August 9, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 9, 2011

The river was dropping, and the weather was interesting throughout the day yesterday, but rising fish were to be found, albeit sporadically and dependent on the current atmospheric pressure. Today looks to be a fantastic BWO day here – overcast with rain showers and possibly a thunderstorm or two rolling on through. The cloud cover and increased flows from the last two days have been a boon for the Main Stem as well, and there was some great Steno action on the upper main, well into dark!

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

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

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

Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill – #12

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

Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26

August 8, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 8, 2011

Well, if you’ve looked at the graph at the bottom, it should be pretty obvious what happened here yesterday. We had one heck of a line of storms roll through during the day, and Oquaga creek looked like the West Branch in size afterwards. We watched a wall of Yoohoo come marching down Home Pool around 5:00 – neat to watch, but it definitely shot down any chance of fishing last night. That being said, while the water is off-color, it is dropping rapidly, and conditions look great for a streamer day, and if it continues to clear, we should see bugs coming off and fish rising. I’d love to see a flush of olives as big as the guy below!

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

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

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

Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill – #12

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

Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26

August 7, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 7, 2011

We had a good, solid rain most of the day yesterday, which has brought the river up a little bit, added a tiny bit of color, but should not adversely affect the fishing. Olives were out in force, and the fish ignored the rain and came right up after them! Cloudy weather today as well, so we’re hoping for much of the same!

Hatches:

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

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

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

Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill – #12

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

Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26

August 6, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 6, 2011

Well, it happened last night.  That which many (especially the far-sighted) have been dreading – the fish were eating psuedos last night! At least right at dark. Earlier in the day we were seeing most of the same stuff as we have – olives when there are clouds, sulphurs for a bit in the afternoon, and the occassional iso and steno kicking about. Today is calling for scattered rain and thunderstorms, which to me, sounds just like, “pack your olives!”

Ron Reedy with a nice brown he caught this week! Photo by: Bruce Miller

Hatches:

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

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

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

Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill – #12

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

Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26

August 5, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 5, 2011

The river / weather decided to aggravate us last night, with the clouds burning off late, the bright sun put most of the bugs we had been seeing throughout the day down, making for a tough evening of fishing. Today calls for ‘partly cloudy,’ which can mean anything, as we have discovered as of late – but during periods of clouds (and in the morning, you can expect to see olives hatching, and towards the middle of the afternoon upriver, the “standard” sulphur hatch should be in full swing.

Hatches:

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

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

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

Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill – #12

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

Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26

August 4, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 4, 2011

Although I promised I wouldn’t say this, I am afraid I have to – You should have been here yesterday! The river was on fire – bugs throughout the system, and fish (particularly rainbows) coming up and chasing olives like crazy! The good news: today appears to be a carbon-copy of yesterday – cloudy with sporadic showers.  The only bummer yesterday was if you were out, you got SOAKED. All this rain hasn’t greatly affected the river level, so fish should still be in their ‘normal’ lies as they have for the last few weeks.

Proof that Bart gets out and fishes. Photo by: Ken Lagerveld

Hatches:

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

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

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

Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill – #12

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

Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26

August 3, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 3, 2011

A little bit of “opposite” day yesterday – up river didn’t see that much bug activity, but the lower river had a pretty decent run of bugs starting around 6:00 PM. We saw sulphurs, #16 olives, some MONSTER isos (#10) that the fish ignored, as well as psuedos and the occasional potomanthus distinctus. The fish took dries fairly sporadically at first, and then settled into a rhythm around *:00 or so. There is a bit more cloud cover expected today, so we are anticipating that both upper and lower should fish well throughout the day.

Hatches:

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

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

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

Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill – #12

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

Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26

August 1, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 1, 2011

The thunder is rolling overhead right now as I write this (9:00 AM), so hopefully everyone is off the water! Yesterday was back to ‘normal’ summer fishing, with morning and evening being the times with the most activity. The fish were active, and we continue to see sulphurs and olives during those times. Not too much in the way of spinner falls, very likely that they are occurring into the night. Today we expect a bit more cloud cover and a few sporadic storms rolling through, but these should not affect flows too dramatically.

Harold Berry with another nice brown caught on his trip last week. Photo by: Wiley Paul

Hatches:

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

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

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

Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill – #12

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

Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26

July 31, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 31, 2011

The low humidity and bright sun burned off much of the fog and mist that has been a problem the last few nights, giving way to an fantastic evening of fishing throughout the length of the West Branch. Sulphurs, olives, even a few isos have made a reappearance. During the late morning and into the afternoon, check the riffs for fish slashing at the emerging Hydropsyche caddis (tan #14 & #16) – they aren’t being picky!

A great summer brown caught by Wiley Paul on his day off. Photo courtesy of Wiley.

Hatches:

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

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

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

Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill – #12

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

Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26

July 30, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 30, 2011

FOG. Tons of it last night resultant from the super-high humidity brought on by the storms in the late afternoon. Fishing throughout the day was very good – a typical BWO day, and all the bugs on the side of the house this AM are evidence of that. Photo to come, unfortunately any camera you take outside right now immediately fogs over, so the chances of a picture are nil. I will update this post and slap one on soon. Today we are looking at partly cloudy, hot and 84 – a bit of a difference from  yesterday. Expect bugs during those periods of shade in the afternoon, caddis in the morning once the fog clears (it almost is as of 8:30), and evening olives and sulphurs!

Here is a cool video of Mergansers chasing bait around in the meantime:

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

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

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

Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill – #12

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

Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26

July 29, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 29, 2011

More of the same! The day-long cloud cover we have been experiencing over the last two days has been a God-send for all of those looking for good mid-afternoon fishing here on the Delaware. Bugs throughout the day, and cooler temps down towards the Main Stem have made it possible to fish and see bugs for the entire length of the  West Branch and a good ways down the Main Stem (at least to Stockport).  Cloudy with T-storms today, so a bit of a wild card – those wild pressure changes can both turn the bugs and fish on, or turn them off as the day progresses. Regardless, I’m  heading out to try my luck!

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

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

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

Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill – #12

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

Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26

July 28, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 28, 2011

We’re not sure what happened to these fish, but man are they hungry! Everyone out had a fantastic day on the river, catching fish on caddis early on, and sulphurs and olives into the evening. Fish were holding in SHALLOW riffles, almost as if they wanted to be in the sun! A #14 or #16 tan caddis (almost any pattern) was the trick for drumming them up in those riffles, and a good mix of rainbows and browns were there to be had! The ‘bows kept breaking a few of our guests off with their acrobatics – just what a purveyor of flies likes to hear!

Harold Berry with a nice WB Brown caught YESTERDAY on a tan caddis. Photo by: Wiley Paul

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

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

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

Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill – #12

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

Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26