Upper Delaware Fly Fishing Report

River Flow Table

Beaverkill - 1360 cfs.

Wilowemoc - 850cfs.

Upper East Branch -382 cfs

Lower East Branch - 1940 cfs.

West Branch - 779 cfs.

Main Stem - 5120 cfs.

This morning all Upper Delaware Rivers except the Upper East Branch are running high. All Upper Delaware waters are still colder than their historical average for today's date. On yesterday's float I took the water temperature several times and the highest I recorder was 43 degrees. We had a heavy frost last night with some hail and snow squalls so the water temps are probably not going to climb much today.

On yesterday's float trip I had Andy Genarro out for his first float of the season. We saw about every weather condition possible. We fished through rain, heavy winds, periods of sunshine followed by hail and snow squalls.

Despite all that the fishing was pretty good. There was steady insect activity throughout the entire length of our float. There were some small caddisflies, Blue Quills and Quill Gordons. The most abundant insect was the larger Quill Gordons and at times there were fish feeding on them. The gusty winds made any really sustained dry fly fishing not practical so we stuck with baitfish imitations for most of the day.

During the late afternoon we had pretty reguar action with Trout chasing our offerings. Below is our best Trout of the day. This 21.5" Brown absolutely crushed Andy;s streamer and fought really hard despite the cold water.

We are expecting 2 more days of cold weather and snow squalls before we return to normal spring weather conditions.

Currently conditions are still good for fising from boat or on foot. For wade anglers the Upper East and Upper West branches have the best wading opportunity at the current flows. These rivers also have the most reliable insect activity at this time.

There are Stoneflies, Midges, Smalle Caddis, Blue Quills and Quill Gordons on the water. None of these are super heavy yet but you can always see some insect life on the waters surface. Hendricksone and Apple Caddis should start to show up soon.

BEAVERKILL AND WILLOWEMOC

Both the Beaverkill and Willow are very high. Both are cold with some minor turbidity in places. The Willow has more fishable water at this time.

Currently both are best fished with subsurface patterns and it will take some falling water and warm temperatures before any rising activity will become steadypossible.

EAST BRANCH

The Upper East is currently the most wader friendly stretch of water at this time. There are the beginnings of decent Mayfly activity and sporadic rising activity. As soon as water temps. stay in the 50 degree or above range it will be game on in this section.

The streamer fishing is decent but you have to be persistent and work the water. The Trout are still cold. The later portion of the day has been best.

The Lower East is in the same boat as the Beaverkill and WIllow. High water, Turbidity and cold temperatures. At this time the lower east is a lot of water to find a few active fish.

WEST BRANCH

We had 2 boats on the West Yesterday. Both Sam and Zach fished different sections with about the same results. Slow fishing. The West is also cold but the water level is at a nice level for either boats or wade anglers.

The West has some sporadic activity with Caddis, Blue QUills and Quill Gordons. There are risers at times and anglers looking for top water action should seek out the slower protected sections of river.

MAIN STEM

The Main Stem is still very high and cold. Some tributaries are bringing in varied levels of turbidity at times. There is little wadable water on the Main.

There are some of the same insects on the water but the flows are much too high for any decent surface activity.

For now the best chance for success here will come with streamer flies.

We have some openings this coming weekend for float trips. Currently we are doing a mix of streamer, nymph and dry fly fishing. If you would like to get out give us a call in the fly shop. 607-290-4022.