April 5, 2019

Delaware River Report / Conditions April 5, 2019

Yesterday had a bit more wind than we originally saw in the forecast.  It started of nice in the morning but gusts had to be hitting 20 25 mph by the afternoon.  That made for another day of tough fishing.  Nymphs and streamers were definitively the best methods to try.  We did see some bugs in the air but they were moving by quickly.  We’re going to suffer again today with snow turning into rain before we break into a beautiful weekend. We should hit 56 degrees tomorrow and 61 degrees on Sunday.  The warmer air temps seem to settle in after today.  Keep an eye on the current flows.  Cannonsville is at 99% capacity and the inflow in Walton is 1,000 cfs.

We have all of our Hendrickson patterns back in stock. They’ll be here soon enough

Hatching:
Click on the fly to see the patterns in our online store

Tiny Stonefly–  #18- Capniidae spp.
Early Brown and Black Stoneflies – #14 -16  – Taeniopteryx spp.
Blue Wing Olives  – #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (light hatching)
Little Black Caddis – #18 – 20 – Chimarra

Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:

April 4, 2019

Delaware River Report / Conditions April 4, 2019

The wind made yesterday tough.  It really was blowing 20 to 30 mph for a while.  A few people braved the wind.  There were a couple breaks of calm in the afternoon but overall it was a nymphing wet fly day.  Today looks totally different with winds around 7 mph this morning bumping up a bit in the afternoon.  We should see more sunshine with a high air temp around 45 degrees.  The release from Cannonsville has been increased to 774 cfs.  Cannonsville Reservoir is at 98.8% capacity with 1,230 cfs flowing in from Walton.  The weather reports for tomorrow are all over the place.  We should see somewhere between 1 – 3″ of rain with maybe a few snowflakes mixed in.  Then we head right into a beautiful weekend with air temps in the low 60’s with no precipitation.

Chimarra caddis are starting to hatch making wet flies a good choice to mimic the pupa

Hatching:
Click on the fly to see the patterns in our online store

Tiny Stonefly–  #18- Capniidae spp.
Early Brown and Black Stoneflies – #14 -16  – Taeniopteryx spp.
Blue Wing Olives  – #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (light hatching)
Little Black Caddis – #18 – 20 – Chimarra

Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:

April 3, 2019

Delaware River Report / Conditions April 3, 2019

Yesterday was a pleasant one in between wind gusts.  Once the sun popped out and the gusts stopped in the afternoon it felt good to be outside.  The forecast has changed slightly and we have a couple more days of cold nights ahead of us before we warm up a bit.  It is beautiful out this morning but there will be some strong winds coming through by lunch time.  The water temps are up a bit from yesterday morning and should climb throughout the day with the sunshine.  Nymphs and streamers will be your best bets in the wind today.  Most of the nymph fish are coming on flies that match the size of the naturals although some people are getting a few on larger nymphs like Pat’s Rubber Leg.  Both tightline and indicator nymphing seem to work fine right now.

Finally some signs of Spring in the Catskills

Hatching:
Click on the fly to see the patterns in our online store

Tiny Stonefly–  #18- Capniidae spp.
Early Brown and Black Stoneflies – #14 -16  – Taeniopteryx spp.
Blue Wing Olives  – #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (light hatching)
Little Black Caddis – #18 – 20 – Chimarra

Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:

April 2, 2019

Delaware River Report / Conditions April 2, 2019

The cold nights and lack of sun over the last two days have dropped the water temps throughout the system.  They’ll take a little longer to warm up this afternoon.  The flows are dropping slowly as the runoff subsides.  We should be dry for the next couple of days with cool nights and warm days but we are on a warming trend.  Typical for April.  Nymphs and streamers will probably be the most effective methods.  Keep switching patterns until you find what the fish are looking for.  The wind should peak around 12 mph today.  There should be some dry fly shots in the late afternoon in protected areas and in between wind gusts.  If you see a fish rise cover it.  They can still be a little sporadic this time of year depending on the bugs.

Hale Eddy is dropping to a more manageable level

Hatching:
Click on the fly to see the patterns in our online store

Tiny Stonefly–  #18- Capniidae spp.
Early Brown and Black Stoneflies – #14 -16  – Taeniopteryx spp.
Blue Wing Olives  – #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (light hatching)
Little Black Caddis – #18 – 20 – Chimarra

Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:

April 1, 2019

Delaware River Report / Conditions April 1, 2019

Yesterday was chilly and windy.  We saw a few snow flakes go by.  That made fishing tough but it did pay off for some people.   Nymphing was the probably the best strategy for most of the day but the streamer bite picked up in the afternoon.  The wind did not help the sporadic dry fly fishing we’ve had over the last few days.  Definitely carry your olives and stoneflies.  If there is a calm day or a wind break there is a shot at rising fish.  We’re coming off a cold night so it will take a while for the water temps to climb today.  It looks like a repeat of yesterday with more sunshine.  It looks like we have two days left of this cool down and then back to warmer weather beginning Wednesday.  The release from Cannonsville has been increased to 600 cfs.We are starting off this season under FFMP Table 4G.  There is quite a bit of runoff flowing throughout the system.  The next few days look dry so we should see the feeder levels drop.  Between the dropping feeder stream flows and the vegetation beginning to drink up some of the ground water we should see the river flows drop slowly throughout the week.

Jeremy with a streamer brown yesterday. Photo by Chris Calabrese

Hatching:
Click on the fly to see the patterns in our online store

Tiny Stonefly–  #18- Capniidae spp.
Early Brown and Black Stoneflies – #14 -16  – Taeniopteryx spp.
Blue Wing Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (light hatching)

Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:

March 31, 2019

Delaware River Report / Conditions March 31, 2019

There were legitimate dry fly shots yesterday.  The wind made finding consistent fish difficult but the shots were there if you could take advantage of them.  Stoneflies and olives made up the bulk of the bugs we saw.  Nymphing was definitely the most productive method.  The feeder streams were adding some color to the river by mid afternoon and there were some people fishing streamers.  We had some rain.  The West Branch is a bit high at 944 cfs at Hale Eddy but it looks okay this morning.  The Beaverkill and East Branch are sending a lot of water down the Mainstem this morning and the flow at Lordville is over 5,000 cfs.  We should see a little more rain this morning.  The NYS water is not open yet so fish the border water this weekend. 

Tim Glynn found a nice West Branch brown yesterday

Hatching:
Click on the fly to see the patterns in our online store

Tiny Stonefly–  #18- Capniidae spp.
Early Brown and Black Stoneflies – #14 -16  – Taeniopteryx spp.
Blue Wing Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (light hatching)

Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:

March 30, 2019

Delaware River Report / Conditions March 30, 2019

It seems we had a little more rain than was initially in yesterday’s forecast.  Most of the river flows climbed slowly throughout the day and didn’t warm up as quickly as we hoped they would.  The feeder streams were adding some color by late afternoon.  There is still some snow left in the hills adding to the runoff on warm days.  That made for tougher fishing and mixed results.  Nymphing and streamers are still the best options.  Pheasant tails and small stonefly imitations are working well for us.  Today looks a little more promising with an air temp high of 65 degrees, cloud cover, and only .15″ of rain.  Winds will be 12 – 14 mph from the South.  Hopefully Wunderground has today’s forecast correct.  The rivers won’t heat up quickly today due to the higher flows and cloud cover. The NYS water is not open yet so fish the border water this weekend. 

Patrick with another from the last week of March. Photo by Bob Lewis

Hatching:
Click on the fly to see the patterns in our online store

Tiny Stonefly–  #18- Capniidae spp.
Early Brown and Black Stoneflies – #14 -16  – Taeniopteryx spp.
Blue Wing Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (light hatching)

Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:

March 29, 2019

Delaware River Report / Conditions March 29, 2019

We’re starting off 2019 with a warm weekend, some light rain, and an open Winterdale Road.  Feels like a really good start.  The release from Cannonsville is just under 200 cfs.  The West Branch is in great shape for wading but there is still enough water this morning to float the lower sections.  The NYS water is not open yet so stick to the border water this weekend.  The low water, sun, and warm air temps have really helped the water temps over the last few days.  The West Branch at Hale Eddy is peaking in the mid 40’s and starting off at 43 degrees this morning.  We’ll see some rain over the next two days but it should only be around 1/4″ each day.  Stoneflies and olives have been on the water on warm afternoons so there is a shot at some dry fly fishing.  There may be a some little black caddis out there too.  Nymphing has definitely been the effective method followed by streamers.  Smaller nymphs that match the naturals have worked the best for us.  #14 stonefly nymphs and #16 – 18 pheasant tails.  The ground is saturated and there are still patches of snow so the river flows will probably bump slightly in the afternoons from the runoff and light rain.

Patrick McPartland found some willing fish the last week of March

Hatching:
Click on the fly to see the patterns in our online store

Tiny Stonefly–  #18- Capniidae spp.
Early Brown and Black Stoneflies – #14 -16  – Taeniopteryx spp.
Blue Wing Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (light hatching)

Click on the gauge below for the most recent update:

March 12, 2019

Delaware River Report / Conditions Mid March 2019

The release from Cannonsville has been cut back and the West Branch is wadeable for the first time since August.  Overall we’ve had a pretty mild Winter with no real hard freeze like we’ve seen the last few years.  March can be a funny weather month so we’ll still likely see some cold days and maybe a little more snow before Spring.  The high Winter release from Cannonsville has kept the West Branch water temps warmer than most years.  Usually when that happens the fish come through fat and happy from eating all winter long.  We’ve seen some stoneflies hatching mixed with a few olives and little black caddis.  There have been occasional dry fly shots but streamers and nymphs will offer you the best chance at catching fish right now.

Hatching:
Click on the fly to see the patterns in our online store

Tiny Stonefly–  #18- Capniidae spp.
Early Brown and Black Stoneflies – #14 -16  – Taeniopteryx spp.
Blue Wing Olives #18 – Baetis vagans (light hatching)

February 25, 2019

March 2nd Casting Class at the Sporting Gentleman

Join Art Bartholomew and Bob Lewis for a casting class at the Sporting Gentleman this Saturday, March 2nd.  8:30 to 11 am.  Stop by whether you just want an early season tune up or are just beginning.

The Sporting Gentleman
128 Glen Mills Road
Glen Mills, PA 19342

December 22, 2018

December 22, 2018 Update

Winterdale Road finally opened this morning after a long construction project!  No more dirt road detours.

We are adding new items to our sale page every week.  Check it out for good deals:  https://drc-fly-shop.myshopify.com/collections/sale-items

We’ll be at the NJ Flyfishing Show in Edison NJ on January 25 – 27.  It was a great show last year and things look good for 2019

The bet

October 31, 2018

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 31, 2018

October 31st is traditionally our last update of the year.  We will have sporadic updates over the winter and will put one up if river conditions change dramatically and people are still fishing.  Click on the gauge links below to get the latest flows.  Otherwise we will start again on April 1st.  Today should be one of the nicest days we’ve seen in a while.  The air temp should hit 58 degrees with winds around 10 mph from the South.  It looks like quite a bit of rain in the forecast for Thursday an Friday.  Hopefully the storms track away from us.

The Wager.

Check the regulations to see what sections of river are open

Delaware County NY regs:  http://www.eregulations.com/newyork/fishing/delaware-county/

Border Water regs:  http://www.eregulations.com/newyork/fishing/border-waters-regulations/

Hatching:
Isonychia –  #14 – Isonychia bicolor
Tiny Blue Wing Olives #20 – 26 – Psuedo sp.
Green Caddis – #16 – Ryacophila sp.

There is construction on Winterdale Road. A short stretch is closed near the Methodist Camp between us and Hancock. We have detours listed on our website here:  https://thedelawareriverclub.com/welcome-to-the-drc/getting-here

Click on the gauge below for the most recent update: