June 30, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 30, 2013

Well, it certainly was a bit tougher out there yesterday than we thought it was going to be. The water clarity was pretty poor on the West Branch, even up river. That being said, take a look at the picture below and you’ll have an idea how much the bugs cared about the clarity. The side of the shop is STILL covered with them this morning, and right towards evening the fish were actually seeing them as well, if you could find the right spot. Today, we have finally had some additional clarity come into the river down here, so it should start to greatly improve throughout the day. Cloud cover, and a few passing showers are all that is in the forecast, so it could definitely turn into a spectacular day!

We counted close to 10 different mayfly species on the shop last night and this morning. I guess we know there are still plenty of bugs! Photo: Bart Larmouth

What’s Hatching:

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

Hydropysche species – Tan Caddis – #16 & #18

Chimarra species – Charcoal Caddis – #16 & #18

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Ephemerella invaria– Sulphurs – #14

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Current Flow Conditions:

June 29, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 29, 2013

Yowza. It was BIG out there yesterday. Definitely a strange day with the flow dropping quickly above Hale Eddy, but tons of water still coming in from the feeders downstream from there. Rain late in the evening bumped us right back up again, and we are starting to fall quickly, just like yesterday. The additional rain did not help the river color clear much, as we are still pretty brown out front as of right now. The Beaverkill is running very clear, which is helping the East clear quickly as well. The other good news is very little rain in the forecast for today, so we should see the West continue to drop and clear throughout the day, which is slated to be nice and cloudy. The fish are definitely streamer-hungry, and if we get a bit more spill over top of the dam in the next day or so, this will only increase with additional Alewives coming over the top. For now, yellows and blacks are definitely a good call, and keep your eyes on the slower spots for fish taking Isos as well!

Hello there! Bob Lewis holding a nice, confused-looking brown. Photo: Steve Shen

What’s Hatching:

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

Hydropysche species – Tan Caddis – #16 & #18

Chimarra species – Charcoal Caddis – #16 & #18

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Ephemerella invaria– Sulphurs – #14

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Current Flow Conditions:

June 28, 2013

Conditions UPDATE June 28, 2013

The river is dropping like a stone around Hale Eddy, but is definitely staying higher downriver. We have TONS of water coming in from the feeders still down this way, and much of it is still off-color. The forecast is constantly changing, so we are not quite sure what kind of precipitation  we will get through tonight / tomorrow. Feel free to call the shop for an up-to-the-minute report!

June 28, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 28, 2013

Looks like we finally got one of those big storms to hit us, and not swing around. The rain just stalled over top of the Catskills last night, particularly on the West Branch basin. The river crested last night near 4,000 cfs, and is down to 3,440 at Hale Eddy as of this morning, but is definitely blown out at this point. It is dropping steadily, so I would expect the river to clear in short order, but would not expect much to happen at least this morning, but the streamer bite could definitely be back on as we progress throughout the day. If anything changes dramatically, I will certainly put an update here!

Here’s a nice brown to take your mind off the brown water. Photo: Bart Larmouth

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

Hydropysche species – Tan Caddis – #16 & #18

Chimarra species – Charcoal Caddis – #16 & #18

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Ephemerella invaria– Sulphurs – #14

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Current Flow Conditions:

June 27, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 27, 2013

Yesterday definitely was interesting out on the river, and certainly different from Tuesday. With cloud cover for the majority of the day, as well as humid air, we expected to see some consistent hatching, but instead had sporadic (yet thick) hatches, varying in location. It seemed whenever the mist/fog that settles on the river this time of year came down, the bugs stopped, and as soon as it lifted – bam! They were back. What made it odd is when one pool was covered in the fog, just a half mile down or upstream it was clear and the bugs were out. Definitely an odd one! The fish were also SUPER spooky for some reason, let’s hope they drop that attitude and settle in to their new water levels. Today, we’re looking at some “big” storms. Considering we received exactly 0.00″ of rain yesterday, and storms were also predicted, I’m going to take that with a grain of salt. However we will have some great cloud cover, so the bugs should be out all day long.

Believe it or not, we STILL have these guys (Shad) swimming around and taking flies! Photo: Bob Lewis

What’s Hatching:

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

Hydropysche species – Tan Caddis – #16 & #18

Chimarra species – Charcoal Caddis – #16 & #18

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Ephemerella invaria– Sulphurs – #14

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Current Flow Conditions:

June 26, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 26, 2013

It’s rare that we see two pretty much identical days out on the river, but yesterday and Monday were definitely twins. Ok, so maybe fraternal twins, but still twins. Amid the humidity and heat, we definitely had good cloud cover in the afternoon, with a few gentle storms mixed in just to keep it interesting. Sulphurs and Isos were the name of the game again, with a few people finding fish that were taking pseudos amid big dorthea hatches. I guess after all the alewive gorging, the fish are now on a diet! We are expecting similar conditions today weather-wise, but as always we’ll just have to head out on the water and see!

Steve Shen with a well-fed, colorful fish. Photo: Bob Lewis

What’s Hatching:

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

Hydropysche species – Tan Caddis – #16 & #18

Chimarra species – Charcoal Caddis – #16 & #18

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Ephemerella invaria– Sulphurs – #14

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Current Flow Conditions:

June 25, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 25, 2013

The stormy weather yesterday became quite a pleasant surprise, with cloud cover throughout most of the afternoon, and just a few passing thunderstorms to wait out. The bugs certainly loved it, and were popping all over the Upper West Branch. Down here we were seeing them, but not in as large a number as they had upstream. The fish were active, and definitely less spooky than the day before. Today we’re looking at some pretty similar conditions, with some excellent clouds hanging over us as we speak. With air temps down slightly, we could see even a bigger rush of sulphurs and isos starting earlier in the day.

Guide Bruce Miller always looks so enthused when having his picture taken! Photo: Bernie Halderman

What’s Hatching:

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

Hydropysche species – Tan Caddis – #16 & #18

Chimarra species – Charcoal Caddis – #16 & #18

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Ephemerella invaria– Sulphurs – #14

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Current Flow Conditions:

June 24, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 24, 2013

That was more like it! Great hatches of sulphurs and isos popping off throughout the day yesterday, and some of the happiest fish we’ve seen in the last few days, and very few people on the river to boot. Water temps are great, and it looks like the fish have acclimated to the new levels. Today appears to be similar in nature to yesterday, with the air temps more towards the high 70s, low 80s, and some possible storms rolling through in the afternoon, so it should be another good one out there!

Bernie Halderman holds a nice mid-day brown! Photo: Bruce Miller

What’s Hatching:

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

Hydropysche species – Tan Caddis – #16 & #18

Chimarra species – Charcoal Caddis – #16 & #18

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Ephemerella invaria– Sulphurs – #14

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Current Flow Conditions:

June 23, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 23, 2013

Well the spill is over, and we are now down to our basic release of about 600 cfs. Great news for all of you waders who have been chomping at the bit to hit the water, but it definitely limits the amount of cold water miles we have to fish. The West Branch will shortly become the only game in town – in other words, summer is truly here! That being said, 600 is a good number, and will keep the water cold all the way into Junction Pool, and should definitely start our sulphurs popping up in Deposit during the mid-day hours. They were out yesterday, but the fish were not overly active, likely a result of the water levels dropping, giving them a bit of a shock to the system. Now that we have stabilized, I would expect that they will be up and at it again for sure!

Bob Lewis holds a MONSTER Rainbow – almost looks like a steelhead! Photo: Steve Shen

What’s Hatching:

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

Hydropysche species – Tan Caddis – #16 & #18

Chimarra species – Charcoal Caddis – #16 & #18

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Ephemerella invaria– Sulphurs – #14

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Current Flow Conditions:

June 22, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 22, 2013

Welcome to the second day of summer! Yesterday we had some unexpected cloud cover show up early in the afternoon, which made for some happy bugs, and hungry fish. No complaints at all there! The hatching did slow down latre on in the afternoon, but picked back up as the day progresed. The fish were a bti skittish with the clear skies, but plenty were also taken tossing streamers. As for today, it looks like our spill has finally stopped over the top of Cannonsville, and our release is down to 1,000 cfs. This will produce cool, super clear water, and hopefully jump start our sulphurs up in the No-Kill section. We will continue to have cold water down here as well, but I would not anticipate seeing tons of bugs until later 0n, once the sun has dropped.

Frank Audino holds a nice, fat alewife-fed brown! Photo: Bob Lewis

What’s Hatching:

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

Hydropysche species – Tan Caddis – #16 & #18

Chimarra species – Charcoal Caddis – #16 & #18

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Ephemerella invaria– Sulphurs – #14

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Current Flow Conditions:

June 21, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 21, 2013

Bright sun yesterday – lots of it. This definitely slowed the hatching down a bit until evening, but the sulphurs and isos were definitely out and about towards evening, and the fish decided it was time to eat just as soon as they started to come out! Today it looks like the spill over the top of the reservoir has stopped, so our flow right now is completely  release water, meaning it is cold and clear, all the way down the West Branch. We have some clouds predicted today, so it looks like we’ll have a pretty similar day today. On another positive note, looking out over Home Pool this morning Jeff and I just saw our first cloud of Tricos for the season. Always a good sight – we’ll keep you posted!

Hello Iso! Photo: Jeff White

What’s Hatching:

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

Hydropysche species – Tan Caddis – #16 & #18

Chimarra species – Charcoal Caddis – #16 & #18

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Ephemerella invaria– Sulphurs – #14

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Current Flow Conditions:

June 20, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 20, 2013

Wednesday sure felt like summer up here in the Catskills! Bright sun, perfect humidity and temp. Well, once again not the “perfect” that we trout folk love. That being said, the water was cool and clear, and on the West we had some pretty decent hatching once the sun started to drop behind the hills, mostly Dortheas and Isos, with the occasional larger light Cahill thrown in for good measure. We did have some steno spinners on the shop wall this morning, so there is still good chance for a fall tonight. We are looking at a carbon-copy or yesterday for today, so I would expect the river to fish the same – decent in the morning, followed by an OK streamer bite, and then good hatching again in the evening. If we do see a bit more cloud cover (which there is a chance of), then we’ll be in good shape.

Jim Swift Jr. with a West Branch brown taken on a streamer. Photo: Jim Swift III

What’s Hatching:

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

Hydropysche species – Tan Caddis – #16 & #18

Chimarra species – Charcoal Caddis – #16 & #18

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Ephemerella invaria– Sulphurs – #14

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Current Flow Conditions: