September 3, 2015

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 3, 2015

We’re up a little, then down a little, then back up a little.  The release from Cannonsville was increased to 555 cfs this morning.  It seems like we’re going through a period when DEP is making micro adjustments to the releases to cover flows downstream yet save every single pint of water they can.  That or whoever has their hand on the dial is having scotch for breakfast. If that’s the case hopefully they are drinking something good like Glenkinchie 12. With that said the increases and decreases are minor and should have no affect on the system.  The West Branch remains the most consistent fishery with olives, some sulphurs, a few isonychias, and minor flushes of cahills.  Flying ants are still around but are unpredictable.  Definitely carry them for the next week or two.  We are still finding fish rising to trico spinners in the mornings- mostly when the fog burns off.
The lower East Branch and Upper Mainstem are still too warm to fish with Fishs Eddy peaking around 74 degrees yesterday.  The total current NYC Water Supply is at 83.9%.  Normal Storage for September 3rd is 77%
The forecast is calling for a very light storm in the late afternoon with a small amount of precipitation.  The winds should be light.  Hopefully we see some cloud cover early.

Jared Makowski with a nice brown yesterday

Up, down, down,down, up.

Hatching:
Slate Drake #12 – Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur #18-20 – E. dorothea
Tricos #22 – 26 – Tricorythodes sp.
Light Cahills #14 – various steno species (invaria, etc)
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22-26 – Pseudo sp. (now classified as Acentrella sp.)
Charcoal Caddis #14 -16 – dark Brachycentrus sp.
Tan Caddis #16-18 – Hydrosyche sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis sp.
Flying ants #16-24

September 2, 2015

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 2, 2015

The release from Cannonsville was dropped slightly overnight to 542 cfs.  The West Branch is still at decent levels for floating and wading and ha been the best option for fishing.  We are still seeing some tricos in the morning.  Nymphing has been productive during the day until the hatches start in the afternoon.  Look for shaded banks early.  The flying ants can come at anytime and the fish generally rise to them regardless of the weather.  The hatches have remained the same with olives plus a few sulphurs, isonychias, and cahills. The lower East Branch temperatures peaked over 70 degrees yesterday and the Mainstem at Lordville was right there too so we’re still leaving those rivers alone.  We are looking at mid to high 80’s air temperatures today with sunny skies.  Winds should be calm.

Steve landing one as the fog rolls in. Photo by Jared Makowski

Hatching:
Slate Drake #12 – Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur #18-20 – E. dorothea
Tricos #22 – 26 – Tricorythodes sp.
Light Cahills #14 – various steno species (invaria, etc)
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22-26 – Pseudo sp. (now classified as Acentrella sp.)
Charcoal Caddis #14 -16 – dark Brachycentrus sp.
Tan Caddis #16-18 – Hydrosyche sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis sp.
Flying ants #16-24

September 1, 2015

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 1, 2015

The release from Cannonsville has been cut back slightly but we still have a decent flow at Stilesville of 577 cfs this morning.  The current release is 579 cfs.
We are facing another warm day with air temperatures around 85 degrees, sunshine, and winds of 4 mph.  Thursday looks like our first shot at getting some rain with a 40% chance of thunderstorms.
We are still fishing olives with some small sulphurs mixed in.  Keep an eye out for flying ants- especially on humid afternoons.  A few isonychias and cahills round out the hatching.  We should start to see more fall caddis as we get into September.

The classic 24 hour up and down release. Levels are sill decent for floating and wading

Hatching:
Slate Drake #12 – Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur #18-20 – E. dorothea
Tricos #22 – 26 – Tricorythodes sp.
Light Cahills #14 – various steno species (invaria, etc)
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22-26 – Pseudo sp. (now classified as Acentrella sp.)
Charcoal Caddis #14 -16 – dark Brachycentrus sp.
Tan Caddis #16-18 – Hydrosyche sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis sp.
Flying ants #16-24

August 31, 2015

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 31, 2015

It looks like the release from Cannonsville has been raised to 600 cfs. I expected a change in the other direction on September 1st so this is a nice surprise to wake up to this morning.  Hale Eddy should continue to climb a little more this morning and level out by lunch time.  The flow at Stilesville is level at 598 cfs.  If that changes during the day we’ll follow up with a mid-day report.  The West Branch is still at a great level for wading and floating.
Flying ants were the fly of the day yesterday.  We started getting reports of fish eating ants throughout the system around 11 am and it continued through the afternoon.  We are still seeing sporadic small sulphurs, a couple of isonychias, and just a handful of cahills.  The afternoon olives have been the most predictable hatch on the system.
Moderate winds, mostly sun, and air temperatures in the mid 80’s

Jared Makowski found a nice one feeding on top yesterday afternoon

Hatching:
Slate Drake #12 – Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur #18-20 – E. dorothea
Tricos #22 – 26 – Tricorythodes sp.
Light Cahills #14 – various steno species (invaria, etc)
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22-26 – Pseudo sp. (now classified as Acentrella sp.)
Charcoal Caddis #14 -16 – dark Brachycentrus sp.
Tan Caddis #16-18 – Hydrosyche sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis sp.
Flying ants #16-24

August 30, 2015

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 30, 2015

We’re coming off a warm night and looking at another day with air temperatures around 80 degrees.  Accuweather is calling for mostly sun with humidity.  There is a chance for a shower in the early evening but the precipitation amount should be negligible.  Hopefully the warm weather and humidity push more flying ants out of the ground and onto the water.  The sulphur hatches are definitely waning leaving us with olives until we get the push of fall mayflies.  There are enough remnant sulphurs hatching to bring some fish to the surface but patience is definitely called for right now.   Nymphing during the day has been effective.

We’ve seen a lot of small olives lately. Look for patterns you can see on the water

Hatching:
Slate Drake #12 – Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur #18-20 – E. dorothea
Tricos #22 – 26 – Tricorythodes sp.
Light Cahills #14 – various steno species (invaria, etc)
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22-26 – Pseudo sp. (now classified as Acentrella sp.)
Charcoal Caddis #14 -16 – dark Brachycentrus sp.
Tan Caddis #16-18 – Hydrosyche sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis sp.
Flying ants #16-24

August 29, 2015

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 29, 2015

We’re coming off another cool night so water temperatures are about the same as this time yesterday.  We also had another day of unexpected cloud cover with no real precipitation. We are on a bit of a warming trend with high air temperatures hitting close to 80 today with the night dropping back to the high 50’s.  No rain in the forecast again but we should have some cloud cover.  While the sulphur hatch is waning there are still enough coming off to interest the fish.  The hatches seem to be a little lighter and more sporadic than we’ve grown used to so be patient.  Olives are still around in good numbers throughout the system.  We are seeing a good mix of sizes from #18 -26.  There are still a few isonychias and cahills hatching on some sections of river.  While these hatches seem light and sporadic too we have heard reports of people catching fish blind casting the isonychias in the riffles.  Definitely carry flying ants.

Net

Hatching:
Slate Drake #12 – Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur #18-20 – E. dorothea
Tricos #22 – 26 – Tricorythodes sp.
Light Cahills #14 – various steno species (invaria, etc)
Golden Drake #12-2xl – Potomanthus distinctus
PED / Pink Lady #14 – E. vitreus
Large Blue Winged Olive #14 – D. cornuta
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22-26 – Pseudo sp. (now classified as Acentrella sp.)
Charcoal Caddis #14 -16 – dark Brachycentrus sp.
Tan Caddis #16-18 – Hydrosyche sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Flying ants #16-24

August 28, 2015

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 28, 2015

The cooler air temperatures during the day and at night combined with the cloud cover kept the water temperatures lower than we’ve seen in a while at Fishs Eddy on the East Branch and down to Lordville on the Mainstem.  The Mainstem at Lordville peaked at 64 degrees and the East Branch at Fishs Eddy peaked at 65.  If the cool weather continues we may get those two rivers back sooner than anticipated.  The West Branch remains pretty much the same as yesterday due to the consistent release of 500 cfs. Today should be mild with a high of 75 degrees dropping to 52 degrees tonight.

Bob with a nice West Branch brown this week. Photo by Jared Makowski

Hatching:
Slate Drake #12 – Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur #18-20 – E. dorothea
Tricos #22 – 26 – Tricorythodes sp.
Light Cahills #14 – various steno species (invaria, etc)
Golden Drake #12-2xl – Potomanthus distinctus
PED / Pink Lady #14 – E. vitreus
Large Blue Winged Olive #14 – D. cornuta
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22-26 – Pseudo sp. (now classified as Acentrella sp.)
Charcoal Caddis #14 -16 – dark Brachycentrus sp.
Tan Caddis #16-18 – Hydrosyche sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Flying ants #16-24

Flows and Temps as of 8:00 AM:
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August 27, 2015

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 27, 2015

Yesterday we had some unexpected cloud cover that was a nice bonus along with the cooler air temperatures.  Only a few drops of rain fell and you never needed a raincoat.  The sulphur hatches on the upper river sections were lighter than we’ve seen lately and may be waning.  We saw more olives hatching throughout the system than anything else.  We are still seeing a few isonychias and cahills so don’t take those out of your box yet.  Flying ant numbers have been decent and we are seeing at least a few on the water everyday.  Air temps should be in the low 70’s today with light winds.  We are having some cool nights so hopefully the lower East Branch and Upper Mainstem both cool off soon.

Bob trying to get a handle on Basil’s fish

Hatching:
Slate Drake #12 – Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur #18-20 – E. dorothea
Tricos #22 – 26 – Tricorythodes sp.
Light Cahills #14 – various steno species (invaria, etc)
Golden Drake #12-2xl – Potomanthus distinctus
PED / Pink Lady #14 – E. vitreus
Large Blue Winged Olive #14 – D. cornuta
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22-26 – Pseudo sp. (now classified as Acentrella sp.)
Charcoal Caddis #14 -16 – dark Brachycentrus sp.
Tan Caddis #16-18 – Hydrosyche sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Flying ants #16-24

Flows and Temps as of 8:00 AM:
Click on the gauge below to view the latest update

August 26, 2015

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 26, 2015

The best word to describe the West Branch over the last few weeks is consistent.  Consistent releases, flows, and hatches.  The flows haven’t changed much even when we’ve had rain, and we are still mainly fishing olives and sulphurs with a few cahills and isonychias.   A few tricos in the mornings and flying ants in the afternoons.  Air temperatures should stay in the 70’s today with a mix of clouds and sun.  Nymphing in the morning has been working well.  Mid-afternoon start to look for rising fish along shaded banks.  Although we haven’t seen great numbers of them we are still picking up fish blind casting isonychias in the riffles.

Ryan with the quick rainbow release on the West Branch. Photo by his father Tony

Hatching:
Slate Drake #12 – Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur #18-20 – E. dorothea
Tricos #22 – 26 – Tricorythodes sp.
Light Cahills #14 – various steno species (invaria, etc)
Golden Drake #12-2xl – Potomanthus distinctus
PED / Pink Lady #14 – E. vitreus
Large Blue Winged Olive #14 – D. cornuta
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22-26 – Pseudo sp. (now classified as Acentrella sp.)
Charcoal Caddis #14 -16 – dark Brachycentrus sp.
Tan Caddis #16-18 – Hydrosyche sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Flying ants #16-24

Flows and Temps as of 8:00 AM:
Click on the gauge below to view the latest update

August 25, 2015

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 25, 2015

We had some spotty rainstorms last night with some people getting hit hard and others staying dry.  Despite some areas getting drenched most of the precipitation soaked into the ground and we’re only seeing negligible bumps in flows throughout the system.  Water temps are high on the lower East Branch and Upper Mainstem so the Upper East or the entire West Branch are your best bet.  Nymphing has been productive during the day with smaller flies catching more fish.  On bright days the hatches have started a little later with the same small olives and sulphurs making up the bulk of the food supply.  We are still seeing some cahills and isonychias but not in great numbers.  There is trico fishing in the morning but it hasn’t been predictable.  If you don’t see them move around the system a bit and concentrate on longer, slow pools.  The flying ants have been small with #20 – 22 or smaller on the water.  Air temperatures should hit the low 80’s today with a mix of sun and clouds.

Hatching:
Slate Drake #12 – Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur #18-20 – E. dorothea
Tricos #22 – 26 – Tricorythodes sp.
Light Cahills #14 – various steno species (invaria, etc)
Golden Drake #12-2xl – Potomanthus distinctus
PED / Pink Lady #14 – E. vitreus
Large Blue Winged Olive #14 – D. cornuta
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22-26 – Pseudo sp. (now classified as Acentrella sp.)
Charcoal Caddis #14 -16 – dark Brachycentrus sp.
Tan Caddis #16-18 – Hydrosyche sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Flying ants #16-24

Flows and Temps as of 8:00 AM:
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August 24, 2015

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 24, 2015

We woke up to another cool morning with early f0g that has now burned off.  We should see some warmer air temperatures today with high’s reaching the low 80’s.  Accuweather is calling for a late afternoon / early evening thunderstorm with precipitation of only .15″.  On the West Branch drainage most of that will be soaked into the ground so we don’t expect much of a change.  The cloud cover should help the fishing on the lower sections hopefully pushing the olives to hatch a little earlier in the day.  There has been some decent flying ant activity in the afternoons.  Most of them are small and hard to see on the water, especially when they are mixed in with the pseudos.  If you get rejections on the olives try the ants.

We had great weather over the weekend for casting practice

Note:  There are a lot of green weeds floating on the upper West Branch so check your fly often

Hatching:
Slate Drake #12 – Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur #18-20 – E. dorothea
Light Cahills #14 – various steno species (invaria, etc)
Golden Drake #12-2xl – Potomanthus distinctus
PED / Pink Lady #14 – E. vitreus
Large Blue Winged Olive #14 – D. cornuta
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22-26 – Pseudo sp. (now classified as Acentrella sp.)
Charcoal Caddis #14 -16 – dark Brachycentrus sp.
Tan Caddis #16-18 – Hydrosyche sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Flying ants #16-24

Flows and Temps as of 8:00 AM:
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August 23, 2015

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 23, 2015

We’re coming off another cool night which helps the river temperatures.  The West Branch continues to be in great shape while the lower East Branch and upper Mainstem are peaking over 70 degrees in the afternoons.  We’ll see slightly higher air temperatures today with mostly sun.  The flying ants have been around so take a close look at the water if you see fish rising during the day.  Sulphurs and small olives are the main mayflies we’re seeing.  There are a few cahills and isonychias around but we’re not seeing the numbers we had a few weeks ago.  Nymphing has been effective during the day and streamers have worked okay while the fog is still on the water in the early morning.  Once the fog burns off keep an eye out for tricos in the long, slow pools.  They haven’t been incredibly predictable but we are finding fishable spinner falls on odd mornings.

Jim with a nice rainbow yesterday. Photo by Samantha Dennis

Note:  There are a lot of green weeds floating on the upper West Branch so check your fly often

Hatching:
Slate Drake #12 – Isonychia bicolor
Sulphur #18-20 – E. dorothea
Light Cahills #14 – various steno species (invaria, etc)
Golden Drake #12-2xl – Potomanthus distinctus
PED / Pink Lady #14 – E. vitreus
Large Blue Winged Olive #14 – D. cornuta
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22-26 – Pseudo sp. (now classified as Acentrella sp.)
Charcoal Caddis #14 -16 – dark Brachycentrus sp.
Tan Caddis #16-18 – Hydrosyche sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans
Flying ants #16-24

Flows and Temps as of 8:00 AM:
Click on the gauge below to view the latest update