August 17, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 17, 2013

Uncooperative. That’s the best word to describe the fish yesterday. We had decent bugs during the day, and really good hatching in the evening, but few fish were up and on them. Blame what you will, pressure change, or even our bit of good news – the release being upped to 600 cfs (an addition of 100 cfs). I am doubtful that the cold water affected them, but having the flow be so steady for so long, it definitely could be the culprit. Regardless, we’ve got a good looking day on deck, with lots of clouds, good temps, and (hopefully) acclimated fish. I would expect good hatching again during the day, and very likely an excellent evening rush as well. Today and tomorrow look like the best days of the week, weather-wise, so take advantage and get out there!

Jeff White holds Tony May’s THICK West Branch Brown. Photo: Bart Larmouth

What’s Hatching:

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 & #18

Epeorus vitreus – PED / Pink Lady – #14

Isonychia bicolor – Iso – Slate Drake – #12-2XL

Chimarra species – Charcoal Caddis – #16 & #18

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16 – starting

Current Flow Conditions:

August 16, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 16, 2013

The bright, bright sun did us no favors yesterday, suppressing the bug and fish activity throughout most of the day. When the clouds did materialize, we saw flushes of olives and sulphurs, but the Isos and Heptagenia did not get ramped up and going until evening. The fish pretty much ignored the olives in the daytime and at the end of the day, but they keyed in on big isos, as well as the pretty significant number of Dortheas (#18) that were popping. Today we are looking at a very similar day, with patchy clouds and copious amounts of sunshine, which will likely make for another morning/evening kind of day, unless the bugs decide to pop up in Deposit (they took a vote and opted not to to yesterday). But, the good news is that if the bugs wait until evening, we will have another great flush and that always gets them up and looking!

Plenty of pretty browns like this were up late in the day yesterday. Photo: Jim Swift

What’s Hatching:

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 & #18

Epeorus vitreus – PED / Pink Lady – #14

Isonychia bicolor – Iso – Slate Drake – #12-2XL

Chimarra species – Charcoal Caddis – #16 & #18

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16 – starting

Current Flow Conditions:

August 15, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 15, 2013

Phew. Definitely a tough on yesterday. Even though there was pretty decent hatching, the winds in the afternoon made for fun casting, as well as hid the bugs from the fish a bit. When they did turn on, the fish were especially picky, and/or would feed on dry, then head right down and start nymphing, then back up on a dry. Timing was everything! When the evening rolled in however, the fish rediscovered the Isos that were coming by, and definitely became a bit more cooperative! Today, we are not expecting the wind, and the air temps should be significantly warmer. There will still be some nice scattered cloud cover, so we will hopefully have a more “normal” summer day!

Jim Berry with a great West Branch Brown caught this week. Photo: Jim Swift

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 & #18

Epeorus vitreus – PED / Pink Lady – #14

Isonychia bicolor – Iso – Slate Drake – #12-2XL

Chimarra species – Charcoal Caddis – #16 & #18

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16 – starting

Current Flow Conditions:

August 14, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 14, 2013

Definitely an interesting day yesterday! With the early rain and silt coming in from the feeders, we definitely had color in the lower West, which slowed things down a bit during the day. Oquaga Creek (up in Deposit) did not blow up, so the river stayed nice and clear up there, all the way to Hale Eddy. It fished well, but we had some pretty decent wind show up in the late afternoon / early evening that shut pretty much everything down unfortunately. First night like that in over a month. Today is supposed to be clear and cooler (high 60s), but the wind is supposed to be blowing fairly steady throughout the day. I am not sure what affect it will have on the hatching, but I am pretty sure it will affect my casting. It is supposed to lay down by evening, which means we could be set for a great flurry of late-day activity.

What’s Hatching:

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 & #18

Epeorus vitreus – PED / Pink Lady – #14

Isonychia bicolor – Iso – Slate Drake – #12-2XL

Chimarra species – Charcoal Caddis – #16 & #18

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16 – starting

Current Flow Conditions:

August 13, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 13, 2013

*UPDATE* – We had a greater amount of rain than expected this morning, so we bumped up a bit, but the feeders are definitely throwing a bit of silt and color down into the West Branch. By no means a blow out, just some distinct lack of transparency, which will clear quickly.

Nothing too shocking to report from yesterday, with the bugs and fish behaving pretty much as expected – picky in the sun, and active in the evening. Isos, sulphurs, and hebes were the main fare, but there were some limited reports of flying ants as well – very localized and sporadic, but keep your eyes open for them. There is some weather predicted today, but everything is listed as “possible,” so we will just have to take it as it comes! Otherwise, I’d expect a pretty similar day out there. You have to love consistent flows!

A nice little football that fell victim to an ISO. Check out the white on his fins! Photo by: Jim Swift

What’s Hatching:

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 & #18

Epeorus vitreus – PED / Pink Lady – #14

Isonychia bicolor – Iso – Slate Drake – #12-2XL

Chimarra species – Charcoal Caddis – #16 & #18

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16 – starting

Current Flow Conditions:

August 12, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 12, 2013

It was definitely better on the river yesterday versus Saturday, as the wind laid down and actually allowed the fish to see what was floating overhead. The sun did make its presence known unfortunately, which did slow down the action early on in the day. As the afternoon progressed, the clouds rolled in, and the fish (and bugs!) got happier, with a good number of fish taken in the evening on everyone’s favorite – Isonychia! Today we are expecting warmer temps, but supposedly more cloud cover, and the possibility of a thunderstorm thrown in for good measure as well. The pressure changes could be helpful early on, but if they are dramatic, the hatching may slow for awhile, then pick up again right at evening when everything balances out. We will just have to see!

A nice close up of a beautiful, feisty ‘Bow. Photo: Jeff White

What’s Hatching:

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 & #18

Epeorus vitreus – PED / Pink Lady – #14

Isonychia bicolor – Iso – Slate Drake – #12-2XL

Chimarra species – Charcoal Caddis – #16 & #18

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16 – starting

Current Flow Conditions:

August 11, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 11, 2013

WIND! That was the story of the day yesterday. The sulphurs came out in droves starting in the afternoon, but the stiff breezes kept the fish from seeing them, until it laid down in the afternoon. As evening approached, there were some Isos that came to visit, as well as the Hebes, making for a really good night of fishing. As for today, we are looking at some warmer temps, but similar weather insofar as clouds and sun go. The wind should not be a factor today (so they say), which is always good news. If the bugs are working like yesterday, we could be in for a great day of fishing!

Tim Ulrich with a nice West Branch Brown! Photo: Bob Lewis

What’s Hatching:

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 & #18

Epeorus vitreus – PED / Pink Lady – #14

Isonychia bicolor – Iso – Slate Drake – #12-2XL

Chimarra species – Charcoal Caddis – #16 & #18

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16 – starting

Current Flow Conditions:

August 10, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 10, 2013

Rain! It definitely came down hard and fast yesterday, sometimes incredibly so. The bugs weren’t exactly there in the downpour, but did show up a bit earlier in the day, and a brief rush in the evening. The streamer bite was pretty darn nice though! The West Branch jumped up to just over 1,000 cfs briefly, and a good amount of color stained it up for a little while. This came in from the (previously very low) feeder streams. We have balanced back out to near 700 this morning, and while there is definitely still a bit of color in the water, it is fishable, and hopefully won’t allow the fish to see the leader and fly as well as they have been lately. I’m pretty sure they’ve been taking flies based on who tied them at this point. Regardless, it’s a great level for floating and wading, and we should have some decent hatching when the cloud cover develops this afternoon.

EricFishpine landed this nice Brown in the rain yesterday – his first Delaware fish! Photo: Bruce Miller

What’s Hatching:

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 & #18

Epeorus vitreus – PED / Pink Lady – #14

Isonychia bicolor – Iso – Slate Drake – #12-2XL

Chimarra species – Charcoal Caddis – #16 & #18

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16 – starting

Current Flow Conditions:

August 9, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 9, 2013

It started out a lot less cloudy than we expected yesterday, but they definitely thickened up by evening, and the intermittent rain made for some foggy stretches of river. The river is starting to rise after last nights rain, but we are still waiting for gauges to react to the increase in flow. The olives took full advantage of the cloud cover, and we had a range of them up and hatching. The fish seemed interested, but were not rising with the gusto we would expect from that many bugs being on the water. Those who threw cheeseburgers (Iso duns) at them were rewarded! Today we are looking at a similar scenario, with patchy clouds and rain, which should mean another good day so long as the feeders don’t blast a ton of mud into the river.

A little bit of this yesterday just to spice things up! Photo: Bob Lewis

What’s Hatching:

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 & #18

Epeorus vitreus – PED / Pink Lady – #14

Isonychia bicolor – Iso – Slate Drake – #12-2XL

Chimarra species – Charcoal Caddis – #16 & #18

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16 – starting

Current Flow Conditions:

August 8, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 8, 2013

We definitely love clouds! They made for a spectacular day out on the river yesterday, with the bugs popping and the fish eating! There was definitely a smorgasbord with Isos, hebes, dortheas, psuedos, and a couple other olives thrown in for good measure. Towards the end of the day we had a very nice sulphur spinner fall, and the fish were up and sipping, until the fog rolled in around 8PM or so. Today we are looking at rain and t-storms throughout the day, which is good from a cloud-cover standpoint, but we will likely see heavy fog intermittently on the river as well – definitely not good for visibility. Water levels should remain pretty steady, and of course we will update you if anything changes!

Not all spinners are rusty! This blurry photo was taken on the shop this morning. Photo: Bart Larmouth

What’s Hatching:

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 & #18

Epeorus vitreus – PED / Pink Lady – #14

Isonychia bicolor – Iso – Slate Drake – #12-2XL

Chimarra species – Charcoal Caddis – #16 & #18

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16 – starting

Current Flow Conditions:

August 7, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 7, 2013

Another good day and night yesterday! The clouds rolled in early afternoon, which did get the fish and bugs up and working. Upriver the fish were very spooky and picky, despite the clouds, and they finally got a little easier to work with as the evening set in. A very good hatch of Isos was the big story for the evening, with fish slashing and grabbing them as they came down through. It did cool off a bit before dark, which stifled the hatching a bit, but the fish kept rising into the dark on some of the remaining duns, as well as cripples, and a few spinner thrown in for good measure. Today we are expecting some weather to move in, with rain and scattered t-storms throughout the day. The changes in pressure will likely have an affect on the bugs – we will just have to see what that is. Otherwise, the cloud cover should keep the fish nice and happy, hopefully all day long.

As much as we love fish, sometimes Mother Nature gives us other kinds of beautiful things to see. Photo: Bob Lewis

What’s Hatching:

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 & #18

Epeorus vitreus – PED / Pink Lady – #14

Isonychia bicolor – Iso – Slate Drake – #12-2XL

Chimarra species – Charcoal Caddis – #16 & #18

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16 – starting

Current Flow Conditions:

August 6, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 6, 2013

It was a good day (and night!) out on the river yesterday! The bugs popped later in the afternoon up high, and “moved” downstream as the day progressed, culminating in some nice evening hatches of Isos and Hebes, that the fish were definitely in the mood to feed on. Today we’re seeing a definite change in the weather, the question is how much. There is supposedly rain moving in at some point this afternoon, but we will have clear skies until it does. The amount remains to be seen, but it is unlikely to adversely affect flows / water clarity at least today. So more clouds usually equals more bugs – let’s keep our fingers crossed!

Nothing nicer than a fish that fills the net! Photo: Bruce Miller

What’s Hatching:

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 & #18

Epeorus vitreus – PED / Pink Lady – #14

Isonychia bicolor – Iso – Slate Drake – #12-2XL

Chimarra species – Charcoal Caddis – #16 & #18

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16 – starting

Current Flow Conditions: