Upper Delaware River Fly Fishing Report

More Rainfall, Big Bugs = Great Fishing Conditions

Yesterday some heavy rainfall fell during the late afternoon. This has our local river on the rise again which is good for the fishery. There is a chance of more rainfall this afternoon. It is thunderstorm season here and these brief storms can pop up about every afternoon.

The Big Bugs are on the water. March Browns and Green Drakes are on the water. I started seeing the Green Drakes last weekend. Most of the initial sightings were during darkness and from the smaller tributaries. Over the last 2 days however I have seen more substantial emerging from the bigger water. Right now there is sporadic activity of these big boys on the East and Beaverkill along with some of the lesser fished Catskill rivers. On sunny day expect the action to be after dark while rainy, overcast days offer afternoon opportunity.

Anglers should pay attention now for dragon fly activity. These active predators always emerge and show in big numbers at the exact time as the Coffinfly spinners. If you see them buzzing about stay late. There will be Coffinfly activity at dark.

stop by the shop to stock up

There are also Hendricksons, Sulfurs, Caddisflies and Stoneflies about. Anglers planning to fish in the next week should also be prepared for the golden stones. These always emerge around this time. A bright sunny day is when you will see them and some wind will put them on the water.

The most important thing for anglers to keep in mind from now through summer is that all insects from this point onward will come from FAST WATER. The shift is underway and before long most all of the emergence and spinner activity will center around the riffles and pocket water. Fish these areas for the best success!

At this time anglers have plenty of access to the system both on foot and in drift boat. The access varies based on section but every river is accessible.

For foot anglers the Upper East, Willowemoc and Beaverkill are best along with the tributaries to these rivers. By drift boat the Main Stem, West Branch and Lower East are all great.

All of our guests are enjoying great dry fly fishing at this time. The nymphing is also solid now and the anglers who want to fish subsurface are running the numbers up a bit.

Below are some recent shots from Baxter House Trips.

This season we are also exploring some of the other Catskill / Upper Delaware trout streams that live in the shadows of the famous five. These are often seasonal trout waters but they offer the shot for some giants along with a mixed bag catch. They also offer solitude in amazingly beautiful river valleys.

Below are a few shots from a "off the beaten track float"