MEMORIAL DAY UPDATE The Green Drakes are now pouring from the water in most all of the Upper Delaware rivers. There is now Excellent activity in the Beaverkill, Upper East Branch, West Branch and Main Stem. The last few nights the water has been blanketed with Coffin Fly Spinners at dark. Our guides have been keeping our guests our late. Last night I did not get back until around 11:00 pm but it was worth it as every fish in the river was up gorging on the giant insects. WE had lots of nice Trout including a Rainbow and Brown that were just under 20" This action should be reliable and heavy for about a week or so. The Trout will be suckers for a big Coffin Fly for several weeks. Now is the
HOLIDAY WEEKEND OUTLOOK! Memorial Day Weekend is about to kick off. This is historically the first real push of recreational use to the Upper Delaware Rivers. Anglers planning to fish this weekend should expect to see our first heavy hatch of Kayaks, Canoes and Rafts. There will also be increased activity along all rivers. Fly Anglers will find the fishing conditions to be getting tough just at the time where the fishing should be the best. Over the last few weeks rainfall has been scarce and we are getting our first blast of summer temperatures. Please note that the low water conditions now have the Lower Main Stem and the Lower East Branch in temperature sensitive ranges for catch and rele
The fishing continues to be pretty good everywhere but there has been a big change recently to the timing of the dry fly activity. The appearance of several sunny days in a row has shifted the activity to much later in the day. The photo below clearly shows the best time for surface action Anglers planning to fish this week will find all of our rivers trending to the low side. Wading opportunity is excellent. The forecast for the next few days is for very hot days. This forecast along with the low water will most likely put the lower stretches of our freestone rivers to sensitive temperature ranges. Anglers should now be aware of water temperatures whenever catch and release fishing. Anglers
PRIME TIME ACTION! Over the next 3 weeks the Upper Delaware River system will be in the Prime Time for Dry Fly action. This time period will bring us the hatches of the Biggest insects of the year and their respective spinner activity. By the end of this week the Green Drakes should become a fishable Hatch. Anglers planning to fish this week will find all of our rivers trending to the low side. Wading opportunity is excellent. The colder than normal weather has all of our rivers in an excellent temperature range for both insects and the Trout. Over the last few days the rivers have been pumping out the bugs especially late in the day. Our guided trips have been excellent and our guests have
It's Dry Fly Time! Over the last 2 days the dry fly action has come into the spotlight. All of our guides reported never touching a nymph or streamer rod during their last few trips. At this time anglers can expect to see reliable dry fly fishing every day. We are now entering the time period where the largest insects emerge and the largest diversity of insects can be found on the water at one time. During my float yesterday we had very steady risers from noon until dark. There were too many different insect species to keep track. Here is the short list of the ones of importance. Hendricksons, March Browns, Large and Small Sulfurs (ephemerellas), Vitreus Sulfurs, Olives and a few drakes, T
GREAT DRY FLY FISHING! Yesterday The Dry Fly fishing was very good across the system. All of our guests had great action and it was all smiles at the end of the day. There are multiple species of insects on the water and the Trout are feeding well. All of our rivers are now dropping flow slowly. There is plenty of wadable water throughout the system. Most of our rivers are just a bit high at this time except the Upper East Branch which is at it's normal low flow. Here are a few shots from yesterday. Give us a call today. We have some available dates for the prime dry fly action in May and June 607-290-4022
WINTER RETURNS Over the weekend winter returned to the Upper Delaware Region. Cold weather, rain and snow squalls and high winds are what mother nature dealt us. Despite the miserable weather our guests managed to put some nice Trout in the net. In the coming days anglers who plan on fishing will find slightly warmer conditions. Our days are forecast for mid 50's with overnights in the high 30's to low 40's. Not exactly what you would expect in May but great weather for the river environment and the trout. This week there is rainfall in the forecast for mid week but the amounts are unclear at this time. This week anglers will find our rivers to be on the high side except the upper East Branc
WEEKEND OUTLOOK This weekend looks to be a repeat of last weekend with overcast skies and rainfall in the forecast. Today and tomorrow look to be excellent fishing days with light rainfall and reasonable winds. Sunday is forecast to be extra special with heavy winds, rain and snow squalls. Almost the exact weather from last weekend. Overall this type of cold and dreary weather is beneficial to the river system and the trout. For humans we should be thankful for gortex jackets and performance clothing. If you are fishing this weekend there should be good insect activity. Insects always emerge in better numbers on lousy days. We should also see some Blue WIng Olive activity associated with the
Guide Reports Currently all of our Upper Delaware and Catskill Rivers are in great shape. The very cool nights and recent rainfall have the Trout , Insects and rivers in a great place. There are perfect conditions for taking trout with all fly fishing methods at this time. Recently our guests have been taking lots of Big Brown and Rainbow Trout on Dries, Nymphs and Streamers. The Baxter House Guide Staff is very busy now and we are covering large portions of the river system daily. Below is a brief summary of what is going on. ANglers planning to fish in this spring should remember that our guide staff is in the fly shop most every morning between 8:00 am and when they leave for their trips.
Cold Nights and Great Water Conditions! The fishing remains good all across the Upper Delaware Region. The 2 straight weeks of cold rainy weather have slowed the early hatches down to the point where the bugs are near their normal schedule. Right now the insect hatches are about where I would expect them to be for the date. This morning we woke to a frost that have everything in Roscoe covered in a thin layer of ice. Today's forecast is for lighter winds and bright sun. Today should be a great spinner day. The Tailwaters are still pumping our the early season insects and the Freestones are a bit ahead with March Browns, Sulfurs and Caddisflies on the menu. Over the past few days I have been
GREAT FISHING CONTINUES! The fishing remains good all across the Upper Delaware Region. The 2 straight weeks of cold rainy weather have slowed the early hatches down to the point where the bugs are near their normal schedule. Right now the insect hatches are about where I would expect them to be for the date. The Tailwaters are still pumping our the early season insects and the Freestones are a bit ahead with March Browns, Sulfurs and Caddisflies on the menu. Over the past few days I have been back on the freestone sections and can report fish feeding regularly on a mix of insects. During yesterdays nasty winds and weather we had some real blitzes of surface activity on some localized but p
The rainfall and big trout on the surface continue..... WEEKEND OUTLOOK! Anglers planning to fish the Upper Delaware River System this weekend should pack plenty of clothes and rain gear. We are forecast for rain to continue through the weekend. This will extend the streak of no sun to about 2 straight weeks. Anglers will find the Upper Delaware freestone rivers to be up in flow for the coming days. The tailwaters, West and East branches are still at flows where anglers will have about unlimited access to every pool. The Hatches on the Upper East and West are very good to incredible. There are lots of Olives, blue quills, hendricksons and caddisflies emerging. There has been little spinner a
More Rainfall, more big Trout! The gray days and rain continue. We are forecast for more gray days for at least through the weekend. The steady but light rainfall over the last few days has really improved fishing conditions throughout the system. During our recent float trips yesterday there has been water coming down the mountain everywhere. Over the coming days anglers can expect to find mid to high water conditions everywhere except the Upper East Branch which is still pretty low. Currently there are varying levels of turbidity. Anywhere you find several tributaries in an area you will find the turbidity. As always the best action was around the turbidity yesterday. We are forecast for
Rainy Days Big Trout! Yesterday we had another rainy day in the Upper Delaware Region. All of our guests from yesterday now have a good understanding why we always encourage visiting anglers to fish in the rain. Below is MIke Gartland with a pair of Browns that could not resist our March Brown Cripple pattern. These big boys were 22" and 21" in length. The steady but light rainfall over the last few days has really improved fishing conditions throughout the system. During our float trips yesterday there was water coming down the mountain everywhere. Below is a shot of one of the waterfalls along the Main Stem Delaware This falls was about dry before the weekend. Over the coming days anglers
The Fly Fishing is pretty good right now. The colder weather and rainfall over the last few days have spurred excellent insect activity. There is a big variety of insects about at this time. There is a big difference between fishing the tailwater and freestone rivers. Currently the Main Stem Delaware is way out in front with March Browns and Sulfurs emerging in the lower reaches. The West Branch is still in a more normal for the season with Blue Quills, Hendricksons and Blue WIng Olives. The other rivers fall somewhere in between the two extremes. Despite the wide range of insect hatches the action is good wherever you pick. Over the weekend we had boats all over the system and our guests g
