March 25, 2013

Season is almost here….and kinda is!

Although it has been a cold March, we still have had some brave souls heading out on float trips, and we are already moving fish on the West Branch. Jeff Biller and Dave Price went out with Jeff White yesterday, and not only caught our first dry fly fish of the year, but also this guy:

Jeff Biller and Dave Price with a SLOB of a WB Brown! Photo: Jeff White

The shoulders on this fish were incredible, showing that everyone has wintered well, and we should be catching some nice, fat, early season fish this year.

Taeniopteryx fasciata – Early Black Stonefly- #18

Brachyteraspecies- Early Brown Stonefly – #12/#14

Baetis species – #18 – COMING SOON!

March 20, 2013

Weekly Photo Contest Winner

A nice shot from Club regular Steve Lynch! Congrats!

Steve Lynch holds a fat brown. Photo Courtesy of: Steve Lynch

March 13, 2013

This Week’s Winter Photo Winner

Is Larry Elliott – Well done sir!

Larry Elliott tails his FIRST PERMIT! Way to go! Photo Courtesy of: Larry Elliott

March 7, 2013

Second Winter Photo Contest Winner

Congrats to Chris Calabrese – we love the look and bamboo to boot!

Chris Calabrese with a nice brown taken on a bamboo rod. The DRC trucker hat helped I am sure! Photo courtesy of: Chris Calabrese

February 27, 2013

First Photo Contest Winner – Norm Price!

Congratulations to Norm Price – his submission of he and his Grandson Brendan with an awesome West Branch Brown was an easy choice. Keep those entries coming!

Norm Price with his Grandson Brendan and a fine West Branch Brown! Photo: Norm Price

February 19, 2013

Announcing our First Annual Winter Photo Contest!

This winter has been long and cold, no two ways about it. I appreciate the calls from all of the rest of you out there suffering from cabin fever as well. In an attempt to break it up a little bit, we are announcing our first annual Winter Photo Contest! Here is the gist of it: send us any photo you have with DRC logo paraphernalia in it – be it a hat, sticker, shirt, whatever, to flyfish@thedelawareriverclub.com. We will pick winners weekly, up until we open on April 1. Each winner will receive a DRC fly box with a dozen early-season flies. See below for a good example (being de facto staff, he’s exempt. Sorry Larry!), and good luck to all!!

Larry Clark, Sr. with an excellent Florida Snook caught under the lights. Photo courtesy of Larry Clark Sr.

January 30, 2013

Show Report / Iced Over Home Pool

Thanks to everyone who came by and visited us at the show this past weekend, we had a great time visiting, and it is always good to break the cabin fever with fishing talk. Our annual Float Trip Giveaway (for visitors to our booth at the show) will be drawn next week – the winner will be posted here!

Also by popular demand, here is a photo of what Home Pool looked like this afternoon with the major ice floes running through / freezing it up. The warm temps and rain expected tomorrow will likely blow it all out, so I grabbed a panoramic shot whilst the rain poured today. Click on the photo for a larger view. Happy Wednesday!

Frozen up nicely. Photo: Bart Larmouth

January 25, 2013

Somerset is Here!

Come see us at Somerset! We are set up at the end of “tyers row.” We look forward to seeing everyone!

January 24, 2013

It’s an Alderfly!

Congrats to the following who figured out what this guy was: George Scott, Jeff Moore, Jeff Sanders, and Matt Green. The Alder Fly is a relative of the Dobson Fly (Hellgrammites), but isn’t a big trout food as it typically is in a bit warmer water than our finned friends prefer. Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about them (and yes, I am sure there are better references out there somewhere, this is just a good concise article):

“Alderflies are megalopteran insects of the family Sialidae. They are closely related to the dobsonflies and fishflies as well as to the prehistoric Euchauliodidae. All living alderflies – about 66 species altogether^[1] – are part of the subfamily Sialinae, which contains between one and seven extant genera according to different scientists’ views. But in most classifications, all or almost all of these are treated as subgenera of Sialis.

Sialinae have a body length of less than 25 mm (1 inch), long filamentous antennae and four large dark wings of which the anterior pair is slightly longer than the posterior. They lack ocelli and their fourth tarsal segment is dilated and deeply bilobed. Dead alderfly larvae are used as bait in fishing.^[2]

The females lay a vast number of eggs upon grass stems near water. The larvae are aquatic, active, armed with strong sharp mandibles, and breathe by means of seven pairs of abdominal branchial filaments. When full sized, which takes between one and two years, they leave the water and spend a quiescent pupal stage on the land before metamorphosis into the sexually mature insect. Adult alderflies stay near to the water, in which they had lived in when they were younger.”

January 15, 2013

Off-Season Antics

Time for a fun game – What the $&%* is it? Jeff and I were going through pictures for the show in Jersey this year, and stumbled on this shot he took in the summertime of an aquatic insect. It took us a bit of time to identify the bug, let’s see how everyone out there does! I will open the comment section for this post so you can make your guesses below! Answer to follow next week. Who knows, I may even pony up a prize for the first correct guess. Good luck!

It was about size #12-14 for reference. Click the photo for a larger view. Photo: Jeff White

December 25, 2012

Merry Christmas from the Delaware River Club!

Wishing you and yours are having a wonderful Holiday Season!

October 31, 2012

Delaware River Report / Conditions October 31, 2012

Well here we are. Halloween. The last day of the season for us here at the DRC. Fortunately we still have a lodge to close up for the year after Sandy decided to spare us. I would like to thank each and every one of you for being faithful readers and customers – it couldn’t be done without you! I also promise to not leave a clip art cat on here for the entire winter, and will definitely be adding content weekly if I can, so check back when you get a chance! We will be in the office for a few hours during the week, so feel free to call us at the shop if you need anything at all!

As for the river, no one was out yesterday, but I am seriously considering a streamer run tomorrow (our first day closed) on the West Branch. Color and level are perfect, and the overcast / rainy weather we are expecting will only help to make it a better day. The rest of the week looks like a carbon copy of today, with cooler temps and misty/rainy conditions all the way until the weekend. This will mean a later start to the hatching most likely. Good luck out there if you head out, and be safe if you are recovering from the storm!

Although you can’t see his face, this is Scott Dawson holding a beautiful, beautiful Brown. The importance of this picture? Our little Scotty is growing up, and has FINALLY learned how to properly hold a fish for a picture. It has taken several years, as well as many interventions to get him to this point, so please be as proud of him as I am. Photo: Nate Eckhaus

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL & #12 & #14

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphur – #16 & #18 (waning)

Pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Stenonema stenocron(et al) – Light Cahill – (Male)- #14 (sporadic)

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

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