Upper Delaware Fly Fishing Report
It feels like spring in the Upper Delaware Region. Bright sun and warm days are this weeks news.
The fishing conditions continue to improve. All of our rivers are high and cold which is historically normal for our area in April. Today there are options for both Drift Boat and Wade anglers .
The WIllowemoc is in great shape and the Beaverkill is set up for a great early season.
Wade anglers will find normal high water conditions on the Willow. Anglers will find the Beaverkill perfect for bank and shallow water wading.
In these waters streamers are still your best bet. Slow and deep will be the best method. Larger streamers tend to attract more attention in these conditions but you still need to put the fly right in front of the fish. I like the Smaller Articulated and String flies in the 5" or smaller category for these waters. The articulated flies below are a good example of what to use. We carry this pattern in the color pattern below and in - Gray / white, olive / tan, black / purple. Circus Peanuts are also a good early season choice and we have these in stock as well.
In the Beamoc waters the best tactic is to only target the deeper pools where the trout were holed up for winter. Put one of these flies on with some split shot and creep it along the bottom. Your strips and the overall duration of each cast should be painstakingly slow. When you think its slow enough, slow down some more.
The East and West Branches are still too high for wade fishing. They are also at a flow where inexperienced rowers might want to wait another week.
Our guides have been on the water daily since just before opening day. Here are our observations.
Both Reservoirs are spilling over at this time. There are Alewife in the West Branch in good numbers and the Trout are feeding on them. We have not ween Alewife in the East yet. The biggest issue for fly anglers right now is getting your flies to the correct depth. The fly tackle we choose always makes this a difficult task.
Our guides are currently rigging very heavy flies and then adding additional weight.(1 to 3 large split shot) Traditional casting is not an option. Water loading is the safe way to cast these rigs but they do produce. The key is getting your fly to the bottom third of the water column and letting it tumble along in a wounded / crippled manner. One of my favorite techniques for this type water is to continually let line out rather than strip in. This give a natural drift to the streamer similar to the dry fly drift. I will only strip if I detect a slow down or a stop in the feed. If your line stops suddenly ther is a good chance that it is Mr. Brown
As the warm weather continues to influence water temperature the trout should become more active and more inclined to chase. My guess is that aggressive chases are about a week away and that is only if the current conditions are not changed by additional rainfall or another cold snap.
The Main Delaware remains high and not so inviting. Our guides are probably a week or two away from starting to float this water.
We are open daily now in Roscoe. If you are heading up to fish the system make sure you stop by. Our guides are around every morning to help you plan your day. They know where the best action is and we have no issue sharing the exact locations that we have been fishing.
To book your next Upper Delaware Fly Fishing Adventure give us a call today - 607-290-4022
