June 2, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 2, 2011

The heat has broken here in Starlight – unfortunately, the wind has taken its place. We are looking at northwest winds (mostly downstream) at about 15MPH, with gusts in the 40MPH range. Not ideal dry fly conditions, but the pressure change should get the bugs up and moving, and the influx of cold water from Cannonsville can only help as well!

Ephemera guttulata – Green Drake – #8-2XL

Hydropsyche sp. – Tan Caddis – #16-#18

Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill – #12

Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom – Charcoal) #16- #18

Stenonema vicarium – March Brown- #10-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox #12-2xl

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26

June 1, 2011

WATER!

Ding dong, the wicked old FFMP is dead! We have a new flow regime starting today. Until futher notice, Cannonsville Reservoir will be releasing at least 600 CFS, which will bring a much-needed surge of cool water into the system. Spillage is slowly fading from the top of the reservior, so this bodes well to keep the water levels both up and cool! Call us for the most up-to-the-minute info, and see below for the Stilesville (closest USGS station to the dam) graph:

June 1, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 1, 2011

H-O-T yesterday. Nothing really more to tell – bugs in the morning and the evening, with some fish active on caddis during the heat of the day. Drakes have been hatching, and we are seeing sporadic spinner falls of both coffin flies and dortheas (sulphurs). A new flow plan takes effect today, but we have yet to see any results thus far – hopefully we will get a 500+ CFS release by the end of the day today!

Wiley Paul with a great West Branch Brown. Photo by: David Burgher

Hatches:

Ephemera guttulata – Green Drake – #8-2XL

Hydropsyche sp. – Tan Caddis – #16-#18

Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill – #12

Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom – Charcoal) #16- #18

Stenonema vicarium – March Brown- #10-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox #12-2xl

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26

May 31, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 31, 2011

A nice, calm, clear night kept the water temperatures down, and saw all rivers drop dramatically. We are back under 2,000 CFS on the West, which will yield some wading opportunities as well as great floating potential. Sulphurs (dortheas) were coming off, even with the high water levels, and so we anticipate the same type of scenario today. A bit more cloud cover is predicted, but temps will once again be hot and sticky, so dress appropriately throughout the day!

George Fielding with a FAT West Branch fish. Photo by: Kevan Smaracko

Hatches:

Ephemera guttulata – Green Drake – #8-2XL

Hydropsyche sp. – Tan Caddis – #16-#18

Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill – #12

Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom – Charcoal) #16- #18

Stenonema vicarium – March Brown- #10-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox #12-2xl

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26

May 30, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 30, 2011

Heavy storms early this morning woke us up and also brought the river up a ton. While off-color, it appears to be clearing fast for those with boats. Wading, however is UNSAFE right now – The Beaverkill and the Willow, along with the Upper East are your best bets if on foot.

After a bit of a slow day, the fish went BALLISTIC river-wide right at dark, mowing down any dorthea (sulphur) that was in their wheelhouse. Not sure what the weather is going to do for that activity, but the lower water temps are definitely a good sign.

Hatches:

Ephemera guttulata – Green Drake – #8-2XL

Hydropsyche sp. – Tan Caddis – #16-#18

Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill – #12

Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom – Charcoal) #16- #18

Stenonema vicarium – March Brown- #10-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox #12-2xl

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26

May 29, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 29, 2011

Hey! Look what we’ve got (finally!) – GREEN DRAKES! We are also seeing a slew of late arrivals from invarias to dotheas and still March Browns and Grey Fox!

Green Drake (Ephemera guttulata) female dun caught yesterday on the WB. Photo by: Jeff White

Woke up today with some nice cloud cover and cooler air – already a good sign! We expect a bit of rain, and MUCH cooler weather today, which should produce more daytime hatching – hopefully of those same Drakes!

Delaware Veteran Sandy Bing with an EXCELLENT WB brown held by Jeff White. Photo by: Tony May

Hatches:

Ephemera guttulata – Green Drake – #8-2XL

Hydropsyche sp. – Tan Caddis – #16-#18

Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill – #12

Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom – Charcoal) #16- #18

Stenonema vicarium – March Brown- #10-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox #12-2xl

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26

May 28, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 28, 2011

Cloud cover throughout the day yesterday helped keep the water temperatures down throughout the system yesterday – definitely a relief with these temperatures in the high 80’s. Yesterday we had bugs sporadically throughout the day, with a nice big flush at night. We are expecting some rain this morning, which will further add some temperature relief, and push more bugs up throughout the day!

Hatches:

Ephemerella Subvaria (Hendrickson) – #14 (spinners)

Emphemerella “x” (Dark Hendrickson) #16 (slowly fading)

Brachycentrus sp. (Apple Green Caddis)– #16 – #18

Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom) #16- #18

Stenonema vicarium – March Brown- #10-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox #12-2xl

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26

May 27, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 27, 2011

Man, what a night – Tornado warnings, insane winds and some of the loudest thunder claps we have ever heard – and remember we now have a Texan in the shop! Our weather may in fact be bigger – who knows? But, with all that bluster and driving rain, the rivers made it through remarkably well, with barely a bump in the flows, keeping the levels great for boats, and decent for wading. We had bug soup on the water again, with several different kinds of Stenos, the occasional Hendrickson spinner, tan caddis, and a few sulphur / light cahills in the mix.

Guide Wiley Paul holds Tony May's awesome WB Brown. Photo by: Tony May

Hatches:

Ephemerella Subvaria (Hendrickson) – #14

Emphemerella “x” (Dark Hendrickson) #16 (slowly fading)

Brachycentrus sp. (Apple Green Caddis)– #16 – #18

Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom) #16- #18

Stenonema vicarium – March Brown- #10-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox #12-2xl

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26

May 26, 2011

Delaware River Conditions / Report May 26, 2011

Sorry for the delay, running late this morning! The bright sun and warm temperatures did not deter the bugs from hatching yesterday – March Browns, Dortheas, Grey Fox, Tan Caddis, even Hendrickson spinners and pseudos were in attendance! Today looks to be similar, with the chance of a heavy thunderstorm late in the day- the pressure drop and cloud cover should encourage even more activity – looks like a great day on the water!

Hatches:

Ephemerella Subvaria (Hendrickson) – #14

Emphemerella “x” (Dark Hendrickson) #16 (slowly fading)

Brachycentrus sp. (Apple Green Caddis)– #16 – #18

Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom) #16- #18

Stenonema vicarium – March Brown- #10-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox #12-2xl

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulfur- #16/18/20

Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26

May 25, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 25, 2011

March Browns!!!!                    Now that I have your attention…..bright sun and warm temps today, but the rivers are still high and cold, which should yield a great late afternoon-evening of fishing today. The big bugs will be popping throughout the day sporadically, and fish may be found as a result!

Jim Rogers with a WB Brown Photo by Mike Rogers

Ephemerella Subvaria (Hendrickson) – #14

Emphemerella “x” (Dark Hendrickson) #16 (slowly fading)

Brachycentrus sp. (Apple Green Caddis)– #16 – #18

Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom) #16- #18

Stenonema Vicarium – March Brown- #10-2xl

Stenonema Fuscum – Grey Fox #12-2xl

Ephemerella Dorothea – Sulfur- #16/18/20

Pseudos– Little BWO’s- #22-#26

May 24, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 24, 2011

Misty with a bit of fog here at the club this morning -great for river temps! The West Branch has stabilized and is dropping slightly, whilst the East Branch / Beaverkill system appears to have caught a bit of the precipitation that came to the area last night. We are anticipating a bit more rain, which will not (fingers crossed) significantly affect our flows. Give us a call if you need up-to-the-minute reports!

Marc DeJong of the Sporting Gentlemen with a fine specimen. Photo by: Steve Shen

Hatches:

Stenonema vicarium (March Brown) – #10-2XL (sporadic, but fish finding them)

Emphermerella subvaria (Light and Dark Hendricksons) #12 -14 (slowly fading)

Paraleptophelbia adoptiva (blue quill)– #16 – #18

Epeorus pluralis (Quill Gordon) #14

Brachycentrus sp. – Apple Green Caddis #16

Chimarra sp – Little black Caddis #16-18

Baetis vagans – blue winged olives #16-18 (ending soon)

May 23, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions May 23, 2011

The river is still high, unsafe to wade in most places, but the water is clear, and rising fish could be found throughout the system in the slack water. Streamer fishing was definitely the ticket yesterday, and many fish were moved close the the banks and off any structure one could find. Should be a carbon-copy today.

Also, we’d like to welcome David Burgher to the club as one of our 2011 interns. Just because he felt like showing all previous interns up, he shut off his car, marched down to home pool, and proceeded to catch an awesome brown on a brown Cheech Leech. 5 Damn minutes after he got here. Over achieving already. We’ll fix that.

New Intern David Burgher with his first Delaware Trout! Caught 5 minutes after arriving. You have to be kidding! Photo by: David Burgher

Hatches:

Stenonema vicarium (March Brown) – #10-2XL (sporadic, but fish finding them)

Emphermerella subvaria (Light and Dark Hendricksons) #12 -14 (slowly fading)

Paraleptophelbia adoptiva (blue quill)– #16 – #18

Epeorus pluralis (Quill Gordon) #14

Brachycentrus sp. – Apple Green Caddis #16

Chimarra sp – Little black Caddis #16-18

Baetis vagans – blue winged olives #16-18 (ending soon)