Stream Reports and Hatch Information
Last Update posted November 2009
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Big wild trout like this are
in eminent danger from the low FFMP releases
IMPORTANT HATCH
INFORMATION AND RIVER REPORT
November 2009
River Report
Current Flows and Temps - (scroll
down for links to the gages and reservoir levels)
Daily Reports will begin on April 1
West Branch at Stilesville - West
Branch at Hale Eddy - East Branch at Harvard
-
East Branch at Fishs Eddy
- Mainstem
at Lordville - Mainstem at Callicoon
-
Beaverkill at Cooks Falls -
My apologies for being delinquent with my river report during the
month of October, it was a combination of being out of town a lot,
nasty cold weather, and the fact that there was little happening on
the river in the way of hatches, rising fish and significant flow
changes! This has changed during the past week with better weather,
hatching activity and rising fish - see below for more details. I will
try to update this report several times a week over the next month, as
long as the weather remains fishable, in the 40's and 50's.
Note:see all the pertinent flow gages on the
upper Delaware River system listed below, as well as the current
percentage of the reservoir capacities so just click on!
Hatches:
The West Branch hatching continues to be on the
slow side. However, hatching on the Main Stem and the EB is picking
up, and has been good over the past week with decent hatches and
rising fish between 1 and 5 pm. Decent hatches of tiny BWO pseudos,
small Ephemerella BWO's and small sulfur colored mayflies are bringing
decent numbers of trout to the surface. Small dark caddis are also
coming off and egg laying in the late afternoon! There are still some
sporadic hatches of Isonychia and Stenonema around.
I recently floated the EB and Main with my friend
Mark for 2 days and we had some good dryfly fishing for med to large
browns and bows. We hooked about 15 - 20 fish, mostly 12 -14 inchers
and a few nice ones. I landed a 21 inch brown on a #22 BWO AARP
emerger on 6x tippet. Great fun! Mark fished the Main a few days
before, while I was on the Jersey coast chasing strippers, and did
well with 12 - 17 inch rainbows rising to small BWO's. Trout can be
hyper selective this time of the year so be prepared with 2 colors of
Pseudo bodies, light olive and dark olive and small sulfurs. Small tan
and dark caddis are also around occasionally along with Isonychia.
There are still periodic "flying ant" falls that
produce excellent dry fly fishing as long as the weather holds out.
So have ant patterns in both red brown and black in sizes between #16
Through #22.
Current
Hatches
-Tan and charcoal caddis #16, #18 #20
- Psuedos, duns and spinners (tiny BWO #20, #24,
#24) noon to dark
- Various Ephermerella speices (BWO's) #16 - 20
-Various Steno species, duns and spinners ( #14,
#12) sparce
-Isonychia #12-3x and 4xl , sparce
-Sulfurs (H. hebe), #18, #20 sparce
-Trico spinners and duns, #22 - #28 sparce
- Flying Ants (red/brown and black) #16 - #22
Streamers can move, hook and land large trout,
zonkers and other weighted streamers (and unweighted small streamers)
in white, black, olive and yellow have worked well on the high water
but the water has dropped drastically.
Important - Take a few
minutes - help improve the upper Delaware Fishery!
The lower WB and Main Stem continue to
deteriorate in the warm weather due to low and erratic (yo-yo)
releases called for in the existing FFMP Release Plan. The
current increase in releases the Cannosville and Pepacton reservoirs
are temporary and available only during the Delaware Aquaduct Repair.
All parties, including the "watercrats" who wrote the FFMP plan,
realize that the FFMP is not acceptable for the trout fishery or for
flood mitigation, yet they insist on keeping the destructive plan in
effect until they see fit to change it (And they will only increase
"releases" with pressure from folks like you). Meanwhile, the trout
fishery, habitat and the local economies that depend on it, continue
to suffer.
Aside from the noble effort by the
Friends of the Upper Delaware River (FUDR), board members,
and it's affiliates, there is little being done to improve the
releases in the WB and Mainstem Delaware! Recent
support from the Pa. Fish and Boat Comm. for much
higher releases on the West Branch has been welcomed and encouraged!
To my knowledge, it is the only government agency, except for the
NJDEP that has come out to the public with statements for much higher
releases out of Cannonsville reservoir to protect the WB and Main
Stem, at least to Lordville. Let's hope that they are not side tracked
by the weak stance of the NYSDEC on the upper Delaware fishery issues.
If you are concerned by the fact that the
lower West Branch and Main Stem fishery are extremely vulnerable with
the existing FFMP low releases during the April through Sept. period,
you can do something about it by calling or e'mailing the leaders of
the state agencies below. Tell them that
"the West Branch needs a
minimum releases of 600 cfs from April 1 through Sept 30 - that's what
it takes to keep the West Branch and Main Stem fishery, and
aquatic insect populations, viable from the Cannonsville reservoir
outlet at Stillesville to Lordville, on the Main Stem, with water
temperatures under 68F degrees"!
And it takes a 200 cfs release to keep the East
Branch system healthy during the same period. Both release regimes are
necessary to mitigate floods through the entire Delaware valley by
reducing reservoir levels. See below to find the
email list of politicians and agency folks that you should write to,
or call, and be sure to copy as many as you can or all - The
fishery will not be safe without your help!
The Friends of the Upper
Delaware River (FUDR), together with 7 other river advocate and
flood mitigation groups and more, have put forth a
plan to NYC (below)and the parties of the
decree in April 09 for a steady 600 cfs release plan. It is a
comprehensive document based on science. FUDR's Plan does not increase
the risk that NYC will not be able to meet its water supply need!
The science shows that there is plenty of water for the fishery
and flood mitigation without jeopardizing NYC and downstream
users water!!
SEE LINKS, click here for the FUDR plan!
Click here for my 2009 Delaware River Trout
photos.
Please Support Friends of the Upper Delaware to help the
sustain the wild trout that we all love.
Click here to find out more or e-mail
info@fudr.org
to receive the latest alerts and updates.
- Up to the minute flows and water temps.
West Branch's Hale Eddy Gauge
West Branch's Hancock Gauge
Beaverkill's Cooks Falls Gauge
East Branch's Harvard Gauge
East Branch's Fish's Eddy Gauge
Main Stem's Lordville Gauge
Main Stem's Callicoon Gauge
Current Reservoir Levels Maps
Delaware
River Basin Storage Graphs
Check out our 2009 River Update Photo Gallery
here.
Check out our 2008 River Update Photo Gallery here
The size of these fish make the West Branch one of the top wild
trout rivers in the world for dry fly fishing.
Click Here
for Al Caucci Fly Fishing photos from around the world.
Politicians to contact for Delaware River Issues
(Please copy and paste):
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Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC )
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Carol Collier, executive director
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carol.collier@drbc.state.nj.us
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Bob Tudor, deputy executive director
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Robert.tudor@drbc.state.nj.us
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Jack Markell, gov. Delaware
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jack.markell@state.de.us
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Jon Corzine, gov. New Jersey
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ed.mcbride@gov.state.nj.us
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David Patterson, gov. New York
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governor@state.ny.us
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Edward Rendell, gov. Pennsylvania
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gov@state.pa.us
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New York City Department of Environmental
Protection (NYCDEP):
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Paul Rush, deputy commissioner
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pzanetti@dep.nyc.gov
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Tina Johnstone, dir of ops west of Hudson
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tjohnstone@dep.nyc.gov
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New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation (NYSDEC):
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Pete Grannis, commissioner
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pgrannis@gw.dec.state.ny.us
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Jim Tierney, assistant commissioner
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jmtierne@gw.dec.state.ny.us
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Chris Amato, assistant commissioner
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caamato@nr.dec.state.ny.us
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Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection (PADEP):
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John Hanger, secretary
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johnhanger@state.pa.us
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Cathy Myers, deputy secretary
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cathymyers@state.pa.us
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John T. Hines
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johnhines@state.pa.us
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U.S. Geologic Survey and River Master
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Stephen F. Blanchard, River Master
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sfblanch@usgs.gov
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Gary N. Paulachok
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gnpaulac@usgs.gov
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HOW TO FISH THE WEST
BRANCH AT VARIOUS FLOW RATES
200 - when the river drops below 200 cfs, floating is not possible
and wading is easy. Fish the areas of moving water as the slow pools
can get difficult. The lower stretches can get warm on sunny days.
200-400 - This is a nice level as wading is easy and there is
enough flow to keep the river moving. Floating can mean a lot of
dragging too. Look for fish in the tails of riffs and in the deeper
stretches of pools. Lower stretches can warm up on hot, sunny,
summer days.
400-700 - Great wading and floating along the entire river. The
whole river stays cool and usually fishes nicely. Look for active
fish throughout the river system.
700-1000 - This level is the best of both worlds. There is plenty
of water to float and you can wade the river nearly everywhere. At
this level look for fish out of the main current.
1000-1500 - At this level floating comes into its own. Wading is
still possible in some areas, but floating is easy and gives you the
ability to reach all the working fish. You will start to find fish
along the banks at this level. The fish will look for slower water
in which to position themselves.
1500-2500 - the river really changes character at this level.
Wading is really not possible, but floating the river can yield
really nice fishing. Fish can be caught on streamers and you need to
find surface feeding fish along the banks and back eddies. At this
level big browns can be active during the day and will take
streamers.
2500+ - At this level floating is possible and fishing can
be good. Wading is not possible and is dangerous. Streamers cast to
the banks will take fish. Dry fly action is limited.
For more information please refer to:
Al Caucci's Online Match the Hatch Chart
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