Heavy Rainfall Throughout the Region AS we were ending our float trips yesterday rain began to fall heavily on our area. This rain pounded us through the night resulting in fast rising waters throughout the Beaverkill and Willowemoc valleys. This morning both rivers are above flood stage and both have spilled into low lying areas. The Beaverkill went from around 85 cfs. a week ago to topping out around 22,500 cfs. These rivers and the waters they flow into, Lower East Branch and Main Stem, will be blown out and dangerous for a while. At this time the Upper East Branch and The West Branch seem to have been spared from the heavy runoff. Both rivers are in a range where our guides will regular

Tuesdays rain has all the upper Delaware rivers in good shape. The olive fishing should really turn on with the cooler weather predicted over the next week. Yesterday we had some olives, but it was a little too warm and sunny for them to really come out in force. With the extra water the nymphing was rough but it should come back strong as the water drops. The fish are really starting to change feeding locations at this point in time. Dont waste time looking in the really fast runs and pocket water. Instead focus on smooth flat runs (both deep and shallow,) i your nymphing, and the middle and tails of pools if your looking to fish dries. Streamers on the west and upper main are also an optio

BWO Weather in the Forecast Here is one of Dr. Bob's many WIld Bows from over the weekend. ALl of our guides were on the Main Delaware this weekenn chasing these beautiful fish. It looks like some nasty fall weather is finally in the forecast. Starting tomorrow we are expecting to have some rainfall move into the region which should be followed by much cooler air temperatures. We are finally in line for some substantial rainfall as 1 to 2 inches are possible for Tuesday. If this report becomes reality then our low water conditions will be gone for the remainder of the season. The weather change should also finally make the cold weather Blue Wing Olive hatches a reliable daily occurrence rath

Guide Matt with a nice autumn brown. Air temps are going to be oddly warm for this time of year throughout the weekend and early week. Which should give anglers opportunities to get out and get solid fishing time in before the cold moves back in. The river conditions have not changed significantly over the course of the last week. Bug activity has also not had any significant changes. With the west branch still flowing at 1100 at hale eddy, the conditions of the west and main still remain the same. The east is still flowing at a low flow. Most of our clients and staff have been having consistent success on nymphs and streamers. Bug activity on the top consists mostly of small olives, midges

Weekend Outlook Mike Gartland with a Big Chrome Bow from under Kellams Bridge. It looks like we are going to have another unseasonably warm weekend. The forecast is guessing for bright sunshine and air temps back in the low 70's. This is a beautiful forecast to be outside in the mountains. Visiting anglers will find little change in our river conditions. The West Branch and Main Stem have the water due to the heavy release out of Cannonsville Reservoir. This release is to satisy the Montague target down in NJ. The release is sure to remain high and fluctuate until some substantial rainfall occurs. All of our other rivers are in low water conditions offering anglers unlimited wading opportun

Fall is well under way in the Catskills, leaves are changing, days are getting shorter and the fish are on the feed. Currently with the exception of the west branch wading options are unlimited on the water the still open to fishing. Anglers should keep in mind that the upper east branch (above shinhopple), the New York section of the west branch and the non catch and release areas of the willow and beaverkill are now closed for the year. This still leaves the majority of the water we fish open, and with winter on its way the fish are hungry! Right now anglers will find that we are in a transitional period with the fishing, its a normal progression that happens every year as the water temps

COLD WEATHER AND OLIVES ON THE WATER Tom Gibson in his usual pose. Tom had several big "BOWS" on yesterday's float! Yesterday was without a doubt the worst possible weather conditions to for fly fishermen in a long while. We had a very cold day with rain squalls and a sustained 25 MPH wind throughout most of the day. These conditions were probably the reason that we saw no other human activity along the river. The Olives exploded in the long awaited cold air temps. From around 12:30 until near dark every inch of the water was covered with mixed size Blue WIng Olives. The giant buffet was met with enthusiasm by our native trout as they were very active throughout the afternoon. If the weathe

With an overnight increase of flow on the west branch (822) the upper Delaware fishing is changing. Stripping streamers should work. Try white/olive whollys. With the increase from the west the main should also fish well. The east branch is still very low making it easy too wade but fishing technical. Our guides have been netting fish with nymphs in shallow fast water. Bug activity has been average for this time of the year. Depending on where you are expect to see ISOs, Olives (18-24), Cahill's and caddis. Early spinner falls are still being reported on the lower east and main stem. For nymphing size 16-22 Pheasant tails, copper johns, prince nymphs have been very effective. Yesterday some

Weekend Outlook A great Wild Rainbow for Mike Gartland. Tis beauty too a #18 nymph in a pothole surrounded by 6" deep water. Cooler weather combined with overcast skies has led to some great action over the last few days. The Upper Delaware trout know the days are getting shorter and they are feeding at every opportunity. Over the next few days we are expecting cooler nights with warm daytime highs, around 70 degrees. River conditions vary greatly on our local rivers. At Cannonsville Reservoir the big YO-YO release into the West Branch continues. The rivers flow is a crap shoot each day and today they chose to go with low water. There is a paltry 282 cfs. release. after it being 800 cfs.+ t

Fishing Update The photo is Andrew who fished with his buddy Mike yesterday. It was Andrew's first Delaware RIver Trip and he is proudly displaying his first ever Trout on a fly. Andrew's first float was full of opportunity as the river was alive with insects and hungry trout! Report update - The overcast weather continued yesterday along with some very light rainfall. This resulted in another buggy day on the river. For the first time in a while I had to keep the dry fly rod handy throughout the day. During the afternoon there was a steady hatch of Olives. The olives were joined at times with a mix of other insects. The other insects were dominated by midges which filled the air at times,

FINALLY SOME RAIN IN THE CATSKILLS! The photos in today's post are from guide Matt's recent trips Matt here with Tuesdays fishing report. The Upper Delaware got rain the past two days which has jumped the flows across the board. We have had guides on all three main rivers the past few days. Last week saw the West Branch hovering around 1100 CFS, about double the average for this time of year. The Upper East Branch was at the mid 60’s CFS but jumped to above 120 after the recent rainfall. The Lower East from the junction of the Beaverkill down has over 300 cubes in it. Which has spurred the fish to eat. The Mainstem has also fished very well with the extra juice. We have had success sh

This morning we have light rain falling. First time in a while and we really need it! Our guides were very busy over the weekend. Everyone was out on the water and we covered a lot of river miles. Normally I will make a statement to the quality of fishing , hot, good, fair etc, The current situation falls outside that assessment model. I would characterize the current fishing as different. There are so many different things happening at once. Low water in the freestones, High water on the West, Yo-Yo release changes, etc. Every day is different. The only thing that will stabilize things would be a heavy soaking rainfall and cooler weather. With that said there is great fishing to be had, if

Fall fishing is officially upon us. The leaves are changing and the browns should be getting ready to move back into the upper system and tributaries to spawn. The weather is predicted to be over cast and rain into Monday but warmer than usual for this time of the year. Prospects for this weekend are looking very positive with the rain and cooler waters. The west continues to flow at 1140 but is still fishing. Streamers and nymphs are a good choice but our staff have been catching good fish off the top. With the rain we are hoping for an increase of flow in the east which will allow float access. Wading is a viable option for the east but with the low water anglers have to be careful wading

WEEKEND UPDATE This WIld Delaware Rainbow is pretty special. This was Craig's first Upper Delaware Trout and his first on a fly rod! The weather is changing again. It looks like warm weather plans on sticking around a while. There is a very small chance of some passing showers over the weekend but no substantial rainfall is expected. The prospects for this weekend look very similar to the last 2 weeks river conditions. The local Trout are active and visiting anglers have a lot of fly fishing options. Currently you can choose to fish Dry, Nymph or Streamer with good results. At this time there is still a heavy release of 1120 cfs. from Cannonsville reservoir. This cold water release has the

The photos in today's post are from yesterday's action on the Main Delaware The last week has brought high sun and cooler air temps to the upper Delaware. Fishing conditions remain good overall, Anglers at this time have the luxury of deciding how they want to fish. Those Anglers looking to nymph should focus on the beaverkill, Lower East and mainstem. Look to find fish in less than 3 feet of water. A heavy iso followed by some smaller unweighted flies has been the ticket. Set your indicator shallower than you think and cover as much water as possible. Those Anglers wanting to streamer fish will find the west branch turbid and on in the higher side. It can be waded but caution is needed. The

Dr. Bob with a giant Main Stem Rainbow from over the weekend. This giant Bow came from super skinny water and was landed on a tiny nymph. The fishing continues to be pretty good around the river system. There have been some daily changes and today is no different. With the lack of rainfall the freestone rivers continue to fall in flow. Right now there is unlimited wading in the Beaverkill, Willoemoc and East Branch. The Upper East has had another drop in release and today the river is at 84 cfs. The West continues to receive a reservoir release that has been increasing daily. This is a Montague release and it will continue to increase until some rainfall occurs down river or they resume gene