The way things are.

 From the beginning of May until the middle of August the fishing was as good as I've ever seen.  Then things came to a halt. Actually they didn't really come to a halt, conditions changed, it was harder to catch fish and I didn't adjust my expectations. No longer were 10 fish days a dead cert, as things stand right now catching a fish or two is an accomplishment. Is the good fishing over for the year? Almost certainly not; let's take a look where we are and what will probably make it better.

What led to the decline? The freestones (BK,BE and BR) have all been too warm to fish for the past two and a half months. The UEB is no longer stocked and it will take another year or two for the wild trout to reach respectable size. The sulfur hatch petered out when the reservoir water below the thermocline became exhausted. The water now being released from Cannonsville is 6/8 degrees warmer than it was during the summer. The area is experiencing drought warnings that have led to cutbacks in reservoir releases. Temperatures continue to be above normal and cool nights non existent. We got four inches of warm rain which blew out all rivers for fishing Tuesday and Wednesday. The water temps in the entire system are now safe for trout but are too warm for most bugs to hatch except in the very last hour of the day.

What changes are needed to restart the fishing? First - If you fished when the River Master released 900/1,100 cfs of water to meet minimum flow requirements you know the answer. Cold water. Second - Anglers need to spread out. The hardest fish to catch (by far) are in the Sulfur zone.  As the rivers decline from the rain runoff they should all contain fish that used the rise in water to move from thermal refuges back to their home pools. The water temps will come down as the warm rainwater moves out of the system and the cooler weather of mid September becomes a reality. Cooler water temps should lead to daytime hatches of isos and olives. Warmer portions of the BR should have white  flies in the evening. If you expect to catch fish you need to fish where the fish haven't seen a fly with a hook in it since June. You'll be surprised how readily they'll eat your fly. 

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