determine however; our rubber-lipped friends have moved up into the faster feeding lanes that the Browns & Bows tend to prefer. Odd behavior indeed! Today we’re looking again at temps in the mid-60s, but substantially more cloud cover which can only be beneficial for our little Pseudo friends, who should be out in good numbers.

Just a reminder that there are definitely some honkin’ big chubs out there. Photo by: Jeff White

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL & #12 & #14

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphur – #16 & #18

Pseudocloeon- Tiny BWO- #22-26

Epeorus vitreus – Light Cahill – (Male)- #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14 (waning)

Ephemerella deficiens- Dark. BWO -#12-20 (when cloudy)

Ephemerella attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20 (when cloudy)

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20 (sporadic when cloudy)

It was pretty miserable out there yesterday, at least weather-wise. We had cool temps coupled with some serious wind at times, which definitely would make one question why they were outside. That being said, we had a lull in the breeze late in the afternoon, and as I marched down to Home Pool I saw both Olives and Isos coming off, and fish regularly rising to eat them. Of course, by closing time and once I had wadered up, the wind had returned, and the bugs had hit the road. Today, we’re looking at a much warmer day (mid 60s) with very little wind in the forecast, as well as the sun peeking out to warm up the water over the course of the day. It definitely has the potential to be one of the best days we’ve seen in the last week or so – keep your fingers crossed!

A Beautiful colored-up male Brown Trout caught by Denis Faye. Photo by the angler.

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL & #12 & #14

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphur – #16 & #18

Pseudocloeon- Tiny BWO- #22-26

Epeorus vitreus – Light Cahill – (Male)- #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14 (waning)

Ephemerella deficiens- Dark. BWO -#12-20 (when cloudy)

Ephemerella attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20 (when cloudy)

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20 (sporadic when cloudy)

Definitely a windy one yesterday, and looks like we’re in for more of the same today. The breeze picked up late in the morning Monday and picked up throughout the day, taking a break around 3:00 or so, at which time we had a pretty good flurry of activity in Home Pool, most likely Pseudos judging from the subtle rise forms. Around 5:00 however, the wind picked back up again, and shut everything right back down. Today we’re looking at cooler temps, but still pretty breezy throughout the day . If there are breaks in the wind, you can bet this cloud cover will create a great opportunity for some little BWO hatching, and maybe even an Iso or two floating downstream. Otherwise, the bugs are going to hide in the brush and on the bottom, and the fish will likely be on a diet.

Pat McPartland with a great, beautiful Rainbow he landed last week. Photo: Bob Lewis

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL & #12 & #14

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphur – #16 & #18

Pseudocloeon- Tiny BWO- #22-26

Epeorus vitreus – Light Cahill – (Male)- #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14 (waning)

Ephemerella deficiens- Dark. BWO -#12-20 (when cloudy)

Ephemerella attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20 (when cloudy)

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20 (sporadic when cloudy)

Talk about a weird one yesterday. The morning and early afternoon started off like the PERFECT mid-May day: warmer, humid as all get out, and overcast. As the day progressed, the sun popped out from the clouds and brought some wind to the mix  (which was not predicted. Shocking, I know.) shutting the bugs down at times. During the earlier calm periods, we had some great Iso hatches, especially in Stockport. The only issue was – nobody came up to eat them. Hence the oddity with the day. At other times when there were no bugs, you saw fish eating an Iso comparadun that was blind-casted. Definitely odd. The Chubs decided to feed voraciously, however, so anyone who would actually target those things must have had a field day. Today, we’re looking at continued warm temps with “light” wind throughout the day, and hopefully a couple of showers to bring the rivers back up a little bit. Keep your fingers crossed!

A great colored up Brown Trout from up by Deposit caught by Mark DeJong over the weekend. Photo by the angler. Be glad he’s not in the picture.

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL & #12 & #14

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphur – #16 & #18

Pseudocloeon- Tiny BWO- #22-26

Epeorus vitreus – Light Cahill – (Male)- #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14 (waning)

Ephemerella deficiens- Dark. BWO -#12-20 (when cloudy)

Ephemerella attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20 (when cloudy)

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20 (sporadic when cloudy)

Well that was a bit of a let down. After the initial glacial freeze of the morning yesterday, the temperatures warmed up into the mid-50s or so, producing some good numbers of hatching mayflies on each branch of the river. The only issue was that the fish decided to be more than a little uncooperative – rise three times, take a break, ignore the next few bugs, grab three more then go down for good, that type of scenario. Water temps likely played the biggest part in this, as they barely got out of the 40s throughout the day. We’re hoping for a turnaround today, since we’ve had a little rain overnight, and we’re starting the day off much warmer, and expecting a high in the mid-60s, with partial sun and clouds in the mix as well. The water temps are also starting off higher, so the fish will likely be a bit more frisky today as well (if they act like they should!).

Platycentropis Radiatus (say that 5 times fast) are still hatching in decent numbers. And the trout are still ignoring them. Photo by: Jeff White

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL & #12 & #14

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphur – #16 & #18

Pseudocloeon- Tiny BWO- #22-26

Epeorus vitreus – Light Cahill – (Male)- #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14 (waning)

Ephemerella deficiens- Dark. BWO -#12-20 (when cloudy)

Ephemerella attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20 (when cloudy)

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20 (sporadic when cloudy)

Wow. Windy  does not even begin to describe what we had out there on Friday. Gusts near 30 at times, some sleet / hail at others, and bright sun rounding out the afternoon. Definitely an interesting day from a weather perspective. The fishing was tough (obviously) but there were Hebes out when there was breaks in the wind, along with some Stenos as well. Today the wind is supposed to drop, and the sun is expected out early. The only tough part is that the air temp as I sit here writing this is STILL 27 degrees. It’s going to be a slow start to the morning, that much is for sure!

Denis Faye caught this nice fat ‘Bow right out front of the club late last week. Well done! Photo by the angler.

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL & #12 & #14

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphur – #16 & #18

Pseudocloeon- Tiny BWO- #22-26

Epeorus vitreus – Light Cahill – (Male)- #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14 (waning)

Ephemerella deficiens- Dark. BWO -#12-20 (when cloudy)

Ephemerella attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20 (when cloudy)

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20 (sporadic when cloudy)

I think everyone’s still windburned from yesterday. It came up early, and stayed steady throughout the day, with some pretty substantial gusts right after lunch. Needless to say, this kept many of the smaller bugs (Hebes and Pseudos) off the water, until it laid down towards evening, when we had some limited activity. We also had one of our coldest nights of the year last night, so as you can see below, the rivers are starting off good and cold today, meaning that we’ll likely see bugs more towards the afternoon, once the sun has come out and had a chance to warm the place up a bit. Those who predict the weather (and whose name shall not be spoken) are constantly changing the forecasted wind for the day, so we will just have to wait and see what Mother Nature has in store for us!

A beautiful, BIG rainbow caught by Pat McPartland recently on the Main Stem. Photo: Bob Lewis

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL & #12 & #14

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphur – #16 & #18

Pseudocloeon- Tiny BWO- #22-26

Epeorus vitreus – Light Cahill – (Male)- #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14 (waning)

Ephemerella deficiens- Dark. BWO -#12-20 (when cloudy)

Ephemerella attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20 (when cloudy)

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20 (sporadic when cloudy)