August 19, 2016

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 19, 2016

Yesterday afternoon we got hit by a few storms, but didn’t receive enough rain to have an affect on the system. Today’s forecast is calling for partly sunny skies with light winds, 5 – 10 mph. The West Branch remains in good shape for both wading and drifting. The lower East Branch and Mainstem are already starting out warm today with Lordville at 68 degrees and Fish’s Eddy at 67 degrees, look elsewhere for trout. Hatches have been a mix of Sulphurs, Olives, Cahills and Golden Drakes, with the best dry fly action being from the Cannonsville Reservoir down to Hale Eddy. Nymphing and blind casting dry flies have been effective in the mornings and afternoons prior to the hatches.

Hatching:
Slate Drake – 12-2xl- Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur – #16-20 – E dorothea
Light Cahill – #14 – 16 – S. ithaca & canadense
Golden Drake – #12-2xl – Potomanthus
Trico – 22 – 26 – Tricorythodes sp.
Tiny Blue Winged Olive – #22 – 26 – Psuedocloeon spp.
Blue Winged Olive – #18 – 20 – E. lata
Light Blue Winged Olive – #16 – 20 E. attenuatta
Tan Caddis – #16 – 20 – Hydropsyche spp.
Dark Brachycentrus sp. – #14 – 18 – Dark Grannom
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Chimarra sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (updated name: Baetis tricaudatus)

August 18, 2016

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 18, 2016

Today’s conditions are similar to yesterday’s, although Weather Underground is calling for a chance of rain in the afternoon. We’re starting off partly cloudy this morning although more cloud cover should roll in as the day progresses. The West Branch remains at a good level, 648 cfs, good for both wading and drifting. The lower East Branch and Mainstem remain low and warm, with our next chance at rain coming Sunday. Hatches have been a mix of Sulphurs, Olives and Cahills with a few Isonychias and Golden Drakes thrown in the mix. Keep an eye out on the river for flying ants as they have been fooling picky fish, and numbers seem to be growing in the air.

Hatching:
Slate Drake – 12-2xl- Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur – #16-20 – E dorothea
Light Cahill – #14 – 16 – S. ithaca & canadense
Golden Drake – #12-2xl – Potomanthus
Trico – 22 – 26 – Tricorythodes sp.
Tiny Blue Winged Olive – #22 – 26 – Psuedocloeon spp.
Blue Winged Olive – #18 – 20 – E. lata
Light Blue Winged Olive – #16 – 20 E. attenuatta
Tan Caddis – #16 – 20 – Hydropsyche spp.
Dark Brachycentrus sp. – #14 – 18 – Dark Grannom
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Chimarra sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (updated name: Baetis tricaudatus)

August 17, 2016

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 17, 2016

We got hit with some rain yesterday afternoon and overnight, but not enough to have an affect on the system. Weather Underground has us starting out with cloud cover that will burn off in the afternoon with winds 10 – 15 mph. The West Branch is at 681 cfs at Hale Eddy, still a good level for wading and drifting. The lower East Branch and Mainstem remain warm, look elsewhere for trout. The upper West Branch has had the best hatches, with a mix of Sulphurs, Olives and Cahills being found in the afternoon from Cannonsville down to Hale Eddy. With the fish under a lot of pressure up top, persistence is the name of the game.

Mike with another rainy day brown over the weekend. Photo by Bruce Miller

Hatching:
Slate Drake – 12-2xl- Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur – #16-20 – E dorothea
Light Cahill – #14 – 16 – S. ithaca & canadense
Golden Drake – #12-2xl – Potomanthus
Trico – 22 – 26 – Tricorythodes sp.
Tiny Blue Winged Olive – #22 – 26 – Psuedocloeon spp.
Blue Winged Olive – #18 – 20 – E. lata
Light Blue Winged Olive – #16 – 20 E. attenuatta
Tan Caddis – #16 – 20 – Hydropsyche spp.
Dark Brachycentrus sp. – #14 – 18 – Dark Grannom
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Chimarra sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (updated name: Baetis tricaudatus)

August 16, 2016

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 16, 2016

The West Branch has dropped back to the level we’ve been used to all summer with Hale at 664 cfs, good for both wading and drifting.  The lower East Branch and Mainstem remain warm with Fish’s Eddy starting at 66 degrees and Lordville at 68 degrees, look elsewhere for trout. Weather Underground is calling for a chance of scattered thunderstorms in the morning and afternoon with winds blowing 10 to 15 mph. Nymphing should be productive during the day with hatches starting up in the afternoon. Sulphurs and Olives have been our main hatches, with some Cahills thrown into the mix.

Bruce found a nice brown on Sunday. Photo by Bob Lewis

Hatching:
Slate Drake – 12-2xl- Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur – #16-20 – E dorothea
Light Cahill – #14 – 16 – S. ithaca & canadense
Golden Drake – #12-2xl – Potomanthus
Trico – 22 – 26 – Tricorythodes sp.
Tiny Blue Winged Olive – #22 – 26 – Psuedocloeon spp.
Blue Winged Olive – #18 – 20 – E. lata
Light Blue Winged Olive – #16 – 20 E. attenuatta
Tan Caddis – #16 – 20 – Hydropsyche spp.
Dark Brachycentrus sp. – #14 – 18 – Dark Grannom
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Chimarra sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (updated name: Baetis tricaudatus)

August 15, 2016

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 15, 2016

The West Branch looks good this morning and the clarity is fine.  We were hit with a couple of strong storms yesterday afternoon that turned the river muddy but we cleared up pretty well over night. The level remains good for both wading and floating.  If you are on the lower sections pick your wading spots since we are over 700 cfs at Hale Eddy.  There is no rain in the forecast today and we should be much cooler with air temperatures in the low 80’s.  We may keep the cloud cover for most of the day with light winds.  We had some hatches of sulphurs, olives, and cahills yesterday but streamer fishing was the most productive method.

Bob with a nice brown from yesterday. Photo by Bruce Miller

Hatching:
Slate Drake – 12-2xl- Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur – #16-20 – E dorothea
Light Cahill – #14 – 16 – S. ithaca & canadense
Golden Drake – #12-2xl – Potomanthus
Trico – 22 – 26 – Tricorythodes sp.
Tiny Blue Winged Olive – #22 – 26 – Psuedocloeon spp.
Blue Winged Olive – #18 – 20 – E. lata
Light Blue Winged Olive – #16 – 20 E. attenuatta
Tan Caddis – #16 – 20 – Hydropsyche spp.
Dark Brachycentrus sp. – #14 – 18 – Dark Grannom
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Chimarra sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (updated name: Baetis tricaudatus)

August 14, 2016

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 14, 2016

The rivers are still dropping the morning and are clearing up nicely.  The water temperatures are higher than we’ve seen in the mornings due to the sunny days, warmer nights, and warm runoff.  The Upper West Branch around Hale Eddy is fine and the Upper Eat Branch above Harvard is okay.  If you fish below those points check the water temperatures with a thermometer.  The West Branch in Hancock peaked over 70 degrees yesterday afternoon.  The temperature should drop back a little as the ratio of warm runoff to cold release changes but we are starting off higher than normal down here.  The lower East Branch and Mainstem are both starting off over 70 degrees this morning.
The sulphurs and olives hatched like normal on the upper river but the fished seemed put off by the quick change in flow.  There were some fish eating but not as many as we expected.  The forecast is calling for cloudy a cloudy sky with a 50% chance of light rain today.

Michael with a nice fish from Friday. Photo by Bruce MIller

Hatching:
Slate Drake – 12-2xl- Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur – #16-20 – E dorothea
Light Cahill – #14 – 16 – S. ithaca & canadense
Golden Drake – #12-2xl – Potomanthus
Trico – 22 – 26 – Tricorythodes sp.
Tiny Blue Winged Olive – #22 – 26 – Psuedocloeon spp.
Blue Winged Olive – #18 – 20 – E. lata
Light Blue Winged Olive – #16 – 20 E. attenuatta
Tan Caddis – #16 – 20 – Hydropsyche spp.
Dark Brachycentrus sp. – #14 – 18 – Dark Grannom
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Chimarra sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (updated name: Baetis tricaudatus)

August 13, 2016

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 13, 2016

We were hit with a couple of good storms over night and the flows on mist of the rivers are up.  Stilesville is still 502 so most of the runoff is coming in from Oquaga Creek down.  The flow at Hale Eddy is 1100 cfs but is dropping this morning.  The flow on the Beaverkill is rising again but it will likely drop soon.  A lot of the water has not hit the Mainstem yet so Lordville (1600 cfs currently) will continue to rise.  We are coming off a hot day and a warm night so the water temperatures are starting off a little higher this morning.  The temperature of the runoff may not be helping either.  The West Branch is still in good shape at 61 degrees in Hancock.  Hale Eddy is starting off 7 degrees warmer than yesterday but is still fine at 59 degrees.  The lower East Branch and Mainstem are close to or over 70 degrees this morning.  Thankfully we are looking at much cooler air temperatures today (89 degrees compared to 96 degrees) and a 50% chance of a thunderstorm with 1/4″ of rain.  Winds should stay under 10 mph.  We had quite a few olives, cahills, sulphurs, yellow sallies, and flying ants on the door this morning.  The lower West Branch is brown this morning and looks great for streamers.  It should clear throughout the day as long as the additional storms miss us this afternoon.

Hatching:
Slate Drake – 12-2xl- Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur – #16-20 – E dorothea
Light Cahill – #14 – 16 – S. ithaca & canadense
Golden Drake – #12-2xl – Potomanthus
Trico – 22 – 26 – Tricorythodes sp.
Tiny Blue Winged Olive – #22 – 26 – Psuedocloeon spp.
Blue Winged Olive – #18 – 20 – E. lata
Light Blue Winged Olive – #16 – 20 E. attenuatta
Tan Caddis – #16 – 20 – Hydropsyche spp.
Dark Brachycentrus sp. – #14 – 18 – Dark Grannom
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Chimarra sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (updated name: Baetis tricaudatus)

August 12, 2016

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 12, 2016

We were hit with a few storms yesterday afternoon and overnight but overall the rivers are in good shape this morning.  The West Branch has some color this morning but it is fihable and should clear quickly today unless we get more storms.  The West is still at a great level for floating and wading with a flow of 627 at Hale Eddy.  The flow is dropping but should level out mid day.  We may get some additional precipitation mid- day but a lot of the storms have been missing us.  60% chance so it could go either way. The East side of the drainage and the Mainstem both look clear but the warm nights are keeping the temperatures too hot to fish for trout.  The East Branch is fishable above Harvard.

Hatching:
Slate Drake – 12-2xl- Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur – #16-20 – E dorothea
Light Cahill – #14 – 16 – S. ithaca & canadense
Golden Drake – #12-2xl – Potomanthus
Trico – 22 – 26 – Tricorythodes sp.
Tiny Blue Winged Olive – #22 – 26 – Psuedocloeon spp.
Blue Winged Olive – #18 – 20 – E. lata
Light Blue Winged Olive – #16 – 20 E. attenuatta
Tan Caddis – #16 – 20 – Hydropsyche spp.
Dark Brachycentrus sp. – #14 – 18 – Dark Grannom
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Chimarra sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (updated name: Baetis tricaudatus)

August 11, 2016

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 11, 2016

The West Branch is in good shape this morning.  The low at Hale Eddy is 637 cfs and dropping while Stilesville is steady right back at 486 cfs.  Hale should level out by mid day as the runoff subsides.  There isn’t much color on the the lower West Branch and we are looking good.  We had a light shower this morning so the fog is heavy but it wasn’t enough to do anything to the flows.  After the rain yesterday morning most of the additional storms missed us.  There was some lightning way off in the distance so it the storms must have tracked away from us.  The East side of the system has a little more water in it but is dropping back quickly this morning.  Yesterday’s forecast was off and we ended up with more sun in the afternoon than we expected.  The humidity was pretty brutal so it felt good to be in the cold water.  The air temperature is 70 degrees this morning.  We’re going to need some cooler night time temperatures to drop the water temps on the Mainstem and lower East Branch.  Hopefully we get out of this weather pattern soon.  We have a decent chance of rain every day through the weekend which should help the fishing.

Barry’s chunky brown from this week. Photo by Bob Lewis

Hatching:
Slate Drake – 12-2xl- Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur – #16-20 – E dorothea
Light Cahill – #14 – 16 – S. ithaca & canadense
Golden Drake – #12-2xl – Potomanthus
Trico – 22 – 26 – Tricorythodes sp.
Tiny Blue Winged Olive – #22 – 26 – Psuedocloeon spp.
Blue Winged Olive – #18 – 20 – E. lata
Light Blue Winged Olive – #16 – 20 E. attenuatta
Tan Caddis – #16 – 20 – Hydropsyche spp.
Dark Brachycentrus sp. – #14 – 18 – Dark Grannom
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Chimarra sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (updated name: Baetis tricaudatus)

August 10, 2016

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 10, 2016

Update 9:30 am:  The release has been increased to 500 cfs according to the recording.  It looks a little strange right now since Stilvesville is at 519 cfs and the graph looks more like a release rather than runoff.  We’ll update again as soon as we figure it out

We woke up to some showers this morning which is a nice change.  It looks like the rain will come and go throughout the day with some breaks. The forecast is calling for winds under 10 mph with good cloud cover during the rain breaks.  Total accumulation may be around 1/2″ but we’ll see.   Most of the rain should soak in to the ground so we don’t expect a huge jump in flow on the West Branch.   Generally during these rains we’ve stayed in good shape with a little color in the late afternoon but not enough to turn the fish off from rising.  The hatches have been better in the rain and the fish have been happier. Today we should see decent sulphur and blue winged olive hatches.  This could end up being a good day to blind cast isonychias on the lower West Branch.  The upper East Branch is in good shape above Harvard but the lower East Branch and Mainstem are both still too hot to fish for trout.

If we get hit with heavy rain and the river colors up we’ll post an update

Barry with a nice rainbow in the net. Photo by Bob Lewis

Hatching:
Slate Drake – 12-2xl- Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur – #16-20 – E dorothea
Light Cahill – #14 – 16 – S. ithaca & canadense
Golden Drake – #12-2xl – Potomanthus
Trico – 22 – 26 – Tricorythodes sp.
Tiny Blue Winged Olive – #22 – 26 – Psuedocloeon spp.
Blue Winged Olive – #18 – 20 – E. lata
Light Blue Winged Olive – #16 – 20 E. attenuatta
Tan Caddis – #16 – 20 – Hydropsyche spp.
Dark Brachycentrus sp. – #14 – 18 – Dark Grannom
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Chimarra sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (updated name: Baetis tricaudatus)

August 9, 2016

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 9, 2016

The forecast is calling for clear skies this morning with some clouds coming in by mid-afternoon.  We’re looking at high air temperatures in the low 80’s with winds staying under 10 mph.  We should see some storms tomorrow which will be a welcome relief from the sun.  We are still fishing sulphurs and olives on the upper West Branch with a few cahills, isonychias, and golden drakes thrown in for good measure.  We have been seeing more hatching up top in the evening so don’t leave the river too early.  We have had some hatching in the evening on the lower West Branch but the dry fly action below Hale Eddy has been best on rainy days.  The tricos are still around in the morning but the fishing has been spotty on them.  Some mornings we find fish rising to them and other mornings are slow.  The nymphing has been picking up with some nice fish being caught despite the sun.

Hatching:
Slate Drake – 12-2xl- Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur – #16-20 – E dorothea
Light Cahill – #14 – 16 – S. ithaca & canadense
Golden Drake – #12-2xl – Potomanthus
Trico – 22 – 26 – Tricorythodes sp.
Tiny Blue Winged Olive – #22 – 26 – Psuedocloeon spp.
Blue Winged Olive – #18 – 20 – E. lata
Light Blue Winged Olive – #16 – 20 E. attenuatta
Tan Caddis – #16 – 20 – Hydropsyche spp.
Dark Brachycentrus sp. – #14 – 18 – Dark Grannom
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Chimarra sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (updated name: Baetis tricaudatus)

August 8, 2016

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 8, 2016

We had a few clouds around yesterday but no thunderstorms developed.  Today looks clear with sunshine and no real wind.  We should be a bit cooler with air temperatures hitting 80 degrees.  The West Branch is still in decent shape with water temperatures good throughout it’s length.  The level is good for both floating and wading.  The afternoon sulphurs and olives are still hatching on the upper river while nymphing has been the best bet on the lower stretches.  We have seen decent sulphur and olive hatches on the lower sections on overcast / rainy days.  The upper East Branch is still in decent shape but definitely stay way above Harvard since the water hit 69 degrees there yesterday.  the lower East and Mainstem continue to cook and both Fishs Eddy and Lordville are starting off at 68 degrees this morning.

Hatching:
Slate Drake – 12-2xl- Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur – #16-20 – E dorothea
Light Cahill – #14 – 16 – S. ithaca & canadense
Golden Drake – #12-2xl – Potomanthus
Trico – 22 – 26 – Tricorythodes sp.
Tiny Blue Winged Olive – #22 – 26 – Psuedocloeon spp.
Blue Winged Olive – #18 – 20 – E. lata
Light Blue Winged Olive – #16 – 20 E. attenuatta
Tan Caddis – #16 – 20 – Hydropsyche spp.
Dark Brachycentrus sp. – #14 – 18 – Dark Grannom
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Chimarra sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (updated name: Baetis tricaudatus)