February 16, 2012

Dreams of the Future

Ok, not the distant future. Maybe a couple of weeks. With the reservoir hovering around 90%, and no real snow pack to speak of, this is a bit of daydreaming,but I am REALLY looking forward to the early season streamer fishing. In a perfect world, we will get a bunch of spillage right as the alewives are hovering near the warmer water at the surface of Cannonsville – much as we had last year!

Let’s hope these pictures get you through the day today:

Dead Alewife from last March. Photo by: Jeff White

Big, White Streamers - what's better? Photo by: Jeff White

February 8, 2012

Where is Winter?

Hello Everyone!

I hope the “Winter” has been treating you well. I put Winter in ” ” since we really have not had much of one up here in Starlight,with only one storm dropping enough snow to mention. That being said, we are still above-average insofar as precipitation is concerned, the only problem is that we are looking at starting the season with no snow-pack up on the mountains surrounding the river and reservoir. Let’s hope that February decides to send us a big pile of the white stuff, otherwise we will be starting VERY early this season. I will be updating the blog once a week from here on out, due to popular demand (and since everyone is tired of looking at that Halloween cat picture), and to keep you updated on the river,  etc. Have a great week!

A look down Home Pool this morning. Notice the grass is getting green already! Photo by: Bart Larmouth

October 31, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 31, 2011

Happy Halloween!

The shop cats wouldn't pose for a Halloween photo so this will have to do.

Today is our last official day open for the season – at least for the shop – our webstore never sleeps! Thanks to everyone for a great year – can’t wait for next spring! We will be in the office Monday – Friday, from 10AM – 3PM daily if you do need us for anything.I will still be periodically updating the blog, so keep checking your RSS feeds and the like! We will be at the Fly Fishing Show in New Jersey again this January, so be sure to see us there.

The fishing is definitely not over, however – we actually had some half-frozen pseudos sitting on the screens this morning. The influx of cold water from the melt-off will without a doubt affect the fishing for the next day or two, but the warmer weather in the forecast should heat up the water a bit, and the bugs will hopefully be back for one last big hurrah! Have a great week!

Hatches:

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

Pseudocloeon – Little BWOs- #22-#26

Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

October 30, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 30, 2011

It is calm and peaceful outside this morning without a sound from trucks on the highway or cars down Winterdale. In other words, we got hit with a fair bit of snow yesterday and into the night. Much of it will melt off over the course of the next few days, but we have a bit of a winter wonderland on our hands here until that happens. No real word on how the river fished yesterday, as everyone pretty much stayed away, aside from a few heathens with the gall to swing eggs on this river, who I hope caught nothing but a cold. Water temps stayed pretty stable, as well as the flows, so there is an outside chance the pseudos and other olives will return once the ambient temps warm up a bit!

Looking down Home Pool just before sunrise. Photo by: Bart Larmouth

Hatches:

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

Pseudocloeon – Little BWOs- #22-#26

Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

October 29, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 29, 2011

GREAT day on the river yesterday – Olives galore on both the lower East, West, and Main Stem. I had fish rising all the way until dark right out on Home Pool, and Jeff had a great day out on the main with plenty of hungry rainbows grabbing every little Pseudo that floated past. Not sure whether or not the incoming snow was their motivation or not, but I think that it might be the case – we are on the tailing edge of the storm, and predicted to receive 4-6″ of the white stuff between this afternoon and tomorrow.

Hatches:

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

Pseudocloeon – Little BWOs- #22-#26

Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

October 28, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 28, 2011

Apologies on the late post this morning – David and I stayed up watching the (CHOKE) Rangers (CHOKE) lose (thanks Darren Oliver) game 6 (CHOKE) of the World Series last night, and are having a bit of a slow start today!

As for the rivers – flows came up a bit today, mostly as a result of the rain (not snow) that we received throughout the day and into the night last night. They are still running clear, as the increase was minimal – our question today becomes whether or not this impeding Nor’easter will strike us tomorrow – the only reason I hope for it to do so is that we have plenty of ticks in our woods that need killing! Otherwise, sunny today, highs just under 50 – so it will be chilly, but the water should heat up early, and we will hopefully have some hatching as a result!

Hatches:

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

Pseudocloeon – Little BWOs- #22-#26

Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

October 27, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 27, 2011

Yesterday ended up being a fairly productive day for those who made it out on the water – bugs from noon on, and a good number of fish up and sipping on them. In typical Delaware fashion, every fish in the pod seemed to be feeding on a different pattern, making the degree of difficulty a bit higher – but the challenge oh so much fun! Today, we expect the temperatures to drop dramatically, with SNOW (gasp!) starting in the late afternoon – this will likely put a damper on things for today, but we warm up a bit on Friday, with some sun expected as well. Let’s see how it goes!

Dr. Ira Sacker with a nice Main Stem Rainbow caught on a dry this past weekend. Photo by: Jeff White

Hatches:

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

Pseudocloeon – Little BWOs- #22-#26

Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

October 26, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 26, 2011

I think i would make a terrible weatherman (see yesterday’s post) – my prediction was pretty much spot on for yesterday. Bugs were fairly abundant in the lulls between the strong gusts of wind once the water temps heated up a bit. Isos and pseudos mostly, with some stenos still hanging on as well. Cloudy with some possible showers today, but the air temp is slated to be a bit warmer, so we do expect to have some decent activity as the day wears on.

Hatches:

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

Pseudocloeon – Little BWOs- #22-#26

Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

October 25, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 25, 2011

Apologies on the delay of posting – running a bit behind today.

In other news, I’ve decided to become a weatherman. I can think of no other job where you can make constant missteps, predictions and calculations all whilst maintaining employment. That being said, we were expecting a quarter inch of rain overnight, as well as some clouds today, but instead it appears it is going to stay in the low 50’s with bright bright sun – and epic wind. Gusts to 40 MPH are predicted, and from what I see out of my window right now, that seems correct. The sun should heat up the water a little bit, so if the wind dies down at any point, I would expect bugs on the both the West and Main – definitely once the sun drops in the afternoon. We have a picture en route from a pretty decent trip yesterday (stenos again!), and I will post when I can!

Hatches:

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

Pseudocloeon – Little BWOs- #22-#26

Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

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

October 24, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 24,2011

As the water continues to drop on the WB, it is making it increasing more difficult to float, that said the entire lower half of the WB is now wadable in all locations. Yesterday was tough out on the water, the scarcity of bugs resulted in little surface action. Wind should not be a factor today, so if the bugs are present the fish should show themselves.

Hatches:

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

Pseudocloeon – Little BWOs- #22-#26

Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

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

October 23, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 23,2011

The West Branch is finally clear and wadable again below Hale Eddy down. With the colder temps that we are receiving overnight expect much of the hatching activity to occur mid to late afternoon, as the sun has time to warm up the water. The water levels on both the East and West Branch should remain fairly consistent for some time since we are not expecting a substantial amount of rain in the near future. Be sure to have small Olives, Stenos and Isos in your box if you decide to head out on the water today!

Bart using his nightvision skills to locate and catch this very nice rainbow in the dark. Photo By: Ramone Lovegod

Hatches:

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

Pseudocloeon – Little BWOs- #22-#26

Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

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

October 22, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 22,2011

The WB continues to drop reflecting the 224 cfs release, while the East Branch remains steady. Even with the winds the past couple of days, fish are still being caught on top with fish taking smaller steno’s, olives, and isos. The clarity on the East is gin clear while the  West Branch remains slightly off color but continues to get clearer everyday. The forecast for the next couple of days is calling for lighter winds which should yield more surface activity.

Hatches:

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

Pseudocloeon – Little BWOs- #22-#26

Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

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