Main Stem Delaware River, Wayne County PA, 5/1/17

[MarkC]

The day started out relatively warm (50) after an overcast night, water started at 50 and clear, warming from there. I suspected morning activity after the warm night so I headed out about 8:30.

I took about an hour hike from the access point to a favorite glide. The run is a long tail out with a uniform depth of about 3’ where I’ve always done well in the early season at these water levels. There was a mix of apple caddis, tan caddis, and blue quills starting about 9:30. The fish seems to prefer the blue quills at first then the tan caddis emergers as the hatch gained intensity. I fished a spotlight caddis emerger with good success, the trout would pick the emerger out of a crowd of adults. Most of the fish were silver bullet rainbows 14” or so that would leap to head height when hooked.

I started walking back towards the access point once I saw the first boat appear at about 2 (boats tend to put down the fish that are feeding in shallow water tail outs), fishing as I went to the occasional riser. Things got good about 3 when the Hendricksons appeared. Most of the fish switched over to Hendrickson emergers for an hour or so until Hendricksons spinners hit the water about 4. The fish jumped on the spinners for whatever reason, ignoring the Hendrickson duns, caddis (which had become a blizzard), and blue quills. I fished over some quality fish landing a few very nice ones. I quit as the flotilla of boats eventually hemmed me in.

All in all, a great day especially after last week’s cold and wind.

Looks like the river was blown out by last night’s storms so it may be a while before it fishes good again.

Mark C

 

[mcwillja]

Nice report thanks for sharing. I love the mainstem i just don't know many areas to wade.

 

[timmyt]

Nice report, sounds like an awesome day!

 

[wbranch]

I made my first trip to the WB yesterday. I got a late start and didn't arrive until 4:00. Fish were rising when I pulled into my property. The river on Sunday was still running high, at about 1700 cfs, yet yesterday the Hale Eddy gage read about 415 cfc. The water was already too low and while fish rose they were already very fussy and I had to go to 6X.

My buddy and I quit about 7:30 and went to dinner when we came out around 8:30 it was pouring. Ten minutes later the power went out and never came back on all night. Penelec said "Power will be restored by 10:00 a.m." When I woke this morning and looked out at the river it was chocolate brown color and roaring past. The flow at Hale Eddy was close to 3000 cfs. I just looked and the EB at Downsville and the flow is 4500 cfs and the main stem is 14,400 cfs. The WB is falling but still 2100 cfs. I doubt the main will be wadeable for at least a week. The WB probably will be fishable by the weekend as long as the inflow at Walton lessens significantly. Currently it is running at 2360 cfs, more than the release and spill at Deposit.

 

[Dave_W]

MarkC,
Good report.
When was the date you fished? We ask that fishing reports include the stream, county, and date in the subject line.
Thanks,
Dave

 

[MarkC]

I fished Monday the 1st of May.

Drove the length of the West Branch this AM on the way to work - water already looks very fishable as far as color goes. They are calling for some pretty extreme cold and rain over the next few days which could shut the hatches down for a while.

The good news is that the Upper West is being stocked with reservoir fish. There should be some true monsters caught in the next few weeks, especially if it keeps coming over the top.

Mark C

 

[wbranch]

The good news is that the Upper West is being stocked with reservoir fish. There should be some true monsters caught in the next few weeks, especially if it keeps coming over the top.

Why do you think that is good news? There are plenty of big and wild brown trout in the West Branch now. Why possibly pollute the gene pool if the reservoir fish are a different strain of brown trout.

Besides don't you think the WB is crowded enough already? If it is publicized that those really big browns will be placed into the river it will bring even more people and not just fly fishers either. Guys with 5" crank baits and center pinners from the Salmon River. I have already been seeing more and more pinners on the WB and main.

P.S. If you want to catch really big browns in a river setting go up to the Salmon River or Oak Orchard in the fall and there is a good likelihood that you might catch a couple every day.

 

[wbranch]

MarkC wrote;

The good news is that the Upper West is being stocked with reservoir fish. There should be some true monsters caught in the next few weeks, especially if it keeps coming over the top.

After re-reading your post and thinking about what I had written I realized that what you mean is because the WB is spilling over the dam and will likely continue for a number of days that an occasional big fish might come over the damn breast.

In actuality I bet the incidence rate for one of the really big, 6 - 8 pound browns coming over the top, and surviving that long slide down to the pool below is very slight. If it was common you would see far more hero shots of guys posing with 27" and bigger monsters caught on alewife patterns. It just isn't happening to any measurable degree.

In my entire fishing life on the WB I have caught only one 27" (but many 22"- 23") brown and that was on a #1/0 Blue over white Half & Half Clouser. I caught it near the start of the No-Kill in early June of 2002. It looked more like a river fish than a silvery reservoir fish.

I wrote;

Why do you think that is good news? There are plenty of big and wild brown trout in the West Branch now. Why possibly pollute the gene pool if the reservoir fish are a different strain of brown trout.

 

[MarkC]

The stocking of the West Branch with reservoir fish is not new nor is it a secret. It has not happened in a while due to the void being created in the reservoirs.

The “gene pool” of the west Branch fish is made up of stream breed fish and fish stocked in the reservoir, Beaver kill, East Branch, plus the many stocked tributaries feeding into the West Branch and Main Stem.

There has always been some very good fisherman that know how to catch the larger trout in the river, thankfully most of them are catch and release guys.

Mark C

 

[wbranch]

Mark,

Read my edited post above. I read your OP early this morning and thought you meant that NYS was physically going to stock reservoir fish into the West Branch.

There has always been some very good fisherman that know how to catch the larger trout in the river

Yes, I agree, there are techniques and methods that once mastered will allow you to consistently catch 21" - 24", and maybe bigger, browns in the river. Most anglers who have mastered those techniques aren't going to be sharing them with every guy they meet on the river.