Fly Fishing Report for the Upper Delaware and Catskill Rivers

VERY GOOD SUMMER ACTION FOR TROUT AND BASS!

This past weekend was full of action for our guests. Our guides were once again split pretty evenly between Trout and Smallmouth Bass fishing. Overall our trips were great and all of our guests had solid fishing.

We had boats and guests on both the East, West and Main Delaware for Trout. We also had several trips on the Main Delaware targeting Smallmouth Bass. With the cooler weather and mix of sunny and overcast conditions the fish and insects were very active.

First the Trout

The steady supply of thunderstorms recently has kept certain stretches of the river running with turbidity. This has been in every local river. Our guests have had periods of exciting action with streamers. There have been a lot of trout on both the East and West branches that are more than willing to chase streamers pretty hard. The trick has been turning the chasers into takers. To accomplish this we have been fishing mostly smaller patterns. Buggers, Urchin Buggers, EP Baitfish and 4" or smaller articulated patterns. These smaller offerings have been the best at sealing the deal.

The cooler weather and cooler water has been great for the hatches and the overall activity of the trout. On my trips there were plenty of targets as trout have been feeding steadily to a mix of insects. I have been out both early and late recently and there is action. There is a huge amount of Trico's emerging every morning. As long as the water is slow enough for the trout to feed efficiently they have been on them. Yesterday we had a few nice pods of mature Rainbows feeding steadily on these tiny duns. We also had very good nymph fishing during the AM portion of the day.

The evening rise has been better simply because the insects are more widespread and varied. There are olives, sulfurs, isonychia, cahills, midges. The evening is also a bit easier since the fish have been set up feeding in faster water as well as the pools. Finding a good fish eating larger insects in fast water makes for a much easier presentation. On all of my recent trips I have been able to locate solitary trout in riffles that were blowing up on the occasional Isonychia or cahill that floats by. Most of these trout have found their way to the net.

Today we are having another cool day and it has been raining lightly. The forecast for the week has daytime highs in the mid 70's so conditions should be stable for a while. Now is a great time to take a crack at some mid summer dry fly fishing.

THE BASS ACTION

We have been hitting the Bass waters hard and with a good reason. The bass action is hot and it is all surface action! These great game fish have good water temperatures to be super active now. Now is the time where they will feed heavy in anticipation of cooling waters later in the fall.

On all of our recent trips we have been able to fish the POPPER from start to finish. The action is good all day but it increases in intensity as the day progresses. On my recent trips the late afternoon has produced non stop action. On all of our recent trips the catch rate has been up. 20 + fish on the fly rod is common now and we have been taking some nice fish. Yesterday we had lots of 14" to 18" bass come to net.

Right now we are fishing size #2 poppers on 5 weight rods. This combination is perfectly matched for Delaware Smallies. The best action is on brightly colored poppers. Orange has been hot.

If you have not tried this type of fishing what are you waiting for?

This week is our first real slowdown of the season. WE have opening every day this week if you would like to fish for either trout or smallmouth. Give us a call today to plan a trip. 607-290-4022

We are also now taking booking for Fly Fishing the Florida Flats between November 2017 and April 2018