August 28, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 28, 2013

The weathermen did it to us again. Our “very cloudy’ day turned into a bright, sunny, perfect August afternoon. Which, while great for the rest of the populace, isn’t the best for us crazy fisher-folk. As a result, there was not too much bug activity during the day on the West Branch, and when we got to the evening, there were some pretty substantial pressure changes as thunderstorms tried (and failed) to form. This limited the hatching to just a few short windows, but fortunately the fish were definitely ready for it, and took full advantage. This morning we also had a good variety of bugs on the side of the shop, including some funky looking steno spinners (light cahills). As for today, we are supposed to see another cloudy day, and some scattered rain thrown in for good measure, with a fairly steady barometer. If this holds true, we will be in for a great day, and an even better evening!

A very unusual Steno on the porch yesterday. I obviously lack Jeff’s talent for Bug Photos. Photo by: Bart Larmouth

What’s Hatching:

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 & #18 – starting to wane

Epeorus vitreus – PED / Pink Lady – #14

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

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16

Current Flow Conditions:

August 27, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 27, 2013

The clouds did not offer up the amount of action that we were so greatly hoping for yesterday. There were certainly olives around, and sulphurs here and there throughout the day, but there were few fish up and rising steadily until we moved into evening. We had some decent thunderstorms right in the “magic” hours of 6-8, which while normally kills all chance of a good hatch, did the opposite – those who waited (from the safety of shore!) for the storms to pass were rewarded with a pretty decent flush of bugs right at the buzzer, and many did well. There was a nice steady rain after dark here on the West, but fortunately it did not jump us up too much, and the water clarity is still fantastic (at least in front of the club). The Beaverkill shot up quite a bit, taking the East with it, very likely muddied up. As for the weather, with similar conditions today, I would normally expect a fantastic day of fishing – and I still hope it will be!

Wesley Smith showing off a nice brown! Full disclosure – a nice MONTANA Brown. But, he’s representing in the DRC hat, and we love that! Photo courtesy of the angler.

What’s Hatching:

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 & #18 – starting to wane

Epeorus vitreus – PED / Pink Lady – #14

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

Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14

Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphurs – #16

Current Flow Conditions:

August 26, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 26, 2013

Happy  Monday! While yesterday was not stellar, it was certainly an improvement over Saturday. The bright sun definitely depressed insect activity, aside from areas of shade, and the evening. There were folks that saw sporadic sulphur hatches on the mid-West Branch during the day, but they were short lived until the evening hatch. While short (7PM on), the evening hatch was definitely fun, and the fish were eager to eat. The real good news is the weather over the next three days – clouds, clouds, and rain. No complaints at all. This incoming system should provide some great daytime bug activity, and will certainly extend our evening fishing as well. The air temps will be a little warm, so if we do get evening thunderstorms, there is always the chance for a bunch of fog to appear, so be ready!

A KILLER photo of an Isonychia bicolor (aka White Gloved Howdy) female dun. Hopefully the clouds will bring more of these guys out to play!  Photo by: 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 25, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 25, 2013

Man, it was tough out there yesterday. Realize “tough” is shop-guy speak for kinda sucked. The bright sun depressed much of the activity, all the way until just before dark. There were even clouds of Tricos early in the morning (finally!) here on the Lower West, with many of them falling – no fish up to snack. It could be the result of the drop in flow, but typically a drop from to a 500 release from a 600 release rarely has an adverse effect. Perhaps it did this time, I only have speculation. Today we are expecting another sunny, “pleasant” day (at least by the normal world’s standards – we love clouds and rain), which will hopefully be a bit more normal, with bug activity up high early, shifting down stream as the day progresses. Very little wind as well, which is always nice – let’s hope the Tricos decide to fall again as well (but with more action from the fish this time!).

Hey! Trout! This is food! 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 24, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 24, 2013

It physically hurts me to type this next bit: yesterday, they wouldn’t eat an Iso. At least not for me, or those I talked to. The good news is there were plenty of bugs to be had in the evening, especially sulphurs and small olives, and while spotty, the fish were up and rising with some degree of regularity. The old standby of tossing a cheeseburger over them did not have the desired effect, unfortunately. Also, NYC has dropped the release from Cannonsville back down to 500 cfs, as the reservoir level is down under 84%. We should stay here for the foreseeable future, and the smaller drop should not adversely affect the fishing or bugs. As for weather, today is supposed to be a mirror-image of yesterday, sans wind (thankfully). Bright sun, patchy clouds will likely make daytime fishing a bit challenging, but evening should certainly light up again!

This nice bow was caught at half past dark-thirty (8:27 or so) last night. Photo: Pat Regan

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 23, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 23, 2013

Great cloud cover made for some really good daytime fishing yesterday, with folks seeing sulphurs, olives, and flying ants (which the fish ignored for some unknown reason). As the day went on, a series of pretty good thunderstorms rolled through, and they definitely affected the hatching activity – by curtailing it quite a bit. As they came through, the bugs stopped for a bit, then a big wall of wind made its way downstream, and the river lit up, with fish up and eating anything going over top of them. This lasted for about 5 minutes, then the rain started in earnest and shut everything down for the evening. While it was pretty much a downpour off and on for an hour or so, the river level is fine, and clarity is still amazing. Today, we’ve got mostly cloudy skies predicted again, and with less humidity I wouldn’t worry too much about the thunderstorms in the afternoon. Could be another great day out there!

Once this burns off, we’ll be in great shape! 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 22, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 22, 2013

Not quite as productive as I had hoped out on the river yesterday, with the bright sun putting a bit of a kibosh on activity throughout the day, and the bugs never really popped en masse in the evening. There were some very nice flushes of sulphurs and epeorus, and the fish were definitely interested, but they never came off in strong enough numbers to get the river really lit up. Today we’re going to have some possible t-storms rolling around with warm air temps, which means (in all likelihood) we’ll have some good stop-and-go hatching throughout the day, and likely some fog if the rain ever materializes. Cloud cover is supposed to be be thicker as well, which does bode well for active fish during the day. Still hoping for those flying ants to show as well!

These guys were sporadic, but the fish were still taking the 12-2XL Comparaduns! 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 21, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 21, 2013

Oddly enough, yesterday went just as expected – a bit of activity whilst the fog hung around, but after the sun came out, the upper river was the place to be (especially when the sporadic clouds rolled through). As the sun dropped in the late afternoon, the bugs started in earnest, with the fish ignoring the olives coming off, and instead focusing on the sulphurs and hebes rolling down the river. Today is slated to be the warmest day of the week, but we are expecting additional clouds as well, which is always a good thing. The fog should appear in the evening, but fortunately it has not been as dense as usual, and will allow you to fish all the way into dark!

Let’s hope the big clouds of these start appearing with this warmer weather. Tricos. 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 20, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 20, 2013

Clouds! They are what we had all day yesterday, despite what the weathermen predicted. Or is it weatherpersons now? Not sure what is PC….regardless, we had cloudy skies all day, and the bugs were definitely up, and the fish active. Definitely a great day on the water, and the action continued on into dark, even with the fog settling on the river around 8 (which is normally a kiss of death). Today, we are looking at partially sunny skies (i.e. less clouds), and temps in the low 80s. I would expect the fog to be back tonight, but so long as we do not have any rain (which we are not supposed to), it should be easily manageable for sure, and the fish should be active as we approach the evening.

Bruce Miller almost cracking a smile with this great Brown he took on the Main Stem Sunday. Photo: Pat Giordano

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 19, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 19, 2013

Cloud cover – gotta love it! The fish and bugs were definitely happy without the sun beating down on them yesterday, and definitely got even happier as the day progressed. There were TONS of BWOs kicking around (Latas, Deficiens, and Pseudos), but they must have been invisible below the surface as they were completely ignored by the fish. Sulphurs were the name of the game, as well as some larger Heptagenias (olive sulphurs) and of course, my favorite – Isonychia. I also had my first decent reports on teh Main Stem, which has been markedly cooler over the last few days. There seems to be little daytime hatching activity, until the “magic hour” in the evening. Unfortunately, that seems to only be a 20-minute hour some evenings, but the fish are quite active, and markedly less picky than their West Branch Counterparts. Today, we are heading into some warmer weather, and the clouds will be patchier. Chances are we will be slipping back into a late-afternoon hatching program, but the thicker the clouds, the earlier it will get started!

Brendan Canvanagh took advantage of the cloud cover yesterday, fishing with his Grandfather, Norm Price who took the photo.

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 18, 2013

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 18, 2013

Better. At least yesterday was better than Friday. We had good numbers of bugs throughout the day, and while the fish were not exactly super excited, they definitely got happy towards the evening. Those fishing Sulphurs did very well, as did anyone pitching a cheeseburger (Iso) if your timing was right. The large hatches of olives went virtually unnoticed, but the spinner fall right as darkness crept in definitely got the fish’s attention. Today, we’re looking at another beautiful (for us fisher-folk) cloudy day, with temps near 80. This will certainly mean more olives throughout the day, and the sulphurs should show up with their Iso bodyguards at some point as well. The river is easily wade-able, so do not panic at the additional water in it, you’ll be able to get wherever you like!

A friendly visitor to the boat last night – about a size 12-2XL / 10 Iso. Photo: Michael Johnson

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 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: