October 3, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 3, 2012

Strangely enough, yesterday went just about as ‘expected’ – the rain came and there was ample bug activity for the majority of day, due to warmer temperatures. The fish on the West Branch are now quite a bit spookier due to the lower water levels, but were still willing to take well-presented flies. The usual suspects as well – Isos, stenos, etc. Today is looking like a much warmer day, but still with cloud cover and a possible Thunderstorm. This could be a good one all day long, judging by the current air temp, and the fact I just saw fish rising in Home Pool. I’m just going to hope they’re not on the Caddis again.

One of the smaller stenos that have been hatching as of late.  Photo by: Jeff White

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL & #12 & #14

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphur – #16 & #18

Pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Epeorus vitreus – Light Cahill – (Male)- #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14 (waning)

Ephemerella deficiens– Dark. BWO -#12-20 (when cloudy)

Ephemerella attenuata– Light BWO- #16-20 (when cloudy)

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20 (sporadic when cloudy)

October 2, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 2, 2012

Well, they pulled the rug out from under us again, and dropped the flow out of Cannonsville – most likely since we hit October. Floating the West appears to be done until Mother Nature brings us some rain. There were mixed reports on how this affected the fishing, with some folks doing quite well down river, and others having a hard time on the West (the Gamelands, specifically). There were still good numbers of bugs to be had / found, and the fish were on them until the temperature cooled off for the evening. Today we’re expecting some rain throughout the day, the quantity predicted is in a state of flux – so we’ll have to wait and see. If we have a nice calm rain as we did on Sunday, the river could really light up with bug activity.

This is how thick some of the hatching caddis have been in the evenings. And nary a fish to be found eating them. Stupid caddis. Photo: Jeff White

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphur – #16 & #18

Pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Epeorus vitreus – Light Cahill – (Male)- #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14 (waning)

Ephemerella deficiens– Dark. BWO -#12-20 (when cloudy)

Ephemerella attenuata– Light BWO- #16-20 (when cloudy)

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20 (sporadic when cloudy)

October 1, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 1, 2012

UPDATE – the release from Cannonsville has been dropped to (most likely) 150 cfs as we are now in October. This happened after I had posted the blog this morning.

REMINDER – If you have a NY State fishing license, it expired yesterday – go get a new one, or order online at: https://nyfgisales.appsolgrp.com/fgnyia/html/index.jsp

So yesterday was definitely an “interesting” day over all. The bugs and fish went crazy mid-afternoon during, and shut right down both the second the sun came back out, and the second it hid behind the hills, forcing the temperature to drop what felt like 30 degrees. We also experienced some crazy rain smack dab in the middle of the day – with the sun out. Definitely one of the stranger weather days I have seen here on the river. However, when the bugs were out, we had good numbers of heptagenias and Isos, and some staggering numbers of caddis out and about, with fish sporadically eating them. Stupid caddis. Today, we’re looking at a warmer day, with less chance of rain / weather at any point, and unfortunately at little bit of sun mixed in. Let’s hope it hides behind the clouds, and becomes a non-factor, and allows the great hatches we’ve been having to continue!

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphur – #16 & #18

Pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Epeorus vitreus – Light Cahill – (Male)- #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14 (waning)

Ephemerella deficiens– Dark. BWO -#12-20 (when cloudy)

Ephemerella attenuata– Light BWO- #16-20 (when cloudy)

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20 (sporadic when cloudy)

September 30, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 30, 2012

It was an interesting day out on the West Branch yesterday. The streamer bite was in full force until just after lunch time, with the browns being very territorial and nasty, ready to strike at anything in their immediate viciniity. As the afternoon began, they seemed to calm down which meant a big lull in the streamer action, but fortunately a big rush of Stenos made up for it, with good dry fly activity for the rest of the day. The fish were a bit spotty and sporadic, but would definitely be accommodating if you put a nice presentation over their heads. The West Branch has slowed its drop in flow, so we should steady out a bit over the next few days and see some conitnued decent hatching / feeding. With clouds and rain predicted today, we can hopefully look forward to a few more psuedos out and likely a return of the heptagenias as well.

An outside wall of the shop this morning – covered with everyone’s favorite tiny BWO – the Pseudo! Photo by: Bart Larmouth

Tricorythodes species – #22 male and female (waning & sporadic)

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphur – #16 & #18

Pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Epeorus vitreus – Light Cahill – (Male)- #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14 (waning)

Ephemerella deficiens– Dark. BWO -#12-20 (when cloudy)

Ephemerella attenuata– Light BWO- #16-20 (when cloudy)

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20 (sporadic when cloudy)

September 29, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 29, 2012

What a roller-coaster yesterday. The West Branch finally peaked around 1,200 yesterday, and has been immediately tapering back off. The fishing was pretty slow as a result of the big slug, and there weren’t too many mayflies kicking around. We’re at just over 600 right now, with stained, but not dirty water out front of the club. This could be a banner day out on the river, for sure! With clouds predicted for most of the day, coupled with the influx of water, expect bugs and fish to be very active today. The drop in flow has slowed down so expect the river level to fall at an even pace today – definitely another check in the ‘win’ column!

One of our smaller Isos made an appearance recently. This guy is a #14. Photo by: Jeff White

Tricorythodes species – #22 male and female (waning & sporadic)

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphur – #16 & #18

Pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Epeorus vitreus – Light Cahill – (Male)- #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14 (waning)

Ephemerella deficiens– Dark. BWO -#12-20 (when cloudy)

Ephemerella attenuata– Light BWO- #16-20 (when cloudy)

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20 (sporadic when cloudy)

September 28, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 28, 2012

UPDATE! looks like we just went through the roof at Hale Eddy. The slug hasn’t hit us here at the Club, but I am sure we’ll be seeing it shortly. Give me a call at the club if you need an up-to-the-minute report!

For a change, everything pretty much went as predicted yesterday (not the weather, but the fishing at least). The middle of the day was fairly slow, with little hatching activity, but as soon as the sun hit its apex and dropped a bit, we saw good numbers of pseudos and heptagenias coming off, with the occasional Iso thrown in for good measure. Nothing spectacular, but it was pretty consistent action into the evening. The rain started around midnight last night, and has been slow and steady ever since. Hale has jumped a bit (100 cfs) and the rain is still going this morning. It looks like the system is just about all the way past us, so we shouldn’t get too much more precipitation today, and hopefully the river stays clear. The other good bit of news is the cloud cover that is predicted for today – we could be looking at another repeat performance of Wednesday, where the pseudos and deficiens were out in full force during the over cast portions of the day. Let’s also hope that the air temps stay warm until I can get out of here to take advantage of what’s shaping up to be another good day!

Curtis McElhinney with a great Main Stem Smallie – his first EVER, caught on Jeff’s Messy Craw. Photo by: Jeff White

Tricorythodes species – #22 male and female (waning & sporadic)

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphur – #16 & #18

Pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Epeorus vitreus – Light Cahill – (Male)- #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14 (waning)

Ephemerella deficiens– Dark. BWO -#12-20 (when cloudy)

Ephemerella attenuata– Light BWO- #16-20 (when cloudy)

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20 (sporadic when cloudy)

September 27, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 27, 2012

Talk about a banner day! It was like spring had suddenly returned to us yesterday, with clouds, mist and rain mixed with warm, humid air – exactly what the bugs loved. The West Branch did not disappoint, with rising fish and hatching bugs throughout the day. The lower stretch of the river fished the best (from Hale Eddy down), with the Upper Main following closely behind insofar as success was concerned. Isos, pseudos, heptagenias, stenos – the whole kit and caboodle were on the menu. Today we’re seeing a bit of a change in weather, with the sun already starting to peek through the clouds. Temps are supposed to stay low, but I do not think we will see the quality of hatches we did yesterday – at least not until the evening, when each river should produce another great fall night!

A nice Main Stem Rainbow. Too bad the doofus holding it couldn’t look at the camera for the picture. Photo by: Jeff White

Tricorythodes species – #22 male and female (waning)

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphur – #16 & #18

Pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Epeorus vitreus – Light Cahill – (Male)- #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14 (waning)

Ephemerella deficiens– Dark. BWO -#12-20 (when cloudy)

Ephemerella attenuata– Light BWO- #16-20 (when cloudy)

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20 (when cloudy)

September 26, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 26, 2012

It was a pretty beautiful fall day out there yesterday, with a much warmer evening than we’ve had over the last few days, producing some pretty decent hatches as we approached dark. The Iso spinners still decided to tease us and not fall, but at least they were there! On the water, the heptagenias were coming off strong, as were Iso duns in certain sections of the river. It seems Stockport was the most productive run of the evening, yielding some nice fish in both the pool and the riffles. Today looks to be a spring day in September. We already had some rain overnight, which did not greatly affect the flows. What we are looking forwrad to today is cloud cover, humidity, sprinkles, and maybe an t-storm in the afternoon. Sounds like a BANNER olive day to me!

Colorful Brown Trout. Photo by: George Fielding

Tricorythodes species – #22 male and female (waning)

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphur – #16 & #18

Pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Epeorus vitreus – Light Cahill – (Male)- #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14 (waning)

Ephemerella deficiens– Dark. BWO -#12-20 (when cloudy)

Ephemerella attenuata– Light BWO- #16-20 (when cloudy)

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20 (when cloudy)

September 25, 2012

Delaware River Report / Condtitions September 25, 2012

Apologies on the late update to you early readers – internet issues here in Starlight this morning. You know how it is out here in the sticks – the wind blows, we lose wireless. Anyway, yesterday turned out to be a pretty decent day, with activity throughout the afternoon. It wasn’t gangbusters by any stretch of the imagination, but depending on where you were there were some good sporadic hatches with feeding activity. The evening cooled down dramatically, and this did shut down the hatching as we approached dark. Today we’re looking at slightly warmer temps during the day, with a few more clouds in the forecast. This should (hopefully for those of us who won’t get to fish until evening) keep the air temps up a bit, and allow the hatching to continue into the evening.

Mike Gazzara with an awesome Main Stem Brown caught on Saturday. Photo by: Bruce Miller

Tricorythodes species – #22 male and female (waning)

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphur – #16 & #18

Pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Epeorus vitreus – Light Cahill – (Male)- #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14 (waning)

Ephemerella deficiens– Dark. BWO -#12-20 (when cloudy)

Ephemerella attenuata– Light BWO- #16-20 (when cloudy)

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20 (when cloudy)

September 24, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 24, 2012

It was a wacky day out there on the river yesterday. Tons of bugs on both the Main and West Branch, with fish up and actively eating them one minute, and completely shutting off the next. The fish were fairly cooperative if you did catch them (pun intended) in that window when they were feeding, but otherwise it was a bit tough. Heathens…sorry, I mean people who were nymphing actually had an incredibly slow day. The current theory is that the high pressure system that moved in likely pushed the fish down a little bit. At least that’s the best theory I’ve got this morning. We had a very cold overnight, and we’re starting out in the mid-40s this morning, so I would expect the activity to be slow starting off, but good throughout the day as pressure has stabilized, and the clouds are supposed to hang around for a bit. As always, we’ll see what happens.

Marc DeJong with a nice Main Stem Brown caught this past weekend. Photo by: Jeff White

Tricorythodes species – #22 male and female (waning)

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphur – #16 & #18

Pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Epeorus vitreus – Light Cahill – (Male)- #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14 (waning)

Ephemerella deficiens– Dark. BWO -#12-20 (when cloudy)

Ephemerella attenuata– Light BWO- #16-20 (when cloudy)

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20 (when cloudy)

September 23, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 23, 2012

Apologies on the late post. In this modern era, Cell Phones should not take a front seat to good old fashioned alarm clocks. Either way, yesterday was a boom or bust, depending on whom you spoke to. We had areas of the river fish like gangbusters, and others where there was a dearth of action. Late afternoon we were smacked with a BIG rainstorm, that while it didn’t affect the river level that dramatically, certainly affected the fishermen dramatically, with guys being soaked to the bone and running for dry clothing right after the weather passed through. Those that were brave (or dumb) enough to hang out after the storm were rewarded with some great late evening hatching when the pressure balanced out. As for today, there is not as much volatile weather predicted, but the sun may be out for the majority of the day, so when you hit the water, be looking for the shady spots, and prep yourself for a great evening!

Mike holds one of his first Delaware browns! Photo by: Bruce Miller

Tricorythodes species – #22 male and female (waning)

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphur – #16 & #18

Pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Epeorus vitreus – Light Cahill – (Male)- #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14 (waning)

Ephemerella deficiens– Dark. BWO -#12-20 (when cloudy)

Ephemerella attenuata– Light BWO- #16-20 (when cloudy)

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20 (when cloudy)

September 22, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 22, 2012

A very strange day out there yesterday. With morning clouds (not predicted), there were quite a few bugs kicking around before noon. Then, the wind picked up (also not predicted), and picked up with a vengeance. White caps going upstream at Stockport kinda vengeance, even though every weather site listed “current conditions” as winds of 3MPH. Love those guys. The wind shut down the fishing for the most part, even though there were some serious hatches of both Isos and small tan caddis throughout the day and evening. If you could find a small area sheltered from the wind, there were definitely fish to be found and caught. Today there is a big mid-afternoon thunderstorm predicted that could bring near a 1/4″of rain in just an hour. We’ll see if that materializes. Regardless, there are cloudy skies predicted, so until that storm comes by, have those Isos and olives ready!

Isonychia bicolor female dun. Photo by: Jeff White

Tricorythodes species – #22 male and female (waning)

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphur – #16 & #18

Pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Epeorus vitreus – Light Cahill – (Male)- #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14 (waning)

Ephemerella deficiens– Dark. BWO -#12-20 (when cloudy)

Ephemerella attenuata– Light BWO- #16-20 (when cloudy)

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20 (when cloudy)