Delaware River Report / Conditions May 10, 2016

The wind yesterday was definitely an improvement over what we faced Sunday.  We still had some gusts to deal with but there were enough breaks to get the fish eating on top and it was low enough to cast.  We saw decent numbers of Hendricksons coming off mid- afternoon.  A lot of females were on the water at times.  We thought it would be a decent caddis day since it was the first really sunny day we’ve seen in a while.  We were correct and there were fish eating apple caddis (#18) and little tan caddis (#18 – 20) in the afternoon.  March Browns are still making their way up the system and we are finding nymphs that look ready to go soon.
Today’s forecast looks great with air temps hitting the mid 60’s, partial cloud cover, and winds gusting only to 6 mph mid day then dropping.  We are coming off a cold night so it may take a while for the hatching today.  Nymphing could pay off in the morning as the clarity is good throughout the system and flows are slowly dropping back.
Cannonsville and Pepacton levels have been updated and sit at 99.5% and 99.9% capacity respectively.

Jack with a great Delaware rainbow. Photo by Kevan Smaracko

Hatching:
March Browns – #10-2xl – Maccaffertium vicarium (formerly Stenonema vicarium)
Hendrickson- #12 – 14 – E. subvaria
Hendrickson #16 – E. X
Blue Quill #16 – 18 – Paraleptophlebia adoptiva
Dark Brachycentrus sp. – #14 – 18 – Dark Grannom
Light Brachycentrus sp. – #16 – 18 – Apple Caddis
Little Black Caddis #18 – 20 – Chimarra sp.
Blue Winged Olives #16 – 18 – Baetis vagans (updated name: Baetis tricaudatus)
Quill Gordons #14 – Epeorus pluralis – almost gone – you’ll still find a few here and there