June 28, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 28, 2012

There was a bright spot out on the river yesterday, other than the sun of course – the wind decided to calm down much earlier than the previous days, and we had some really decent hatching on the West Branch from about 5:00 PM on. Dortheas, small stenos, big stenos, Isos, and of course Psuedos as well. today we’re heading in the direction of warm / hot temps with a whole lot less wind. This should get us back into our routine of early morning fishing and bugs hatching again once the sun decides to dip down behind the mountains.

We are also starting to scout and explore some new water for summertime fly-fishing trips forSmallmouth Bass fishing trips, both on the Delaware and out on the Susquehanna. Drop me a line if this is something that you might be interested in! I’d love to gauge the interest for these things. Jeff, Wiley, and I went on one such trip last week in the blazing sun, and had a decent day – definitely quality over quantity, as you can see below.

That fat, FAT fish (look how I'm holding the gut) is a Boga-grip weighed 4.5-lb Smallmouth folks. My biggest on ever, and it ate one of Jeff White's SLG streamers! Photo by: Jeff White

Hatches:

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

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

Potomanthus distinctus – Golden Drake – #12-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox – #12-2xl

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

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14

Ephemerella cornuta – Light BWO – #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella Deficiens–  Dark. BWO -#12-20

Ephemerella Attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20

Ephemerella Pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20

June 27, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 27, 2012

Ok, so we’re not sunburned today. Just windburned. I’m pretty sure I blew threw three tubes of Chapstick so far. For those that were here, it was pretty damn brutal out on the water. Gusts up and over 30 MPH with pretty regular degrees of frequency, coupled with bright sun made for a craptacular day over all. That being said, Wiley and Steve were able to find some ports in the storm, as well as some rising fish amidst the gale, mostly working on smaller sulphurs. There were some iso spinners out and about, but they were blown off the river before they coudl fall. Today, the weatehr will be warmer, and the wind is supposed to lay down significantly. Realize however, that ‘significantly’ is a relative term, and we’re still looking at gusts up to 20 at times, so be ready!

These guys have been showing up late in the evening river-wide. Night fishing anyone?. Photo by: Jeff White

Hatches:

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

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

Potomanthus distinctus – Golden Drake – #12-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox – #12-2xl

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

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14

Ephemerella cornuta – Light BWO – #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella Deficiens–  Dark. BWO -#12-20

Ephemerella Attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20

Ephemerella Pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20

June 26, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 26, 2012

It was a great day for sailing yesterday, but not so great for casting 5-wts. Wind with heavy gusts at times, as well as a mostly sunny day made it tough out on the river. The cooler temps were a welcome change, and helped to keep the water temperatures from sky rocketing. Unusually, the wind continued on late into the evening, blowing the bugs all over the surface of the water. The winds should calm down a bit today, but there is a good chance of afternoon thunderstorms making the day interesting. We are starting off pretty cool this morning with good overcast skies, so it may be a good idea to head out on the water early!

More 'summer vacation' pics! Norm Price rocking the DRC colors with a BIG Beaverhead 'Bow. Photo by: Pam Cavanagh

Hatches:

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

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

Potomanthus distinctus – Golden Drake – #12-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox – #12-2xl

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

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14

Ephemerella cornuta – Light BWO – #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella Deficiens–  Dark. BWO -#12-20

Ephemerella Attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20

Ephemerella Pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20

June 25, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 25, 2012

Well, that was a rough night. The interns had a new net, went out, and just as Aaron hooked a decent enough fish for Jim to say, “sweet! we can break in the new net!” the fish wrapped itself around the anchor and broke off. Gotta love the kiss o’ death! Otherwise, it was slow out on the river last night, but fished well throughout the day up in Deposit. Sulphurs were the name of the game, and I am anticipating much of the same today. We are looking at overcast skies and rain all day, with temps below 60! …..this is where I think we are the only sadists happy about a “cool” summer.

We're filing this under the 'what I did over my summer vacation' for Bruce. Excellent RI striper! Photo by: Bruce's buddy Slick

Hatches:

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

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

Potomanthus distinctus – Golden Drake – #12-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox – #12-2xl

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

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14

Ephemerella cornuta – Light BWO – #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella Deficiens–  Dark. BWO -#12-20

Ephemerella Attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20

Ephemerella Pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20

June 24, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 24, 2012

A little more of the same yesterday, with a bit more activity in the morning than we have been seeing. The downer is that the lower river didn’t see as many bugs in the evening as we have been over the last few days. Up river (Deposit) had good activity throughout the day an into the evening, but as usual the fish were less than cooperative! Today, we’re expecting a sunny morning followed by a cloudy afternoon and evening, hopefully encouraging all these lazy insects to hatch when we get a chance to get out of the shop!

One of the smaller stenos that have been hatching as of late. Likely an ithaca. Photo by: Jeff White

Hatches:

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

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

Potomanthus distinctus – Golden Drake – #12-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox – #12-2xl

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

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14

Ephemerella cornuta – Light BWO – #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella Deficiens–  Dark. BWO -#12-20

Ephemerella Attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20

Ephemerella Pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20

June 23, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 23, 2012

Sorry for the delay folks, busy busy shop this morning as everyone tries to get out and beat the heat! Interesting day out there yesterday. Some early morning action, and some afternoon clouds that didn’t yield much at all, followed by an evening of picky fish. Delaware summer! Our elder statesmen and guide Bob Lewis figured out the “impossible” fish that drove me crazy two nights ago – he swung some pheasant tail nymphs (it pains me to use that word on this blog) underneath (I think that word pains me even more) dorthea duns – worked like a charm, even if it was a little less…..elegant than we prefer. Today, we’re cooling off even a little more, with some thunderstorms rolling in sporadically throughout the day, The pressure changes and cloud cover should be a good thing, and hopefully we’ll see both the West Branch light up, and the Main Stem cool down!

A beautiful West Branch sunset last night. Photo by: George Fielding

Hatches:

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

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

Potomanthus distinctus – Golden Drake – #12-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox – #12-2xl

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

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14

Ephemerella cornuta – Light BWO – #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella Deficiens–  Dark. BWO -#12-20

Ephemerella Attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20

Ephemerella Pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20

June 22, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 22, 2012

So much for that quick little burst of cold water! The front end of the ‘wave’ did slow the fishing down a bit, but after it had dropped back to 500 cfs or so upriver in the evening, the fish went crazy for large numbers of dortheas, with the occasional smaller BWO and large steno mixed in. However, I could list about a dozen PG13 adjectives to describe how cooperative they were during that time. That is to say, it’s easier to get blood from a stone than it was to get a fish to eat last night. For whatever reason, the fish decided that it was late July and were pickier than anyone has seen all year yet. Let’s hope that changes with the cooler weather & clouds coming in over the next few days!

Although not caught yesterday, here's a nice head shot of a WB Brown that probably ignored our flies last night. Photo by: Bob Lewis

Hatches:

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

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

Potomanthus distinctus – Golden Drake – #12-2xl

Stenonema vicarium – March Browns – #10-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox – #12-2xl

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

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14

Ephemerella cornuta – Light BWO – #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella Deficiens–  Dark. BWO -#12-20

Ephemerella Attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20

Ephemerella Pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20

June 21, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 21, 2012

***Update*** As of 9:00 AM, Flow is dropping, not sue how far we will fall – likely 500 CFS. A correction for Montague looks like the most likely culprit with this quick up and down.

Well, looks like we’ve got some water running down the West Branch this morning, so I have something to talk about other than this oppressive heat, so please insert one of my normal snarky comments here ________. Overnight, the flow on the West Branch was bumped up to 849 cfs, and I have absolutely no idea as to why, nor how long it will last. Montague has good flows, and under the current table we ‘should’ still be at 500 cfs. I will try to find out (which is what I have been doing and the cause for my tardiness this morning, apologies), and update this post later today.

Now, I am perfectly happy and content with that release if it remains in place for awhile, as it will SIGNIFICANTLY cool down the upper Main Stem, as well as make the West Branch more floatable, while still allowing for wading. Short term, we may find some fish in the lower part of the river (Hale Eddy down) “shocked” by the sudden influx of cold water. It usually takes about 24 hours for them to fully acclimate to new holding areas as well as the temps. That being said, with the HOT sun and air predicted to day, the shock could wear off earlier, and may even produce some day time fishing today!

You know the water's cold and the air's humid when it looks like this out front at 7:00 AM (and it's already 80 out!). Photo by: Bart Larmouth

Hatches:

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

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

Potomanthus distinctus – Golden Drake – #12-2xl

Stenonema vicarium – March Browns – #10-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox – #12-2xl

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

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14

Ephemerella cornuta – Light BWO – #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella Deficiens–  Dark. BWO -#12-20

Ephemerella Attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20

Ephemerella Pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20

June 20, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 20, 2012

Yesterday ended up being one of those days where you feel like jumping in the shower two or three times just to cool off and get out of the humidity. Early in the day, the cloud cover lingered, and folks that were out saw good numbers of BWOs in just about every flavor listed below. The fish were slow to get on them, but some steady fish were found downriver on the West Branch where the temps were a little bit better. The clouds then gave way to bright, hot sun, and all activity ground to a screeching halt. The evening flush happened around 6:30 / 7:00, then shut right down before dark as the fog rolled in / formed over the surface of the cooler water. It’s already warm here today at the club, and it looks like we’re in for a scorcher today, with predicted highs in the low 90s, with “some” clouds predicted for the afternoon. Basically, that means another summer day on the Delaware – rest up for the evening!

We gave intern Jim some time off, and it looks like it was well spent! A nice Canadian fly-caught Northern Pike! Photo by: Jim Swift Jr.

Hatches:

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

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

Stenonema vicarium – March Browns – #10-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox – #12-2xl

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

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14

Ephemerella cornuta – Light BWO – #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella Deficiens–  Dark. BWO -#12-20

Ephemerella Attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20

Ephemerella Pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20

June 19, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 19, 2012

Clouds, cool temps, and no thunderstorms to be had! Pretty much a fantastic day to be out and chasing fish around on dry flies. There was decent hatching all day long, of both BWOs and sulphurs, with the occasional iso thrown in for good measure, pretty much river-wide. The only issue was that the fish were….well, to be blunt, bitchy. They would rise steadily, then go down for no apparent reason. Then, you’d have fish rising like crazy, and it didn’t matter what fly you threw over top of them, they weren’t going for it, even when you KNEW what they were eating. I just tell myself that this is why we love the Delaware! Today, we’re looking at warmer temps, but some cloud cover as well. If it keeps up, we will definitely see another good day out there on the water….at least for the hungry fish!

Brownie McGirk being released. Photo by: Tony May

Hatches:

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

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

Stenonema vicarium – March Browns – #10-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox – #12-2xl

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

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14

Ephemerella cornuta – Light BWO – #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella Deficiens–  Dark. BWO -#12-20

Ephemerella Attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20

Ephemerella Pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20

June 18, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 18, 2012

Well, at least the pool is open. It was another scorcher out there yesterday, that’s for sure. The good news is that the morning fished, and the evening turned out pretty well also. The middle of the day proved a good time for a nap, as it has been lately. That being said, the good news is what we woke up to this morning – humidity and clouds! Today has the potential to be fantastic throughout the day and into the evening if the cloud cover persists, and we don’t have  a slew of thunderstorms cruising around. The lack of sun should also allow the BWO parade (pseudos, attenuatas, cornutas, deficiens, et al) to move its way down the river as well! Here’s hoping for a great day, enjoy your Monday all!

Happy Birthday to friend and customer Scott Dawson, who is showing off his biggest ever Delaware Rainbow. Let's just say he saw his backing a couple times. Photo by: Al Caucci

Hatches:

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

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

Stenonema vicarium – March Browns – #10-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox – #12-2xl

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

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14

Ephemerella cornuta – Light BWO – #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella Deficiens–  Dark. BWO -#12-20

Ephemerella Attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20

Ephemerella Pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20

June 17, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions June 17, 2012

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!

Some of our guests had the right idea today – hang out in the hammock or around the pool until later in the afternoon. Bright sun and hot temps all day kept activity at a near standstill out on the water. The evening saw some pretty decent activity, but the fish decided it was their time to be picky (as if they need an excuse!). Today we’ve already got some decent low-level cloud cover, so the morning may show us a few BWOs and left over spinners from last night. Temps are supposed to stay below 80 today, but the sun is still going to be there, with hopefully more cloud cover to pick up the action.

Downriver there are a TON of these Pteronarcys stoneflies coming out at night. Hopefully they will move up river, and we may just get some night fishing action. (recycled)Photo by: Jeff White

Hatches:

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

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

Stenonema vicarium – March Browns – #10-2xl

Stenonema fuscum – Grey Fox – #12-2xl

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

Ephemerella dorthea – Sulphurs – #16

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14

Ephemerella cornuta – Light BWO – #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella Deficiens–  Dark. BWO -#12-20

Ephemerella Attenuata- Light BWO- #16-20

Ephemerella Pseudollocon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

Baetis species – #18 & #20