October 5, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 5, 2014

The clouds stuck around most of the day yesterday finally breaking up mid afternoon.  As a bonus the wind was not too strong until late in the day too.  The olives hatched and the fish responded nicely.  The release from Cannonsville has been raised to 854 cfs this morning until further notice.  The flow at Hale Eddy is still climbing but should settle in just under 900 cfs by mid afternoon.  Most of the fish seem to be willing to eat #18 olives still but definitely have the #24 -26 Psuedos ready..  Yesterday’s rain did offer a little relief for the East Branch and the Beaverkill.  Not as much as we would have liked to see but every drop helps.

Keep an eye out for the caddis in the evenings

Hatching:

Olive/Sulphurs #18 -20 H. hebe

Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.

Dark Blue Winged Olive #16 -20 – E. deficiens, lata, etc.

Slate Drakes #14 -Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.

October 4, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 4, 2014

We woke to the sound of steady rain this morning.  It’s been a long time.  Accuweather is calling for cooler temps and around a 1/2″ of rain today.  I would expect most of the rain to soak into the ground and it appears that they are dropping the release on the West Branch assuming the rain will help satisfy the downriver flow targets.  According to the 7 AM recording the release from Cannonsville is 591 cfs this morning.  The flow at Stilesville is 577 cfs so who really knows for sure. The water temps remain decent with 55 degrees on the West Branch under the 191 Bridge. They are calling for a decent amount of wind.  If the forecast is correct look for protected areas- besides the wind this looks like a great fishing day.   Yesterday was mostly a blue winged olive day with some dark caddis in the evening.

Ken with an awesome brown. Photo by Bob Lewis

Hatching:

Olive/Sulphurs #18 -20 H. hebe

Summer Stenos #12-16 various species

Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.

Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.

Dark Blue Winged Olive #16 -20 – E. deficiens, lata, etc.

Slate Drakes #12 – 14 -Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.

October 3, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 3, 2014

Good news for wading fans of the West Branch- the release from Cannonsville has been reduced to 800 cfs “until further notice”- this should open up more wading opportunities and add a little more slow water where the fish will be willing to rise to small olives.  Hale Eddy is still dropping this morning bet should settle in to the mid 800 cfs range by the afternoon.  The hatching continues to be decent with a lot of olives and a few Isonychias thrown in for good measure.  We are also seeing a lot of caddis in the evening.  If you don’t see fish rising to them a pupa swung had been effective.  The temperature under the 191 Bridge in Hancock is 55 degrees this morning.

George Scott sent us a picture of a nice rainbow landed this week

Hatching:

Olive/Sulphurs #18 -20 H. hebe

Summer Stenos #12-16 various species

Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.

Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.

Dark Blue Winged Olive #16 -20 – E. deficiens, lata, etc.

Slate Drakes #12 – 14 -Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.

October 2, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 2, 2014

The release from Cannonsville has been dropped back to 947 cfs this morning “until further notice.”  We did have some light rain overnight but so far it’s soaked into the ground.  Today looks like a great day for fishing with clouds, some additional light rain possible, and light winds.  We had decent olive hatches yesterday mixed with a few Isonychias and caddis.  The wind gusts were very brief and infrequent which helped keep the fish working.  The cool nights have helped the rivers keep their temperatures throughout the system.  The West Branch under the 191 Bridge in Hancock is 54 degrees this morning.

We still have some decent sized mayflies on the river

Hatching:

Olive/Sulphurs #18 -20 H. hebe

Summer Stenos #12-16 various species

Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.

Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.

Dark Blue Winged Olive #16 -20 – E. deficiens, lata, etc.

Slate Drakes #12 – 14 -Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.

October 1, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 1, 2014

The release from Cannonsville had been dropped this morning to 1081 cfs “until further notice.”  Looking at the USGS gauge there is no change for the East Branch.  If Accuweather is correct today looks like it will be an awesome day to be on the water.  We are looking at air temps in the high 60’s, clouds,  a passing shower or two, and wind gusts only to 5 mph.  I should be a great olive day with a few Isonychias showing up in the afternoon.  The leaves are changing quickly with the lack of rain and cool nights so we are almost in full fall colors.

Cool picture by Bob Lewis

Hatching:

Olive/Sulphurs #18 -20 H. hebe

Summer Stenos #12-16 various species

Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.

Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.

Dark Blue Winged Olive #16 -20 – E. deficiens, lata, etc.

Slate Drakes #12 – 14 -Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.

September 30, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 30, 2014

The release from Cannonsville was increased slightly yesterday afternoon, then dropped back slightly to 1267 cfs this morning.  It seems crazy to solely use the West Branch to meet downstream flow targets when Mainstem temperatures are not an issue and the East Branch is starving for water.  On the plus side the cloud cover stuck around for most of yesterday, the olives hatched, and the fish ate.  Throw in a few Isonychias and caddis and it was a good day to be on the water.  Today looks good on Accuweather with cooler temps, clouds, light winds, and maybe a shower passing through in the afternoon.  The temperature under the 191 Bridge in Hancock is 55 degrees.

Bob With a nice brown- Photo by Bruce Miller

Bruce with a nice rainbow- Photo by Bob Lewis

Hatching:

Olive/Sulphurs #18 -20 H. hebe

Summer Stenos #12-16 various species

Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.

Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.

Dark Blue Winged Olive #16 -20 – E. deficiens, lata, etc.

Slate Drakes #12 – 14 -Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.

September 29, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 29, 2014

Here we are on another day they are using only the release from the West Branch to meet downstream flow targets while the East Branch starves.  The release from Cannonsville Reservoir is currently 1,317 cfs while the flow at Harvard is 99 this morning.  Fish’s Eddy is a pathetic 166 cfs.  The current storage in Cannonsville is 63.5% capacity and Pepacton is 76% capacity.  I don’t think it would destroy the NYC water supply to spread the love around a little.  We are still seeing plenty of olives on the water mixed with some Isonychias and a few different dark caddis.  The bright sun slowed fishing down during the day but shaded areas fished well for risers and things picked up once the sun dropped a bit.  Today looks like another warm one- hopefully the rain they are predicting over the next few days actually hits here for a change!

Father and son. Theo with a nice one while Tony looks thrilled! Photo by Bruce Miller

Hatching:

Olive/Sulphurs #18 -20 H. hebe

Summer Stenos #12-16 various species

Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.

Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.

Dark Blue Winged Olive #16 -20 – E. deficiens, lata, etc.

Slate Drakes #12 – 14 -Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.

September 28, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 28, 2014

Yesterday was a warm one out there.  The bright sun made fishing tough during the day.  Most success came nymphing and swinging wet flies through deeper runs and faster riffles.  There were fish rising during the day but it was all about timing and a little luck.  The hatching picked up in the afternoon with the normal olives plus some caddis.  There are still some Isonychias around the the olives are definitely the key mayfly right now.  Today looks like a repeat of yesterday with both similar flows/releases and the sun.  The wind should be less of an issue today if Accuweather is correct.    The West Branch under the 191 Bridge is 54 degrees this morning.

Theo with a nice brown in the sunshine. Photo by Bruce Miller

Molly taking a nice afternoon boat ride down the Main. Photo by Bob Lewis

Hatching:

Olive/Sulphurs #18 -20 H. hebe

Summer Stenos #12-16 various species

Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.

Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.

Dark Blue Winged Olive #16 -20 – E. deficiens, lata, etc.

Slate Drakes #12 – 14 -Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.

September 27, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 27, 2014

Since the rain missed us this week they are continuing to use the release from Cannonsville to meet flow targets down stream.  The West Branch release is 1088 cfs until further notice.  Ideally we’d like to see the release split between Cannonsville and Pepacton but that doesn’t seem to be in the cards.  The Beaverkill and East Branch are both extremely low while the West Branch is a bit high- leaving the Mainstem in decent shape.  Cannonsville Reservoir is at 63.5% capacity and Pepacton Reservoir is at 76% capacity.  We had decent olive hatches last night with a few Isonychias and Cahills thrown in for geed measure.  The fish were on top in the afternoon until the sun dropped and the temperature dropped.  Most of the risers on the West Branch are being found in eddies and the slow tailouts of pools due to the flows.  The West Branch under the 191 Bridge in Hancock is 54 degrees this morning.

The rainbow head. Photo by Bob Lewis

Jeff with an interesting catch on the West Branch- photo by Bob Lewis

Hatching:

Olive/Sulphurs #18 -20 H. hebe

Summer Stenos #12-16 various species

Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.

Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.

Dark Blue Winged Olive #16 -20 – E. deficiens, lata, etc.

Slate Drakes #12 – 14 -Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.

September 26, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 26, 2014

This morning is cloudy, but we are supposed to have bright sun and a high of 74 this afternoon.  With the water levels dropping, the river should warm  up a little quicker and the hatches should begin by early to mid afternoon.   We will continue to see #14 Isos, #18-24 dark olives/pseudocloeon, and #14-16 stenos.  The release from Cannonsville is 840 cfs, so the West Branch is becoming more wadable and will have slower pools for the fish to rise in.  We should begin to see better hatches on the West now that the water will stay warmer.

Another rainbow to the net!

Hatching:

Olive/Sulphurs #18 -20 H. hebe

Summer Stenos #12-16 various species

Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.

Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.

Dark Blue Winged Olive #16 -20 – E. deficiens, lata, etc.

Slate Drakes #12 – 14 -Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.

September 25, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 25, 2014

Today’s weather appears to be more than ideal; clouds, a little rain in the forecast, high of 66, and no wind!  The Main yesterday yielded less bugs than the previous days, but fish in the quick water were eager to react to an Iso being blind cast.  There were also a lot of #20-24 olives and a ton of #16 caddis by the evening.  Dry fly fishing on the West Branch continues to be spotty but nymphing and streamer fishing the AM remains to be productive.  The graph at Stilesville says 885 cfs so the West should become more wader friendly by this afternoon.

A nice brown from the upper main.

Hatching:

Olive/Sulphurs #18 -20 H. hebe

Summer Stenos #12-16 various species

Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.

Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.

Dark Blue Winged Olive #16 -20 – E. deficiens, lata, etc.

Slate Drakes #12 – 14 -Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.

September 24, 2014

Delaware River Report / Conditions September 24, 2014

The weather is turning a little warmer today with air temps predicted to be in the low 70’s.  We have some rain coming in overnight through tomorrow.  The amount predicted is negligible but the cloud cover will be great for the olives and Isonychias.  Along with those two standbys look for a few Cahills and some dark caddis in #16-18.  There are also a lot of October Caddis around at night so if you see a big splashy rise that could be the answer.  Streamers are still working on the West Branch early before the fog burns off and nymphing is paying off through the day.  Overall the rivers are fishing very well for mid September.

Jim with a streamer fish.   Some of the leaves are turning already!

Hatching:

Olive/Sulphurs #18 -20 H. hebe

Summer Stenos #12-16 various species

Tan Caddis #16 – 18- Hydrosyche sp.

Tiny Blue Wing Olives #22 – 26 – Pseudocloeon sp.

Dark Blue Winged Olive #16 -20 – E. deficiens, lata, etc.

Slate Drakes #12 – 14 -Isonychia bicolor

Charcoal Caddis #16-18 – Dk Brachycentrus sp.