Delaware River Report / Conditions August 17, 2011
Well, that was interesting. Yesterday, that is. As a good friend said, “At first, the bugs were around and the fish were on strike. After the rain, the bugs decided to join the fish.” Despite some nice (fishing-wise) weather, cooperation was lacking on the West Branch yesterday, possibly a result of the release being jumped to 600 CFS and the initial slug of cooler water making its way down river. Today that should stabilize, although we are likely going to have a decent amount of sun, which should make the upper west should do its “normal” thing with bugs in the early afternoon, and the lower should fish well this evening (assuming the strike is over).
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
| FLOWS: | |
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 620 cfs @ 45º |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy,NY | 687 cfs @ 48º |
| East Branch at Harvard, NY | 330 cfs @ 58º |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 2,570 cfs @ 61º |
| Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 3,850 cfs @ 62º |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 1,710 cfs @ N/A |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release | 85.1% – 500 CFS |
Delaware River Report / Conditions August 16, 2011
Yesterday was definitely……interesting shall we say. Folk on the West Branch were treated to some good streamer action, as well as good numbers of consistently rising fish, up and chasing BWOs, sulphurs, and cahills. Those of us who fished the main stem (that would be just the two of us. The whole river. One boat) expected hatching and action of epic proportions. What we had instead was one of the most frustrating days of fishing I have ever experienced – we had fish, not a ton of bugs, but enough to justify consistent rising. Instead we had fish slashing and popping out of the water to eat…..ready for it? PSEUDOS. Or so we thought. Throw a psuedo over a fish you just saw eat one, nada. Toss a cahill compardun over top of him? He’d eat it. All of the smaller 12-14″ rainbows filling up the riffles couldn’t be bought on a caddis or (GASP!) an Iso – even if they had given away their location by rising. Something the likes of which I have never seen. The only decent fish, a 16-17-ish ‘bow was the only fish that took an imitation of what we saw him eat. ARGH!
Enough whining – on to today! It looks like we dodged a bit bullet here on the West Branch, and that we missed the huge slug of water on the main by just an hour or so. The Beaverkill jumped to around 6,000 CFS (yes, you read that right) yesterday in a deluge that missed us. As such, the East and Main Stems are both blown out today (think Yoo-hoo, but darker), so the West is the only game in town. With clouds and passing showers, I’ve got great hopes for the day – could be fantastic out there with few people, and lots of bugs!
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
| FLOWS: | |
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 529 cfs @ 45º |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy,NY | 616 cfs @ 48º |
| East Branch at Harvard, NY | 370 cfs @ 56º |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 3,640 cfs @ 61º |
| Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 5,340 cfs @ 62º |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 2,830 cfs @ N/A |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release | 85.1% – 500 CFS |
Delaware River Report / Conditions August 15,2011
Well we never really saw the thunderstorms that they were predicting yesterday, but we did have overcast skies for much of the day which produced a decent amount of olives. Today they are calling for the same forecast as yesterday, rain with an occasional t-storm, which should yield some good action out on the water. Also, we are currently in the process of completely revamping our online store which will have all of our specialty flies and dubbing as well as many new items. We will keep you informed on the status of the site, and inform you once it is up and running!
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
| FLOWS: | |
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 538 cfs @ 45º |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy,NY | 606 cfs @ 48º |
| East Branch at Harvard,NY | 200 cfs @ 57º |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy,NY | 602cfs @ 62º |
| Mainstem at Lordville,NY | 1,480 cfs @ 63º |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls,NY | 319 cfs @ N/A |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Level &Release | 85.8% –500 CFS |
Delaware River Report / Conditions August 14, 2011
What a turn-around! Clouds throughout the day and a late-afternoon shower really turned the river on. Plenty of olives and sulphurs were flitting about and being eaten by our finned friends. Today looks to be a repeat performance – clouds and rain throughout the day, so hopefully the entire river will be fishing well.
A newly-molted Steno spinner with its shuck. Photo by: Jeff White
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
| FLOWS: | |
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 538 cfs @ 45º |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy,NY | 611 cfs @ 49º |
| East Branch at Harvard, NY | 200 cfs @ 57º |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 608cfs @ 63º |
| Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 1,530 cfs @ 64º |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 274 cfs @ N/A |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release | 85.8% – 500 CFS |
Delaware River Report / Conditions August 13, 2011
Yesterday saw the return to ‘normal’ summer, albeit with some beautiful weather – I wasn’t sure if I was in Starlight or Sun Valley! Bugs were hatching up river during the day, while the lower river was pretty slow, with the nymph fishermen doing pretty well for themselves. The evening brought more olives and some sulphurs down river, with fish rising in the slower pools for the most part. Unfortunately, the tricos still haven’t come down yet – so any day now we expect them to do so!
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
| FLOWS: | |
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 538 cfs @ 45º |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy,NY | 632 cfs @ 48º |
| East Branch at Harvard, NY | 206 cfs @ 59º |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 633cfs @ 63º |
| Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 1,610 cfs @ 65º |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 260 cfs @ N/A |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release | 86.0% – 500 CFS |
Delaware River Report / Conditions August 12, 2011
Boy oh boy – did the fish not cooperate yesterday. Be it the bright sun or dramatic high pressure that came in, the fish didn’t feel like rising throughout the day yesterday, even though we had flushes of olives and sulphurs. The evening brought something completely different on the lower West Branch – lots of bugs, and plenty of fish coming up to grab them. I took an exploratory cruise down the Main Stem yesterday (temps were 63-64 degrees the whole way), but saw nary a fish rise – even though we had lots of bugs popping off and spinners in the air. The chub derby at the end made for a bit of fun, but not exactly the same. The few rainbows we caught were drummed up with Isonychia Comparaduns. We are looking at bright sun all day today, but fortunately, the pressure has stabilized, so we expect more ‘normal’ fishing – in other words bugs early up top, and late down river. Also as an FYI – LOTS of tricos by the 191 bridge around 10:00 AM yesterday, but they never hit the water. Let’s get ready!
Bart holds a very toothy, true Von-Behr brown - super blue with orange spots just on the tail (not visible). Killer photo by: Bob Lewis
- 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
| FLOWS: | |
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 538 cfs @ 45º |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy,NY | 670 cfs @ 48º |
| East Branch at Harvard, NY | 768 cfs @ 62º |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 1,050 cfs @ 63º |
| Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 1,900 cfs @ 64º |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 311 cfs @ N/A |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release | 86.0% – 500 CFS |
Delaware River Report / Conditions August 11, 2011
Great day yesterday, but definitely frustrating at times. We had a mix of bright sun and clouds throughout the day, but with blessed low humidity. The bugs got very active once the sun dropped behind the clouds, and the fish followed suit. Later in the afternoon we were ROCKED by a storm with close to 50 MPH winds (that did a good job of almost swamping the boat!) but amazingly no lightning. This calmed right down, and the fish settled back in for an evening rise. We were seeing dortheas in size 18, deficiens (BWO) in size 16, the occasional size 12 steno, and isos popping here or there. Today is supposed to stay cool, but we are expecting a bit more sunshine, so we will see what happens!
- 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
| FLOWS: | |
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 538 cfs @ 45º |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy,NY | 756 cfs @ 50º |
| East Branch at Harvard, NY | 235 cfs @ 59º |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 1,050 cfs @ 63º |
| Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 2,510 cfs @ 65º |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 434 cfs @ N/A |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release | 86.1% – 500 CFS |
Delaware River Report / Conditions August 10,2011
-
-
We had a couple of strong thunderstorms move in yesterday afternoon and hit the lower half of the West Branch making it difficult to see rising fish. Up top in Deposit, however, was a different story, heavy numbers of BWO’s which resulted in most of the fish rising and keying in on them. We are expecting more overcast skies and a thunderstorm to roll in this afternoon, so be sure to pack your Olive’s box before venturing out on the water!
Fred Gardner with a nice WB Brown caught last night in the rain. 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
| FLOWS: | |
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 538 cfs @ 45º |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy,NY | 860 cfs @ 51º |
| East Branch at Harvard,NY | 284 cfs @ 59º |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy,NY | 1,660 cfs @ 64º |
| Mainstem at Lordville,NY | 2,730 cfs @ 64º |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls,NY | 836 cfs @ N/A |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Level &Release | 86.4% –500 CFS |
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!
-
-
Sam Dennis does it again! Another interesting looking brown - caught yesterday on the WB. Photo by: Allen Rupp
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
| FLOWS: | |
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 538 cfs @ 45º |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy,NY | 732 cfs @ 50º |
| East Branch at Harvard, NY | 235 cfs @ 60º |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 835 cfs @ 64º |
| Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 2,150 cfs @ 67º |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 308 cfs @ N/A |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release | 86.8% – 500 CFS |
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!
-
We should have put a ruler in this photo - this guy was easily a 12-2XL! Photo by: Jeff White
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
| FLOWS: | |
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 548 cfs @ 45º |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy,NY | 938 cfs @ 54º |
| East Branch at Harvard, NY | 263 cfs @ 61º |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 1,280 cfs @ 64º |
| Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 3,100 cfs @ 64º |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 507 cfs @ N/A |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release | 88.1% – 500 CFS |
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
| FLOWS: | |
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 538 cfs @ 45º |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy,NY | 704 cfs @ 51º |
| East Branch at Harvard, NY | 281 cfs @ 59º |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 1,070 cfs @ 54º |
| Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 2,140 cfs @ 63º |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 576 cfs @ N/A |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release | 88.1% – 500 CFS |
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
| FLOWS: | |
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 538 cfs @ 45º |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy,NY | 561 cfs @ 48º |
| East Branch at Harvard, NY | 173 cfs @ 59º |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 388 cfs @ 68º |
| Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 1,170 cfs @ 68º |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 154 cfs @ N/A |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release | 88.1% – 500 CFS |
