May 3, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 3, 2014

Finally we had what felt like a real Hendrickson hatch.  Not a blanket hatch, but enough hendricksons to get the fish up feeding steady.  Todays weather is a mirror image of yesterdays.  Partly cloudy, high near 60, and moderate winds. Some light rain moving into the area tonight.   Looks like decent fishing day.  Cannonsville is 99.5%

Pete with a dryfly brown

Hatching:

Light Hendrickson #12 – E. subvaria

Dark Hendrickson #14 – E. Subvaria

Blue Quill #16 – Paralep sp.

Quill Gordon #14 -Epeorus pluralis

Little Black Caddis #18-20 – Chimarra sp.

Tiny Black Stoneflies #18 – Capniadae sp.

Early Black and Brown Stoneflies #14 – 16 Taeniopteryx sp.

May 2, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 2, 2014

Yesterday ended up being a tough day on the river. The weather was great and the water temps looked good but the fish never really got going.  Dry fly shots were few and far between and nymphing was tough with the slight color in the water.  Streamers fared better in the evening as the sun dropped.  Today should be better fishing on falling water rather than the rising water we had for a good part of yesterday.  Cannonsville is at 99.3% capacity.

Jack Regan with a WB brown yesterday – photo by Bruce Miller

Hatching:

Light Hendrickson #12 – E. subvaria

Dark Hendrickson #14 – E. Subvaria

Blue Quill #16 – Paralep sp.

Quill Gordon #14 -Epeorus pluralis

Little Black Caddis #18-20 – Chimarra sp.

Tiny Black Stoneflies #18 – Capniadae sp.

Early Black and Brown Stoneflies #14 – 16 Taeniopteryx sp.

May 1, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 1, 2014

It looks like the West Branch escaped most of the rain. The color looks fine  right now with some feeders bringing the flow up at Hale Eddy a little.  It does not seem that Cannonsville is spilling yet.  The WB at Walton is 733 cfs.  Yesterday was an interesting weather day with periods of rain and cool temps.  There was a nice hatch of Blue Quills in the afternoon and a few fish were caught on top.  Nymphing was also productive throughout the day.  Today the weatherman is calling for highs in the 60s with winds gusting to 11- not too bad.  This should be a good fishing day and we’ll keep an eye on Cannonsville for spill.

Photo by Jerry Quinn

Hatching:

Light Hendrickson #12 – E. subvaria

Dark Hendrickson #14 – E. Subvaria

Blue Quill #16 – Paralep sp.

Quill Gordon #14 -Epeorus pluralis

Little Black Caddis #18-20 – Chimarra sp.

Tiny Black Stoneflies #18 – Capniadae sp.

Early Black and Brown Stoneflies #14 – 16 Taeniopteryx sp.

April 30, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions April 30, 2014

The rivers are still in decent shape after yesterdays cold and rain.  River temps are starting off in their normal range and the flows only had a minor bump.  More cool temps and rain on the way today but Thursday’s weather looks great for fishing.  The rivers still fished yesterday with a number of fish landed on nymphs and the weather never seemed as bad here as the weatherman was making it sound.  Cannonsville is at 99.2% capacity.

Payoff in tough weather conditions. Photo by Kevan Smaracko

Hatching:

Light Hendrickson #12 – E. subvaria

Dark Hendrickson #14 – E. Subvaria

Blue Quill #16 – Paralep sp.

Quill Gordon #14 -Epeorus pluralis

Little Black Caddis #18-20 – Chimarra sp.

Tiny Black Stoneflies #18 – Capniadae sp.

Early Black and Brown Stoneflies #14 – 16 Taeniopteryx sp.

April 29, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions April 29, 2014

We all thought the river would fish well yesterday.  We were right.  Everyone seemed to find at least some fish ea  ting a mix of Blue Quills, Quill gordons, and the first few Hendricksons.  Dry fly action was decent in the afternoon while nymphing paid off throughout the day.  Starting today the temperatures drop and the wind comes back.  Thursday we get back to “normal” and the weekend looks like it will fish.

Keith with a nice MS Brown – photo by Bruce Miller

Rich with a nice WB Brown Photo by Steve Shen

Hatching:

Light Hendrickson #12 – E. subvaria

Dark Hendrickson #14 – E. Subvaria

Blue Quill #16 – Paralep sp.

Quill Gordon #14 -Epeorus pluralis

Little Black Caddis #18-20 – Chimarra sp.

Tiny Black Stoneflies #18 – Capniadae sp.

Early Black and Brown Stoneflies #14 – 16 Taeniopteryx sp.

April 28, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions April 28, 2014

Blue Quills and Quill Gordons are still hatching in decent numbers on the system.  On colder days the window is only a couple of hours but it’s enough to get the fish looking up.  There are a few Hendricksons mixed inbut the main hatch has not stated yet.  Add in the stoneflies and the chimarra caddis and you get the bug soup that makes fishing the Delaware so much fun.  Today is shaping up to be a great fishing day- high of 61 degrees, sun in the morning with clouds rolling in during the evening.  No wind!  After what we’ve seen lately 5 mph will seem like nothing.  The system is falling back into levels comfortable for wading and floating.  Cannonsville is at 99.8% with a release of 701 cfs.

Matt with a nice WB Brown from yesterday photo by Steve Shen

Hatching:

Blue Quill #16 – Paralep sp.

Quill Gordon #14 -Epeorus pluralis

Little Black Caddis #18-20 – Chimarra sp.

Tiny Black Stoneflies #18 – Capniadae sp.

Early Black and Brown Stoneflies #14 – 16 Taeniopteryx sp.

April 27, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions April 27, 2014

Sorry for the delay this morning.  Computer issues.

There was a decent Blue Quill hatch on the West Branch yesterday.  It had great potential but the waves of rain and wind coming through made fishing tough.  If you were willing to wait it out there was opportunity.  It looks like they are slowly ramping down the release on the West Branch but that may change with the predicted rain over the next week.  A nice slow rain over 3 or 4 days would benefit the system.  We also saw the first couple of Hendricksons yesterday.  Just the beginning of the hatch

Hatching:

Blue Quill #16 – Paralep sp.

Quill Gordon #14 -Epeorus pluralis

Little Black Caddis #18-20 – Chimarra sp.

Tiny Black Stoneflies #18 – Capniadae sp.

Early Black and Brown Stoneflies #14 – 16 Taeniopteryx sp.

April 26, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions April 26, 2014

Cannonsville has stopped spilling and they have dropped the release to 1198 cfs.  Our guides found some fish rising to Blue Quills yesterday in the mid afternoon.  Streamers are still getting more attention from the fish but that will change as the water warms and the hatching activity increases.  It looks like the dryfly fishing is about to break wide open so next week should be awesome.  Cannonsville is currently 99.8%.

Bob landed a nice fish on dry fly yesterday

Hatching:

Blue Quill #16 – Paralep sp.

Quill Gordon #14 -Epeorus pluralis

Little Black Caddis #18-20 – Chimarra sp.

Tiny Black Stoneflies #18 – Capniadae sp.

Early Black and Brown Stoneflies #14 – 16 Taeniopteryx sp.

April 25, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions April 25, 2014

The wind blew again yesterday but the river fished well in between the gusts.  There were some fish rising in protected areas to a mix of Blue Quills and Quill Gordons.  Unfortunately there were not too many areas protected from the wind.  The fish have definitely turned on to streamers and that seemed to be the best answer with the weather.  Today looks much better with highs in the 60s and some wind, but not anything like we just experienced over the last two days.  The release from Cannonsville is currently 1,499 cfs.

Fish are still eating in the wind!

Hatching:

Blue Quill #16 – Paralep sp.

Quill Gordon #14 -Epeorus pluralis

Little Black Caddis #18-20 – Chimarra sp.

Tiny Black Stoneflies #18 – Capniadae sp.

Early Black and Brown Stoneflies #14 – 16 Taeniopteryx sp.

April 24, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions April 24, 2014

The wind was not kind yesterday.  Streamers worked if you could stick with it and not be frustrated by the weather.  A few one time risers were spotted but the bugs were being blown so fast and so far there wasn’t much of an opportunity for the fish to even see them.  Today’s high is 54 degrees with more wind, but significantly less than yesterday.  Streamers will still be your best bet but you may find a few fish rising in protected areas.  The rivers are dropping and if we don’t have any more rain the reservoirs should stop spilling soon.  Cannonsville is 100.7% capacity and Pepacton is 100.2% capacity.

Hatching:

Blue Quill #16 – Paralep sp.

Quill Gordon #14 -Epeorus pluralis

Little Black Caddis #18-20 – Chimarra sp.

Tiny Black Stoneflies #18 – Capniadae sp.

Early Black and Brown Stoneflies #14 – 16 Taeniopteryx sp.

April 23, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions April 23, 2014

Finally!  Yesterday we found the first steady rising fish eating a mix of stoneflies, Blue Quills, and Quill Gordons.  They were feeding steadily for about an hour in the late afternoon in the slower edges and pools.  The streamer fishing improved dramatically and the fish were very active and happy.  It was a great day to be on the river.  The air temps are cooling down today but it looks like we will be on a warming trend over the weekend until Sunday.  Cannonsville is at 101% capacity with a release of  1540 cfs.

Samantha comes through again showing off one her fish from yesterday

Hatching:

Blue Quill #16 – Paralep sp.

Quill Gordon #14 -Epeorus pluralis

Little Black Caddis #18-20 – Chimarra sp.

Tiny Black Stoneflies #18 – Capniadae sp.

Early Black and Brown Stoneflies #14 – 16 Taeniopteryx sp.

April 22, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions April 22, 2014

Yesterday was tough compared to Sunday.  Fewer bugs on the water, including stoneflies.  Streamers produced some activity but the bright sun didn’t help. Todasy looks better for streamers with cloud cover this morning wit a little rain moving in this afternoon.  Hopefully the change in weather  kick starts the bugs!  I’ll take the high air temps in the low 60’s anytime!  Cannonsville is at 101.4% and the rivers are dropping.  A lot depends on how the storm tracks and how much rain we receive.

Still waiting to see these in large numbers. It can’t be long!

Hatching:

Blue Quill #16 – Paralep sp.

Quill Gordon #14 -Epeorus pluralis

Little Black Caddis #18-20 – Chimarra sp.

Tiny Black Stoneflies #18 – Capniadae sp.

Early Black and Brown Stoneflies #14 – 16 Taeniopteryx sp.