The "Rain Event".

This summer we have had several dry periods in the drainage system. Thunderstorms have distributed their water unevenly to say the least and the most recent series of storms is no exception. The west branch got the bulk of the rain with gauges above and below the reservoir recording flows of over 2,000 CFS. The water below the reservoir came from the tributaries (release was cut to 300 CFS) and was heavily silt laden. The WB, and by now, the big river are orange/brown in color and unfishable.

The east branch is a different story as the bulk of the rain was to the west. Fish's Eddy was up to about 500 CFS with moderate turbidity. Both the upper East and Beaverkill are at fishable levels. The rise in flow may also start the fish migration back into the big east branch.

At Montague, the gauge has fallen well below the minimum flow requirement. PPL abruptly shut off their release from Wallenpaupak yesterday and the storms failed to dump water on the lower river. I don't know if the draw down will be started up again when the rain water has cleared the system or if the WB will again be called upon to supply the bulk of the water to meet minimum flow..

The water temps throughout the system shot up with the flow cut back and warm rain water. It won't matter much until the water clears but a continuance of low releases and the predicted above average air temps will keep the water temps above those preferred by isos and olives for hatching. The dry fly fishing, which had improved this past week, will likely suffer as a result. On the other hand, those chucking streamers may benefit from the colored water.

With the dry fly fishing on hold for a few days, I have headed home to erect tree stands and attend to other chores.

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