Upper Delaware Fly Fishing Report
This is my first post in about 10 days. I had some vacation time before we get busy again.
Where did the summer go? Tomorow we start September and we have already had a short blast of cooler weather in the mountains. The last few mornings have been in the 50's.
Since I returned from vacation I have been right back on the river. I have had several Trout and smallmouth bass trips and the fishing is still good in most places.
The Lower Main is fishing well for Smallmouth Bass. Last week our staff had anglers out about every day for Bass. Currently there is excellent action especially if top water is your thing.
Right now there is excellent surface feeding activity for Smallies for about 2 hours each evening. The fish are taking advantage of the mixed hatch of Cahills, Isonychia and White Flies that are active near dark. This is fast action and it is nice to be able to fish a big white wulff and have most every fish blow up on it.
Below are some photos from this weekend.
Our guests have also been having great action fishing Bass Poppers throughout the day. This is an exciting way to fish.
Over the last 2 days I have been fishing full days for Trout. Both the East and West Branch Tailwaters have steady action at this time. Yesterday we were on the water by 12:30pm and had steady risers from the put in until it turned dark. I don't think we ever went more that a few hundred feet without a target.
On yesterdays float we had great dry fly action. We had steady hookups on a variety of flies and managed to land several real nice Trout.
All of the flies I am currently using are small (#18 - #22) All imitate Olives, Sulfurs or Midges.
The Freestone rivers are now cooling down. The Beaverkill and Willowemoc have decent fishing especially early in the day. During the warm afternoons anglers should check water temperatures and avoid fishing in water 70 degrees and above.
The Main stem cooled down quite a bit. The upper Main from the junction pool down to Lordville has had stable temperatures for a while now. Below that point the conditions are improving but still topping out near 70 degrees late in the day.
On these rivers the main staples are Olives and Sulfurs. There are also Isonychia, Cahills, Flying Ants and more. These larger insects are drawing lots of attention when they are present. At this time of year we regularly search the fast water riffles and pockets with our large Isonychia Cripples. This approach will produce steady strikes.
We still have a few spots open for our Nymph and Dry fly casting clinics this weekend. The Dry Fly clinic is Saturday and the Nymphing is Sunday. These clinics are split with instruction and practice during the mornings and guided fishing in the afternoons. Give us a call in the shop if you would like to join us. 607-290-4022
If you plan of fishing with us this fall now is the time to check on dates. Our guide slots are starting to fill. Normally the best dry fly fishing is from mid September through mid November. Call or email today to set up your dates.
