July 2, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 2, 2014

All of the rivers are still dropping to decent levels and look good this morning.  The West Branch under the Hancock Bridge is a cool 62 degrees this morning despite yesterday’s heat.  Nymphing the riffles and blind casting worked the best during the day yesterday and even into the evening.  There were fewer bugs than normal out at dark.  We are supposed to get some storms today and tomorrow that should help kick start some olives and the Isonchias.  Right now the weekend looks great on Accuweather with the major storms missing us.  Yesterday’s Reservoir storage update shows Pepacton at 100.2% and Cannonsville at 98.6%.

Rainbows in theriffles- the best part of Summer!

Hatching:

Sulphurs #16 -20 E. dorothea

Light Cahill #14 – E. Invaria

Pale Evening Dun #14 Epeorus vitreus

Summer Stenos #12-16 various species

Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.

Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.

Slate Drakes #12-2xl – Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.

July 1, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 1, 2014

It’s July 1st and the Temperature under the Hancock Bridge is 60 degrees this morning, Pepacton Reservoir is at 100.3% and Cannonsville is at 98.6% capacity- not a bad way to start off the month.  The rain yesterday morning was a little heavier than predicted so we saw a bump in flows that dropped back quickly.  The color is fine on the West Branch and the level is good for both wading and floating.  The fish did get happy during the rain and were eating well until the sun popped out.  Daytime activity was limited to nymphing and blind casting Isos until the sun dropped and we saw the normal flush of bugs into dark.  It looks like we should get a couple afternoon storms today which should help the fishing mid afternoon.

Another Steno Spinner- don’t leave the river too early!

Hatching:

Sulphurs #16 -20 E. dorothea

Light Cahill #14 – E. Invaria

Pale Evening Dun #14 Epeorus vitreus

Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.

Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.

Slate Drakes #12-2xl – Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.

June 30, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 30, 2014

Today is starting off looking like a great day to fish.  We have clouds plus a little heavy mist this morning mixed with periods of decent rain.  It may burn off as the sun rises but we should have some thunderstorms coming through bringing a little more rain and cloud cover later in the day.  If Accuweather is accurate we could see decent hatching of Pseudos and possibly Cahills during the day.  If the clouds stick around blind fishing Isonychias in the riffles.  The sulphurs have been coming late and lasting into dark so don’t leave the river early.  The temperature under the Hancock Bridge is 61 degrees this  morning and the last Cannonsville capacity update was June 27th at 98.6%.

Prime time on the West Branch

Hatching:

Sulphurs #16 -20 E. dorothea

Light Cahill #14 – E. Invaria

Pale Evening Dun #14 Epeorus vitreus

Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.

Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.

Slate Drakes #12-2xl – Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.

June 29, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 29, 2014

Patience has been the key to daytime fishing for the last few days.  Nymphing has paid off but there have been fish rising to daytime Stenos / Cahills sporadically even in the sun.  Once you find a riser sit on it.  they’ve been coming up three or four time and taking a break.  If you wait long enough you will get a shot- just make the first cast count.  As the sun drops the suface activity has been decent with the Sulphurs, Cahills, and Isonychias coming off and lasting into dark.  If you see the fish eating the sulphurs a few inches under the surface try a wet fly or swing a pheasant tail.  the rivers are dropping back and beginning to clear but the West Branch continues to offer the best fishing opportunity.

Bruce Miller’s boat landed this one yesterday

And Bruce’s boat again yesterday

Hatching:

Sulphurs #16 -20 E. dorothea

Light Cahill #14 – E. Invaria

Pale Evening Dun #14 Epeorus vitreus

Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.

Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.

Slate Drakes #12-2xl – Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.

June 28, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 28, 2014

The West Branch continues to be the best bet with flows suitable for wading and floating, plus water temperatures at the Hancock Bridge of 57 degrees this morning.  Look for some daytime stenos / cahills during the day.  We had mixed reports from yesterday but some people found the right spot and had decent fishing.  Otherwise nymphing the riffles and blind casting Isonychias in the riffles should bring some fish to the net.  When the sun drops look for sulphurs and more cahills coming off into dark.  The lower EB and the upper MS are still colored and high.  As of yesterday Cannonsville Reservoir is 98.6% full and the West Branch at Walton is flowing in at 807 cfs.

Keep an eye out for Steno Spinners at dark

Hatching:

Sulphurs #16 -20 E. dorothea

Light Cahill #14 – E. Invaria

Pale Evening Dun #14 Epeorus vitreus

Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.

Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.

Slate Drakes #12-2xl – Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.

June 27, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 27, 2014

Just a quick report today.  Sorry for the delay- love computer issues.  All the the river levels are dropping back nicely but the Beaverkill has color beginning around Horton and that continues down the East Branch and Mainstem leaving the West Branch as the best option today.  It also looks like Pepacton may possibly be spilling warm water looking at the flow leveling out plus the warm temperature.  The West Branch is clear, wadable, and fishable for the entire length.  The water temperature at the Hancock Bridge is 60 degrees this afternoon so it’s in great shape.

Hatching:

Sulphurs #16 -20 E. dorothea

Light Cahill #14 – E. Invaria

Pale Evening Dun #14 Epeorus vitreus

Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.

Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.

Slate Drakes #12-2xl – Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.

June 26, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 26, 2014

Despite the heavy downpours yesterday the West Branch remains in decent shape.  Stilesville hasn’t budged so that is a great wading option today.  The flow at Hale Eddy peaked around 800 cfs and is now falling- not too bad at all.  We have some color in the lower WB but it is fishable and should continue to clear throughout the day.  If you are wading keep in mind the flow will be higher as you get below Hale Eddy due to all of the feeder streams adding a decent amount of water.  Both before and during the storm we were seeing decent olives coming off and some of the steadiest risers I’ve seen in weeks.  The hatching lasted a few hours until the flow really started to climb.  Most of us found some rising fish, got off the river early, and had a nice dinner earlier than normal- which isn’t too bad a life.  The Beaverkill, East Branch, and Mainstem took the brunt of the storm and are not wadeable at this time- stick to the upper West Branch.

The Upper West is in great shape- hardly a bump!

Hatching:

Sulphurs #16 -20 E. dorothea

Light Cahill #14 – E. Invaria

Pale Evening Dun #14 Epeorus vitreus

Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.

Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.

Slate Drakes #12-2xl – Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.

June 25, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 25, 2014

We started yesterday with a decent amount of Stenos on the water mid- afternoon.  The fish never really got going in the sun but there was opportunity if you could mark one and keep putting the fly over the lane.  We never saw steady feeding but it was enough tow work with- kind of a mid day bonus.  Once the Stenos ended people blind fish Isonychias in the riffles were putting some fish in the net.  Once the sun dropped the fish were eating small sulphurs.  It played out like a normal sulphur hatch with a lot of the early eats 2″ under the surface and then right around dark there were more noses poking up.  We are starting off with decent cloud cover this morning and they are calling for a 1/2 inch of rain scattered throughout the day.  Sounds like a decent fishing weather and we expect a lot of the rain to soak into the ground.  Hopefully the rain brings more olives to the surface during the day.  The water temp at the Hancock Bridge is starting a little higher this morning at 56 degrees- still decent for fishing.

Bruce Miller with a nice fish the other day during prime time

Hatching:

Sulphurs #16 -20 E. dorothea

Light Cahill #14 – E. Invaria

Pale Evening Dun #14 Epeorus vitreus

Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.

Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.

Slate Drakes #12-2xl – Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.

June 24, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 24, 2014

The weather worked in our favor yesterday with some decent cloud cover until late afternoon.  Nymphing was productive in the morning and by late evenign we started to see a mix of sulphurs, stenos, and Isonychias.  At least for me yesterday was the opposite of the weekend with most of our fish eating #18 sulphurs and not the Isos.  By evening the fish were happy and most of the people we saw had some targets to work with- Pretty good for the end of June.  Today is going to be a little warmer with a possible thunderstorm.  The humidy will be up but it shouldn’t feel too bad on the river.  Cannonsville was 97.8% yesterday and the water temperature is 56 degrees at the Hancock Bridge.

Dave Price finding fish in the sun on the West Branch

Hatching:

Sulphurs #16 -20 E. dorothea

Light Cahill #14 – E. Invaria

Pale Evening Dun #14 Epeorus vitreus

Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.

Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.

Slate Drakes #12-2xl – Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.

June 23, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 23, 2014

We’re coming off another cool night which is great news for the river system.  The water temperature at the Hancock Bridge is 55 degrees this morning and as of 6/20 Cannonsville was 98.4% capacity.  Today is going to a little warmer with air temps in the low 80s with a slight chance of some T Storms – hopefully bring in some clouds this afternoon.  Everyone fished late yesterday and found some sulphurs with a few Isonychias mixed in the riffles.  The mayflies still seem to be coming in flushes last a couple of hours but the fish are eating them.  Nymphing is best early before the sun really hits the water but offers your best chance of landing a fish even during the mid – day stretch.  There are good numbers of tan caddis plus a few cornutas around so keep an eye on the riffles in the morning.

West Branch water temps are still holding on in late June!

Hatching:

Sulphurs #16 -18 E. dorothea

Light Cahill #14 – E. Invaria

Pale Evening Dun #14 Epeorus vitreus

Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.

Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.

Slate Drakes #12-2xl – Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.

June 22, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 22, 2014

Yesterday was pretty interesting with intermittent clouds and flushes of bugs during the day.  Nothing heavy until late afternoon / early evening when the Isonychias and Stenos came off well for a couple of hours leading into a brief sulphur hatch. Some of the larger pools had fish eating pseudos as the sun dropped.  All in all it was the best hatching we’ve seen in a while and the fish reacted accordingly.  Those fish really like to eat Isos!  The cool nights are doing a world of good for the water temps – it looks like we have a couple more days of that coming which is great news.  I would start off nymphing in the morning and afternoons while keeping an eye on the riffles for the odd Iso or caddis eat.  Slowly stripping Iso nymphs should be a good alternative to dead drift.  As the sun drops we should see an increase in bug activity.

Don  stayed late last night and it payed off! Photo by Jordan Davenport

Hatching:

Sulphurs #16 -18 E. dorothea

Light Cahill #14 – E. Invaria

Pale Evening Dun #14 Epeorus vitreus

Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.

Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.

Slate Drakes #12-2xl – Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.

June 21, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 21, 2014

We are coming off a very cool night which helped the river temperatures this morning.  While we are enjoying temps in the 50’s right now the sun is poking through and we are looking at high 70’s by late afternoon.  The bonus of the weather today looks like wind gusts at 5 mph- finally no wind!  Nymphing the riffles will be the best option during the day but keep an eye out for the occasional slash at a caddis.  Towards dark look for sulphurs, stenos, and Isonychias- don’t leave the river early

Some of the Isonychias are huge!

Hatching:

Sulphurs #16 -18 E. dorothea

Light Cahill #14 – E. Invaria

Pale Evening Dun #14 Epeorus vitreus

Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.

Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.

Slate Drakes #12-2xl – Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.