Finding rainbows in the sun.

 

Took Thursday off as Jean came down and I enjoyed spending the time with her. We sat on the back porch in the evening and watched the deer come for the apples under the tree on the corner of the porch. A couple of the old girls seem to now recognize Jeans voice and don't spook when she talks to them. 

The River Master cranked up the release at midnight Thursday morning to 1,000 cfs and cut it back to 900 cfs at midnight this morning. So far, it has continued at that rate. The increased flow coupled with last nights 44 degree temp cooled off all of the rivers. Yes, both the EB and BK were back up over 70 today in the bright sun but the BR started off around 58 and never got above 63. The results were predictable, bugs and rising fish from when I got there at about 5:00 until I left at 8:00.  Love seeing rainbows on a bright sunny day.

To say the fishing is unpredictable would be an understatement. The fishing remains on the WB and the upper portion of the BR. If the increased flows from Cannonsville continue the fish will continue to migrate down the BR. If the flows are cut back it becomes a crap shoot. Stopped and talked with Jeff Skelding at FUDA and Jim Serio, the sliding scale for releases (depending on which level of draught we are in) make the release prospects look grim, however, the need to maintain a minimum flow of 1,750 cfs at at Montague would lead one to believe that there will be good flows near term. Apparently there is some guess work involved as it takes 40 hours for Cannonsville water to get to Montague. Factor in Wallenpaupack power generation releases and anticipated rainfall, (may be more or less than predicted) and you can see the need for adjustments to the flow (both catchup and payback).  

The prospects - Watch the release from Cannonsville. I found the short duration releases to not help the fishing. They don't get the temp down enough for good bug hatches down river. I couldn't find a time during the flow cycle when the fishing was good. When the River Master has called for twenty four hour releases of 900 cfs or more, the bugs, fish and the fishing have turned on.  

Note to Rich - Don't know if you were just making a general statement about fishermen making excuses for not catching fish, if so, no offense taken. If, however, you were inferring that I was making excuses for not catching fish, I have to set the record straight. I write the reports to help fishermen know what conditions to expect and to help them to decide if they should make the long drive to the river. When I fail to catch fish because I made a bad decision of where or when to go, I own it. If the conditions are bad I say so - and for the last two weeks they were bad. Today, after just two days of increased releases, the fishing  turned around.    

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