Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report

 It's Sunday afternoon and I'm home waiting for cocktail hour with my wife. There was a dearth of questions this week so the page will be spent discussing the long term effects of the FFMP. The FFMP (Flexible Flow Management Plan) is the best flow program I've seen during my 35 years fishing the Delaware River System. The increased flows have resulted in a major increase in both the fish carrying capacity of  the WB and the BR and the number of drift boats floating them. Keeping the water temp below 75 at Lordville provides a large thermal refuge for the down river fish which in turn increases the number of fish all the way down to Callicoon during the "big bug hatches".  Elimination of the dewatering of large portions of the stream bed in the upper WB caused by the former low flows has resulted in a major increase in caddis hatches in the "Sulfur Zone". These are the basic plusses that I have observed. As with most everything in life - if there are plus...

 After getting my tail kicked on both Monday and Tuesday evening, I went out firmly committed to righting the listing ship.  With the morning temp at 43 there were options. Decided to fish the WB water in the BR.  Waited until 9:00 for it to warm up a bit and then suited up. Rose three fish within the first fifteen minutes, one refused my offering, the other two ate and were landed. As the temp rose the wind picked up and I was soon fishing in a 15 mph gusty wind. The only bugs I saw over the water were honey bees that were crossing the river to extract pollen from the knot weed blossoms along the far bank.  Rose several more fish all of which refused my offerings (most of which were dragging at the time the fish took a look).  It was delightful to be out in more seasonable weather, there was space behind the hills for the first time in two months. Tackled the porch fascia boards after lunch. The two sides are done, a second coat on the south facing side will fi...

With a tornado watch in effect and thunder storms predicted for  two-thirty , I opted to fish the upper WB at a spot close to the car.  I had avoided the algae plagued  West Branch all week, first because  of the algae, second because of the rain induced muddy water.  Found  the river at an ideal level,  running clear and with a reduced amount of algae. Arrived about two-forty five to find a mix of bugs on the water with  very few fish up. The summer sulfurs got going about 3:30  and  the fish  started feeding with some vigor. There were dark clouds  overhead, thunder and lightning in the air and when it started to rain  hard I headed for the car.  It was 4:00  and I had landed five of seven fish hooked,  losing a big rainbow and a two year old brown  to large clumps of algae. Returned after about half an hour to find lots of bugs and very few  feeding fish. You had to find risers, mark them, ...

After yesterday's bonanza I decided to return to the upper EB, but  spend the day fishing places I hadn't visited this year (or at least  since Hendrickson's).  Did chores in the morning, tied flies and left  for the river around two.  Carried out my plan to perfection, visiting  all new ( for this year) places.  Couldn't believe how much the  multiflora roses have grown.  Probably poked a dozen new holes in my  waders.  It was sunny and the sulfurs (where I was) hatched in modest  numbers which the fish, for the most part, chose to ignore.  By seven  o'clock I had landed two twelve inchers. Not to worry the feeding bonanza was yet to come.  As soon as the sun  goes behind the hills  - - - - - Well it went behind the hills and the fish, where I was, began feeding  on sulfur nymphs (just like yesterday) only the hatch never really got  going and the spinners didn't show up until it was too dark...

There were more fishermen on the river today than earlier this week  but there were still plenty of places where you could fish alone.  The  upriver hatches remain meager with the summer sulfurs still absent  from the mix.  The fish are feeding but very carefully.  They seldom  eat more than a couple of flies at any one time and often change lies  between feeding spells. Down river the summer sulfurs are going, in some places in the  afternoon and in others not 'til late evening when there are also  olives, isos and spinners in the mix.. Fished my new flies again today.  Had a refusal on the first cast and  then a take on the second.  Thought I was in for a  great day but I  ended up getting more refusals than takes. Five fish ate the fly,  all  upriver.  When I went downstream for the evening fishing, the fly was  ignored.  It is apparently taken for the emerging "big sulfurs".  Am...

Stung by two tough days on the river, I got out early, determined to  teach those fish a lesson.  Fished what I think is one of the better  runs in the river from nine-thirty until eleven fifteen.  What did I  get?  One rise by a fish that said "no thank you" to my offering.  At  least I was smart enough to quit when I did, go home , eat lunch and tie some new and different flies. Almost passed up the afternoon "sulfur hatch"  but  decided to give my my  new flies a try. The hatch was the same as it has been with a mix of  big flies but no summer sulfurs.  The fish, absent anglers (there was  no one fishing anywhere) were rising.  Hooked and landed the first two  fish I threw at and continued to get looks from almost every fish. The  action got hot and heavy whenever a cloud blocked the sun and slowed  to a crawl when the bright sun shone on the river. By five o'clock,  when the hatch had ende...

At four o'clock there were no cars at the lower game lands lot and  just two cars at the upper game lands.  At seven o'clock there were no  cars at the power line pool  and one car at Long Flat. No one is fishing - because? No one is catching any fish.  The "fluff"  reports notwithstanding. Today I fished a run in the middle section of the WB from ten in the  morning (I've done very well in the morning the past two weeks and  expected to do well today) until four in the afternoon.  Saw one other  wade fisherman and two boats. One of the boats was rowed by a guide  who I consider to be the best on the river.  We were both there  because the run is full of fish and the bugs have been going good  there for two weeks. How'd I do?  During the six hours I was there I rose three fish, none  of which ate my fly.  I hooked one of them in the side and landed "the  fish of the day" - a foul hooked fifteen inc...

Have had a good week of fishing.  After the big bugs the fishing  usually gets tougher.  When the Big River and Big East get too warm to  fish it puts extra pressure on the West Branch.  This week you could  fish anywhere and I did, picking spots that were too shallow or too  far down river for boats.  Fishing in the morning got me away from most of the wade fishermen. In the evenings I stayed away from the WB. The result was a solid week of fishing that was as good as any week  I've had this year.  Yesterday morning was no exception.  With the Big  River and EB warming up I fished a long riff on the WB and found large  browns and bows willing to eat my flies.  For a change I landed most  of them.  Took the afternoon off and went to the upper EB for the evening.  The  floating goop that I called brown algae is rock snot.  It's awful as  it gets on your line and fly and won't come off....

After cutting down and cutting up the tree yesterday I decided a nap  would be more helpful than fishing the afternoon sulfurs.  Woke up at  four thirty  to bright sun (it was overcast and raining all morning)  and decided to again seek a shady spot to jump start the evening  fishing. Drove to the upper East Branch which has been deserted by the hoards  of anglers who attended the Green Drake hatch.  There were two cars at  Long Flat and none elsewhere.  Tucked in against a western bank which  still had the sun peaking over it.  There was nothing doing for over  an hour. The first fish that started to rise were yearlings that appeared to be  eating a tiny, tiny mayfly of unknown species.  Around  seven thirty  the first sulfurs started to appear  as did the first sign of feeding  by good fish.  The sulfur's got going in earnest  and so did the fish.  It always amazes me how a pi...

The day started off cloudy and cold with wind blowing fifteen, gusting  even higher.  Got on the water at three to find the hatch not yet  underway.  By 3:30  there were some bugs and a few risers.  The  bugs peaked about 4:30  in what could best be described as only  a fair hatch The fish fed but were clearly not in a feeding frenzy.  You had to look for them and wait for them to rise then cast.  There were  fishermen in the "A" spots and I saw several fish landed. As I got  about as far away from the car as I planned on going the hatch petered  out.  Wade fishermen left and the boats rowed  out.  Started my journey back towards the car looking for the last risers when the sun  broke through the clouds.  It's mid June and even at 6:00  you  could feel the warmth.  The bugs could too for sulfurs and cahills  started hatching again - not a lot  - but enough to get the f...

With the wind at just  fifteen most of the day it was by far the  easiest casting day of the week.  The sulfurs are hatching in good  numbers on both branches.  They can be found in the upper half of the  WB in the afternoon, providing day time dry fly action that has been  missing for the past few weeks. Yesterday it got up near seventy and when the wind laid down around  six it paved the way for a system wide spinner fall.  I found rainbows  sipping an assortment of different spinners.  They were careful but  it's a lot easier to fool them when they are eating off the surface.  As is common with Delaware River bows, I lost almost half of the ones  I hooked. With rain in the forecast it might well be a good weekend to hit the  river, after all you can't mow the lawn or do yard work in the rain.

Three shirts and a rain coat didn't begin to keep me warm.  The wind  blew over fifteen with gusts much higher - rain came on and off all  day and there were even a few ice pellets. The temp never got over  fifty two.  Saw only one other wade angler and half a dozen boats all  day. The bugs, for some reason were lovin' it.  By three the water was  yellow with every kind of bug you could name.  It wasn't until the  sulfurs started to wain that I noticed all the little olives and the  isos. The fish - were slow to get started but fed like crazy from about four  'til seven when things shut down (so much for yesterdays advice). Dry fly fishing was an event.  I missed rises by fifteen feet.  Drag  just might have been a factor in numerous refusals.  But, enough fish  ate the fly to make it a great day. My index finger looks like I was  pulling up rose bushes bare handed (trout teeth are sharp) and the...

Just as it was getting hard to see my cornuta the fish started eating on top.  Hooked a couple on the cornuta and then had to switch to a sulfur so I could see it.  The sulfurs were on the water by then anyway and the fish were more than happy to eat mine.   Over the years I have noticed that the approval rating of my flies goes up as the light fades. Until the summer sulfurs get going in the afternoon  the action seems confined to the last hour of daylight (again looked for cornutas in the morning - found nothing). It's not an ideal time to make a trip to the Delaware as there is a lot of down time.  When the summer sulfurs get going there is fishing from early afternoon until dark - come then!

It rained here Sunday  - and boy did we need it.  It put all the rivers  up - they were all muddy - it also cooled them down. The WB was  clearing above Oquaga by 12:00 Monday  and the upper EB was good to go  upstream of Centerville when I went by at five. Counted "only" six cars at Long Flat and three at Power Line.  The  drakes are done and the upper EB will soon be a quiet place again. Didn't find much of a hatch where I fished and there was nothing going  until the last hour - then they went good.  Hooked one after another  for the last forty five minutes of light. My best fish were a hand  full of fifteen/sixteen inchers. Had one refusal from a good fish  early and one big one came out of a dark hole and chased a nine incher I had on the line. If the big browns don't find enough bugs to eat  they switch to fish.

The season is speeding by - Green Drakes are all but over on the Upper  East and there was a big spinner fall at the one ninety one pool on  the West Branch Thursday  night.  Fished near Balls Eddy on Thursday  and saw neither Duns nor Spinners. Isos normally follow the drakes  and appear in numbers around Memorial  Day.  Often times you can see as many as a dozen nymph husks on stream  side rocks.  This year you have to look at a dozen rocks to find one  husk.  Is it a poor year for Isos?  Has the heat held them back or are  they over? Who knows? The Cornuta (large olives)  arrive after all the big bugs and usually  hatch in the morning in early in June.  I have looked for them both  last week and this but in all the wrong places.  A Troutfitter regular  called the shop to report seeing them Friday  morning at the game  lands. Friday  night at the one ninety one bridge the...

Returned to the river this morning - with the five hundred cfs release  in the WB the worst of the algae problem has been sent down river for  now. The unfishable high temps have continued on the Big River and the Big  East. The Beaverkill?  Who knows?  There have been no temperature  readings at the USGS station there for years. The three most critical stations (where thermal stress is most likely  to occur )are Fish's Eddy on the EB, Lordville on the Big River and  Cooks Falls on the Beaverkill.  They stopped reporting temps at Cooks  Falls years ago and no one seems to care.  The shop owners who post  water temps seem happy to write NA next to the Beaverkill water temp  and people go right on fishing.  Perhaps they feel its better for  business to have the people fishing. Someone should get this long  neglected matter corrected (DEC, FUDR, TU) come on, step up! Fishing remains poor - had enough hookups to...

With the Big River, the Big East Branch and the lower Beaverkill all too warm to fish, there just wasn't enough river for the holiday weekend throng to fish.  Add to that a week of unseasonably hot weather, the algae problem on the West Branch and bright all day sun and you had the makings for a very poor  fishing weekend. Surprisingly the algae problem improved slightly the second day after the increased release ( beware another increase in release is scheduled for June first) but it made little difference  in the fishing, there were just too many boats and fishermen.  The fish were either rowed over or cast to non stop and never settled down to feed on the surface.  With the algae situation, nymph and streamer fishing were taken out of the equation. On the upper East Branch there were plenty of bugs and feeding fish but the sheer number of anglers limited most anglers success. Parking areas were jam...

The upper East Branch is marginal it hit seventy at Harvard yesterday.  The Green Drakes are hatching and it has been SRO up there.  Unfortunately the lower part of the upper EB is where the drakes are.  Use a thermometer and discretion fishing there. West Branch - Went out early on the lower WB and saw more boats than fish.  The  flow increase cooled the water and slowed both the bugs and fish.  Fished the no kill and above in the late afternoon and early evening,  there were a few boats and almost no wade fishermen. It's been dead up  there since the end of the Hendricksons.  Did see a few of the spring  sulfurs (the big ones) but the fish were not impressed. Went  downstream below the gamelands about 7:30  and found a modest  hatch of green drakes and isos.  There was some feeding subsurface but  there weren't enough bugs to get the fish going on top. The West Branch is a mess - algae carpets the bottom, the n...

Was in the big river by eight-fifteen - morning fishing has been good  and I wanted to fish before it got too warm - never saw a bug or a  rise. Second stop was WB at the  gamelands - hooked and landed a nice  eighteen inch brown. Proceeded to the no-kill where I again saw no  bugs or risers.  After a Wendy's #7 (family style chicken sandwich) I  was off to the upper East.  Saw a pool that had no fishermen and  rising trout.  Ended up landing three there including a second eighteen inch brown - left at 2:30  after quelling all risers and  drove up river past Corbett without seeing a single fish rise. The  Beaverkill was my next stop and I was rewarded there with a "blind  cast bow" that took a iso in a riff. Back on the road trying to find a place to fish the "evening hatch".  The big east was too warm and had no bugs, risers or fishermen.  Returned to the upper East hoping to find a spot to fish - no luck...

The ragged robin which grows in the drainage ditches along highways is  in bloom. It creates a pastel pink ribbon that is beautiful to see.  It also signals the start of the Green Drake hatch. With the unseasonably hot weather most all of he Big River, big EB and  Beaverkill  will have temps above seventy during  the day and should  not be fished.  The upper EB and the WB should be ok temp wise but are  too low to be floated without interfering with the wade fishermen  attempting to fish them. Many of the more ethical guides have cancelled their trips until flows  are increased or it cools off.  Unfortunately there are some who feel  that they have a right to be on the river and don't care how many  peoples fishing they disrupt.  If you are coming - leave your boat at  home - wade fish early in the morning - then enjoy the Catskills. Evening fishing under these  conditions lasts less than an hour and  w...