Any info on upper delaware? 4/23/15

[zephyr]

I don't have a boat. So I wade. I have not fished the main stem. Always thought it was to high to wade each time I've been there. So I'll fish the wb and bk usually.

 

[AFISHN]

Zephr;there are quite few places you can wade on the Main Stem in high water and still catch fish.If you plan on going this w/e ,PM me and I'll give you some details
Tom

 

[krayfish2]

Zephr,
Exploring up there is half the fun. 100 miles of water....why pigeon hole yourself into 3 miles of it? Rent a canoe which cane get you from A to B and allow you to wade in several sections. It'll give you a different perspective on the river. WBA rents driftboats who h is even better as you can fish effectively from the boat

 

[Chaz]

vcregular wrote:
Because of this.

And this is the best line in the entire press release.

"While repairs are made, DEP believes it is prudent to draw down the reservoir through increased releases out of an abundance of caution; reducing storage does not pose a risk to the city’s water supply."

As the Rolling Stones song says "Surprise Surprise." Like we didn't know they were lying all those years. Dr. Bachman on Sunday at a TU meeting told it now shows they don't need any of that water, and it can now be located to conservation.

 

[krayfish2]

The story for Cannonsville has always been that it's the worst water in the NYC water supply system. They don't even want it for drinking. They could use it all just to manage the fishery but they won't. Trying to get extra from their prized supplies of Pepacton or the Neversink will never happen. Death grip on those to lakes with much higher water quality

 

[moon1284]

krayfish2 wrote:
The story for Cannonsville has always been that it's the worst water in the NYC water supply system. They don't even want it for drinking. They could use it all just to manage the fishery but they won't. Trying to get extra from their prized supplies of Pepacton or the Neversink will never happen. Death grip on those to lakes with much higher water quality

This is dead on.

 

[krayfish2]

To show how f'd they managed the river this year, the temps are 20-30 cooler than they were in mid / late May. Guessing they will be out of cold water in the next 30 days and then......??

Good chance it could be real warm in late August - September.

 

[Chaz]

Actually I always heard that the Cannonsville water was the best.

 

[krayfish2]

Someone was pulling your leg. It the worst quality water in the system. But.....it's the key cold water source that provides thermal relief for the main and lower east. Take it away and the whole thing collapses. Right now tberes a surplus and they are letting extra out on the east which has kept temps down and the massive release from Cannonsville cooled the main all the way to Callicoon. Not normal by any means and when the well goes dry....????

 

[moon1284]

Cannonsville is the last preference for nyc drinking water out of all of the reservoirs in the water supply system.

 

[krayfish2]

Went up yesterday and met big bass to do a float. Ye ol suicide run....up at 2:30am..drive...fish...gey home at 1:30. Little 23 hour day on 2.5 hours sleep. Too old for that crap. Lol.

We did a little float from hale to Buckingham. Yes, that's mot a typo. Water was freezing (43-ish) when we put in. I did note a strange odor to the river. Water was clear. Launched around 6:30am. Turned a dozen or more fish on streamers. None landed. Changed to nymphing for a while, none landed. Didn't see another soul. When we got to te junction pool....traffic jam and rising fish. Anchored up periodically and caught some fish. Olives, olives, olives, stenos, sulphurs and yellow drakes. The fish were really on the drake duns....unless you were tossing one. LOL. The water was so cold, there was a thick fog all the way to Buckingham. Too bad it doesn't run like that every summer. We saw trout, chubs, walleye, shad, smallmouth and a big striper in the junction pool. It was a nice day. Fish it now....just in case disaster occurs. The main is fishing well but west is so cold, it seemed a bit slow.

 

[afishinado]

Hey K2. Fished the mainstem just below you. Water temps were in the mid 50's all day.

Nymphing was tough, most fish caught on top headhunting with Iso flies early and stenos later. No big hatch, just a steady pick all day with a little frenzy at dusk/dark.

 

[krayfish2]

Some pics from Saturday.

 

[Chaz]

krayfish2 wrote:
Went up yesterday and met big bass to do a float. Ye ol suicide run....up at 2:30am..drive...fish...gey home at 1:30. Little 23 hour day on 2.5 hours sleep. Too old for that crap. Lol.

We did a little float from hale to Buckingham. Yes, that's mot a typo. Water was freezing (43-ish) when we put in. I did note a strange odor to the river. Water was clear. Launched around 6:30am. Turned a dozen or more fish on streamers. None landed. Changed to nymphing for a while, none landed. Didn't see another soul. When we got to te junction pool....traffic jam and rising fish. Anchored up periodically and caught some fish. Olives, olives, olives, stenos, sulphurs and yellow drakes. The fish were really on the drake duns....unless you were tossing one. LOL. The water was so cold, there was a thick fog all the way to Buckingham. Too bad it doesn't run like that every summer. We saw trout, chubs, walleye, shad, smallmouth and a big striper in the junction pool. It was a nice day. Fish it now....just in case disaster occurs. The main is fishing well but west is so cold, it seemed a bit slow.

Sounds like the days of the old gate, I was up in August a few times back then and the temp at Balls Eddy was 46.

 

[zephyr]

I was up at the WB this past weekend. The fishing was very hard because I was wading. Only saw 1 other jackass other than myself out fishing and he called it quits pretty quickly. The river was just to high to wade. Not to mention the water was freezing. After a few hours of no productivity i headed to the Beaverkill. Landed a few nice browns but had to stop fishing in the heat of the afternoon. Water temps were around 65 degrees when i first got there, but soon hit 69 degrees and called it quits. Ended up going to the East Branch to end the rest of my day. Nothing until night time when i landed 2 on a light cahill dry fly. Hope they figure something out with the Damn on the WB. I have fallin in love with this water but with current release, i may not be able to wade again until september

 

[krayfish2]

Zephyr,

The WB isn't the only game in town. You are looking right past 50+ miles of other good water on main and east. If you explore those sections, you might fall in love with them too. The WB is the key cog in the machine. The cold releases offer thermal refuge to the main and to fish that drop back down out of the lower EB.

A few more trips and it sounds like you'll be looking to get a canoe, kayak or pontoon. These are abnormal flows for this time of the year but it can make wade fishing futile. 2-3 years ago, the WB rain at 1500 cfs or higher from last week on April til late June. Without a boat, it was very difficult to even get a cast over a fish.

If you're willing to drive 30 miles to go to the Beaverkill, why not drive 20 and fish upper EB? If you look at it, the appearance isn't impressive but it hold lots of good fish and will test your stalking / casting skills. Under good conditions, the lower EB an be fantastic. When the WB is pumping that hard, look to the main as it a bivgger river and will afford you plenty of wading opportunities. Don't limit yourself as you've only scratched the surface of what the system has to offer. You may think the WB is the only place that holds fish 18"-24".......it ain't. All sections of the system do. And by getting away from the WB, you get away from the crowds. Personally, it's my last choice. If I can find conditions better elsewhere, that's where I go. Jim one of your other posts, you mentioned catching trrout 20" and larger was the draw. Well, the main holds the biggest fish and probably the biggest average fish. That's where you should be looking.

 

[AFISHN]

Even though I grew up on the Main Stem,I'm ashamed to admit I never fished the East Branch.

I'm planning on heading to the WB on Tuesday for a few days,if I can find someone to join me.If not,I'm taking Krays advice and exploring the EB

 

[krayfish2]

At these flows w/ bright sun.....no lower EB and upper EB will be very tough.

 

[geebee]

I just saw that the flows will start coming down tonight - to 500 cfs by august 5th.

that should help the wade fishing and the cold water stock.

cheers

Mark

 

[fisherboy3]

Welp, according to the DEP, the problem has been solved. Flows have been cut back to 850, then to 500ish by aug 5th. Thank god. That was a close one. Goin up Aug 20-21 if anyone want to meet up.