October 5, 2016

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 5, 2016

The release from Cannonsville Reservoir is 226 cfs this morning.  This is up from the 150 cfs they had dropped us to yesterday afternoon.  We were at 580 cfs yesterday afternoon.  They did some worthless ramp down that so quick the graph looks like a free fall to 150 cfs.  Then this morning they micro adjust us up to 226 cfs.  The downstream flow targets are being met by releases from the Lake Wallenpaupack draw down.  This happens every 5 years so it’s not really a surprise.  It’s unfortunate that we end up getting these yo yo releases.  The cost of water to level these releases out would be minimal while the benefit to the downstream users would be huge.
The river seemed to fish well yesterday with more fish being landed.  Fish were landed on dries, streamers, and nymphs.  The clouds stuck around for the most part and the rain held off.  Isos, Heptagenia, and small olives.  Luckily the release was dropped mid day so people downstream still had decent flows to fish.  Today looks like a pleasant fall day with an air temperature of 70, some sun, and very light winds around 3 mph.

Phil with a nice brown yesterday. Photo by Jared Makowski

Hatching:
Slate Drake – #12 – 14- Isonychia bicolor
Olive Sulphur – #18 – 20– Heptagenia hebe
Light Cahill – #14 – 16
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)

October 4, 2016

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 4, 2016

This morning’s release from Cannonsville has been cut back to 585 cfs.  Yesterday we had a bit more sun than expected but the clouds dd move in and out during the day.  Streamers and wet flies seemed to be the best bet but some people were able to find some fish eating on top.  We did see some spinners in the air in the evening but they didn’t hit the water until well after dark.  Today’s weather should be similar to yesterday- mostly overcast with little or no precipitation.  Wind gusts should be a bit lower peaking around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Samantha with a nice fish yesterday. Photo by Theo May

Hatching:
Slate Drake – #12 – 14- Isonychia bicolor
Olive Sulphur – #18 – 20– Heptagenia hebe
Light Cahill – #14 – 16
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)

October 3, 2016

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 3, 2016

We had a slight bump in the release from Cannonsville to 738 cfs.  At this level the West Branch is still in decent shape for wading and floating.  There is only 232 cfs at Fishs Eddy which leaves the East Branch wadeable.  The Main is in good shape for wading and floating.  Today looks like a great weather day with clouds, a slight chance of light rain, and winds 6 mph and below. Yesterday was a mixed day with some streamer action, some wet fly actions, and some fish eating  olives on top.  It seemed to vary by section but the fish are eating.  We’ve also seen a few fish caught on light cahills and isonychias.  The caddis are around and will eventually hit the water offering some really good fishing.

Jared with an ice fish to start October. Photo by Bruce Miller

Hatching:
Slate Drake – #12 – 14- Isonychia bicolor
Olive Sulphur – #18 – 20– Heptagenia hebe
Light Cahill – #14 – 16
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)

October 2, 2016

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 2, 2016

The release from Cannonsville Reservoir is 696 cfs this morning.  This leaves the West Branch is decent shape for both floating and wading.  The Mainstem will rise a little this mornign but will also remain good for wading and floating.  The East Branch temperatures are decent this morning.  We had a little more rain come down over night but not enough to bring up the flow.  It is in decent shape for wading and we have been hearing some reports of fish being landed on the lower stretches.  We have another cloudy day ahead of us but the chance of any significant rain is very slim.  Wind gusts should peak around 6 mph.  Wet flies and caddis pupa have been working for the nymphers while small dark streamers are taking some fish.  We are seeing some isonychias in spots.  They still seem a little spotty but some people are finding decent numbers of them.  Most of the dry fly action has been on small olives in the afternoon.

Hatching:
Slate Drake – #12 – 14- Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur – #16-20 – E. dorothea
Light Cahill – #14 – 16
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)

October 1, 2016

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 1, 2016

The Release hotline is saying we have a release from Cannonsville of 461 cfs this morning.  The Stilesville Gage is showing a flow of 391 cfs.  It has been around 8 hours since the last flow yo yo so I guess someone felt it was time to mix it up.  The runoff and releases from Wallenpaupack and Rio must be meeting the downstream flow requirements so we have been cut back again.  This winter we’ll put up some posts looking at how often the Upper Mainstem hit 70 degrees,   how they gradually ramped the flows up and down (or didn’t), and how often they let the temperatures on the lower West Branch climb unnecessarily high.  We could also look at all the days the West Branch releases were very high while the East Branch was dry and hitting 75 degrees but I’m not sure we have enough bandwidth to cover that BS.  In November the first thing we should look at is when they released additional water this season, how many times, and why.
We did find some fish eating on top yesterday with a mix of small olives and isonychias.  Some people found success swinging caddis pupa in the riffles.  Today looks like another good weather day with some light rain and an overcast sky.  Winds will be light under 10 mph.

Rob found a riser yesterday, Photo by Jared Makowski

Hatching:
Slate Drake – #12 – 14- Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur – #16-20 – E. dorothea
Light Cahill – #14 – 16
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)

September 30, 2016

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 30, 2016

10:30 am update.  Weatherunderground has increased our precipitation forecast to 1/2″

And we wake up to another ridiculous move.  Someone finally realized that the forecasted rain wasn’t going to increase the flows enough to meet the downstream targets so the release from Cannonsville has been raised to 589 cfs.  The Mainstem flow at Lordville hit an unbelievable low of 553 cfs.  For years we have watched them prematurely drop the releases counting on rain to meet the Montague target and for years we have watched the yo yo release increase when that rain misses us.  Nothing has changed.

The West Branch  is now back in good shape for wading and floating.  The Mainstem will come up a bit with the increased release but should settle in by evening.  Olives, isonychias and caddis have been out in good numbers when the river isn’t screwed up from Yo Yo releases.  We are beginning to see a few Heptagenia hebes on the water plus the flying ants are around.  During the off hatch times we have been doing well with small dark woolly buggers and smaller pheasant tails and hare’s ears.  We may see a 1/4″ of rain today with most of it falling in the morning.  We have been dry so we expect most of the precipitation to soak into the ground. They are still calling for decent cloud cover and light rain through Tuesday.  If they stop screwing with the release it should fish well over the next few days.

up again. The last 4 days of yo yo releases

Hatching:
Slate Drake – #12 – 14- Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur – #16-20 – E. dorothea
Light Cahill – #14 – 16
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)

September 29, 2016

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 29, 2016

Ridiculous.  Yesterday the release from Cannonsville was 568 cfs.  The Stilesville graph shows an increase to 800 cfs late yesterday.  This morning the release has been cut back to 300 cfs.  Again regardless of the press there is absolutely zero concern or respect for the people downstream of the dams and the Flexible Flow Management Plan doesn’t seem all that flexible when it concerns the downstream habitat.

We have some rain this morning that should help the dry fly fishing.  Olives and isonychias mixed with a few caddis.  The weather forecast is now calling for light rain through Tuesday.  It should fish well if the forecast holds and wading will certainly be easy.

Ridiculous.  Yo Yo

Hatching:
Slate Drake – #12 – 14- Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur – #16-20 – E. dorothea
Light Cahill – #14 – 16
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)

September 28, 2016

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 28, 2016

The West Branch flow is down slightly and the Cannonsville release is 568 cfs.  This keeps the river at a good level for wading and floating.  Today should be another day of clear skies but we should see some rain moving in overnight.  Weatherunderground has rain in the forecast through the weekend.  Most of the precipitation should soak into the ground.  The cloud cover will be nice after another day of sun yesterday.  Hopefully the clouds and light rain help keep the olives and the isonychias on the surface of the water longer.  The wind will be up a bit today gusting around 11 mph from the south.  The leaves are still on the trees so there are still quite a few protected areas where the wind wouldn’t be noticeable.

Good numbers of evening caddis

Hatching:
Slate Drake – #12 – 14- Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur – #16-20 – E. dorothea
Light Cahill – #14 – 16
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)

September 25, 2016

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 25, 2016

The West Branch release has been dropped slightly again to 574 cfs but is still floatable. Today will look much like yesterday: sunny and moderate during the day with a cool night. The nights have helped dropped the water temperatures, even on the low water of the East Branch. Olives and Isos have been working well, but make sure your box has flying ants and small dark Caddis. Lower water should make nymphing productive, even with the sun.

Hatching:
Slate Drake – 12-2xl- 14- Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur – #16-20 – E. dorothea
Light Cahill – #14 – 16
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)

September 24, 2016

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 24, 2016

Another drop in the release from Cannonsville brings us to 627 cfs this morning. A less drastic drop like this shouldn’t make the fish as cranky as the large drops in release and the river is still in good shape for wading and floating. The cooler nights are here to stay, keeping the river temperatures at a great level for trout fishing. Olives and cahills remain the mayflies to watch for but keep some isonychias and flying ants on hand. Nymphing should be productive with the slight drop in water level today.

Hatching:
Slate Drake – 12-2xl- 14- Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur – #16-20 – E dorothea
Light Cahill – #14 – 16 –
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)

September 23, 2016

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 23, 2016

The release from Cannonsville has been dropped to 741 cfs until further notice.  We are not sure when it will change again or what direction that change will be but right now it looks decent for floating and wading.  It’s going to come down to downstream flow targets and potential releases from Lake Wallenpaupack and Rio Reservoir.  Olives and cahills are still the main hatches followed by isonychias and flying ants.  If you see the hatches and no fish move around a bit and check other areas.  The drop in flow on the West Branch may help the dry fly fishing offering the fish more soft water rise in.  It is still high enough that streamers may work well.  Nymphing should also improve as the river drops.

and back down. The release is 781cfs this morning

Hatching:
Slate Drake – 12-2xl- 14- Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur – #16-20 – E dorothea
Light Cahill – #14 – 16 –
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)

September 22, 2016

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 22, 2016

The release from Cannonsville is 1,142 cfs this morning.  Most of the runoff has subsided and the flows are steady.  The West Branch has the chalky color we get in the Fall but the fish do not mind.  Streamer fishing has still been decent with the higher release.  We are seeing some olives, cahills, and isonychias hatch- particularly in shaded areas in the afternoons.  Flying ants are still around too.  The cooler nights have helped the water temperatures and it’s really beginning to feel like Fall.  The next few days look decent with some clouds coming in tomorrow.  Air temperatures will drop but still be comfortable through the weekend.

Jim with a chunky brown this week. Photo by Bob Lewis

Hatching:
Slate Drake – 12-2xl- 14- Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur – #16-20 – E dorothea
Light Cahill – #14 – 16 –
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)