June 3, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 3, 2012

That was a pretty banner day yesterday, depending on where you started. The West Branch had some of the best hatches of Cornutas (BWO) and Dortheas (sulphurs) that we have seen in years, and although it waned during the middle of the day, the evening brought out a host of spinners of all different shapes, sizes, and colors. It was a pretty damn good one, overall. Today, we’re starting out with cloud cover and cool temps, which should give way to some sun and a shower or two later in the day, which could help it be a carbon-copy of yesterday – here’s hoping!

New Intern Aaron Darr with his FIRST Delaware trout (first one LANDED, anyway!). Photo by: Jim Swift

Hatches:

Stenonema vicarium – March Browns – #10-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox – #12-2xl

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14

Ephemerella cornuta – Light BWO – #14 (sporadic)

Ephemera guttulata – Green Drake – #8-2xl

Baetis species – #18 & #20

June 2, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 2, 2012

More water! Huzzah! Since we  have now entered June, the release from Cannonsville has bumped up to 600 CFS. Combined with the cool, overcast weather and spitting rain yesterday, the water temps have cooled dramatically, giving us ‘back’ the East Branch and the Main Stem. Yesterday fished fairly well during the day, but we pretty much lost the evening due to high winds pushing the spinners to the trees, and your fly any direction but the one you wanted it to go. It is looking much calmer today, with overcast skies for  much of the morning and into the early afternoon, with the sun starting to peek through around 2PM or so. The wind is also supposed to be significantly calmer today, so we should see our normal evening flurry occur.

Tony Mentesana with a great WB Brown. Photo by Kevan Smaracko

Hatches:

Stenonema vicarium – March Browns – #10-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox – #12-2xl

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14

Ephemerella cornuta – Light BWO – #14 (sporadic)

Ephemera guttulata – Green Drake – #8-2xl

Baetis species – #18 & #20

June 1, 2012

Delaware River Report / Coniditions June 1, 2012

Well, that was pretty much what we expected yesterday. Not much happening during the day, and a good flush at dark. Rain in the  forecast today, but as per usual I will believe it when I see it! Let’s hope it brings some cloud cover and great day time hatching with it!

Dave Lisnock with a great Brown! Photo by: Kevan Smaracko

Hatches:

Stenonema vicarium – March Browns – #10-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox – #12-2xl

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14

Ephemerella cornuta – Light BWO – #14 (sporadic)

Ephemera guttulata – Green Drake – #8-2xl

Baetis species – #18 & #20

May 31, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 31, 2012

Sorry for the delay, early morning shuttles!

Not too bad out there yesterday. Although sunny and hot at times, the clouds came in and out, giving time for good hatches of dortheas, cornutas, and isos, depending on where you were fishing. A mid-day storm shut everything down for a little bit, but broke the heat, and cooled everything down substantially. This created that low-level fog that all those who fish the Delaware are familiar with. This time, the sulphurs continued to hatch, and the fish were up and feeding until just into dark, when everything went quiet. Many of our guides found good pods of rising fish, and were happily ‘stuck’ for good portions of the day, as the fish were more than a bit persnickety (G-rated term in place of the more common one everyone else used). Today, we have cooler temps and more clouds in the forecast, so a repeat of last evening should play out, hopefully extended to the daytime hours as well. * UPDATE* – Forecast now calling for mostly sunny. I hate these guys……

Every now and then the boss needs to prove he does get out, and can still show the interns how it's done. Photo by: Aaron Darr

Hatches:

Stenonema vicarium – March Browns – #10-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox – #12-2xl

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14

Ephemerella cornuta – Light BWO – #14 (sporadic)

Ephemera guttulata – Green Drake – #8-2xl

Baetis species – #18 & #20

May 30, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 30, 2012

And now for something completely different….. (kudos to those who got that reference)…… Cool! Overcast! The sun nowhere (so far) to be seen! Our big heat wave broke yesterday with a band of pretty hellacious thunderstorms rolling through in the late afternoon.While there was plenty of flash and bang, we didn’t get overwhelmed with water on the West Branch. The Willow and the Beaverkill took the brunt of the rain, as well as the Poconos to our south. As such, the Beaverkill and Lower East are off color today, and muddying up the upper Main as well to some degree. With the water already peaked, I expect this to clear quite quickly throughout the day. Yesterday evening saw a good number of bugs hatching, culminating with a (literal) blanket hatch of Dortheas after dark. Wiley said the only thing he’s ever seen close to it was the famed ‘white fly’ hatch on the Susquehanna, for those who are familiar. While this was a very cool thing to behold, it unfortunately doesn’t make for a very fish-able hatch – especially when you can’t see! Today we’ve got more cloud cover in store, so I would think we’d be seeing a bit more day time hatching activity, as well as the water temperatures remaining fairly steady. No big changes to report on the bug front, except that we are not seeing too many of the Green Drakes, which makes us believe they may have hatched out at night on us. It remains to be seen!

Nate Eckhaus showing how it's done in the dark. Photo by: Dave Lisnock

Hatches:

Stenonema vicarium – March Browns – #10-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox – #12-2xl

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14

Ephemerella cornuta – Light BWO – #14 (sporadic)

Ephemera guttulata – Green Drake – #8-2xl

Baetis species – #18 & #20

May 29, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 29, 2012

Anybody have some aloe for me? Holy Moses was it a scorcher out there yesterday. Blazing sun with no wind, and temps near 90 made it feel more like a sauna than a river. The worst part was the Upper Main hitting close to 72 degrees at Lordville in the afternoon. Although there was sporadic hatching throughout the day, the fish kept their heads low until the evening, which saw a pretty decent bump in activity and spinner fall. Yesterday morning also fished well out in Home Pool, with some left over spinners from the night before hitting the water, and a brief spurt of caddis activity as well. Today is looking to be a tad bit cooler, but very similar in conditions, so bring your sunscreen, and plan on fishing the West Branch!

My "nephew" Charlie Dean cooling out on the lower Main Stem. Photo by: Bart Larmouth

Hatches:

Stenonema vicarium – March Browns – #10-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox – #12-2xl

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14

Ephemerella cornuta – Light BWO – #14 (sporadic)

Ephemera guttulata – Green Drake – #8-2xl

Baetis species – #18 & #20

May 28, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 28, 2012

Happy Memorial Day! If you haven’t already, please take a moment to reflect on and thank all of those who have served and are currently serving our country, allowing us to be able to enjoy our freedom.

Apologies on the tardiness this morning, have some guides heading out super early to beat the heat. As for the fishing yesterday, well let’s just say this holiday weekend never looked more like the “official” start of summer. Bright sun and hot temperatures quickly warmed the waters of the lower Main into the 70s, which quashed basically any (read: responsible) trout fishing. Catching a trout in those water temps can stress them to the point of exhaustion and death, so it’s too be avoided. Although there were bugs, few fish were seen, as they were likely opting to stay low and stay cool. The Upper Main stayed fairly cool, but only decided to fish well right at dark, when there were good hatches of dortheas, smaller BWOs (Ephemerella deficiens, specifically), and random stenos (light cahills) of various sizes and species. There was also a good flush of rusty spinners in several different sizes as well. Today we’re hoping for more cloud cover (in the forecast), but it does appear that it will be much warmer, approaching 90 in some areas, with passing thunderstorms. Very little breeze means that it will be sweltering by the end of the day today. The West and Upper Main should fish during the day if these clouds do materialize, and we should see a pretty productive, “typical” summer evening as well!

Young Lee and his fishing partner with a chunky brown. Photo by: Steve Shen

Hatches:

Stenonema vicarium – March Browns – #10-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox – #12-2xl

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14

Ephemerella cornuta – Light BWO – #14 (sporadic)

Ephemera guttulata – Green Drake – #8-2xl

Baetis species – #18 & #20

May 27, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 27, 2012

Man, can these fish be B*TCHY!  System-wide there were bugs and fish at various points throughout the day, with a good flush of bugs once the sun started to drop. The problem was you would see a fish rise three or four times, and just stop for no discernible reason. I personally saw fish mowing down dortheas, then stop like a shift-ending whistle (think The Flintstones) sent them scurrying home even with good numbers of bugs still floating downstream. The other favorite fish behavior of the Delaware Fishermen(and women!) reared its ugly head as well – multiple fish in a smaller pool / area all eating different insects. As a shop manager, I love this, as people burn through tippet like crazy trying to figure out what the next guy in line is eating (and thereby need to purchase more!), but as a fisherman, it drives me insane as much as the next guy. Today looks to be a bit warmer, with mild winds, and the possible occasional thunderstorm rolling through the area. The bugs should continue to hatch en masse, and hopefully the fish will be a bit more cooperative. It is also going to be pandemonium out there with recreational boaters / canoeists / kayakers – try to be understanding and patient with everyone!

NOTE – I’ve added a link on the right to the Main Line Fly Tyers from Philadelphia – they are great supporters of the River, the DRC, and a great bunch of folks to meet if you have the chance! Click Away!

I gave Pete Nalen the short-shrift yesterday by just showing his fish - so here he is with a nice late-night rainbow! Photo by: Steve Shen

Hatches:

Stenonema vicarium – March Browns – #10-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox – #12-2xl

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14

Ephemerella cornuta – Light BWO – #14 (sporadic)

Ephemera guttulata – Green Drake – #8-2xl

Baetis species – #18 & #20

May 26, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 26, 2012

Yesterday was a little bit more of what we expected. Now if the stinkin’ forecast could be a little more accurate……. Heavy clouds hung around the river pretty much until mid to late afternoon yesterday (when they were “predicted” to remain all day), which yielded some decent hatching in the warm humid air.  Again we had a bit of bug soup out there on the water, with just about every bug I have listed below showing up at one point or another. When the sun came out in the afternoon it got HOT – at least the tempearture. The fishing slowed down until right before dark, when a mixed-bag of spinners decided to fall on the West Branch. With a warm day yesterday and another on par for today, I would expect that we start seeing the ‘real’ Green Drake hatch begin to make its way up river. Other hatches to be aware of this weekend: Fiberglass boatis (Drift Boat Hatch), Canoeist aluminiumius (The drunken Canoe hatch), Pontoonius multius (Mini float boats en masse), and everyone’s favorite – Female en Bikinius. No common name needed.

Pete Nalen holds a nice Main Stem Brown from earlier this week. Cool photo by: Steve Shen

Hatches:

Stenonema vicarium – March Browns – #10-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox – #12-2xl

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14

Ephemerella cornuta – Light BWO – #14 (sporadic)

Ephemera guttulata – Green Drake – #8-2xl

Baetis species – #18 & #20

May 25, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 25, 2012

Well that was a big bunch of bulls*it. I was able to get out and fish the lower east for a bit yesterday, but Mother Nature decided that a normal, calm, bug-filled evening wasn’t in her plan for the day. We had bugs, but every time the fish would get started, the wind would pick up and put them back down again. Move spots, fish start rising, same thing, rinse and repeat until dark. Right at dark, the fish started rising as normal, with a good hatch of dortheas coming off BUT of course they decided to get snotty and not take ANYTHING we had (kitchen sink included) until 5 minutes past dark thirty when some iso spinners hit the water. Unfortunately, the Force was not with me as it usually is that late, and picking up rises and getting the hookset right was not happening. As infuriating as that was, it’s the reason we all keep coming back to this river system like moths to a flame. Otherwise, there was decent activity throughout the day on the Main and West – but the fish were definitely super-selective, making it a bit of a toughie out there for all. Today looks to be a mirror of yesterday weather-wise, with possibly a bit more rain in the forecast. Let’s hope for a decent amount to keep the dam spilling and the water cool!

Deb Nelson last week with one of her FIRST fish on the fly!! (please note, Bruce Miller was awake for the taking of this photograph) Photo by: Fred Nelson

Hatches:

Stenonema vicarium – March Browns – #10-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox – #12-2xl

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14

Ephemerella cornuta – Light BWO – #14 (sporadic)

Ephemera guttulata – Green Drake – #8-2xl

Baetis species – #18 & #20

May 24, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 24, 2012

I thought summer unofficially started on Memorial Day? We’ve still got a few days left until then, but it already feels like “official” summer has started. The predicted cloud cover yesterday vaporized by lunchtime, creating some tough conditions out there, at least as far we fishermen were concerned. Those looking to get a tan were in GREAT shape. That being said, the occasional cloud or piece of shade did yield hatching bugs (still a bug soup of everything below) and rising fish, with some pretty decent catches being made both during the day and at the magic hour in the evening. Today we are looking at more “clouds and sun” according to the all-powerful weathermen, with a passing thunderstorm or two. It will be warm, in the mid-70s, but so long as the sun is broken up (so they say) the water temps should stay pretty decent, and hopefully we’ll have a bit more activity than yesterday.

Tony Mortimer with a CHUNKY Main Stem Brown. Photo by: Bruce Miller

Hatches:

Stenonema vicarium – March Browns – #10-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox – #12-2xl

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14

Ephemerella cornuta – Light BWO – #14 (sporadic)

Ephemera guttulata – Green Drake – #8-2xl

Baetis species – #18 & #20

May 23, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 23, 2012

The could cover lasted until the late afternoon/evening yesterday, which lent itself to some fairly good hatching across the board. The river did not heat up too much despite the warmer ambient air temps, as the clouds kept the dreaded sun at bay. Action wasn’t exactly fast and furious, but happened nonetheless, depending on which section of the river you happened to be fishing. Call it micro-pressure changes or Mother Nature having a sense of humor, but the fish activity varied pool to pool on the river as they continually lit up and shut down. Evening brought out some good hatches, as well as sporadic spinner falls. Today we have clouds and thunderstorms in the forecast. So glad that graphite doesn’t conduct electricity……..(that’s sarcasm people, it’s a REAL good conductor – keep those rods down when you hear thunder.)

Tom Gourlay with a very nice (extended!) Brown. Photo by: Bruce Miller

Hatches:

Stenonema vicarium – March Browns – #10-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox – #12-2xl

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14

Ephemerella cornuta – Light BWO – #14 (sporadic)

Ephemera guttulata – Green Drake – #8-2xl

Baetis species – #18 & #20