Upper Delaware Fly Fishing Report

WEEKEND OUTLOOK

Since my last report the weather in the Upper Delaware region has continued on a cooling trend. This week our daytime temperatures have been in the mid 70's rather than the 80's and our nights have been cool. This trend is expected to continue. We are expecting good weather over the Holiday Weekend.

This week our freestone rivers have been following the same cooling trend. This morning all of our freestone waters are below 70 degrees. This is good news for our Trout populations. Anglers can expect the fishing to improve on the freestone rivers as soon as we string together a solid week or so of colder water temps.

The East and West branches are still the best option for trout. They have the cold water and decent enough insect hatches at this time. Anglers planning to hit these water should be prepared to fish Dry flies, Nymphs and Streamers. The current insect activity is spotty and you have to take the dry fly action when you find it. The insect activity on the freestones is good. As soon as the trout get acclimated to the cooler water they will start taking advantage of the increased insect activity here.

The best action is early in the day with Tricos. This activity is pretty reliable. You can usually count on a few hours of activity each morning. The mid day period has been producing some sporadic surface feeding but not anything reliable. The only exception to that is on the upper West branch which has a decent rise some days. This action however has not been reliable

The late day activity has been decent but the intensity of the feeding activity can be best described as slow and steady. The insects to have at this time include Sulfurs, Olives, Isonychia, Cahills,White Flies, Tricos, Small Spinners and terrestrials especially ants and flying ants. On recent Main Stem floats there has been heavy White Fly Activity. Yesterday there was also big fight of Flying Ants in Roscoe.

My guests have taken some big fish blind casting our Iso. Cripple patterns on recent floats.

The nymph and streamer fishing will produce fish every day. This action is not hot but if you are persistent and cover the water you will regularly hook up. We have been using mostly small nymphs #18 and #20 in most instances. Pheasant Tails, Copper Johns, Soft Hackles, Ice Pupas are producing. For streamers it is best to stick with food sized items in the clear water. #2 buggers, zonkers etc. will be best. Most of the patterns that we use are custom designs but the key to success at this time is fishing a bait that is 3" to 4" in total length.

The Smallmouth Bass activity still remains consistently good. Our guides have been out daily. With the cooling water we are now having to travel further downstream to find very active and aggressive Bass.

With the cooler water the bite has been best later in the day. You can watch the level of fish activity increase as the water warms. On all of our recent trips we have been taking lots of fish. Catches of 2 dozen per person is about average at this time. On one of the section of river we have been fishing this week the average Smallie has been really up in size. We have been taking quite a few 15" to 18" fish. We have also been averaging a few Walleye on every outing.

We are taking bookings for both Trout and smallmouth bass trips at this time. Give us a call to book your next Upper Delaware Float trip.

We are also taking advance booking for fishing on the Salmon RIver this fall and for Flats and Back Country fishing on Florida's west coast. You can check out our web pages for both of these great fishing destinations or give us a call to discuss.