July 21, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 21, 2012

Ok, so we’re back up a little bit now to a 484 CFS release. Most likely they are trying to meet the Montague minimum, but realize they can save an additional 16 CFS instead of making it an even 500. Who am I to second guess the almighty DEP? Anyway, yesterday and last night were definitely interesting. Blue Wing Olives out in force all day and up until dark, consisting of smaller deficiens (#16 & #18), and a BLANKET of psuedos on the water starting around 7:00 PM. This blanket however, consisted of size #30 & #32 psuedos. No, that wasn’t a typo. I’ve seen midges bigger than that. The good news is that the fish looked on them with the same sense of incredulity that we did, and completely ignored them. Which is great, as I had left my 8X in the car (no, I don’t really own any). There were also sporadic isos hatching in the riffles, an if you could see the rise, the fish were more than willing to chomp one of those big boys down! Today, we’ve lost out cloud cover (already), but with the water temps starting quite a bit lower today, it’s likely that we’ll still see some activity until the sun gets super high in sky, and then we’re back on our evening program!

Richard poses with a nice brown taken on top during the evening “magic” hour. Photo by: Wiley Paul

Hatches:

Epeorus vitreus – Pale Evening Dun – (Female) -#14

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

Potomanthus distinctus – Golden Drake – #12-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox – #12-2xl

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

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14

Ephemerella deficiens–  Dark. BWO -#12-20

Ephemerella attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20

Ephemerella pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20

July 20, 2012

FLOW UPDATE as 1:30 PM July 20

Just as an FYI, the flow rate from Cannonsville has been reduced to 400 cfs, at least until the end of the weekend, due to ‘recreational releases’ from lake Walenpaupack allowing the City to meet their flow requirements at Montague. If the rain does not bring up the flow downriver significantly, we expect flows to go back to the 500 CFS range on Sunday night.

July 20, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 20, 2012

Rain! Blessed Rain! Finally we have some legitimate precipitation, instead of just watching it pass all around us. As you can see from the graph at the bottom, we’re seeing a slight bump in flow on the West Branch, but with the super dry ground, much of the rain is getting soaked into the soil like the sponge it is. That being said, we’re not expecting any major color change in the water, or any type of big jump in flows. Let’s just hope the clouds dump a ton of water in the Reservoir! With this system moving in last night, there was phenomenal hatching out on teh river, and the fish took advantage. Sulphurs, smaller Olives, Potomanthus, and everyone’s favorite Isos were out in force! It remains to be seen what today will bring, as they are calling for drizzly cooler conditions all day – which should mean great fishing all day, the entire length of the West Branch!

See that big yellow blob? That just soaked us for about 5 hours straight! Courtesy of Accuweather.

Hatches:

Epeorus vitreus – Pale Evening Dun – (Female) -#14

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

Potomanthus distinctus – Golden Drake – #12-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox – #12-2xl

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

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14

Ephemerella deficiens–  Dark. BWO -#12-20

Ephemerella attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20

Ephemerella pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20

July 19, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 19, 2012

Tricos! Holy *&%^! We had a ton of them all over Home Pool this morning. Aaaaaaaannnnnnnnd – nobody’s eating them. Typical. I guess we know they’re here at least! Tough going on nymphs as well – my thought is the pressure changes have shut us down for the short term. Also, (even though this is close to a daily proclamation with me) to hell with the weathermen. We went from getting an inch of rain yesterday, to not even a drop falling out of the sky at any point. I was looking forward to the cloud cover and fun evening fishing but nooooooo. Sigh.Today they are calling for mostly ‘cloudy’ skies – let’s hope they get this one right for a change!!!

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

Hatches:

Epeorus vitreus – Pale Evening Dun – (Female) -#14

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

Potomanthus distinctus – Golden Drake – #12-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox – #12-2xl

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

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14

Ephemerella deficiens–  Dark. BWO -#12-20

Ephemerella attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20

Ephemerella pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20

July 18, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 18, 2012

I think I may still be sweating from yesterday. Good lord it was hot and humid here, I can only imagine what it was like for you folks further south of us and / or in the Urban Jungle. That being said, and against all conventional wisdom, there were bugs in the heat of the day yesterday, all the way down to the Game-lands. Granted, they were size 20 sulphurs with very few fish coming up to take advantage, but they were still there. Also amazingly, the fog wasn’t too thick down here last night, and the fish did take advantage of that fact, rising to the slightly bigger sulphurs (#18) that started to pop late, along with the occasional Iso. Today we’re just waiting on the thunderstorms! It’s supposed to get pretty crazy around here starting at lunchtime. As I always joke, one of two things will happen with the storms – it will either turn everything on, or turn everything off. I wish this river would behave more like a western one at times, but I guess that is why we all love it so much – we’re glutt0ns for punishment!

A Nice Brown with the tail cut off. Photo by: Anonymous (won’t take take credit for lopping the tail off)

Hatches:

Epeorus vitreus – Pale Evening Dun – (Female) -#14

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

Potomanthus distinctus – Golden Drake – #12-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox – #12-2xl

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

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14

Ephemerella deficiens–  Dark. BWO -#12-20

Ephemerella attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20

Ephemerella pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20

July 17, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 17, 2012

I’m just going to lead with the picture today, as this is what happened on the Lower West Branch yesterday:

Yes. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch.

Despite early morning clouds, and cooler periods of the day, we didn’t have squat happen out on the river. You know it’s tough when guides nymph three of the best riffles on the river and come up with bupkiss. Upriver saw SOME sulphurs, but definitely not in the quantities we have typically seen on a daily basis. We definitely get days like this on occasion, and I hope that’s all it was! Today is supposed to be even hotter, but with some reprieve from the sun in the form of afternoon clouds – let’s see what it does for us!

Hatches:

Epeorus vitreus – Pale Evening Dun – (Female) -#14

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

Potomanthus distinctus – Golden Drake – #12-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox – #12-2xl

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

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14

Ephemerella deficiens–  Dark. BWO -#12-20

Ephemerella attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20

Ephemerella pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20

July 16, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 16, 2012

How about that! We actually got some rain around here! Good thunderstorms (as opposed to the one at 5AM that I’m sure some of you in NYC heard which didn’t have the decency to drop any precipiation)rolled through the area throughout the afternoon yesterday, bringing some heavy rain with it at times, as is evidenced by the spike in flow on the West Branch yesterday. We were bumped up to about 800 CFS, but the river did not get overly off-colored, and we have already dropped back down to under 600 cfs. The water temps are warmer this morning as well, resulting from the rain, which should start fishing off early today. Mostly cloudy, warm and humid will make for some good daytime fishing, but likely shut down the late evening with some serious fog – that remains to be seen!

These are what we WISH the rain had given us an opportunity to use! – the SLG courtesy of Jeff White. Photo by: who else? Jeff

Hatches:

Epeorus vitreus – Pale Evening Dun – (Female) -#14

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

Potomanthus distinctus – Golden Drake – #12-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox – #12-2xl

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

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14

Ephemerella deficiens–  Dark. BWO -#12-20

Ephemerella attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20

Ephemerella pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20

July 15, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 15, 2012

It was definitely a mixed bag yesterday! We had some early morning cloud cover, which melted away towards the afternoon, then reappeared towards dark. The upper river had bugs VERY early and throughout the periods of clouds, and shut down a little bit when that bright yellow nuclear furnace came out to scorch us. The entire river had some wonderful evening hatches of smaller sulphurs (#20) and olives (#18), and the fish decided to be extra special picky just to make things interesting. ON the side of the house this morning, we definitely had a good mix of bugs that likely hatched overnight. A BIG T-storm rolled through at about 5 AM, but unfortunately did not dump much water on us – all show, and no go! Today, we’re starting off cloudy, and they are predicting scattered thunderstorms throughout the day. Hopefully this cloud cover will continue and give us good bug activity all day as it did yesterday!

The humidity and cold water gave us a little bit of fog this morning, but I saw more than a few rings in the film…..anyone want to watch the shop for a bit? Photo by: Bart Larmouth

Hatches:

Epeorus vitreus – Pale Evening Dun – (Female) -#14

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

Potomanthus distinctus – Golden Drake – #12-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox – #12-2xl

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

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14

Ephemerella deficiens–  Dark. BWO -#12-20

Ephemerella attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20

Ephemerella pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20

July 14, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 14, 2012

What a difference a few clouds can make! With hazy / overcast skies yesterday, we saw some great insect activity pretty much throughout the day, and especially into the evening. Reports from Hale Eddy down were more positive than they have been in several days, with tons of Dortheas coming off, as well as some sporadic spinner falls of both Isos and Sulphurs, depending on the stretch of river you were on. This morning, the upper river has already seen some hatching bugs, likely a result of the warmer overnight temperatures. The weather is calling for a mix of sun and clouds today, with possible scattered rain showers. Let’s hope they materialize!

An angry Crayfish in its black phase, which is fairly unusual to find. He’s so ticked he’s frothing at the mouth! Photo by: Jeff White

Hatches:

Epeorus vitreus – Pale Evening Dun – (Female) -#14

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

Potomanthus distinctus – Golden Drake – #12-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox – #12-2xl

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

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14

Ephemerella deficiens–  Dark. BWO -#12-20

Ephemerella attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20

Ephemerella pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20

July 13, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 13, 2012

Happy Friday the 13th! Let’s hope it’s a lucky one out on the river! We had pretty decent hatches out there last night, and even more overnight judging by all the bugs on the side of the shop this morning. Fishing was slow during the day (Aside from way up by Stilesville), but definitley picked up in the evening. Today, we’re looking at a carbon-copy of yesterday, with the”possibility” of thunderstorms in the afternoon. We’ll see what materializes!

Hatches:

Epeorus vitreus – Pale Evening Dun – (Female) -#14

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

Potomanthus distinctus – Golden Drake – #12-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox – #12-2xl

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

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14

Ephemerella deficiens–  Dark. BWO -#12-20

Ephemerella attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20

Ephemerella pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20

July 12, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 12, 2012

Tough going out there yesterday during the day time. That bright sun was NOT a fun companion out on the water. Some clouds did roll in for a bit, and there was activity up river when that did occur, as brief as it was. The evening did fish as usual up river, but down here by the club we did not see a huge number of bugs hatching, but did find a good number of fish feeding on spent spinners floating down, especially towards dark, which gave one last rush of action at the end of the day. We are looking at even warmer temperatures today, so the middle of the day will be a great time to find a pool or comfortable place to take a nap. The evening should fish well, as the barometric pressure hasn’t shifted much, and our flows on the West have remained steady overnight. Remember – sunscreen people!

A cool night made for a pretty morning on Home Pool today. The bugs did stay away from the cool fog, unfortunately. Photo by: Bart Larmouth

Hatches:

Epeorus vitreus – Pale Evening Dun – (Female) -#14

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

Potomanthus distinctus – Golden Drake – #12-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox – #12-2xl

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

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14

Ephemerella deficiens–  Dark. BWO -#12-20

Ephemerella attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20

Ephemerella pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20

July 11, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 11, 2012

Finally a little bit of precipitation! I can’t remember the last time we actually had a decent rain hit the ground here in Starlight. Albeit the duration was not much to brag about, it was still a welcome respite from the constant heat and sun. The change in pressure did affect the hatching slightly, but only shut it down for the duration of the rain, and then the bugs quickly shot back to the surface, making for a pretty good evening of fishing river-wide. As the temps cooled, the action slowed, so we didn’t get the typical “half-past dark thirty” hatching we normally see. The flow from the reservoir was dropped back down to 510 CFS overnight, so the fish will take a little while to reacclimate this morning, and the with no real storms or clouds in the forecast for today (as of yet), the lower west will be a bit warmer today, as will the very upper stretches of the Main Stem.

An angry Crawfish in its black phase. So ticked he’s frothing at the mouth! Fairly unusual to see. Photo by: Jeff White

Hatches:

Epeorus vitreus – Pale Evening Dun – (Female) -#14

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

Potomanthus distinctus – Golden Drake – #12-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox – #12-2xl

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

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14

Ephemerella deficiens–  Dark. BWO -#12-20

Ephemerella attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20

Ephemerella pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20