River Reports
Delaware River Report / Conditions September 21, 2012
It was a pretty dang decent day out there yesterday on the river (well, at least the West Branch). The East and Main are still running pretty muddy, and appeared to actually get dirtier as the day went on yesterday. Let’s hope that trend changes. The West is clear, and good hatches of Stenos and Isos last night kept the action going. Today we’re starting off with a fairly warm morning (compared to the last few days), so I would expect the morning action to take place a bit earlier today. It’s definitely cloudy and foggy still, so we should see some olives as long as the clouds decide to stick around. Speaking of sticking around, due to the high flows on the other two branches, don’t expect the release out of Cannonsville to change in the near future. This 300 cfs flow should stick around for awhile.
One of the smaller stenos that have been hatching as of late. Photo by: Jeff White
Tricorythodes species – #22 male and female (waning)
Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!
Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphur – #16 & #18
Pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26
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)
| FLOWS AS OF 8:00 AM: | |
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 331 cfs @ 48º |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy,NY | 362 cfs @ 52º |
| East Branch at Harvard,NY | 200 cfs @ 55º |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy,NY | 1,840 cfs @ 57 |
| Mainstem at Lordville,NY | 2,350 cfs @ 58º |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls,NY | 1,130 cfs @ N/A |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release | 55.4% – 300 CFS release |
Delaware River Report / Conditions September 20, 2012
It looks like all the rivers are dropping nicely. Not TOO nicely, as I am looking forward to finally floating the East Branch sometime this week. We had one of our first fairly cool days yesterday, and it helped drop the water temps on all three branches pretty dramatically. As a result, we had some pretty good hatching here on the West, and the fish were very active throughout the day. The ‘other side’ and the Main were / are still pretty cloudy, but definitely clearing quickly. I would anticipate them fishing by the weekend for sure, if not a little bit sooner. Today they are calling for a few more clouds and a slightly warmer day, but I see no reason it shouldn’t be a carbon-copy of yesterday (with hopefully a few more isos!).
Yes, I know this is a Cornuta – but some of the Ephemerella deficiens I caught on the house were almost this green, so it works for reference purposes. Photo by: Jeff White
Tricorythodes species – #22 male and female (waning)
Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!
Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphur – #16 & #18
Pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26
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)
| FLOWS AS OF 8:00 AM: | |
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 331 cfs @ 48º |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy,NY | 388 cfs @ 50º |
| East Branch at Harvard,NY | 252 cfs @ 54º |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy,NY | 2,890 cfs @ 56º |
| Mainstem at Lordville,NY | 3,890 cfs @ 57º |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls,NY | 1,940 cfs @ N/A |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release | 55.1% – 300 CFS release |
Delaware River Report / Conditions September 19, 2012
That was some rain. We had it falling both calmly and in driving sheets throughout the day yesterday, and on the West Branch, it seems that the ground absorbed most of the water. We have had a slight bump in flows on the West, but the East / Beaverkill obviously took the brunt of it, with the East Branch near Fish’s Eddy peaking near 25,000 cfs (yes, you read that correctly). This is blowing the Main Stem out as well, so the West looks like the only game in town for the next few days. We are looking at a brighter day today, but temperatures are not supposed to get above 65, which will be a good thing for those heading out in the afternoon, as well as the evening. The bugs took advantage of the lower atmospheric pressure brought on by the storm yesterday, and the side of the shop is covered with a little bit of everything listed below. Thanks rain!
A little stained, but not bad at all this morning on Home Pool. Photo by: Bart Larmouth
Tricorythodes species – #22 male and female (waning)
Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!
Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphur – #16 & #18
Pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26
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)
| FLOWS AS OF 8:00 AM: | |
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 336 cfs @ 47º |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy,NY | 516 cfs @ 52º |
| East Branch at Harvard,NY | 412 cfs @ 56º |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy,NY | 10,900 cfs @ 59º |
| Mainstem at Lordville,NY | 20,600 cfs @ 61º |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls,NY | 6,410 cfs @ N/A |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release | 55.1% – 300 CFS release |
Delaware River Report / Conditions September 18, 2012
One mystery solved! The big peak in flows two days ago? Well, there is a new ‘release master’ at the Cannonsville Dam, and they didn’t exactly give her the best on-the-job training her first day, so she raised the flow instead of dropping it as she was supposed to. I can’t make this stuff up people. Now if there was only some way to bribe her…… Anyway, yesterday was a pretty good day out there, with sporadic hatches throughout the afternoon on pretty much every section of river. Today, it’s already raining steady, and has been since about 6AM or so. Up to 2″ is predicted, based on whatever weather witchdoctor you check with. This may make the river a bit unfishable by late in the day today, but it means some nicer flows by week’s end and hopefully some amazing fishing to boot!
Fish head!
Tricorythodes species – #22 male and female (waning)
Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!
Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphur – #16 & #18
Pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26
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)
| FLOWS AS OF 8:00 AM: | |
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 331 cfs @ 47º |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy,NY | 334 cfs @ 52º |
| East Branch at Harvard,NY | 110 cfs @ 56º |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy,NY | 216 cfs @ 60º |
| Mainstem at Lordville,NY | 631 cfs @ 60º |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls,NY | 98 cfs @ N/A |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release | 55.5% – 300 CFS release |
Delaware River Report / Conditions September 17, 2012
Ok this is just getting ridiculous. Mid afternoon yesterday, the wise(a**) powers that be decided to spike the release from 446 to over 1,000 CFS, then IMMEDIATELY drop it back down again. I can understand keeping it at a level for a certain period of time in order to maintain some mythical flow downriver, but a true spike makes no sense, and served only to truly ruin last night’s fishing, as well as blow a TON of the ever-so-popular “green stuff” down river. So today, we’re down to 331 or so at Hale (while the upper East has been cut down to a 100 cfs release) and while I would make the guess that it will stay like that until at least midnight, I obviously cannot guarantee that fact. The good news is that there are more clouds in the forecast for today, and we are going to continue to see the cooler temperatures that have been helping us out as of late. With rain in the forecast over the next two days, the possibility of some great olive hatching and Iso spinner falls just keeps going up. Just the like flow. Maybe.
Basically this is what happened.
Tricorythodes species – #22 male and female (waning)
Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!
Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphur – #16 & #18
Pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26
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)
| FLOWS AS OF 8:00 AM: | |
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 331 cfs @ 47º |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy,NY | 341 cfs @ 50º |
| East Branch at Harvard,NY | 105 cfs @ 52º |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy,NY | 211 cfs @ 58º |
| Mainstem at Lordville,NY | 1,180 cfs @ 58º |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls,NY | 96 cfs @ N/A |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release | 57.3% – 300 CFS release |
Delaware River Report / Conditions September 16, 2012
And down we go – to “364” today supposedly. I’m not even sure if the graph at Stilesville can be trusted anymore, but Hale is a good judge, and it is now down over 250 CFS to 423. This should slow things down a bit for the morning, as the river equilibriates a bit, but will hopefully not affect the hatches adversely, as we had such cold overnight temperatures. There were great hatches of Heptagenias, and the fish gobbled them right down, all the way into the dark. The occasional Steno made an appearance, and that definitely got the larger fish’s attention. Clouds of iso spinners have been seen all over, but they seem unwilling to fall. Eventually they will, and here’s hoping to be there when they do!
Here’s a buttery brown, without a ton of colors yet for spawning. He’s in the minority, as many fish are already getting their fall colors on.
Tricorythodes species – #22 male and female (waning)
Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!
Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphur – #16 & #18
Pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26
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)
| FLOWS AS OF 8:00 AM: | |
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 434 cfs @ 47º |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy,NY | 423 cfs @ 49º |
| East Branch at Harvard,NY | 143 cfs @ 52º |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy,NY | 255 cfs @ 58º |
| Mainstem at Lordville,NY | 964 cfs @ 58º |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls,NY | 103 cfs @ N/A |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release | 57.3% – 364 CFS release |
Delaware River Report / Conditions September 15, 2012
Sounded like it was a tough one out there yesterday, from reports I received and also judging by the lack of bugs on the building this morning – just a few small caddis around an October caddis or two. The bright sun stuck around all day yesterday, and we had a bump in the flows in the evening, which definitely cooled off the water, slowing things down a bit in the evening. We had rain overnight along with some cool temps. Today and tomorrow are looking excellent however, with daytime temps in the mid-60s, which will help the fishing improve likely all the way to Buckingham if the flows stay up (who knows if that will happen). Look for some clouds today – could bring the olives back out again!
Iso oh Iso, where art thou? Photo by: Jeff White
Tricorythodes species – #22 male and female (waning)
Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!
Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphur – #16 & #18
Pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26
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)
| FLOWS AS OF 8:00 AM: | |
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 653 cfs @ 48º |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy,NY | 611 cfs @ 50º |
| East Branch at Harvard,NY | 148 cfs @ 55º |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy,NY | 264 cfs @ 61º |
| Mainstem at Lordville,NY | 934 cfs @ 62º |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls,NY | 107 cfs @ N/A |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release | 57.9% – 625 CFS release |
Delaware River Report / Conditions September 14, 2012
Just received a funny email from a customer, describing the West Branch flow chart from USGS as looking like “a saw blade.” What a perfect analogy! We’re heading up the tooth right now, with an “announced” release of 571 CFS, up from yesterday. This shouldn’t shock the river in a big way, but may shut down the morning fishing just a little bit. Yesterday was definitely tough depending on where you were with the bright sun keeping things down a bit, but the evening saw some fish sporadically rising to Heptagenias. With cloudier weather moving in there should be a little bit more predictable action throughout the day today, and the slightly bigger release should help the Main Stem fish even better.
Tricorythodes species – #22 male and female (waning)
Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!
Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphur – #16 & #18
Pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26
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)
| FLOWS AS OF 8:00 AM: | |
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 577 cfs @ 48º |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy,NY | 556 cfs @ 50º |
| East Branch at Harvard,NY | 143 cfs @ 55º |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy,NY | 267 cfs @ 62º |
| Mainstem at Lordville,NY | 830 cfs @ 62º |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls,NY | 105 cfs @ N/A |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release | 57.9% – 571 CFS release |
Delaware River Report / Conditions September 13, 2012
No big drop in flows last night, just down to a 464 release which should not dramatically affect the hatching, holding areas, etc. It will allow downriver to warm up a bit more (especially with 80-degree temps predicted), so we will likely “lose” the lower Main today insofar as decent hatching is concerned. The entire West Branch fished fairly well, but the Main as a whole was pretty slow until the sun started settling in the evening. Then Junction through Stockport produced, but below Cemetery Pool not much was seen other than everyone’s favorite – the river chub feeding on Heptagenias. Today we are looking at warmer (air) temps, but there are supposed to be clouds mixed in as well, unlike our Rocky Mtn. Bluebird day we had yesterday. This is definitely good news for those of you looking to fish the afternoon, so get out there and get after them!
Here’s one from last fall – an AMAZING picture of a hatching Isonychia taken by Bob Lewis.
Tricorythodes species – #22 male and female (waning)
Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!
Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphur – #16 & #18
Pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26
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)
| FLOWS AS OF 8:00 AM: | |
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 494 cfs @ 47º |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy,NY | 473 cfs @ 50º |
| East Branch at Harvard,NY | 145 cfs @ 54º |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy,NY | 270 cfs @ 60º |
| Mainstem at Lordville,NY | 924 cfs @ 61º |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls,NY | 112 cfs @ N/A |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release | 58.9% – 463 CFS release |
Delaware River Report / Conditions September 12, 2012
Wheeeee! Down to the bottom of the coaster we are starting to head again. the release from Cannonsville dropped to 500 CFS overnight. Not super-hyper-mega dramatic, but it’s definitely an indicator of which way we are heading – down that is. We may see a big drop tonight, and a pickup on the weekend. Who knows? Regardless of this, the fishing was pretty decent yesterday, and I am getting some good reports from the upper Main (And the parking area at Stockport looked like a day in May). Olives in the evening, and the Heptagenias started in earnest down there around 3PM. Let’s hope the wind stays down, and the sun stays away today, and we could expect another good one out there.
I think what the DEP does induces more nausea than one of these.
Tricorythodes species – #22 male and female (waning)
Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!
Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphur – #16 & #18
Pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26
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)
| FLOWS AS OF 8:00 AM: | |
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 510 cfs @ 47º |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy,NY | 525 cfs @ 49º |
| East Branch at Harvard,NY | 145 cfs @ 52º |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy,NY | 282 cfs @ 58º |
| Mainstem at Lordville,NY | 1,060 cfs @ 59º |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls,NY | 120 cfs @ N/A |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release | 58.9% – 500 CFS release |
Delaware River Report / Conditions September 11, 2012
Not too much of a yo-yo at midnight last night – the flow has been reduced to 585 CFS, down from about 600. This means no substantial change in the river level, and the fish have had some time to acclimate to new lies and feeding lines, as well as the Main Stem cooling dramatically. This could make for a pretty decent day today, so long as the clouds remain in place. Yesterday was a bit slow fish-wise, most likely a result of the bump in flows. The bugs were active, and we did see plenty of Tricos in the morning, but they were promptly blown off by the heavy, steady winds we experienced early until mid afternoon. Otherwise, fish were actively eating small (size #18) olive emergers, which were very difficult to see on the water. Keep your eyes open for rises – if you don’t see what the fish are eating, try the small olive!
A nice, DARK brown that ate a Light Cahill Sunday. Photo by: Art Bartholomew
Tricorythodes species – #22 male and female (waning)
Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!
Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphur – #16 & #18
Pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26
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)
| FLOWS AS OF 8:00 AM: | |
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 598 cfs @ 47º |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy,NY | 616 cfs @ 49º |
| East Branch at Harvard,NY | 151 cfs @ 52º |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy,NY | 299 cfs @ 58º |
| Mainstem at Lordville,NY | 1,110 cfs @ 58º |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls,NY | 140 cfs @ N/A |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release | 59.4% – 585 CFS release |
Delaware River Report / Conditions September 10, 2012
Here we go again. The release this morning is now up to 596 cfs, and I am still unaware as to why these sudden changes are taking place. Naturally, this will affect the morning fishing (likely adversely), but as everything settles by the afternoon, good things should happen with the colder water temps. Yesterday was a decent one – bugs pretty much throughout the day, with fish up and eating. The only issue was how spooky the critters were (not like that is a new scenario) – boat and wader shy, you had to be on your game, but there were fish to be had at least – can’t complain there! Today is set to be a cooler day all around with the sun peeking through the clouds sporadically, which means we can hope for an early evening spinner fall if the temps do stay below 70 as they are predicted. Fingers crossed, I’ve got some jumbo Iso parachute spinners I can’t wait to throw!
Yep. Those are Tricos. We had numbers like this last week, but they are finally starting to wane. Photo: DRC
Tricorythodes species – #22 male and female (waning)
Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!
Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphur – #16 & #18
Pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26
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)
| FLOWS AS OF 8:00 AM: | |
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 620 cfs @ 47º |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy,NY | 627 cfs @ 49º |
| East Branch at Harvard,NY | 153 cfs @ 54º |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy,NY | 375 cfs @ 61º |
| Mainstem at Lordville,NY | 974 cfs @ 63º |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls,NY | 164 cfs @ N/A |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release | 60.6% – 356 CFS release |
