Fishing Report, July 25th

Greetings Compleat Anglers!  Here is your fishing report for July 25th.

Our feature picture this week is of our very own Bob Reichart with a lovely dry-fly Brown he took on the Delaware last week. (Riverkeeper Guide Service's Sal Renzuela netroutbum@gmail.com was at the oars.)

I was away last week in Canada's Gaspe' Peninsula hunting for salmon, so there is a lot of catching up to do. The Gaspe' is beautiful, but like so many East Coast regions, the rivers are extremely low and warm so difficult to fish.  Even so, we lost several salmon and rose several more on our colorful bomber flies so not too bad. It's a thrill to rise and hook an Atlantic Salmon on a dry fly!  The below photo is of the lovely York River - you can see how low it is:

Many of the Gaspe'rivers are in deep valleys cut into mountainous terrain. The State has installed wooden stairways down into the valleys. Below is a photo of one of five that led down to the Dartmouth river - going down (and up!)  five of these staircases two times a day was exhausting!

Overview

So back to our local rivers: Our story for the past couple of days is rain, rain and more rain! Even so, some rivers are completely blown out and some rivers are still very fishable. So let's get right to the flow report:

New York Catskills:

Delaware West Branch at Hale Eddy:  1600cfs at 59 degrees;  mussy;

Delaware West Branch at Stilesville:  350cfs at 45 degrees;  clear/colored;

Delaware East Branch at Harvard:  242cfs at 63 degrees;  clear;

Delaware East Branch at Fishs Eddy:  2400cfs at 67 degrees;  muddy;

Delaware Main Stem at Lordville:  4890cfs at 67 degrees;  muddy;

Beaverkill at Copoks Falls:  1670cfs at 65 degrees;  mussy

Willowemoc:   High and Muddy

With more rain in the forecast today, all of the above rivers should run high and colored until the weekend. Please refrain from fishing the Lower Delaware East Branch, Main Stem, Beaverkill and Willowemoc as water temperatures are high and fish are stressed. The Upper Delaware East Branch continues to be low and clear and all of the Delaware West Branch is high, but the upper West Branch is nicely fishable. In the West Branch of the Delaware, for clearer water, try to stay above Oquaga Creek.

Connecticut Rivers:

WB Farmington at Riverton:   214cfs at 48 degrees; clear;

Still River at Robertsville:  64cfs;

WB Farmington through the TMA:  278cfs at mid-50s;  clear;

Housatonic at Falls Village:  632cfs at 70+ degrees;

For now, the Farmington River is running low and clear and nicely cool. With today's rain that could change so check back with this report this afternoon and I'll list any radical change in Connecticut flows. In the Housatonic, Sal Renzuela of Riverkeeper Guide Service  netroutbum@gmail.com  was up on the river last week and noticed several dead trout - presumably from high water temperatures. So try to refrain from trout fishing on the Housy.

For both the Catskill rivers and Connecticut rivers, most insect hatches are in summer mode and very similar.  Sulphurs (#14-#18), BWO's (#16-#22), Isos (#12-#14), Cahills (#14), Tan and Olive Caddis (#14-#18), Paraleps (#14-#18), midges, ants and beetles make up most of the dry-fly fare. Dry-fly/dropper combinations have been very effective on all rivers. Try dropping a small nymph (Zebra, Copper John or Frenchie) about 12-18 inches below your dry fly. If night comes on, try putting on a big bushy White Wulff (#8-#10) - you can see it and so can the trout!

For the time being, streamers should do well on the lower Delaware West Branch. Try using a Zonker, Mudler or any Alwife imitation (White and Black are great colors.)  And don't be afraid to use a heavy leader (12-16 pound test.) In this high and colored water the big Browns love to hunt!

For nymphs, the usual suspects will work on all Connecticut and New York rivers.  Pheasant Tails, Caddis Pupa and Larva, Hare's Ear, Stoneflies, Princes, various mayfly nymphs, Zebras, Copper Johns and Frenchies are all great bets.

(Photo below):  Two proud anglers score their first Striper with Captain Roger Gendron's guidance.)

In Long Island Sound, Captain Roger Gendron of Connecticut Island Outfitters  info@ctislandoutfitters.com reports that, between sloppy weather,  there is still plenty of bait coaxing some decent schoolie and larger bass near shore (but not near enough to bang them off the beaches).  Roger and many others are lamenting the lack of Bluefish - everyone is hoping that Bluefish activity will pick up as the early fall comes on. Roger says that the bass have been hitting flies consistently. Try using Clousers, Deceivers, Poppers, and Crease flies.

So that's it for today. Here's hoping that your weather is fair and your rivers are high and clear! Hope to see you on the water!

And while you're at it, stop by the shop for all your angling needs - we have the info/intel for you to make informed choices about where to go and what to use, or come in and hone your casting skills with our own Scott Loecher (the "Fish Doctor"). We have a huge inventory of everything and anything you may need to be more successful on the water - rods, reels, fly-lines, boots, waders, flies, leaders, tippets, clothing, luggage, accessories, fly-tying equipment and tools, nets - you name it, we have it!  We carry all the major (and minor) brands such as Simms, Patagonia, Sage, Hardy, Winston, Loomis, Reddington, Scott, Echo, Abel, Ross, Hatch, Lamson, Nautilus, Korkers, Rio, Airflow, Sci-Anglers and so many more.....

Until the next time, Tight lines!

Len