June 25, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 25, 2012

Well, that was a rough night. The interns had a new net, went out, and just as Aaron hooked a decent enough fish for Jim to say, “sweet! we can break in the new net!” the fish wrapped itself around the anchor and broke off. Gotta love the kiss o’ death! Otherwise, it was slow out on the river last night, but fished well throughout the day up in Deposit. Sulphurs were the name of the game, and I am anticipating much of the same today. We are looking at overcast skies and rain all day, with temps below 60! …..this is where I think we are the only sadists happy about a “cool” summer.

We're filing this under the 'what I did over my summer vacation' for Bruce. Excellent RI striper! Photo by: Bruce's buddy Slick

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 cornuta – Light BWO – #14 (sporadic)

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

June 24, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 24, 2012

A little more of the same yesterday, with a bit more activity in the morning than we have been seeing. The downer is that the lower river didn’t see as many bugs in the evening as we have been over the last few days. Up river (Deposit) had good activity throughout the day an into the evening, but as usual the fish were less than cooperative! Today, we’re expecting a sunny morning followed by a cloudy afternoon and evening, hopefully encouraging all these lazy insects to hatch when we get a chance to get out of the shop!

One of the smaller stenos that have been hatching as of late. Likely an ithaca. 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 cornuta – Light BWO – #14 (sporadic)

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

June 23, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 23, 2012

Sorry for the delay folks, busy busy shop this morning as everyone tries to get out and beat the heat! Interesting day out there yesterday. Some early morning action, and some afternoon clouds that didn’t yield much at all, followed by an evening of picky fish. Delaware summer! Our elder statesmen and guide Bob Lewis figured out the “impossible” fish that drove me crazy two nights ago – he swung some pheasant tail nymphs (it pains me to use that word on this blog) underneath (I think that word pains me even more) dorthea duns – worked like a charm, even if it was a little less…..elegant than we prefer. Today, we’re cooling off even a little more, with some thunderstorms rolling in sporadically throughout the day, The pressure changes and cloud cover should be a good thing, and hopefully we’ll see both the West Branch light up, and the Main Stem cool down!

A beautiful West Branch sunset last night. Photo by: George Fielding

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 cornuta – Light BWO – #14 (sporadic)

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

June 22, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 22, 2012

So much for that quick little burst of cold water! The front end of the ‘wave’ did slow the fishing down a bit, but after it had dropped back to 500 cfs or so upriver in the evening, the fish went crazy for large numbers of dortheas, with the occasional smaller BWO and large steno mixed in. However, I could list about a dozen PG13 adjectives to describe how cooperative they were during that time. That is to say, it’s easier to get blood from a stone than it was to get a fish to eat last night. For whatever reason, the fish decided that it was late July and were pickier than anyone has seen all year yet. Let’s hope that changes with the cooler weather & clouds coming in over the next few days!

Although not caught yesterday, here's a nice head shot of a WB Brown that probably ignored our flies last night. Photo by: Bob Lewis

Hatches:

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

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

Potomanthus distinctus – Golden Drake – #12-2xl

Stenonema vicarium – March Browns – #10-2xl

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 cornuta – Light BWO – #14 (sporadic)

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

June 21, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 21, 2012

***Update*** As of 9:00 AM, Flow is dropping, not sue how far we will fall – likely 500 CFS. A correction for Montague looks like the most likely culprit with this quick up and down.

Well, looks like we’ve got some water running down the West Branch this morning, so I have something to talk about other than this oppressive heat, so please insert one of my normal snarky comments here ________. Overnight, the flow on the West Branch was bumped up to 849 cfs, and I have absolutely no idea as to why, nor how long it will last. Montague has good flows, and under the current table we ‘should’ still be at 500 cfs. I will try to find out (which is what I have been doing and the cause for my tardiness this morning, apologies), and update this post later today.

Now, I am perfectly happy and content with that release if it remains in place for awhile, as it will SIGNIFICANTLY cool down the upper Main Stem, as well as make the West Branch more floatable, while still allowing for wading. Short term, we may find some fish in the lower part of the river (Hale Eddy down) “shocked” by the sudden influx of cold water. It usually takes about 24 hours for them to fully acclimate to new holding areas as well as the temps. That being said, with the HOT sun and air predicted to day, the shock could wear off earlier, and may even produce some day time fishing today!

You know the water's cold and the air's humid when it looks like this out front at 7:00 AM (and it's already 80 out!). 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 vicarium – March Browns – #10-2xl

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 cornuta – Light BWO – #14 (sporadic)

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

June 20, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 20, 2012

Yesterday ended up being one of those days where you feel like jumping in the shower two or three times just to cool off and get out of the humidity. Early in the day, the cloud cover lingered, and folks that were out saw good numbers of BWOs in just about every flavor listed below. The fish were slow to get on them, but some steady fish were found downriver on the West Branch where the temps were a little bit better. The clouds then gave way to bright, hot sun, and all activity ground to a screeching halt. The evening flush happened around 6:30 / 7:00, then shut right down before dark as the fog rolled in / formed over the surface of the cooler water. It’s already warm here today at the club, and it looks like we’re in for a scorcher today, with predicted highs in the low 90s, with “some” clouds predicted for the afternoon. Basically, that means another summer day on the Delaware – rest up for the evening!

We gave intern Jim some time off, and it looks like it was well spent! A nice Canadian fly-caught Northern Pike! Photo by: Jim Swift Jr.

Hatches:

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

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

Stenonema vicarium – March Browns – #10-2xl

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 cornuta – Light BWO – #14 (sporadic)

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

June 19, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 19, 2012

Clouds, cool temps, and no thunderstorms to be had! Pretty much a fantastic day to be out and chasing fish around on dry flies. There was decent hatching all day long, of both BWOs and sulphurs, with the occasional iso thrown in for good measure, pretty much river-wide. The only issue was that the fish were….well, to be blunt, bitchy. They would rise steadily, then go down for no apparent reason. Then, you’d have fish rising like crazy, and it didn’t matter what fly you threw over top of them, they weren’t going for it, even when you KNEW what they were eating. I just tell myself that this is why we love the Delaware! Today, we’re looking at warmer temps, but some cloud cover as well. If it keeps up, we will definitely see another good day out there on the water….at least for the hungry fish!

Brownie McGirk being released. Photo by: Tony May

Hatches:

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

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

Stenonema vicarium – March Browns – #10-2xl

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 cornuta – Light BWO – #14 (sporadic)

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

June 18, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 18, 2012

Well, at least the pool is open. It was another scorcher out there yesterday, that’s for sure. The good news is that the morning fished, and the evening turned out pretty well also. The middle of the day proved a good time for a nap, as it has been lately. That being said, the good news is what we woke up to this morning – humidity and clouds! Today has the potential to be fantastic throughout the day and into the evening if the cloud cover persists, and we don’t have  a slew of thunderstorms cruising around. The lack of sun should also allow the BWO parade (pseudos, attenuatas, cornutas, deficiens, et al) to move its way down the river as well! Here’s hoping for a great day, enjoy your Monday all!

Happy Birthday to friend and customer Scott Dawson, who is showing off his biggest ever Delaware Rainbow. Let's just say he saw his backing a couple times. Photo by: Al Caucci

Hatches:

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

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

Stenonema vicarium – March Browns – #10-2xl

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 cornuta – Light BWO – #14 (sporadic)

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

June 17, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 17, 2012

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!

Some of our guests had the right idea today – hang out in the hammock or around the pool until later in the afternoon. Bright sun and hot temps all day kept activity at a near standstill out on the water. The evening saw some pretty decent activity, but the fish decided it was their time to be picky (as if they need an excuse!). Today we’ve already got some decent low-level cloud cover, so the morning may show us a few BWOs and left over spinners from last night. Temps are supposed to stay below 80 today, but the sun is still going to be there, with hopefully more cloud cover to pick up the action.

Downriver there are a TON of these Pteronarcys stoneflies coming out at night. Hopefully they will move up river, and we may just get some night fishing action. (recycled)Photo by: Jeff White

Hatches:

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

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

Stenonema vicarium – March Browns – #10-2xl

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 cornuta – Light BWO – #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella Deficiens–  Dark. BWO -#12-20

Ephemerella Attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20

Ephemerella Pseudollocon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20

June 16, 2012

Delaware River Report / Condtions – June 16, 2012

Summertime is definitely here. The sun shone brightly from what seemed like 5AM on (at least that’s when I remember it waking me up at least), with very little cloud cover protecting us during the day. Fortunately, water temps did go up, but did  not skyrocket. Those fishing the Main found some action only after the sun was behind the hills and the water temp had started to drop for the evening. The West was fairly slow, with some decent daytime activity in the cooler waters near Stilesville. The evening rush (stenos and sulphurs mostly) was brief and late – from about 8:30 until dark. Temps are supposed to drop a bit today, and we are already seeing a little bit of cloud cover overhead. Let’s hope it sticks around!

Now for something completely different – the interns and I caught the craziest Isonychia dun the other night – he’s in the picture below. What’s odd, is how PALE he was. As in, the word ‘albino’ came to mind. The photo below was taken 12 hours after he hatched, and he obviously oxidized a bunch and darkened on the top, meaning he looked like a light cahill when we captured him. However, underneath he was the same color as a March Brown dun – light tan! None of us has ever seen one like it. Anyone else? I put a ‘typical’ iso photo directly below. Thanks as always to Jeff White.

The anomaly - a PALE iso dun. Photo by: Jeff White

A "typical" dark iso male dun. Photo by: Jeff White

Hatches:

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

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

Stenonema vicarium – March Browns – #10-2xl

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 cornuta – Light BWO – #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella Deficiens–  Dark. BWO -#12-20

Ephemerella Attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20

Ephemerella Pseudollocon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20

June 15, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 15, 2012

Aloe anyone? It was pretty brutal out there yesterday in the sun. With no morning clouds to speak of, and cool water temps to start, there wasn’t much action in the morning, and as the day heated up, both the bugs and the fish were nowhere to be seen. The evening activity was condensed to about 9PM until dark on the West Branch, with the Main Stem showing a few more bugs, but no fish to eat them until after 8:30 or so. Today looks like more of the same, with fewer clouds, and warmer air temps. The cool night will help keep the upper main fishable for the next few days, but if this warm, clear weather continues, the action will start to be concentrated solely on the West Branch.

Bob Cirocco with a nice Main Stem Rainbow. Photo by: Kevan Smaracko.

Hatches:

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

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

Stenonema vicarium – March Browns – #10-2xl

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 cornuta – Light BWO – #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella Deficiens–  Dark. BWO -#12-20

Ephemerella Attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20

Ephemerella Pseudollocon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20

June 14, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 14, 2012

What’s that? I can’t hear you over the wind! Well, that was yesterday, anyway. A mix of clouds (great!) and sun, but plenty of steady, strong breezes to create hassles out there on the water. While the clouds were out, stenos (light cahills) and smaller dortheas (sulphurs) made appearances. Our guides were able to drum up fish on Isos in the riffles pretty much throughout the day. The evening brought some decent action from 8:30 on, with the fish likely sipping steno spinners. The cool night kept the water temps down, which will make for a slower morning early, but the bright sun may warm it up enough to give us some action before it (the sun) gets too high in the sky. It will likely be a slower afternoon, but we should have a killer evening once again!

A colorful WB Brown caught by Chris Fielding. Photo by: George Fielding

Hatches:

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

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

Stenonema vicarium – March Browns – #10-2xl

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 cornuta – Light BWO – #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella Deficiens–  Dark. BWO -#12-20

Ephemerella Attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20

Ephemerella Pseudollocon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20