Fly Fishing Report for the Upper Delaware River and Catskill Streams
Over the last week some fall weather moved into the mountains. Very cool nights along with much cooler days have dropped the water temperature in all of our local rivers. The extended forecast is calling for about perfect weather for outdoor pursuits. We are expecting daytime air temperature in the mid 70's and overnights in the 50's.
Our local Trout have noticed the change and this week our guides have seen a major change in Trout activity. I was on the water 5 out of the last 7 days and for the first time in a while I have been choosing Trout over Smallmouth Bass most days.
Recently our guides have been on the Upper East Branch, Upper West Branch and Upper Main Stem. Every day recently has offered great action both on the dry fly and on nymphs. I personally had 2 full day trips this week where there were enough steadily rising Trout that we never had to fish sub surface. Yesterday I had a day where we really ran the numbers up for the first time in a while and the action came on both nymphs and dry flies. Currently the only negative is the fact that a lot of the rising fish are on the small side. This is pretty normal for late summer. Every year the pools come alive with thousands of small wild trout that feed with reckless abandon. This years crop seems high in numbers. Yesterday there were times where we were catching a 8" to 10" trout on every cast.
The larger Trout are feeding but they are not super aggressive since most of the action is still with Blue Wing Olives and small Sulfurs. We have had our best luck finding the bigger fish by blind fishing our Isonychia Cripple patterns in the likely riffles and going subsurface with nymph rigs.
Yesterday we had big Rainbows and Browns with both methods. The nymphing is quite good and we had a half dozen nice Bows like the one in the video below.
CONDITIONS AROUND THE SYSTEM
Our rivers although cooling down, remain at summer flows. Wade access is unlimited through all of our rivers.
The Beaverkill and Willowemoc have only had a few days with water temperatures below 70 degrees so it is premature to expect any decent action in the lower reaches of these great rivers. The Trout here had a tough July and August and will need time to leave thermal refuge areas and return to their normal routines. The head waters and upper sections of these rivers are fishing fine but make sure to dip your thermometer before fishing. The same is true for the Lower East Branch and Lower Main Stem. These need a week or two of these cooler nights before we should target Trout.
The Upper East Branch, Upper West Branch and Upper Main Stem are the best choices at this time. They are cool and fishing well at low level water flows.
THE BUGS
Insect activity remains good. Tricos, Sulfurs, Olives, Isonychia, Cahills, White Flies, Caddisflies, Midges and Terrestrials are on the water. The spinner activity with the tricos is near it's seasonal peak. The evening / dusk time has been a spinner buffet with insects of every size. I have been through several areas this week that were alive with giant Isonychia and Cahill Spinners. In some areas the action has been explosive at dark.
From this point through fall I expect the Trout fishing to improve steadily.
We will still be offering float trips for Smallmouth Bass through mid September. These great game fish have been feeding all summer and our guests always land a few outstanding specimens around this time of year. Now is time for Fly or Spin tackle. The Smallies are aggressive towards both sub surface and surface baits at this time.
If you want to follow the day by day with our guide staff and our clients make sure to like and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. This is where most of our day to day observations and results wind up first. Many posts are directly from the river. A search of Baxter House Outfitters will locate us on both social media platforms.
Now is the time to plan your fall fishing. We are now taking bookings for now through November. The next few months will provide some of the years most reliable dry fly fishing. Call us today to reserve your spot with our guide staff 607-290-4022
We are also now booking WINTER FISHING IN TAMPA BAY.
Over the last 2 seasons there have been closures on the taking of Snook, Redfish and Spotted Trout. Current reports are indicating some of the best fishing in years. We are expecting great action and would love for you to join us. Call today for the details
