April 25, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions April 25, 2012

It felt like Yellowstone here at the DRC yesterday – we went from rain, to sleet, to snow, to rain to sleet to bright sun, to huge squalls and wind to dead calm. Fun all around! The crazy part was that the river fished like the Firehole as well. We had big hatches of Hendricksons and Baetis in between the squalls and blasts of precipiation, and the fish were eager to please. With the water even more clear today, and overcast conditions predicted, this could turn out to be a fantastic day as well!

Wiley caught this lunker on a Hendrickson emerger yesterday in a break from the wind. Don't worry, we're making him get back to work today!Photo by: Bruce Miller

Hatches:

Ephemerella subvaria – Hendricksons – #12 & #14

Paraleptophlebia adoptiva (Blue Quill) – #16 & #18

Light Brachycentrus Caddis – Apple Green – #16 & #18

Dark Brachycentrus Caddis – Charcoal – #16 & #18

Baetis species – #18 & #20

Chimmarra (little black) Caddis – #18 & #20

April 24, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions April 24, 2012

As predicted, the river dropped quick, and cleared dramatically! We have stabilized, and will slowly lose CFS over the next week or so, especially if the weather remains overcast with small amounts of precipitation. Fishing was rough yesterday, however. We had a few people brave the conditions and head out – just as the river became even more off-color and the weather cooler. Wiley was the only real winner, as you’ll see below. Today the temps are going to remain sub-50, with a bit of wind, but we have a good chance of seeing some BWOs throughout the day.

Wiley Paul with a Fabulous Brown. Photo by: Kevan Smaracko

Hatches:

Ephemerella subvaria – Hendricksons – #12 & #14

Paraleptophlebia adoptiva (Blue Quill) – #16 & #18

Light Brachycentrus Caddis – Apple Green – #16 & #18

Dark Brachycentrus Caddis – Charcoal – #16 & #18

Baetis species – #18 & #20

Chimmarra (little black) Caddis – #18 & #20

April 23, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions April 23, 2012

Rain! Finally! That being said, if you look at the graph below, it seems like someone fell asleep whilst drawing it, and the pen slipped from their hand and went directly up. The good news is it only went to about 1,500 cfs, and the river while off color isn’t completely blown out. Windy conditions are expected today, but the streamer fishing should be fantastic! The river is already crested and dropping, and as it clears, the dry fly fishing should pick up again, likely in the next day or two.

Kevan holding Jon Stark's SWEET Main Stem Brown. Photo by: Michael Johnson

Hatches:

Ephemerella subvaria – Hendricksons – #12 & #14

Paraleptophlebia adoptiva (Blue Quill) – #16 & #18

Light Brachycentrus Caddis – Apple Green – #16 & #18

Dark Brachycentrus Caddis – Charcoal – #16 & #18

Baetis species – #20

Chimmarra (little black) Caddis – #18 & #20

April 22, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions April 22, 2012

Yesterday was overcast, humid and warm – in other words perfect mayfly weather. That being said, we had strong breezes at times, which kept the bugs and the fish down – but still made for a pretty decent day until the early evening thunderstorm forced everyone (who at least realized that graphite conducts electricity) off of the water. Similar conditions today, albeit a slight bit cooler, followed by rain later this afternoon, then heavy rain overnight. Yesterday’s precipitation did not appreciably bring up the river level, and I expect that the upcoming rain will soak in as well, leaving the river fish-able. With the forecast for Monday changing by the minute, I don’t think I’ll go out on a limb and guess what will happen. That’s what we have weathermen for.

Continuing the "Fat Fish Series" of photos -here's a hog caught by Wiley Paul recently on the Main. Photo by: Bob Lewis

Hatches:

Ephemerella subvaria – Hendricksons – #12 & #14

Paraleptophlebia adoptiva (Blue Quill) – #16 & #18

Light Brachycentrus Caddis – Apple Green – #16 & #18

Dark Brachycentrus Caddis – Charcoal – #16 & #18

Baetis species – #20

Chimmarra (little black) Caddis – #18 & #20

April 21, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions April 21, 2012

Howdy folks – sorry for the late post, this is the first time I have had 30 seconds to sit down and write this. No complaints, we need to make hay while the sun shines around here, and a busy shop is a happy shop!

The release was dropped slightly today, which is far more preferable than an immediate shut-down back to 131 CFS. We anticipate going back down bit by bit over the weekend. This gradual drop shouldn’t adversely affect the fishing, and the cooler temps / rain can only be helpful factors as well. Yesterday was a bit tougher on the dry fly end, with the bright sun keeping the fish hunkered down a bit, but the heathens nymphing (yeah, I’m looking at you Steve & Kevan!) managed to have one the best, most consistent days of the year.

A beautiful West Branch Brown! Photo by: Steve Shen

Hatches:

Ephemerella subvaria – Hendricksons – #12 & #14

Paraleptophlebia adoptiva (Blue Quill) – #16 & #18

Light Brachycentrus Caddis – Apple Green – #16 & #18

Dark Brachycentrus Caddis – Charcoal – #16 & #18

Baetis species – #20

Chimmarra (little black) Caddis – #18 & #20

April 20, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions April 20, 2012

Sorry for the delay in posting today – crazy morning here at the DRC!

Well, you can thank the Supreme Court – we’ve got some more water coming down from Cannonsville. Montague has dropped below the required flow rate, and NYC needs to compensate by releasing from Cannonsville, so we’re seeing a bump up to about 350 CFS for the day. This means wading is still possible pretty much system wide, and the fish will get a bit of temperature relief from the bright sun we are expecting today. Don’t expect it to last – once the power generation at Rio Reservoir kicks back in, we’ll likely lose the release. Good reports from last night, with some real big fish caught towards the evening. Risers throughout the day, sporadically in places, still mowing down hendricksons and the occasional caddis.

Kevin Delaney with a FAAAAAAAAT Main Stem Brown caught last week. Is that a Brown or a Largemouth? Photo courtesy of the angler.

Hatches:

Ephemerella subvaria – Hendricksons – #12 & #14

Paraleptophlebia adoptiva (Blue Quill) – #16 & #18

Light Brachycentrus Caddis – Apple Green – #16 & #18

Dark Brachycentrus Caddis – Charcoal – #16 & #18

Baetis species – #20

Chimmarra (little black) Caddis – #18 & #20

April 19, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions April 19, 2012

Well, all the rain that we had predicted for this weekend has now evaporated, so to speak. Let’s hope it decides to make a return, and in short order, judging by how much water the city is taking out of Cannonsville!

The fishing started off fairly slow yesterday, likely due to the cooler temperatures and windy conditions. Towards evening, the whole thing exploded with rising fish. Spinners of several shapes and varieties were out, as well as some hatching Baetis (BWOs) and Hendricksons as well. Bright sun today early will likley slow the action down until the afternoon – (begin shameless self promotion)a great time to visit your local fly shop and restock!

Also, a blog first today – I have an unwritten rule to not put the same person’s photo in twice. Well, last night Norm Price came up to me and said, “Hey! I’ve got your picture for the blog tomorrow!” I told him of my policy, and he said, “Tell me that after you see this……” Ok Norm. You win. Great fish!

Norm Price with a FANTASTIC West Branch Rainbow. Photo by: Pam Cavanagh

Hatches:

Ephemerella subvaria – Hendricksons – #12 & #14

Paraleptophlebia adoptiva (Blue Quill) – #16 & #18

Light Brachycentrus Caddis – Apple Green – #16 & #18

Dark Brachycentrus Caddis – Charcoal – #16 & #18

Baetis species – #20

Chimmarra (little black) Caddis – #18 & #20

April 18, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions April 18, 2012

Thanks NYC DEP. Thanks a ton. The reservoir has dropped below 90% for the first time this year, bringing us down a notch in the FFMP tables, which also means we now only have a 141 cfs release. Although I am not a conspiracy theorist, part of me can’t help but think that NYC has been intentionally drawing down the reservoir, gaming the system as we move towards months where they would be legally required to release good amounts of water (i.e. prepping for an artificial drought if need be). Especially seeing as how there was more water coming into the reservoir (300+ cfs at Walton for weeks) than coming out (170 cfs at Stilesville), yet it was dropping 1/10 of a percent of capacity per day. That’s ALOT of water, and certainly not coming down river as we need it to.

Aside from that sobering news, the fishing was decent here yesterday, albiet a bit slower than the previous. We did see spinner falls on the West Branch towards the evening as the wind died down. Cooler air temps today with greater cloud cover should help us even further today, hopefully extending the spinner fall to more than an hour or so. On a sillier note…….

So if you stand in the river long enough, the fish will jump...... (Photo by: Pam Cavanagh)

.....right into your hands! Norm Price with a GREAT 19" Brown. Photo by: Pam Cavanagh

Hatches:

Ephemerella subvaria – Hendricksons – #12 & #14

Paraleptophlebia adoptiva (Blue Quill) – #16 & #18

Light Brachycentrus Caddis – Apple Green – #16 & #18

Dark Brachycentrus Caddis – Charcoal – #16 & #18

Baetis species – #20

Chimmarra (little black) Caddis – #18 & #20

April 17, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions April 17, 2012

Ok. I give up. The towel is officially thrown in. Whatever I thought I knew about trout is obviously rubbish. Bright sun. Hot weather. Normally I would say take a nap. I would be totally wrong. We had fish rising in Home Pool All. Day. Long. Sigh. The Main Stem was tougher, as there was a strong upstream wind, but as it settled in the evening, and the spinners came down. Today is scheduled to be cooler, so I only anticipate better fishing, judging by the INSANE number of spinners on the door last night and this morning. We’ll see what goes down!

Steve Shen with a nice Main Stem Brown from the last windy day (no need for a hat yesterday!). Photo by: Bob Lewis

Hatches:

Ephemerella subvaria – Hendricksons – #12 & #14

Paraleptophlebia adoptiva (Blue Quill) – #16 & #18

Light Brachycentrus Caddis – Apple Green – #16 & #18

Dark Brachycentrus Caddis – Charcoal – #16 & #18

Baetis species – #20

Chimmarra (little black) Caddis – #18 & #20

April 16, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions April 16, 2012

Perfect dry fly weather yesterday! Overcast, cool, with a high humidity and a few passing showers. Bugs and fish were pretty cooperative throughout the system, the only exception being the relatively short spinner fall in the evening – instead of lasting well into dark, it cut off around 6:30 or so. Today is the day we have dreaded all season, however. Projected highs in the mid 80s, with bright sun, preceded by a warm night that didn’t drop below 55. The rivers are going to cook, no way to sugar coat it. We are hoping for clouds and thunderstorms in the late afternoon to keep them from going up TOO high into the 60s. I expect that there will be a rush of bugs and feeding this morning in anticipation of whats to come, but the bright sun and heat will likely shut both bugs and fish down until the evening, and maybe beyond. Let’s keep our fingers crossed!

A nice Main Stem Brown caught by Steve Shen on his day off. Photo by: Bob Lewis

Hatches:

Ephemerella subvaria – Hendricksons – #12 & #14

Paraleptophlebia adoptiva (Blue Quill) – #16 & #18

Light Brachycentrus Caddis – Apple Green – #16 & #18

Dark Brachycentrus Caddis – Charcoal – #16 & #18

Baetis species – #20

Chimmarra (little black) Caddis – #18 & #20

April 15, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions April 15, 2012

Another banner day out on the West yesterday. Bugs and fish throughout the day, all the way until dark. There was a small spinner fall in the evening, but some late afternoon breezes knocked many of them back into the trees, so we’re STILL waiting on the bug orgy that is bound to come. The winds should lay down today, as we are expecting a bunch of cloud cover and passing showers, with temps near 70. While that may not be good for water temps, it will certainly be good for the spinners.

Also yesterday, we had a great family affair happen down in Home Pool – you’re gonna love it! Here’s a few pictures

This is Kennedy Fisher - her first time in waders, throwing a dry on the West Branch. Photo by: Mike Mancke

And this is Kennedy with her first trout ever on the fly!!! Photo by Proud Papa: Kevin Fisher

The fly fishing family - Dad (Kevin) on the left, Kennedy, and Colt Fisher. Photo by: Mike Mancke

The aftermath of her first LONG day out on the water. I know PLENTY of you older guys who consider this the perfect day - catch a nice trout, take a nap. Photo by: Jeff White

Hatches:

Ephemerella subvaria – Hendricksons – #12 & #14

Paraleptophlebia adoptiva (Blue Quill) – #16 & #18

Light Brachycentrus Caddis – Apple Green – #16 & #18

Dark Brachycentrus Caddis – Charcoal – #16 & #18

Baetis species – #20

Chimmarra (little black) Caddis – #18 & #20

April 14, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions April 14, 2012

What a day yesterday! Friday the 13th turned out to be great for just about everyone fortunate to get out on the water. Pat and Jack Reagan, long time guests / clients had, “the best day they’ve ever had” – THAT is saying something with how many days, weeks, and months they’ve logged on this river over the years. Hendrickson emergers were the name of the game on the West Branch, with Paralep spinners coating everything towards evening. Some fell, but the winds did keep them back. Any day now, there should be an epic fall. Wiley and Bob went down river (to Long Eddy), and had a tremendous day as well, where the fish had turned on to the Apple Green Caddis, and they had a Hendrickson Spinner fall towards the evening. With warmer temperatures forecasted, we can expect to see the bugs coming early, and staying late. Should be a killer weekend!

Pat Reagan with a FAT Brown. Photo by: Jack Reagan, who cut Pat's head off to get even with him for all the terrible photos he(Pat) takes.

Hatches:

Ephemerella subvaria – Hendricksons – #12 & #14

Paraleptophlebia adoptiva (Blue Quill) – #16 & #18

Brachycentrus Caddis – Apple Green – #16 & #18

Baetis species – #20

Chimmarra (little black) Caddis – #18 & #20