October 28, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 28, 2011

Apologies on the late post this morning – David and I stayed up watching the (CHOKE) Rangers (CHOKE) lose (thanks Darren Oliver) game 6 (CHOKE) of the World Series last night, and are having a bit of a slow start today!

As for the rivers – flows came up a bit today, mostly as a result of the rain (not snow) that we received throughout the day and into the night last night. They are still running clear, as the increase was minimal – our question today becomes whether or not this impeding Nor’easter will strike us tomorrow – the only reason I hope for it to do so is that we have plenty of ticks in our woods that need killing! Otherwise, sunny today, highs just under 50 – so it will be chilly, but the water should heat up early, and we will hopefully have some hatching as a result!

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

October 27, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 27, 2011

Yesterday ended up being a fairly productive day for those who made it out on the water – bugs from noon on, and a good number of fish up and sipping on them. In typical Delaware fashion, every fish in the pod seemed to be feeding on a different pattern, making the degree of difficulty a bit higher – but the challenge oh so much fun! Today, we expect the temperatures to drop dramatically, with SNOW (gasp!) starting in the late afternoon – this will likely put a damper on things for today, but we warm up a bit on Friday, with some sun expected as well. Let’s see how it goes!

Dr. Ira Sacker with a nice Main Stem Rainbow caught on a dry this past weekend. 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

October 26, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 26, 2011

I think i would make a terrible weatherman (see yesterday’s post) – my prediction was pretty much spot on for yesterday. Bugs were fairly abundant in the lulls between the strong gusts of wind once the water temps heated up a bit. Isos and pseudos mostly, with some stenos still hanging on as well. Cloudy with some possible showers today, but the air temp is slated to be a bit warmer, so we do expect to have some decent activity as the day wears on.

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

October 25, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 25, 2011

Apologies on the delay of posting – running a bit behind today.

In other news, I’ve decided to become a weatherman. I can think of no other job where you can make constant missteps, predictions and calculations all whilst maintaining employment. That being said, we were expecting a quarter inch of rain overnight, as well as some clouds today, but instead it appears it is going to stay in the low 50’s with bright bright sun – and epic wind. Gusts to 40 MPH are predicted, and from what I see out of my window right now, that seems correct. The sun should heat up the water a little bit, so if the wind dies down at any point, I would expect bugs on the both the West and Main – definitely once the sun drops in the afternoon. We have a picture en route from a pretty decent trip yesterday (stenos again!), and I will post when I can!

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 24, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 24,2011

As the water continues to drop on the WB, it is making it increasing more difficult to float, that said the entire lower half of the WB is now wadable in all locations. Yesterday was tough out on the water, the scarcity of bugs resulted in little surface action. Wind should not be a factor today, so if the bugs are present the fish should show themselves.

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 23, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 23,2011

The West Branch is finally clear and wadable again below Hale Eddy down. With the colder temps that we are receiving overnight expect much of the hatching activity to occur mid to late afternoon, as the sun has time to warm up the water. The water levels on both the East and West Branch should remain fairly consistent for some time since we are not expecting a substantial amount of rain in the near future. Be sure to have small Olives, Stenos and Isos in your box if you decide to head out on the water today!

Bart using his nightvision skills to locate and catch this very nice rainbow in the dark. Photo By: Ramone Lovegod

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 22, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 22,2011

The WB continues to drop reflecting the 224 cfs release, while the East Branch remains steady. Even with the winds the past couple of days, fish are still being caught on top with fish taking smaller steno’s, olives, and isos. The clarity on the East is gin clear while the  West Branch remains slightly off color but continues to get clearer everyday. The forecast for the next couple of days is calling for lighter winds which should yield more surface activity.

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 21, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 21, 2011

The West Branch and EB are holding steady with runoff from the recent rains, while the Beaverkill and slowly drops.  Winds have been tough, but the weather has held so far.  There is some color on the WB and Main, but it is fishable.

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 19, 2011

Al Caucci’s new Mayfly ID Guide is Here!

After many months of anticipation, we are proud to announce that the DRC is the first fly shop to offer copies of the revised standard in mayfly identification: The Mayfly Guide by Al Caucci.  This is a complete revision of the 1986 book The Instant Mayfly ID Guide – the standard in streamside mayfly identification.

The new, full-color edition sports hundreds of mayfly photos (adults and nymphs), new text and descriptions, as well as the new up-to-date entomological names. It uses the same style of ‘keys’ to identify the both the nymphal and adult life stages of the insects that made the original so easy and reliable to use, with the addition of red ‘size bars’ next to each picture that let you compare the insect to aid in identification.   The book is 100% waterproof, ready for the stream!

We have a limited number of signed copies available as well – feel free to call the shop and order, or place your order in our new online fly shop at: www.thedelawareriverclub.com/flyshop/ – for a limited time, we are offering both copies at the cost of $24.95, a $2/copy savings to our loyal readers! Get yours now!!

October 19, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 19, 2011

Well, once again NYC DEP appears to not have followed the White Paper – we have gone from a 1,500 CFS release down to 225 CFS on the West Branch, while we SHOULD have been at 700 cfs the second the reservoir got below 100%. Instead, we have had a precipitous drop that will very likely affect the fishing, and in a worst-case scenario expose a whole bunch of Redds from the spawning brown trout. Let’s hope the browns are taking their time in procreating…..

Otherwise, the East fished fairly well yesterday, with fish on the lower stretches as the water temperature warmed up throughout the day. We are expecting rain today, but so far no significant amounts of precipitation have been predicted. Also seen yesterday were Heptagenia hebes in pretty good numbers – the fish focused on them at times, but were keyed in to the psuedos and downed iso spinners for the most part.

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 18, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 18, 2011

The release from Cannonsville Reservoir has dropped! With the lowering to a flow rate of 696 CFS, the West Branch remains floatable, and hopefully will clear a bit as it makes its way down to us and the open sections of the river. The high winds yesterday put a bit of a damper on the fishing in general, but calmer days are predicted for the remainder of the week, with some rain in the forecast 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 17, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 17, 2011

Amid the clouds and occasional showers yesterday, the East Branch cleared, and so did the main stem. Plenty of fish taken on streamers, but by the afternoon, there was a pretty substantial hatch of the smaller stenos we have been seeing for the last week or so, and the rainbows in particular were VERY interested! Photos to follow soon, and we are expecting a partly-cloudy day today, still in the low 60s – should be great 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