There were plenty of wind-burned faces coming off the water yesterday, that is for sure. On the West Branch, there was no real need to back row in a boat – you could just let the wind take you upstream. That being said, we had some decent fish caught on streamers, nymphs, and even a few isolated dry flies. The dries that were around comprised mostly of the chimarra caddis (little charcoal/brown) in about a size 18. There were some (reliable) reports of some strange “Baby March Browns” on the lower West – I’m hoping to capture one today. Could be some that had their growth stunted or the like. Bug-nerd-wise, this is important. Fisherman-wise, not so much as the fish weren’t on them. Today we’re starting with warmer water and air temps – this could bode well for a more dry-oriented day, but there are some thunderstorms predicted, and a little bit of wind (not like yesterday) coming out of the South again.
Terry Mulvihill with a nice, dark Rainbow he caught this weekend as part of the Project Healing Waters training session. Photo: Bob Lewis
What’s Hatching:
Chimarra species – Charcoal Caddis – #16 & #18
Taeniopteryx fasciata – Early Black Stonefly- #18
Brachyteraspecies- Early Brown Stonefly – #12/#14
Baetis species – BWO – #16 & #18 – Very sporadic, getting started
Paraleptophlebia adoptiva – Blue Quill – #16 & #18 – Same as Baetis
Current Flow Conditions:
| FLOWS AS OF 8:00 AM: | |
| West Branch at Stilesville, NY | 221 cfs @ 41º |
| West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY | 566 cfs @ 45º |
| East Branch at Harvard, NY | 333 cfs @ 45º |
| East Branch at Fish’s Eddy, NY | 1,390 cfs @ 46º |
| Mainstem at Lordville, NY | 2,650 cfs @ 47º |
| Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY | 814 cfs @ N/A |
| Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release | 91.0% – 200 CFS release |
