October 6, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 6, 2011

Brutal. That describes my day on the Main Stem yesterday. Mostly due to the near-constant 30 – 45 MPH downstream wind at my back, but also the lethargy that apparently gripped the fish throughout the day. A high pressure system moved in, and brilliant sun without a cloud in the sky also contributed to their lack of movement. When the wind would lay down (for oh, the 20 minutes total it maybe did) we did see good numbers of caddis and pseudos, along with a handful of the white-gloved howdy (Isonychia). Today, the wind is expected to be a non-issue, and partial cloud cover should bring more bugs to the surface as well.

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 5, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 5, 2011

The rivers are slowly dropping, and clarity in the Beaverkill, East Branch, and Main Stem are all improving daily. The West Branch is still quite turbid due to the sediment in the reservoir, but the fish are still active, and risers can be found in the still waters. Warmer weather moves back in, so we expect the bug activity to increase even further. While it is still too high to wade, but as evidenced below, the fish are there and they are hungry!

David with an awesome pre-spawn brown caught in a top-secret location on his own creation. Photo by: Bob Lewis

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 4, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 4, 2011

It was definitely a much tougher day out on the river yesterday with the colder temps and sporadic rain. Fish were interested in streamers but did not seem too keen on taking dries – mostly because the mayflies and caddis felt like staying in the water. With warmer temps starting today, we’re looking forward to a bit more action out there, hopefully with both caddis and Isos.

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 3, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 3, 2011

It is CHILLY out there! We are looking at a high in the mid-50s, with some rain possible. Yesterday turned out to be rather pleasant, both from the weather point of view as well as the fishing! There were fish rising to charcoal caddis for a large chunk of the afternoon in the still water, and quite a few made it into the boat. Not sure how the overcast skies and possible rain will affect the fish, but we’ve got a few guys going out to check on it!

Pat Regan with a nice WB Brown. 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

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

October 2, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 2, 2011

Well despite the rain and off-colored water, there were still fish to be found yesterday on the West Branch – both with streamers and also on dries (albeit few and far between!). Black appears to be the streamer color of choice, while fish were found eating both Isos and Pseudos when they could be found – which was typically in calmer, slower water. Today is calling for scattered rain showers, so we expect similar conditions to yesterday, hopefully with more hungry, pre-spawn browns!

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 1, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 1, 2011

Happy October! Fall has definitely arrived here at the DRC, with cooler temperatures hitting the area overnight, and our high today is slated to be around 57. That being said, the rivers continue to drop, and the color on the West Branch, while not great by any stretch of the imagination, has gotten significantly better during the last 36 hours. Streamers are still your best bet, and wading is still a no-go for the foreseeable future (at least this weekend). With the spawn quickly approaching, the fish will still be active and feeding heavily in anticipation of that big energy burn. Strangely enough, they have also been purchasing cigarettes in anticipation of the post-spawn……….

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

September 30, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 30, 2011

Well the rain has gone for at least ONE day (so they tell us) – we are looking at sun and mid-sixties today – it appears that fall has finally reached us! That being said, the rivers are still running VERY high, and there is more rain expected for this coming weekend. I mean, it’s a weekend, so therefore it will rain. We will call this the Fishing Season 2011 Proof.

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

September 29, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 29, 2011

Seriously Mother Nature? It’s going to be like this huh?

More stinking rain, and the rivers are starting to rise again. The East Branch system (East, Beaverkill, Willowemoc) are all blown out, and really rising, where the West has just leveled out at “only” 4,200 CFS – needless to say, not wadeable, and might not even be decent for streamer fishing, due to the color of the water. While hopeful they will suddenly drop for the weekend, we are not optimistic.

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

September 28, 2011

Delaware River Report / Condtions September 28, 2011

Rain. Always before I have a trip planned. As you can see from the graph below, we got hammered last night with thunderstorms and rain, jumping all of the rivers up substantially, while also blowing out the once-clear Beaverkill and East Branch. All are dropping quickly, and will likely clear by the weekend (the West Branch stayed about as turbid as it has been, and will likley remain so), but today looks like a tough one out there.

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

September 27, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 28, 2011

Indian Summer. Although everyone may smile when they hear it, it was not such a good thing for us here on the river yesterday. Bright sun and 80+ degree temps made for a day more like August than late September, and kept both the bugs and the fish down. As it has been over the last few series of days, the streamer fishing has been decent, with the brown trout eagerly feeding in anticipation of the upcoming spawn.

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

September 26, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 26, 2011

Fishing on the West Branch was a little bit tough yesterday, but definitely picked up on the Main Stem, which is running much cleaner and clearer than the West. We had hatching on both rivers, but the fish did not seem very active on the West aside from a handful of quick caddis strikes. We will have some more boats out on the water today, so hopefully will be bringing good news for you 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

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

September 25, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 25, 2011

The rain we expected yesterday seems to have gone around us! Finally we catch a little bit of a break! All three rivers are steadily dropping, and we have seen some clearing in the river outside of the shop. There is still a good deal of turbidity (cloudiness), but not so much that fish won’t break through looking for some dry flies if they present themselves, and if you are in slower water. Black has been the streamer color of choice, with white a very close runner-up, depending on  your proximity to the dam (white works better the closer you get). Have a great Sunday everyone!

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