Upper Delaware Fly Fishing Report

Weekly Report and Weekend Outlook

This report will be accurate for the next week or so. If any major changes occur I will update the report both here and on Facebook.

Currently there is cooler air in the mountains. We are still much warmer than a typical early October. The mountains are now in full color and it is very pleasant to be out on the river for a day of fly fishing.

Currently we still have a mix of the insects of summer. There are still Sulfurs, Trico's, Cahills, Isonychia and Olives. There are also heavy hatches of several species of Caddisflies. Despite all of the insects the dry fly action is not as reliable as normal.

Quite simply it is still too warm and until we get some much cooler nights the Blue Wing Olives hatch will be inconsistent. The result is that we have bugs around all the time but never a big accumulation on the water. The Trout are rising most of the day but the nature of the rising is very sporadic. The real steady all day feeding will not occur until it gets colder.

Even with the inconsistency most all of our guests are getting plenty of shots at rising Trout. When you float 10 to 12 miles a day you will find opportunity. Currently we are rigging 2 dry fly rods for our guests. One with an oversized Isonychia and the other with a #18 Olive Cripple. These 2 flies have been getting results on most of the rising trout that we encounter.

Now is an excellent time to blind fish the riffles and pocket water with an ISO or a Stimulator with a pupa dropper.

All of my recent trips have had steady and good nymphing. We are having no problem running the numbers up a bit with this technique. We have also been taking some really impressive Wild Rainbows on nynmphs every day!

Currently I am running a triple nymph rig under a float. The current setup includes a large tungsten bead nymph for weight followed by 2 additional nymphs in descending size. My current choices are a #6 Giant Ice Pupa followed by a BH Pheasant tail #14 and a Ice Pupa #14. The heavy fly is set about 2.5' below the float for the current flow rates.

Over the coming weeks anglers can expect the nymphing to stay consistent. The dry fly action should improve every day as the weather becomes colder.

If you are planning to fish in the coming days please note that there are currently 2 scenarios that are working. Fishing large dries in the riffles will get you action. The larger trout however are now cruising the slower glass like pools eating the ever present tiny olives and anything else in the drift. These trout are experts at eating efficiently and the riseforms are very difficult to see in the autumn breeze and sun glare. Make sure you move around and keep viewing the water from different angles. At this time every deep pool has feeding fish.

Below are some photos from the last few days. Great action and great scenery.