October 7, 2015

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 7, 2015

The release from Cannonsville has been raised slightly to 1,054 cfs this morning to meet downstream flow targets.  This seems like a good opportunity to switch a few hundred cfs of the Cannonsville release to Pepacton and add some water to the East Branch drainage.
We’re still fishing small olives mixed with a few isonychias and heptagenias.  The bright sun seemed to push the hatching to later in the evening.  There were some heptagenia spinners in sections towards dark.  The amount of caddis we are seeing seems to be increasing so it feels like the start of our normal fall fishing.  There is some chalkiness to the West Branch so the East Branch and Mainstem should offer better nymphing opportunities.
Today’s air temperatures should hit the mid 60’s with negligible winds.  The nighttime air temperatures are dropping into the 40’s so bring a fleece.

Patrick and bob teamed up for this pretty rainbow

Hatching:
Slate Drake #14 – Isonychia bicolor
Olive Sulphur #18 – 20 – Heptagenia hebe
Light Cahills #14 – various steno species (invaria, etc)
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22-26 – Pseudo sp. (now classified as Acentrella sp.)
Charcoal Caddis #14 -16 – dark Brachycentrus sp.
Tan Caddis #16-18 – Hydrosyche sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis sp.

October 6, 2015

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 6, 2015

The release from Cannonsville was bumped slightly higher this morning and has settled in at 900 cfs.  It’s time to find your high water wade spots on the West Branch and concentrate on the slower edges and tailouts of pools for rising fish. Both the East Branch and Mainstem are a little on the low side and offer great wading opportunities.  Those two rivers would be my first choice for nymphing before the hatches start.  We have seen the olives coming off mid-afternoon despite the sunshine.  Some sections are also seeing the beginning of the Heptagenia and Fall Isonychia hatches.

Tom again from a few days ago. Photo by Jared Makowski

Hatching:
Slate Drake #14 – Isonychia bicolor
Olive Sulphur #18 – 20 – Heptagenia hebe
Light Cahills #14 – various steno species (invaria, etc)
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22-26 – Pseudo sp. (now classified as Acentrella sp.)
Charcoal Caddis #14 -16 – dark Brachycentrus sp.
Tan Caddis #16-18 – Hydrosyche sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis sp.

October 5, 2015

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 5, 2015

The release from Cannonsville has been increased this morning.  They are ramping it up and we should settle in around a 783 cfs release. Right now the flows are still rising on the West Branch but should settle in by the afternoon.  Small olives are the fly of choice but we are seeing some of the Fall isonychias show up plus the odd leftover flying ants and cahills.

We are on a warming trend again and air temperatures should hit the mid 60’s with mostly sun showing through a few clouds.  Winds will be mild with gusts only reaching 5 mph.  All in all in sounds like a great Fall day.

And up we go to a 783 cfs release

Hatching:
Slate Drake #14 – Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur #18-20 – E. dorothea
Light Cahills #14 – various steno species (invaria, etc)
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22-26 – Pseudo sp. (now classified as Acentrella sp.)
Charcoal Caddis #14 -16 – dark Brachycentrus sp.
Tan Caddis #16-18 – Hydrosyche sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis sp.

October 4, 2015

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 4, 2015

Yesterday was the coolest, wet day we’ve had since Spring.  The weather did not stop the Pseudos from hatching or the fish eating them.  It was another of risers from just after lunch until 5:30 or so.  There have been a few Isonychias starting to show up the bulk of the hatches are the little olives.
Today looks like it should be another good day with clouds in the morning with some sun breaking through in the afternoon.  Air temperatures should reach the high 50’s making it a lot more comfortable than yesterday’s mid to high 40’s.  Winds should be moderate with gusts only reaching 8 mph.

Jared Makowski with a Mainstem dry fly fish yesterday

Hatching:
Slate Drake #12 – Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur #18-20 – E. dorothea
Light Cahills #14 – various steno species (invaria, etc)
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22-26 – Pseudo sp. (now classified as Acentrella sp.)
Charcoal Caddis #14 -16 – dark Brachycentrus sp.
Tan Caddis #16-18 – Hydrosyche sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis sp.

October 3, 2015

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 3, 2015

We’re coming off another cold night and woke up to some light rain this morning. The rivers look decent now and have settled down to great levels for wading.  Today should be cooler with air temperatures only reaching the high 40’s to low 50’s.  Luckily the wind forecast has changed and we are looking at gusts only reaching 8 mph.  Hopefully Accuweather is accurate on that one.
We had good olive hatches yesterday beginning around 1 pm and lasting until after 5:30.  The fish out front were rising steadily to the #22 -26 Pseudos offering decent targets.  It was the most and steadiest rising fish we’ve seen in a while.  Today should be similar with cloud cover sticking around once the rain showers subside.

Tom with a nice brown from the other day. Photo by Jared Makowski

Hatching:
Slate Drake #12 – Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur #18-20 – E. dorothea
Light Cahills #14 – various steno species (invaria, etc)
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22-26 – Pseudo sp. (now classified as Acentrella sp.)
Charcoal Caddis #14 -16 – dark Brachycentrus sp.
Tan Caddis #16-18 – Hydrosyche sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis sp.

October 2, 2015

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 2, 2015

It looks like Hurricane Joaquin’s path is taking it out to sea so the Upper Delaware System should come through this weekend just fine.  The release from Cannonsville has been cut back to 150 cfs while the runoff satisfies the downstream flow targets.  The nights have finally turned cool and it feels like Fall.  We had air temperatures in the 40’s last night so the rivers are starting off cool this morning.  Much of the runoff up here has subsided and the clarity is decent.  We should have cloud cover for most of the day with moderate winds and a few gusts in the low teens.  We may see a little rain moving through overnight but the precipitation totals look negligible in the forecast.  The West Branch looks decent for nymphing this morning until the small olives hatch in the afternoon.  The cooler weather should begin to push the Fall hatches soon.

Bob Lewis took this cool picture of Home Pool earlier in the month

Hatching:
Slate Drake #12 – Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur #18-20 – E. dorothea
Light Cahills #14 – various steno species (invaria, etc)
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22-26 – Pseudo sp. (now classified as Acentrella sp.)
Charcoal Caddis #14 -16 – dark Brachycentrus sp.
Tan Caddis #16-18 – Hydrosyche sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis sp.

October 1, 2015

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 1, 2015

The West Branch has dropped back after the rain and is flowing at 543 cfs thsi morning.  The clarity looks decent and you can see rocks on the bottom of the river as you cross the 191 Bridge.  The lower East Branch is dirty but should begin to clear as the Beaverkill water filters through.  Same for the Mainstem.  It looks like it could be a decent streamer day followed by the afternoon olives in the slower pools.  The great news is the West Branch at Walton flowing into Cannonsville is over 800 cfs this morning. It’s going to feel cool out there with air temperatures peaking around 59 degrees.  We may have some unpleasant wind gusts from the North.  If that happens look for risers in the wind protected areas.  It shouldn’t matter if you are streamer fishing.

In the net

Hatching:
Slate Drake #12 – Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur #18-20 – E. dorothea
Light Cahills #14 – various steno species (invaria, etc)
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22-26 – Pseudo sp. (now classified as Acentrella sp.)
Charcoal Caddis #14 -16 – dark Brachycentrus sp.
Tan Caddis #16-18 – Hydrosyche sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis sp.

September 30, 2015

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 30, 2015

We did get some decent rain overnight but like we predicted most of it was immediately soaked into the ground.  We should receive a little more today (around 1/4″) and then dry up in the afternoon with no additional precipitation until Friday evening.  The rivers are coming up and there is some color coming in form some of the feeder streams (definitely Sands Creek in Hancock).   Hale Eddy is currently 621 cfs this morning and rising.  The Beaverkill is currently flowing at 274 cfs and may likely be dirty if history tells us anything.  It looks like a decent olive day with overcast skies and light rain right now.  Watch the river levels if you are fishing today.  There is still a chance for an odd storm to dump on us bringing the feeder creeks up to flood stage.  Check the gauges often today using the links below for the latest flows.

Reservoir numbers:  The current storage for the NYC Water Supply is 76.6% capacity.  Normal storage for September 30th is 71.9%.  We are above normal storage with decent rains falling plus additional rain in the forecast.  The WB inflow to Cannonsville Reservoir at Walton is 261 cfs this morning and rising.  The other reservoir feeder with a gauge is Trout Creek running at 44 cfs and rising.  There is absolutely no reason NYC DEP should have completely shut off the directed releases in one move on Monday.  A stepped down program makes so much more sense for the health of the river system below the dams.   Stepping down the releases would not have been a threat to the NYC water supply.

Dave and Beth from the weekend. Photo by Bob Lewis

Hatching:
Slate Drake #12 – Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur #18-20 – E. dorothea
Light Cahills #14 – various steno species (invaria, etc)
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22-26 – Pseudo sp. (now classified as Acentrella sp.)
Charcoal Caddis #14 -16 – dark Brachycentrus sp.
Tan Caddis #16-18 – Hydrosyche sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis sp.

September 29, 2015

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 29, 2015

Due to the forecasted rain NYC DEP decided they could save some water by dropping the Cannonsville release from over 1000 cfs immediately down to 300 cfs.  There was no gradual step down, no thought about giving the insects on the sides of the stream-bed room to migrate, no regard whatsoever for downstream users.  Hopefully Accuweather really is accurate this time and we get a lot of rain spread out from today through Sunday.  We expect the first inch or so to soak right into the ground so we are watching the radar carefully.  Feel free to call Paul Rush at DEP and let him know your thoughts about dropping the release from 1200 cfs to 300 cfs in one move.  845.334.7107 or email at prush@dep.nyc.gov

If there was ever a question on whether or not NYC DEP cared about anything downstream of the dams…

Hatching:
Slate Drake #12 – Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur #18-20 – E. dorothea
Light Cahills #14 – various steno species (invaria, etc)
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22-26 – Pseudo sp. (now classified as Acentrella sp.)
Charcoal Caddis #14 -16 – dark Brachycentrus sp.
Tan Caddis #16-18 – Hydrosyche sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis sp.

September 28, 2015

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 28, 2015

The release from the reservoir continues at the same level as yesterday. The West Branch remains off-color and the East Branch is clear but very low. The forecast is calling for cloud cover today and sporadic rain over the next few days. Cooler air temperatures for the rest of the week should keep the water temperature down throughout the system. Streamers have been working well the past few days, but look for rising fish as evening falls.

Not bad for Vince’s second fly fishing experience. Photo by Bruce Miller.

Hatching:
Slate Drake #12 – Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur #18-20 – E. dorothea
Tricos #22 – 26 – Tricorythodes sp.
Light Cahills #14 – various steno species (invaria, etc)
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22-26 – Pseudo sp. (now classified as Acentrella sp.)
Charcoal Caddis #14 -16 – dark Brachycentrus sp.
Tan Caddis #16-18 – Hydrosyche sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis sp.
Flying ants #16-24

September 27, 2015

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 27, 2015

The release on  the West Branch has been stepped down slightly again this morning. The water remains off-color but is clearing slowly and there has been less algae. Streamers continue to be the best bet. If the cloud cover sticks around, that may help get the bugs going today. Look for olives and isos especially as the sun goes down.

Jesse with a nice brown. Photo by Jared Makowski.

Hatching:
Slate Drake #12 – Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur #18-20 – E. dorothea
Tricos #22 – 26 – Tricorythodes sp.
Light Cahills #14 – various steno species (invaria, etc)
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22-26 – Pseudo sp. (now classified as Acentrella sp.)
Charcoal Caddis #14 -16 – dark Brachycentrus sp.
Tan Caddis #16-18 – Hydrosyche sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis sp.
Flying ants #16-24

September 26, 2015

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 26, 2015

The release and the conditions on the West Branch remain the same this morning. Expect turbid water and less insects than we would like. The East Branch is clear but very low. We’ve had success fishing streamers, even with all the sun, due to the off-color water on the West Branch. We’re anticipating another sunny day with temperatures in the low 70’s and light winds. Have your dry flies ready in the evening.

Lee and Rob found a nice brown. Photo by Bruce Miller.

Hatching:
Slate Drake #12 – Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur #18-20 – E. dorothea
Tricos #22 – 26 – Tricorythodes sp.
Light Cahills #14 – various steno species (invaria, etc)
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22-26 – Pseudo sp. (now classified as Acentrella sp.)
Charcoal Caddis #14 -16 – dark Brachycentrus sp.
Tan Caddis #16-18 – Hydrosyche sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis sp.
Flying ants #16-24