Fly Fishing Report for the Upper Delaware and Catskill Rivers

Big Bugs and Great River Levels

Currently all Upper Delaware Rivers are now at optimum flow rates for angler access. At the Current flows anglers will find safe wading just about everywhere, Currently water temperatures are in a good place. Anglers should however be aware on days where we have really hot temps. like yesterday. On these days the lower reaches of our freestones may get too warm for the trout to be active.

We are expecting cooler days for the rest of the week and there is some rainfall in the forecast for Friday. At this time of year some regular rainfall is a welcome occurrence.

We are heading into the time of late spring where insect diversity is high. The first week of June has always been referred to as Bug Week. This year it looks like wee will see near normal activity during this time period. Right now there are a lot of species on the water daily. The most abundant are Sulfurs, March Browns and Caddisflies. Hendricksons are still abundant on the upper areas of the East and West. I have also seen a steady light emergence of March Browns around the system but with only brief periods of heavy activity. This by the way is normal for this insect. There are enough emerging that blind fishing March Browns in the fast water is about a sure recipe for success. The key s to stay moving and search all of the faster water.

I have also noticed a few Isonychia on the Main Stem and Lower East branch. These are a bit early but I am not seeing real numbers. Yesterday I also saw big numbers of Dragon Flies emerging. While these predator flies are not a fly that we fish with they are an indicator of hatch timing. Every year these insect appear exactly prior to the beginning of the Green Drake Emergence. With them in the air the Drakes are coming.

In the next few weeks great fishing with big bugs will be the norm around the system. Now is the time to stop in for some giant spinners and stay until dark.

If you are planning on fishing in the coming days please be aware of the following trend. On rainy, cloudy days expect to see bugs and risers at any times. On bright sunny days with scorching air temps fish at night. The last few days the Sulfur hatch has occurred at 10 minutes to black. At this time it has been going from sparse bugs to the water being totally covered in a matter of minutes. The last few nights the action at this time can only be characterized as explosive.

NYMPHING ACTION ON FIRE

With the lower flows and bright sunshine the Nymph action has been off the chart. The action is best described as catching. My guests have been running up the numbers on all of my recent trips. I have been rigging triple rigs and fishing the rig about 3 ft.below the float. March Brown, Isonychia, Pheasant Tail and Ice Pupa have been getting it done.