August 22, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 22, 2012

Water! Well, 50 more CFS of it at least. It’s one of those “don’t look a gift horse” scenarios. That being said, just that little bit of water cooled the West Branch down significantly down here, and it is evident from the number of bugs on the side of the house this morning that the insects approve as well. Fishing was decent last night down here as the ‘slug’ of water didnt hit until right near dark. Upriver fished well as the fish and bugs had some time to acclimate to the new found H2O prior to their normal evening shenanigans. Today we’ve got some storms rolling through the area, so we’ll see pressure changes throughout the day, which as we all know will affect the hatching in SOME way – let’s hope for the better!

There were quite a few of these guys out yesterday, but the fish showed only passing interest. Photo by: Jeff White

Tricorythodes species – #22 male and female

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 (sporadic), #18 & #20

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!

Potomanthus distinctus – Golden Drake – #12-2xl (sporadic)

Ephemerella pseudocloeon- Tiny BWO- #22-26

Epeorus vitreus – Pale Evening Dun – (Female) -#14 (sporadic)

Epeorus vitreus – Light Cahill – (Male)- #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14 (waning)

Ephemerella deficiens- Dark. BWO -#12-20 (when cloudy)

Ephemerella attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20 (when cloudy)

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20 (when cloudy)

August 21, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 21, 2012

UPDATE!!!! Just after I published this, the release from Cannonsville has been increased to 400 cfs – it’s not a big jump, but every little bit helps!

What an Olive day yesterday! Rain throughout the afternoon, coupled with humid air and cooler temps made for some really exceptional hatching (well, at least for August!). The fish were up sporadically throughout the day, but when they were up it was a pretty impressive show. The evening shut down a bit early, as the water temps dropped back well below 60. This will make for a later Trico hatch today, but will keep the river from heating up too much, as we are starting near 51 on the West Branch – that’s the lowest it has been in well over a week. The sun will be bright early, but clouds roll in later this afternoon (so they say), which should make for some interesting afternoon action.

A pretty, buttery brown!

Tricorythodes species – #22 male and female

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 (sporadic), #18 & #20

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!

Potomanthus distinctus – Golden Drake – #12-2xl (sporadic)

Ephemerella pseudocloeon- Tiny BWO- #22-26

Epeorus vitreus – Pale Evening Dun – (Female) -#14 (sporadic)

Epeorus vitreus – Light Cahill – (Male)- #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14 (waning)

Ephemerella deficiens- Dark. BWO -#12-20 (when cloudy)

Ephemerella attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20 (when cloudy)

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20 (when cloudy)

August 20, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 20, 2012

Mother Nature just didn’t want us to catch fish yesterday I guess. Early in the AM the Tricos and Ants were flitting about, and just when it seemed like something was going to happen the wind came up and blew everyone back into the trees. Then the bright sun came out, and not too much went on through the day, let alone the evening. Today we’re looking at a bit more calm in the wind department, and definitely more clouds, with some rain perhaps! One can definitely dream! The cool temps this morning (low 50s) will push the Trikes back a bit in the morning, which is good for all of those who wanted to sleep in a bit!

Tricia used the nice weather to learn to cast with her Uncle Jeff up at our pond recently. Photo by: Jeff White

Tricorythodes species – #22 male and female

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 (sporadic), #18 & #20

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!

Potomanthus distinctus – Golden Drake – #12-2xl (sporadic)

Ephemerella pseudocloeon- Tiny BWO- #22-26

Epeorus vitreus – Pale Evening Dun – (Female) -#14 (sporadic)

Epeorus vitreus – Light Cahill – (Male)- #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14 (waning)

Ephemerella deficiens- Dark. BWO -#12-20 (when cloudy)

Ephemerella attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20 (when cloudy)

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20 (when cloudy)

August 19, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 19, 2012

It was a great evening yesterday, with plenty of bugs and fish rising, especially the closer you came to dark. The only issue was how stinkin’ picky they were. It was one of those “watch them eat an olive, put the exact pattern over them, and nothing happens” type of nights. That being said, we a good customer do VERY well simply blind casting size #18 olive (deficiens) parachutes throughout the afternoon / evening. I will hopefully have a picture from him shortly to share. Today, we’re starting off with a heavy overcast fog, as it got pretty dang chilly overnight. That will likely burn off, and we’re expecting partly-sunny skies. This should give us a nice carbon-copy of yesterday, but hopefully this time with more cooperative fish!

AAAAAH-OOOOOOO-GAAAAH! Photo by: Bart Larmouth

Tricorythodes species – #22 male and female

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 (sporadic), #18 & #20

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!

Potomanthus distinctus – Golden Drake – #12-2xl (sporadic)

Ephemerella pseudocloeon- Tiny BWO- #22-26

Epeorus vitreus – Pale Evening Dun – (Female) -#14 (sporadic)

Epeorus vitreus – Light Cahill – (Male)- #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14 (waning)

Ephemerella deficiens- Dark. BWO -#12-20 (when cloudy)

Ephemerella attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20 (when cloudy)

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20 (when cloudy)

August 18, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 18, 2012

Well, the rain and clouds were a welcome gift last night, and the West Branch said, “Thanks!” with a pretty good flurry of steno hatching as well as decent BWOs in the evening. Fish were eager to take them, and it was one of the better nights of activity that we have had in awhile. Thanks Mother Nature! Now, today the forecast calls for ‘partly sunny’ and a high of 76. A high pressure system moved in after the rain last night, so I would expect the action to be later this morning, but with the lower temps, we should be in store for a pretty decent summer day of fishing!

The Stenos looked like this. Shocking, right?  Photo by: Jeff White

Tricorythodes species – #22 male and female

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 (sporadic), #18 & #20

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!

Potomanthus distinctus – Golden Drake – #12-2xl (sporadic)

Ephemerella pseudocloeon- Tiny BWO- #22-26

Epeorus vitreus – Pale Evening Dun – (Female) -#14 (sporadic)

Epeorus vitreus – Light Cahill – (Male)- #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14 (waning)

Ephemerella deficiens- Dark. BWO -#12-20 (when cloudy)

Ephemerella attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20 (when cloudy)

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20 (when cloudy)

August 17, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 17, 2012

An absolutely gorgeous day out there yesterday, but the bright sun made did not make things easy. As per usual of late, the Tricos were around in the morning before the bright sun made its glaring appearance. You could not buy a bug for most of yesterday, but towards evening we started to see one of my favorite things – flying ants. Big ones, little ones, black ones, brown ones. When I say little, I mean tiny. Fish appeared to be honed in on black flying ants so tiny, maybe a #28, that you could only see them by their impression on the surface. However maddening that may be been, the exciting part was the immense number of brown ants  in flight between the river and the parking lot. These were significantly bigger, probably a #16, and will hopefully find their way on to the water in the next couple of days. I know that I will be ready! Today we are expected to have decent cloud cover for most of the day, followed by a few storms later in the evening. Hopefully this will encourage the Tricos to hang around past morning.

Going through some old images I found this gem of Larry Clark, Sr. giving a Brownie some love!

Tricorythodes species – #22 male and female

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 (sporadic), #18 & #20

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!

Potomanthus distinctus – Golden Drake – #12-2xl (sporadic)

Ephemerella pseudocloeon- Tiny BWO- #22-26

Epeorus vitreus – Pale Evening Dun – (Female) -#14 (sporadic)

Epeorus vitreus – Light Cahill – (Male)- #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14 (waning)

Ephemerella deficiens- Dark. BWO -#12-20 (when cloudy)

Ephemerella attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20 (when cloudy)

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20 (when cloudy)

August 16, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 16, 2012

Somewhat of an odd day out there yesterday. In spite of the excellent could cover that we experienced throughout the day, and the nice injection of water from recent thundershowers upstream, the insect activity was not what we had hoped for. The Tricos were out mid morning, followed by BWOs here and there throughout the day, but not in the numbers that we have come to expect with a day of cloud cover. The river ran clear all day as we saw a line on thundershowers pass to our South. Today is supposed to be a bright one once the fog burns off, reminding us all that it is still, for better or worse, August.

A Bald Eagle getting just a little bit closer to the water, sitting on the rocks across the river from the Club in Home Pool. Photo by: Bart Larmouth

Tricorythodes species – #22 male and female

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 (sporadic), #18 & #20

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!

Potomanthus distinctus – Golden Drake – #12-2xl (sporadic)

Ephemerella pseudocloeon- Tiny BWO- #22-26

Epeorus vitreus – Pale Evening Dun – (Female) -#14 (sporadic)

Epeorus vitreus – Light Cahill – (Male)- #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14 (waning)

Ephemerella deficiens- Dark. BWO -#12-20 (when cloudy)

Ephemerella attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20 (when cloudy)

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20 (when cloudy)

August 15, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 15, 2012

Another weird day here on the river. Clouds and occasional showers kept our water temps down, and the air temp fairly cool, but the insect activity we anticipated didn’t really show as well as hoped. Portions of the river fished well in spurts, especially upstream of Hale Eddy. The Game Lands had an hour or two of activity right at dark, but not the ‘all day’ BWO action that the clouds usually bring us. The barometric pressure did fluctuate a bit trhoughout the day as thunderheads moved through, so I’m going to blame the lack of river-wide hatching on that. Sounds like a plan. Anyway, today, we’re looking at a return to our normal August weather, with sun and heat, but not too oppressive. The Tricos should be early today, as we had a fairly warm night, so if you’re not out there already, why are you still reading this? Still? Seriously? Hit the water man!

Sam Dennis took a down river trip with Jeff White and landed some really nice Smallmouth! Looks like she’s even mimicking its fishy face! Photo by: Jeff White

Tricorythodes species – #22 male and female

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 (sporadic), #18 & #20

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!

Potomanthus distinctus – Golden Drake – #12-2xl (sporadic)

Ephemerella pseudocloeon- Tiny BWO- #22-26

Epeorus vitreus – Pale Evening Dun – (Female) -#14 (sporadic)

Epeorus vitreus – Light Cahill – (Male)- #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14 (waning)

Ephemerella deficiens- Dark. BWO -#12-20 (when cloudy)

Ephemerella attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20 (when cloudy)

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20 (when cloudy)

August 14, 2012

Delaware River Report / Update August 14, 2012

A bit of a wacky day out there yesterday with activity in random places up and down the river. We had Tricos early in the day, with certain sections lighting right up, and others completely dead. Definitely a weird one. The forecast for today and the rest of the week certainly has gotten  more interesting for sure – scattered thunderstorms and rain predicted throughout, as well as some decent cloud cover. This could end up being a spectacular (summer) week here – let’s home the jack wagons making predictions (this one included) get it right!

Yellow Sallies are coming on strong again! Photo by: Jeff White

Tricorythodes species – #22 male and female

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 (sporadic), #18 & #20

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!

Potomanthus distinctus – Golden Drake – #12-2xl (sporadic)

Ephemerella pseudocloeon- Tiny BWO- #22-26

Epeorus vitreus – Pale Evening Dun – (Female) -#14 (sporadic)

Epeorus vitreus – Light Cahill – (Male)- #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14 (waning)

Ephemerella deficiens- Dark. BWO -#12-20 (when cloudy)

Ephemerella attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20 (when cloudy)

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20 (when cloudy)

August 13, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 13, 2012

As predicted, the Tricos came out in force yesterday morning, right around the time the blog published, and continued for a little over an hour, when the wind blew them back into the foliage. I  just stepped outside to see if they were massing yet, and they are lit up  in the sun over Home Pool, just waiting to fall! That will likely be our morning action for the day, as there is very little cloud coverage predicted. The upside is that we are starting with slightly cooler temps this morning, and the ambient air temp shouldn’t get too high today (supposed to stay under 80). Let’s see what happens!

Can you say TOAD!? Photo courtesy of Jeff Biller

Tricorythodes species – #22 male and female

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 (sporadic), #18 & #20

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!

Potomanthus distinctus – Golden Drake – #12-2xl (sporadic)

Ephemerella pseudocloeon- Tiny BWO- #22-26

Epeorus vitreus – Pale Evening Dun – (Female) -#14 (sporadic)

Epeorus vitreus – Light Cahill – (Male)- #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14 (waning)

Ephemerella deficiens- Dark. BWO -#12-20 (when cloudy)

Ephemerella attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20 (when cloudy)

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20 (when cloudy)

August 12, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 12, 2012

Tricos! En masses! Yesterday morning we had huge numbers of these little guys both in the air and on the water, spinners and duns alike, making for some excellent AM fishing. It was cool and clear on Friday night so the hatch / fall occurred slightly later in the morning, around 8:30 or so – great for those of us who aren’t the best early risers. Last night we had cloud cover, so the temps did not drop very far. This will likely mean the tricos are on the water by now already, but with continuing clouds, may carry on for quite awhile. The cloud cover last night also covered up the beautiful Perseid meteor shower – I hope you all got to catch it if you could! Today, we’ve got some showers in the forecast and mostly cloudy skies, which could make for a great olive day out there!

Yes please! Photo by: Jeff White

Tricorythodes species – #22 male and female

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 (sporadic), #18 & #20

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!

Potomanthus distinctus – Golden Drake – #12-2xl (sporadic)

Ephemerella pseudocloeon- Tiny BWO- #22-26

Epeorus vitreus – Pale Evening Dun – (Female) -#14 (sporadic)

Epeorus vitreus – Light Cahill – (Male)- #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14 (waning)

Ephemerella deficiens- Dark. BWO -#12-20 (when cloudy)

Ephemerella attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20 (when cloudy)

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20 (when cloudy)

August 11, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions August 11, 2012

Plenty of clouds and rain (finally!) out there yesterday, but unfortunately it did not add a great deal of water to the river flows. On a major high note however, the cloud cover and cool temps kept the river from baking all day, and allowed those who ventured out to enjoy one of the best days on the river we have had in weeks. The olives were fairly steady, and the remaining Dortheas made an appearance as well. Today, we’re starting out with real clouds (not just fog), which will hopefully carry over into the afternoon, when we are expecting some typical summer thunderstorms as we get towards dark. Remember to keep those rods down!

Give it another month and we’ll start seeing Browns with this kind of coloration!

Tricorythodes species – #22 male and female

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16 (sporadic), #18 & #20

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!

Potomanthus distinctus – Golden Drake – #12-2xl (sporadic)

Ephemerella pseudocloeon- Tiny BWO- #22-26

Epeorus vitreus – Pale Evening Dun – (Female) -#14 (sporadic)

Epeorus vitreus – Light Cahill – (Male)- #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14 (waning)

Ephemerella deficiens- Dark. BWO -#12-20 (when cloudy)

Ephemerella attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20 (when cloudy)

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20 (when cloudy)