Delaware River Report / Conditions April 16, 2013

There were plenty of wind-burned faces coming off the water yesterday, that is for sure. On the West Branch, there was no real need to back row in a boat – you could just let the wind take you upstream. That being said, we had some decent fish caught on streamers, nymphs, and even a few isolated dry flies. The dries that were around comprised mostly of the chimarra caddis (little charcoal/brown) in about a size 18. There were some (reliable) reports of some strange “Baby March Browns” on the lower West – I’m hoping to capture one today. Could be some that had their growth stunted or the like. Bug-nerd-wise, this is important. Fisherman-wise, not so much as the fish weren’t on them. Today we’re starting with warmer water and air temps – this could bode well for a more dry-oriented day, but there are some thunderstorms predicted, and a little bit of wind (not like yesterday) coming out of the South again.

Terry Mulvihill with a nice, dark Rainbow he caught this weekend as part of the Project Healing Waters training session. Photo: Bob Lewis

What’s Hatching:

Chimarra species – Charcoal Caddis – #16 & #18

Taeniopteryx fasciata – Early Black Stonefly- #18

Brachyteraspecies- Early Brown Stonefly – #12/#14

Baetis species – BWO – #16 & #18 – Very sporadic, getting started

Paraleptophlebia adoptiva – Blue Quill – #16 & #18 – Same as Baetis

Current Flow Conditions:

FLOWS AS OF 8:00 AM:
West Branch at Stilesville, NY 221 cfs @ 41º
West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY 566 cfs @ 45º
East Branch at Harvard, NY 333 cfs @ 45º
East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY 1,390 cfs @ 46º
Mainstem at Lordville, NY 2,650 cfs @ 47º
Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY 814 cfs @ N/A
Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release 91.0% – 200 CFS release

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