River Reports
Delaware River Report / Conditions July 16, 2011
Happy Saturday to those who have a traditional “weekend!” Starting off with bright sun and no fog this morning, so the temps should climb early, yielding good insect activity EARLY down low, and earlier in the afternoon up high (close to the dam). Bugs and methods are the same today, the only big change of note is that the release from Pepacton Reservoir (East Branch) has been cut, and the Beaverkill has also dropped below 300 cfs – this means much warmer temps on the East system (i.e. more typical summertime conditions), and that the lower Main will start to heat up a bit as well – great news for all you smallmouth fishermen out there!
-
-
-
- Summertime on the West Branch! Photo by: Barry Beck
-
Hatches:
-
Isonychia bicolor – Iso/Slate Drake #12-2XL
Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20
Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14
Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14
Hydropsyche sp. – Tan Caddis – #16-#18
Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill – #12
Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom – Charcoal) #16- #18
Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26
| FLOWS: | |
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 609 cfs @ 43º |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy,NY | 632 cfs @ 45º |
| East Branch at Harvard, NY | 263 cfs @ 52º |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 684 cfs @ 60º |
| Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 1,710 cfs @ 63º |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 282 cfs @ N/A |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release | 96.1% – 610 CFS |
Delaware River Update and Conditions 7/14/2011
Lots of bugs on the water last night after a day of mixed clouds and sun. The weather has cooled down a bit making it more comfortable on the water. Keep an eye out for risers on shade banks and riffles. Looks like bright sunshine today, but fishing should turn on towards evening.
- Hatches:
Isonychia bicolor – Iso/Slate Drake #12-2XL
Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20
Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14
Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14
Hydropsyche sp. – Tan Caddis – #16-#18
Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill – #12
Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom – Charcoal) #16- #18
Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26
| FLOWS: | |
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 609 cfs @ 43º |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy,NY | 637 cfs @ 45º |
| East Branch at Harvard, NY | 622 cfs @ 48º |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 1,110 cfs @ 57º |
| Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 1,940 cfs @ 63º |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 347 cfs @ N/A |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release | 96.9% – 610 CFS |
Delaware River Report / Conditions July 13, 2011
Clouds! At least that is what the forecast is calling for, which should make for some excellent mid-day fishing here system-wide. We had reports of golden drakes (potomanthus distinctus) on the East Branch last night, which has been maintaing a low temp due to the increased flows from Pepacton. On the West it was bug soup last night – Stenos, pseudos, dortheas, deficiens, and on, and on – made for a tough night trying to figure out what the fish were eating – Delaware fun at its finest!
A White Fly (Ephoron leukon) shuck - they change from dun to spinner almost immediately after hatching - sometimes in mid-air! Photo by: Jeff White
- Hatches:
Isonychia bicolor – Iso/Slate Drake #12-2XL
Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20
Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14
Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14
Hydropsyche sp. – Tan Caddis – #16-#18
Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill – #12
Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom – Charcoal) #16- #18
Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26
| FLOWS: | |
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 620 cfs @ 43º |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy,NY | 648 cfs @ 46º |
| East Branch at Harvard, NY | 643 cfs @ 48º |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 1,150 cfs @ 596º |
| Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 2,050 cfs @ 63º |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 381 cfs @ N/A |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release | 96.9% – 610 CFS |
Delaware River Report / Conditions July 12, 2011
Just hit the copy button – we’re looking for an exact repeat of yesterday, both in conditions and weather – hot and sticky! It makes that 45-degree water up in Deposit seem down right refreshing! We expect the same from the bugs as well – morning caddis and evening dortheas, stenos and isos. The fog has been staying off the lower river, so we’ve been able to fish all the way up until dark!
- Hatches:
Isonychia bicolor – Iso/Slate Drake #12-2XL
Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20
Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14
Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14
Hydropsyche sp. – Tan Caddis – #16-#18
Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill – #12
Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom – Charcoal) #16- #18
Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26
| FLOWS: | |
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 620 cfs @ 43º |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy,NY | 654 cfs @ 48º |
| East Branch at Harvard, NY | 883 cfs @ 46º |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 1,530 cfs @ 56º |
| Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 2,330 cfs @ 62º |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 441 cfs @ N/A |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release | 97.4% – 610 CFS |
Delaware River Report / Conditions July 11, 2011
Down we go – looks like we are down to our 600 CFS release from Cannonsville – the river is stable, as the flow was gradually decreased, there should be no real “shock” to the system – the good news is that the infamous ‘green crap’ has been mitagted, as the big flush of water kicked the majority of it downstream – now you can fish your sulphurs and they won’t turn into BWO’s! Give us a call at the shop for the most up-to-the-minute info.
PS – We still have a few Sage Z-Axis 5 and 7-weight rods for sale – 35% off and free shipping!
Sage Z-Axis Rod. Photo by: Matt Jones
- Hatches:
Isonychia bicolor – Iso/Slate Drake #12-2XL
Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20
Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14
Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14
Hydropsyche sp. – Tan Caddis – #16-#18
Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill – #12
Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom – Charcoal) #16- #18
Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26
| FLOWS: | |
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 620 cfs @ 43º |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy,NY | 659 cfs @ 45º |
| East Branch at Harvard, NY | 908 cfs @ 46º |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 1,530 cfs @ 56º |
| Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 2,450 cfs @ 61º |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 484 cfs @ N/A |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release | 97.4% – 610 CFS |
Delaware River Report / Conditions July 10,2011
The release has gone down to 712 cfs and continues to slowly get back to the 500 cfs set flow. The bright sun and warmer temperatures we faced yesterday made the fishing tough, but with forecast of thunderstorms in the near future we should see the fish become more active. The decrease in flow has enabled the wade fisherman to access most spots on the West Branch, while the Main Stem and East Branch still remain a little to high.
- Hatches:
Isonychia bicolor –Iso/Slate Drake #12-2XL
Ephemerella dorothea –Sulphur- #16/18/20
Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14
Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14
Hydropsyche sp. –Tan Caddis –#16-#18
Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill –#12
Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom –Charcoal) #16- #18
Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26
| FLOWS: | |
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 750 cfs @ 44º |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy,NY | 773 cfs @ 46º |
| East Branch at Harvard,NY | 952 cfs @ 47º |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy,NY | 1,690 cfs @ 56º |
| Mainstem at Lordville,NY | 2,730 cfs @ 60º |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls,NY | 555 cfs @ N/A |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Level &Release | 97.4% –712 CFS |
Hello and good morning –internet issues today,sorry for the delay in posting.
The release is down to 950 cfs,which means we can expect almost a carbon-copy of yesterday! Olives were abundant on the upper West Branch,and fish were up and feeding. There was a TON of heavy fog over the river starting in late afternoon,but it only affected visibility for the fishermen –not the fish. Bugs kept coming and fish kept rising! Let’s hope for more today!
- Hatches:
Isonychia bicolor –Iso/Slate Drake #12-2XL
Ephemerella dorothea –Sulphur- #16/18/20
Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14
Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14
Hydropsyche sp. –Tan Caddis –#16-#18
Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill –#12
Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom –Charcoal) #16- #18
Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26
| FLOWS: | |
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 962 cfs @ 43º |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy,NY | 999 cfs @ 47º |
| East Branch at Harvard,NY | 1,010 cfs @ 48º |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy,NY | 1,910 cfs @ 57º |
| Mainstem at Lordville,NY | 3,230 cfs @ 57º |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls,NY | 705 cfs @ N/A |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Level &Release | 97.8% –950 CFS |
Delaware River Report / Conditions July 9, 2011
Hello and good morning – internet issues today, sorry for the delay in posting.
The release is down to 950 cfs, which means we can expect almost a carbon-copy of yesterday! Olives were abundant on the upper West Branch, and fish were up and feeding. There was a TON of heavy fog over the river starting in late afternoon, but it only affected visibility for the fishermen – not the fish. Bugs kept coming and fish kept rising! Let’s hope for more today!
- Hatches:
Isonychia bicolor – Iso/Slate Drake #12-2XL
Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20
Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14
Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14
Hydropsyche sp. – Tan Caddis – #16-#18
Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill – #12
Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom – Charcoal) #16- #18
Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26
| FLOWS: | |
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 962 cfs @ 43º |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy,NY | 999 cfs @ 47º |
| East Branch at Harvard, NY | 1,010 cfs @ 48º |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 1,910 cfs @ 57º |
| Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 3,230 cfs @ 57º |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 705 cfs @ N/A |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release | 97.8% – 950 CFS |
Delaware River Report / Conditions July 8, 2011
And again, more confusion this morning – the release on the WB has been reduced to 1,150 CFS, also not part of the FFMP release plan. We are trying to get to the bottom of exactly what is going on – one possibility is that the DEP is lowering the flow gradually to get back to the 600 CFS level, which is better than the yo-yo flows of yesteryear.
Confusion aside, there was great bug activity all day yesterday, including a rush of what appeared to be deficiens – blue wing olives along the entire West Branch. Fish were rising, but gave even the most season angler fits – it was hard to figure what they were feeding on – sometimes and olive worked, but many times it did not. With cloud cover and sporadic storms today, we are looking forward to hitting the water and finding out!
-
-
Gorgeous sunset in the fog on the Main Stem. In the boat: Wiley Paul, Randy and Sue Wagner. Photo by: Bart Larmouth
Hatches:
-
Isonychia bicolor – Iso/Slate Drake #12-2XL
Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20
Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14
Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14
Hydropsyche sp. – Tan Caddis – #16-#18
Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill – #12
Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom – Charcoal) #16- #18
Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26
| FLOWS: | |
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 1,170 cfs @ 43º |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy,NY | 1,200 cfs @ 45º |
| East Branch at Harvard, NY | 1,180 cfs @ 52º |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 2,160 cfs @ 59º |
| Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 3,750 cfs @ 59º |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 756 cfs @ N/A |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release | 97.8% – 1,150 CFS |
Delaware River Report / Conditions July 7, 2011
Confusion this morning – the release on the WB has been reduced to 1,350 CFS, which does not correlate with the FFMP, and the table they are quoting. We’d love to hear from anyone with a good explanation as to why they are not releasing to the defined levels.
Regardless, this drop won’t affect the fishing too much, as the fish will be able to mostly hold where they have been over the last few days. Last night we had bugs everywhere, and quite a few fish making appearances as well both on the Main and the West Branch. The fog rolled in around 8:00 PM (the air was 90 and the water is 50), which did pretty much kill the rest of the evening. We expect similar circumstances today, and hopefully bugs throughout the day.
-
Pretty WB Brown caught before the fog last night. Photo by: Sasha Vaut
Hatches:
Isonychia bicolor – Iso/Slate Drake #12-2XL
Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20
Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14
Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14
Hydropsyche sp. – Tan Caddis – #16-#18
Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill – #12
Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom – Charcoal) #16- #18
Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26
| FLOWS: | |
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 1,370 cfs @ 43º |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy,NY | 1,400 cfs @ 45º |
| East Branch at Harvard, NY | 1,670 cfs @ 55º |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 2,760 cfs @ 59º |
| Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 4,700 cfs @ 59º |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 929 cfs @ N/A |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release | 97.8% – 1,350 CFS |
Delaware River Report / Conditions July 6,2011
-
- The hot air temperatures, bright sun, the jump in flows below the dam, and heavy amounts of moss being washed down river yielded poor fishing conditions yesterday. However, the fish should become acclimated to the increased flow soon, resulting in spectacular fishing on both the West Branch and Main Stem! Keep your fingers crossed for more rain so that the Cannonsville Reservoir will remain above 95% and we will continue to see these higher flows.
Hatches:
Isonychia bicolor –Iso/Slate Drake #12-2XL
Ephemerella dorothea –Sulphur- #16/18/20
Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14
Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14
Hydropsyche sp. –Tan Caddis –#16-#18
Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill –#12
Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom –Charcoal) #16- #18
Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26
| FLOWS: | |
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 1,570 cfs @ 43º |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy,NY | 1,580 cfs @ 45º |
| East Branch at Harvard,NY | 2,110 cfs @ 56º |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy,NY | 3,500 cfs @ 59º |
| Mainstem at Lordville,NY | 5,720 cfs @ 58º |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls,NY | 1,170 cfs @ N/A |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Level &Release | 98% –1,501 CFS |
Comments are closed 
Delaware River Report / Conditions July 5, 2011
Wow – look at that graph below – we’ve got some water in the West Branch. The good news: All release – we’ve hit a level with the FFMP (flow plan) that has bumped us up to a 1,500 CFS release until further notice (until the reservoir drops to a certain level). The not-so-good: the fish will be shocked for the next day or so in the upper stretches of the river. The lower West should recover quickly, and this bodes VERY well for good daytime fishing. 1,500 is wadable in certain places, but other will definitely be more difficult in the coming days.
-
- This Means WATER!!
Hatches:
Isonychia bicolor – Iso/Slate Drake #12-2XL
Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20
Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14
Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14
Hydropsyche sp. – Tan Caddis – #16-#18
Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill – #12
Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom – Charcoal) #16- #18
Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26
| FLOWS: | |
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 1,570 cfs @ 43º |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy,NY | 1,590 cfs @ 45º |
| East Branch at Harvard, NY | 2,510 cfs @ 55º |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 4,660 cfs @ 57º |
| Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 7,020 cfs @ 59º |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 1,730 cfs @ N/A |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release | 95.6% – 500 CFS |
Delaware River Report / Conditions July 4th, 2011
HAPPY FOURTH of JULY!!! We hope everyone is enjoying the holiday weekend!
Now for the news: instead of “scattered thunderstorms” yesterday, we had pretty close to storms ALL day. Fishing was GREAT on the West Branch as a result of the cloud cover and wet conditions, but the East, Willow and Beaverkill quickly blew out and are still running obscenely high. This has of course muddied the Main Stem as well. The East Branch peaked around 13,000 CFS – and yes, that comma is in the correct place. It is dropping quickly, so we hope to have the Main Stem fishable again by the end of the week. Otherwise, the West Branch is still the best bet!
-
An outside wall of the shop this morning - covered with everyone's favorite tiny BWO - the Pseudo! Photo by: Bart Larmouth
Hatches:
Isonychia bicolor – Iso/Slate Drake #12-2XL
Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20
Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14
Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14
Hydropsyche sp. – Tan Caddis – #16-#18
Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill – #12
Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom – Charcoal) #16- #18
Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26
| FLOWS: | |
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 510 cfs @ 43º |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy,NY | 611 cfs @ 48º |
| East Branch at Harvard, NY | 2,920 cfs @ 52º |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 8,040 cfs @ 57º |
| Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 11,500 cfs @ 59º |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 3,350 cfs @ N/A |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release | 95.6% – 500 CFS |
