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

July 28, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 27, 2011

Yesterday was an exciting day – at least as far as weather was concerned. Multiple heavy thunderstorms pounded us several times during the day, hence the ups and downs on the graph below. That being said, the river lit up (i.e. fish went crazy) before the rain and hail made its appearance, and folks were ripping lips left and right on tan caddis around a size #16. All the various pressure changes did mess with the hatching later in the day and into the evening, so we did have a bit slower night than we have been experiencing over the last few weeks. That has now stabilized, so we are looking for hatching throughout the day (due to the cloud cover), and another brilliant night! You have to love consistent flows!

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 26, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 26, 2011

Despite the thick fog and the heavy thunderstorm that hit us yesterday, the fishing was excellent. The sulphurs were strong on the upper West Branch with Iso’s mixed in. Small olives were abundant, in large part due to the overcast skies, which resulted in the fish keying in on them. We are back to the set 500 cfs and should continue at that rate.

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 25, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 25, 2011

The temperature-control release ended yesterday afternoon, bringing us back down to a 600 CFS release without much incident. Even with the steep drop, the fishing remained unaffected – the upper river lit up last night with sulphurs, olives and GIANT Isos! A great all around! Today we are expecting a good amount of cloud cover with passing showers (mayyyyyybe a thunderstorm) – in other words, perfect dry fly weather!

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 24, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 24, 2011

It appears that the worst is over (if the weathermen are to believed – really, what other job can you be wrong all the time and still keep?) and the heat has broken for the most part. Temperatures should only get into the low 80s today, with variable clouds – couple this with the 1010 CFS release on the West Branch, and you have the potential for a truly great day of dry-fly fishing!

Nice Summer Brown. Photo by: Tom Noble

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 23, 2011

Delaware River Report/Update 7/23/2011

The release from Cannonsville was increased to 1001 cfs to help keep the river cool during this heat wave.  The temperature change should be minmal on the upper West Branch, and we expect the sulphur and olive hatches to continue as normal.  It will likely take a day or two for the green algea to filter through, making dry fly fishing your best option up top.

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