Delaware River Report / Conditions September 17, 2012

Ok this is just getting ridiculous. Mid afternoon yesterday, the wise(a**) powers that be decided to spike the release from 446 to over 1,000 CFS, then IMMEDIATELY drop it back down again. I can understand keeping it at a level for a certain period of time in order to maintain some mythical flow downriver, but a true spike makes no sense, and served only to truly ruin last night’s fishing, as well as blow a TON of the ever-so-popular “green stuff” down river. So today, we’re down to 331 or so at Hale (while the upper East has been cut down to a 100 cfs release) and while I would make the guess that it will stay like that until at least midnight, I obviously cannot guarantee that fact. The good news is that there are more clouds in the forecast for today, and we are going to continue to see the cooler temperatures that have been helping us out as of late. With rain in the forecast over the next two days, the possibility of some great olive hatching and Iso spinner falls just keeps going up. Just the like flow. Maybe.

Basically this is what happened.

Tricorythodes species – #22 male and female (waning)

Isonychia bicolor – Isos – #12-2XL and BIGGER!

Heptagenia hebe – Olive Sulphur – #16 & #18

Pseudocloeon– Tiny BWO- #22-26

Epeorus vitreus – Light Cahill – (Male)- #14 (sporadic)

Ephemerella invaria – Large Sulphurs / Light Cahills – #14 (waning)

Ephemerella deficiens– Dark. BWO -#12-20 (when cloudy)

Ephemerella attenuata– Light BWO- #16-20 (when cloudy)

Hydropsyche- Tan Caddis- #18

Ryacophilia- Olive Caddis- #16

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