Author: Jeff White

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 4, 2019

We ended up with a light steady rain most of the day yesterday.  It was enough rain to bump up some of the freestone streams a bit.  The release from Cannonsville has been bumped up to 853 cfs.  Today is going to be cool staying in the low 50’s.  We’ll have some clouds early and some sun in the afternoon.  The air temp will drop into the mid 30’s overnight so it seems like fall really is here.  We should warm up a bit beginning tomorrow.  Isonychias, heptagenias, olives, and caddis.  Nymphing and streamers are working and are definitely your best bet early in the day.  The wind will peak around 15 mph from the North mid day and begin to drop in the late afternoon.  There are still enough leaves on the trees to hide from it a bit.

 

Have some Iso spinners in your box this weekend

Have some Iso spinners in your box this weekend

Hatching:
Click on the fly to see the patterns in our online store

Olive Sulphur – Hept. hebe – #18 – 20
Slate Drake – #12 – 14 – Isonychia bicolor
Tan Caddis – #16 – 18 – Hydropsyche sp.
Dark Blue Wing Olives  – #16 – 20 – E. lata, deficiens
Tiny Blue Winged Olives – #22 – 26- Pseudo sp.
Little Tan Sedge – #16 – 18 – Glossosoma sp.
Yellow Sally – #14 – Isoperla sp.

Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:

West Branch at Stilesville, NY 978 cfs 58°
West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY 1,180 cfs 56°
East Branch at Harvard, NY 127 cfs 53°
East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY 254 cfs 56°
Mainstem at Lordville, NY 1,080 cfs 56°
Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY 122 cfs 56°
Cannonsville Reservoir Release 863 cfs
West Branch at 191 Bridge N/A 56°
West Branch at Walton (Cannonsville inflow) 95 cfs
Cannonsville Reservoir Capacity 48.2%
Pepacton Reservoir Capacity 70.5%

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 3, 2019

The releasefrom Cannonsville has been increased slightly to 648 cfs this morning.  There’s a little rain falling this morning.  We should end up with around 1/4″ today and another 1/4″ falling over night.  It’s going to be cooler wit the air temp reaching 50 degrees.  Wind from the South 5 – 10 mph.  There are some olives and a couple of isonychias on the door this morning.  Look for risers in the slower tail outs and edges on the small olives.  Nymphing or throwing streamers will probably your best bet during the day.  Most of the dry fly action has been in the afternoon.  There should be some sunshine this weekend with more much needed rain next week.

 

Hatching:
Click on the fly to see the patterns in our online store

Olive Sulphur – Hept. hebe – #18 – 20
Slate Drake – #12 – 14 – Isonychia bicolor
Tan Caddis – #16 – 18 – Hydropsyche sp.
Dark Blue Wing Olives  – #16 – 20 – E. lata, deficiens
Tiny Blue Winged Olives – #22 – 26- Pseudo sp.
Little Tan Sedge – #16 – 18 – Glossosoma sp.
Yellow Sally – #14 – Isoperla sp.

Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:

West Branch at Stilesville, NY 709 cfs 58°
West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY 853 cfs 57°
East Branch at Harvard, NY 94 cfs 57°
East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY 181 cfs 62°
Mainstem at Lordville, NY 870 cfs 63°
Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY 76 cfs 61°
Cannonsville Reservoir Release 648 cfs
West Branch at 191 Bridge N/A 60°
West Branch at Walton (Cannonsville inflow) 46 cfs
Cannonsville Reservoir Capacity 48.6%
Pepacton Reservoir Capacity 70.8%

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 2, 2019

Yesterday was an odd one on the West Branch.  The Cannonsville release was cut back to about 280 cfs for a brief period to rescue an immature eagle.  The eagle was rescued and the release was immediately increased back to where it was in the morning.  The release has now been dropped back to 588 cfs.  So a little weird but things will be fine and so far we’ve heard the eagle is fine.  No harm no foul.  We had a good rain storm last night that lasted about 10 minutes.  Today we have a 40% chance of more rain but Wunderground has the precip total listed as .06″.  The cloud cover should be good for the fishing.  Wind will be 5 – 10 mph from the South with the air temp reaching 76 degrees.  This morning the doors are covered with the most small isonychias we’ve seen so far this fall.  There are a lot of different sized olives out there too.  The caddis are all over the bushes.  Tough to say when they will hit the water but when they do it will be good.

 

Good signs on the buildings this morning

Good signs on the buildings this morning

Hatching:
Click on the fly to see the patterns in our online store

Olive Sulphur – Hept. hebe – #18 – 20
Slate Drake – #12 – 14 – Isonychia bicolor
Tan Caddis – #16 – 18 – Hydropsyche sp.
Dark Blue Wing Olives  – #16 – 20 – E. lata, deficiens
Tiny Blue Winged Olives – #22 – 26- Pseudo sp.
Little Tan Sedge – #16 – 18 – Glossosoma sp.
Yellow Sally – #14 – Isoperla sp.

Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:

West Branch at Stilesville, NY 636 cfs 58°
West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY 866 cfs 58°
East Branch at Harvard, NY 99 cfs 56°
East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY 197 cfs 61°
Mainstem at Lordville, NY 1,510 cfs 63°
Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY 81 cfs 62°
Cannonsville Reservoir Release 588 cfs
West Branch at 191 Bridge N/A 60°
West Branch at Walton (Cannonsville inflow) 41 cfs
Cannonsville Reservoir Capacity 49.1%
Pepacton Reservoir Capacity 71.1%

Cannonsville Release Update October 1, 2019

New Update.  The release from Cannonsville is climbing back to where it was this morning.  It is 740 cfs and climbing now.  It’ll drop and go back up late afternoon and early evening on the lower West Branch Branch

 

All we know so far…

“NYCDEP, with a wildlife expert, are attempting to rescue a trapped eagle, which may require a temporary suspension/stop of releases from Cannonsville Reservoir. ”

Stiles_10-1-2019

 

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 1, 2019

We had good periods of light showers on and off for most of yesterday – plus some additional rain overnight.  It soaked into the ground and there is no real change to the freestones or East Branch flows this morning.  The release from Cannonsville has been dropped slightly to 842 cfs.  We should keep the clouds today but not see any additional rain until tomorrow.  The sun may peak through in the afternoon and the air temp will hit 80 degrees.  Wind from the South 5 – 10 mph.  Olives, caddis, isonychias, and heptagenia were out there but the small olives were on the buildings by mid afternoon.  The West Branch still has good color for streamers but the visibility is still there for dry fly fishing.

 

Hatching:
Click on the fly to see the patterns in our online store

Olive Sulphur – Hept. hebe – #18 – 20
Slate Drake – #12 – 14 – Isonychia bicolor
Tan Caddis – #16 – 18 – Hydropsyche sp.
Dark Blue Wing Olives  – #16 – 20 – E. lata, deficiens
Tiny Blue Winged Olives – #22 – 26- Pseudo sp.
Little Tan Sedge – #16 – 18 – Glossosoma sp.
Yellow Sally – #14 – Isoperla sp.

Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:

West Branch at Stilesville, NY 960 cfs 57°
West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY 1,110 cfs 57°
East Branch at Harvard, NY 140 cfs 53°
East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY 232 cfs 58°
Mainstem at Lordville, NY 1,290 cfs 58°
Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY 79 cfs 59°
Cannonsville Reservoir Release 842 cfs
West Branch at 191 Bridge N/A 58°
West Branch at Walton (Cannonsville inflow) 41 cfs
Cannonsville Reservoir Capacity 49.7%
Pepacton Reservoir Capacity 71.4%

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 30, 2019

September fished well overall  and we hate to see it go.  They could not let the month end without changing the release from Cannonsville one more time.  The release has been cut a small bit to 993 cfs.  We’re looking at a much cooler air temp only hitting 60 degrees.  Wind will be 5 – 10 mph from the South.  We may even see some light rain fall.  It definitely feels like Fall has arrived.  The Mainstem and East Branch are still the best bets for wading.  The early clouds could push some olives earlier than we’re used to seeing them.  Heptagenia spinners are mixed with the isonychias towards dark.  Streamers were really productive over the weekend and that should continue with the higher flow on the West Branch.

 

Stevens with a nice rainbow from the weekend

Stevens with a nice rainbow from the weekend

Hatching:
Click on the fly to see the patterns in our online store

Olive Sulphur – Hept. hebe – #18 – 20
Slate Drake – #12 – 14 – Isonychia bicolor
Tan Caddis – #16 – 18 – Hydropsyche sp.
Dark Blue Wing Olives  – #16 – 20 – E. lata, deficiens
Tiny Blue Winged Olives – #22 – 26- Pseudo sp.
Little Tan Sedge – #16 – 18 – Glossosoma sp.
Yellow Sally – #14 – Isoperla sp.

Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:

West Branch at Stilesville, NY 1,170 cfs 57°
West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY 1,330 cfs 57°
East Branch at Harvard, NY 137 cfs 57°
East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY 222 cfs 62°
Mainstem at Lordville, NY 1,520 cfs 62°
Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY 79 cfs 63°
Cannonsville Reservoir Release 993 cfs
West Branch at 191 Bridge N/A 58°
West Branch at Walton (Cannonsville inflow) 43 cfs
Cannonsville Reservoir Capacity 51.7%
Pepacton Reservoir Capacity 72.4%

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 29, 2019

The release from Cannonsville has been dropped back slightly to 1,074 cfs this morning.  Luckily it’s going to be cooler only hitting 69 degrees today.  We will have the afternoon sun and wind 5 – 10 from the North.  Yesterday’s forecasted rain missed us.  We did have some clouds mixed with sun but not a drop on the lower West.  Yesterday’s bump in release seemed to shut the bugs off a little but people landed some nice fish on streamers and nymphs.  Overall is was a good day on the water.  Hopefully everything settles in today and the olives hatch.  If we’re real lucky the release will at least stay steady for 24 hours.

 

Dan Williamson and his friends found a good one yesterday

Dan Williamson and his friends found a good one yesterday

Pierce with a good one in the net yesterday with Bruce Miller

Pierce with a good one in the net yesterday with Bruce Miller

Hatching:
Click on the fly to see the patterns in our online store

Olive Sulphur – Hept. hebe – #18 – 20
Slate Drake – #12 – 14 – Isonychia bicolor
Tan Caddis – #16 – 18 – Hydropsyche sp.
Dark Blue Wing Olives  – #16 – 20 – E. lata, deficiens
Tiny Blue Winged Olives – #22 – 26- Pseudo sp.
Little Tan Sedge – #16 – 18 – Glossosoma sp.
Yellow Sally – #14 – Isoperla sp.

Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:

West Branch at Stilesville, NY 1,170 cfs 57°
West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY 1,330 cfs 57°
East Branch at Harvard, NY 137 cfs 57°
East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY 222 cfs 62°
Mainstem at Lordville, NY 1,520 cfs 62°
Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY 79 cfs 63°
Cannonsville Reservoir Release 1,074 cfs
West Branch at 191 Bridge N/A 58°
West Branch at Walton (Cannonsville inflow) 43 cfs
Cannonsville Reservoir Capacity 51.7%
Pepacton Reservoir Capacity 72.4%

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 28, 2019

And we’re up again.  The release from Cannonsville has been increased to  1,215 cfs.  The best wading will be on the East Branch and Mainstem.  We should have some cloud cover today with a few storms rolling through.  Total rainfall should be less than 1/10″ during the day.  Wind will be 5 – 10 mph from the South although we may get a few heavy gusts when the front pushes in.  Overall it sounds better than bright sunshine.  Olives, heptagenia, and isonychias seemed the be the flies yesterday.  The high will be 82 degrees today so hopefully that brings out the isonychia spinners in force at dark.

Stilesville_9-28-2019

Hatching:
Click on the fly to see the patterns in our online store

Olive Sulphur – Hept. hebe – #18 – 20
Slate Drake – #12 – 14 – Isonychia bicolor
Tan Caddis – #16 – 18 – Hydropsyche sp.
Dark Blue Wing Olives  – #16 – 20 – E. lata, deficiens
Tiny Blue Winged Olives – #22 – 26- Pseudo sp.
Trico – #22 – 26 – Tricorythodes sp.
Little Tan Sedge – #16 – 18 – Glossosoma sp.
Yellow Sally – #14 – Isoperla sp.

Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:

West Branch at Stilesville, NY 1,260 cfs 56°
West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY 1,290 cfs 55°
East Branch at Harvard, NY 137 cfs 53°
East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY 238 cfs 58°
Mainstem at Lordville, NY 1,120 cfs 59°
Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY 84 cfs 57°
Cannonsville Reservoir Release 1,215 cfs
West Branch at 191 Bridge N/A 57°
West Branch at Walton (Cannonsville inflow) 45 cfs
Cannonsville Reservoir Capacity 51.7%
Pepacton Reservoir Capacity 72.4%

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 27, 2019

We had some light rain most of yesterday morning giving way to clouds with a bit of sun.  The rain bumped up the flows on the freestones slightly, very slightly and they are dropping back this morning.  The olive hatch seemed better yesterday than we’ve seen in a few days plus we had heptagenia, isonychias, and isonychia spinners on the water in the evening.  Most of the yellow sallies we saw were in the air but the fish will eat them.  The release from Cannonsville is 792 cfs this morning.  The sun will burn the fog off mid morning and then we should hit 72 degrees with wind 5 – 10 mph from the South.

 

Jack with a nice rainbow yesterday.  Bruce Miller photo

Jack with a nice rainbow yesterday. Bruce Miller photo

Hatching:
Click on the fly to see the patterns in our online store

Olive Sulphur – Hept. hebe – #18 – 20
Slate Drake – #12 – 14 – Isonychia bicolor
Tan Caddis – #16 – 18 – Hydropsyche sp.
Dark Blue Wing Olives  – #16 – 20 – E. lata, deficiens
Tiny Blue Winged Olives – #22 – 26- Pseudo sp.
Trico – #22 – 26 – Tricorythodes sp.
Little Tan Sedge – #16 – 18 – Glossosoma sp.
Yellow Sally – #14 – Isoperla sp.

Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:

West Branch at Stilesville, NY 871 cfs 55°
West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY 1,010 cfs 55°
East Branch at Harvard, NY 140 cfs 52°
East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY 161 cfs 58°
Mainstem at Lordville, NY 1,120 cfs 58°
Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY 90 cfs 58°
Cannonsville Reservoir Release 792 cfs
West Branch at 191 Bridge N/A 57°
West Branch at Walton (Cannonsville inflow) 45 cfs
Cannonsville Reservoir Capacity 52.2%
Pepacton Reservoir Capacity 72.7%

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 26, 2019

The release from Cannonsville has been dropped slightly to 791 cfs.  There’s a lot of micro release adjustment going on for the Montague flow target.  Today looks like a good weather day for fishing.  We have an 80% chance of afternoon showers with only .18″ of rainfall.  We should have clouds, a high of 66 degrees, and wind 5 – 10 mph from the South.  Hopefully that pushes the olive hatches a little earlier in the day.  Otherwise nymphing and streaming fishing have been producing some fish.  Blind casting isonychias in the riffles has also produced some fish lately.

 

Warren with a nice rainbow yesterday.  Bruce Miller photo.

Warren with a nice rainbow yesterday. Bruce Miller photo.

Hatching:
Click on the fly to see the patterns in our online store

Olive Sulphur – Hept. hebe – #18 – 20
Slate Drake – #12 – 14 – Isonychia bicolor
Tan Caddis – #16 – 18 – Hydropsyche sp.
Dark Blue Wing Olives  – #16 – 20 – E. lata, deficiens
Tiny Blue Winged Olives – #22 – 26- Pseudo sp.
Trico – #22 – 26 – Tricorythodes sp.
Little Tan Sedge – #16 – 18 – Glossosoma sp.
Yellow Sally – #14 – Isoperla sp.

Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:

West Branch at Stilesville, NY 853 cfs 55°
West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY 985 cfs 55°
East Branch at Harvard, NY 35 cfs 55°
East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY 141 cfs 60°
Mainstem at Lordville, NY 1,080 cfs 60°
Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY 72 cfs 60°
Cannonsville Reservoir Release 791 cfs
West Branch at 191 Bridge N/A 57°
West Branch at Walton (Cannonsville inflow) 41 cfs
Cannonsville Reservoir Capacity 52.7%
Pepacton Reservoir Capacity 73.1%

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 25, 2019

The release from Cannonsville has been increased to 882 cfs.  Yesterday morning we had some oddball rain storms that were not in the forecast.  It wasn’t enough rain to change the flows but the clouds did stick around longer than we expected.  The wind was a bit of an issue at times but seemed to calm down in the afternoon.  Keep an eye on the slower pools and tail outs with the smaller bwos and heptagenias hatching.  The fish are eating and moving in some of these areas so be patient.  We’ll be warmer today with the air temp reaching 75 degrees.  Wind will not be a factor.  The clouds should give way to sunshine this afternoon.  We have some fog on the water that should burn off in the next hour or so.  The color in the West Branch has not affected the fishing.

 

and back up

and back up

Hatching:
Click on the fly to see the patterns in our online store

Olive Sulphur – Hept. hebe – #18 – 20
Slate Drake – #12 – 14 – Isonychia bicolor
Tan Caddis – #16 – 18 – Hydropsyche sp.
Dark Blue Wing Olives  – #16 – 20 – E. lata, deficiens
Tiny Blue Winged Olives – #22 – 26- Pseudo sp.
Trico – #22 – 26 – Tricorythodes sp.
Little Tan Sedge – #16 – 18 – Glossosoma sp.
Yellow Sally – #14 – Isoperla sp.

Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:

West Branch at Stilesville, NY 978 cfs 55°
West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY 1,080 cfs 54°
East Branch at Harvard, NY 137 cfs 54°
East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY 146 cfs 60°
Mainstem at Lordville, NY 1,030 cfs 59°
Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY 75 cfs 59°
Cannonsville Reservoir Release 882 cfs
West Branch at 191 Bridge N/A 56°
West Branch at Walton (Cannonsville inflow) 43 cfs
Cannonsville Reservoir Capacity 53.2%
Pepacton Reservoir Capacity 73.4%

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 24, 2019

The release from Cannonsville has been dropped to 730 cfs.  We did have some rain overnight but it did little to the flows and mostly soaked into the ground.  We have some clouds hanging on this morning but more sun will break through by the afternoon.  The air temp will hit the high 60’s today.  Wind will be out of the North 10 – 15 mph.  The wind was a little stronger yesterday than they predicted but it seemed to drop in the evening.  Olives, isonychias, and heptagenia should cover most of your needs.  A few ants, caddis, and yellow sallies would be good to have too.  Nymphing or swinging wets have been good techniques to land some fish until the hatches start.  Match the size of the naturals with your nymphs.

 

Stevens with a nice rainbow yesterday.  Jared Makowski photo

Stevens with a nice rainbow yesterday. Jared Makowski photo

Hatching:
Click on the fly to see the patterns in our online store

Olive Sulphur – Hept. hebe – #18 – 20
Slate Drake – #12 – 14 – Isonychia bicolor
Tan Caddis – #16 – 18 – Hydropsyche sp.
Dark Blue Wing Olives  – #16 – 20 – E. lata, deficiens
Tiny Blue Winged Olives – #22 – 26- Pseudo sp.
Trico – #22 – 26 – Tricorythodes sp.
Little Tan Sedge – #16 – 18 – Glossosoma sp.
Yellow Sally – #14 – Isoperla sp.

Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:

West Branch at Stilesville, NY 771 cfs 55°
West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY 924 cfs 54°
East Branch at Harvard, NY 140 cfs 57°
East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY 150 cfs 63°
Mainstem at Lordville, NY 1,210 cfs 62°
Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY 75 cfs 64°
Cannonsville Reservoir Release 730 cfs
West Branch at 191 Bridge N/A 57°
West Branch at Walton (Cannonsville inflow) 42 cfs
Cannonsville Reservoir Capacity 53.7%
Pepacton Reservoir Capacity 73.7%
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