Upper Delaware River Fly Fishing Report

DRY FLY ACTION

In the Upper Delaware Region we are now entering the prime time for dry fly fishing with big bugs! The daily hatches are reliable and the Trout are rising in most areas. Our guests are doing great every day now.

Visiting anglers can expect to find a pretty good variety of insects around our local rivers. Right now the following hatches are available for the trout. Blue Quill, Hendrickson, Quill Gordon, Olives, March Browns, Sulfurs, Stoneflies, Apple Caddis and several other Caddisflies. All of these insects are available but a few species are relevant to only certain river sections.

Our guides are still focusing their attention to the remaining Hendrickson / Quill activity since it is reliable and the waters where these insects are still abundant are the tailwaters which have the most fishable conditions.

The Freestones are still challenged by the regular rainfall but recently anglers have been fishing the Beaverkill and Willowemoc in growing numbers. Both are fishing well at high water flows.

The lower East Branch and Main Stem Delaware are still too high for wade anglers. They are fishing OK from drift boat but the fish cannot use every section of the river due to heavy flow. You have to hunt for the dead spots to find actively rising fish.

Right now the best overall action with risers is on the West Branch with the East right behind it. Both have lots of boat traffic that ranges from heavy to a parking lot. This heavy boat traffic means little when the fish are rising but it definitely kills the Streamer and Nymph action. We should have about 2 more weeks of heavy boat traffic before things settle down some.

The fish right now are getting a bit skittish. With the sustained high water conditions everyone has been forced to fish the same beats over and over. To say the fish in the Upper East and Upper West have seen a lot of flies would be an under statement. The remaining water in the system which is the majority of the river miles has been virtually untouched this season.

Right now down in size is the way to bend the rod. In the pounded waters the best fish have already resorted to eating tiny insects. #18 Spinners, Knock Down Duns and Cripples will get the most confident takes. Below are a few more of our guest shots from this weekend.

This week it looks like the weather forecast will be favorable for the river flows to drop and open up more options. I intend to start heading back to some of my normal float locations starting tomorrow.

Now is a great time to book a trip for the coming days. Give us a call today 607-290-4022