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Fishing Report April 20th
Greetings Compleat Anglers! Here’s your fishing report for April 20th, 2017!
Overall, rivers in Connecticut and New York are in great shape. Many are still running high and cold but water levels are dropping and insect action is picking up. Rivers in the Delaware system are becoming wadeable, and Connecticut rivers are all nicely wadeable now. Here’s the flow, temperature and insect information:
Delaware Main Stem at Lordville: 3600cfs at 47 degrees: Still too high to comfortably wade, but great to float. Streamers are still taking some great fish, and nymphs such as big stoneflies and Hendricksons are also taking fish. (For a Hendrickson, any brownish/tan nymph will work in size 14-16, including pheasant tails and Hare’s Ears.) Look for hatching activity, especially in the afternoons – including Blue Quills #16-18, Quill Gordons #14-16, BWO #18, Black Stoneflies #14-18 and an occasional Paraleps.
Delaware East Branch at Fish’s Eddy: 1310cfs at 47 degrees: Great flow for both floating and wading. The East Branch traditionally seems to run a little behind the West Branch and Main Stem on insect emergence. So the Blue Quills, Quill Gordons, and BWO’s are yet to show in any numbers. Most of the East Branch action is on streamers or on swung wets and nymphs. Johnny King nailed a lovely, 20+ inch brown in the East Branch on a swung streamer last week.
Delaware West Branch at Hale Eddy: 1550cfs at 43 degrees: Great height to float, but waders proceed with caution. Still a bit too high to wade in all but a few spots. With Alwives spilling from the Cannonsville Dam streamer action has been very good with some hunker browns being landed. Insect action has picked up and there are heads and beaks poking up – especially in the afternoons. Caddis #16, Blue Quills #16, black and brown stoneflies #14-16, BWO’s #18 al9ong with Hendrickson nymphs and streamers have been the ticket.
Beaverkill at Cooks Falls: 560cfs in the mid-40 degrees: Perfect for wading. Insect action has been black stoneflies #12-18, Caddis #18-20, BWO #18-20, Midges #20+.
WB Farmington through the TMA: 402cfs in the mid 40 degree range: The WB Farmington is running 262cfs at Riverton. The Still river is adding 140cfs to that flow – but more importantly, the Still is running in the mid-50 degree range which adds some warmth to the Farmington and stimulates both the bugs and the fish. There are some lovely holdover fish being taken recently. Bugs to look for include BWO #16-18, Early stoneflies #12-16, midges #20-26, and Blue Quills #18. Nymphs imitating a Hendrickson (Pheasant tails, Hare’s Ear, any other brownish/tan nymph) along with Stonefly nymphs are effective.
Housatonic at Falls Village: 1230cfs at 54 degrees: The Housatonic is beginning to fish well. Most effective flies have been streamers, big stonefly nymphs, Hare’s Ear, BH Prince, and BH Pheasant Tail. San Juan worms and egg patterns are also very effective at this time.
On Long Island Sound: Fishing is picking up in the Sound. There have been some nice schools of bass at the river mouths and anglers taking some time to fish these areas have been nicely rewarded with some great numbers and a few big fish as well. We fished the mouth of the Housatonic this week and took several nice fish on Clousers. As waters warm these schools will spread out and be accessible in a broader area. This is a great time to pick up your 8 or 9 weight and hunt for some great bass!