Fishing Report May 4th, 2017

Greetings Compleat Anglers!  Here's your fishing report for May 4th:

Fishing has been heating up in both Connecticut and Catskill Rivers. There have been ample bugs including good hatches of Hendricksons, Caddis, Blue Quills, Paraleps, Olives and early Stoneflies. There have been decent Rusty Spinner falls in the evenings as well, and also midges.

In the Delaware system, the action was epic early in the week. I fished the East Branch of the Delaware on Monday and there were huge hatches of small tan caddis and apple caddis, as well as Hendricksons, Olives, Paraleps and early black stoneflies. The fish were keyed mainly in on the caddis, and I took six lovely Browns between 19" and 21" - all on an #18 caddis. Results were similar for anglers on both the West Branch and the Main Stem with guides and fishermen reporting great bug activity and multiple targets. 

Unfortunately, severe storms swept by the Catskills on Monday night and all three rivers in the system blew out and are currently unwadeable and, except for the West Branch, unfloatable. Best bets for waders in the Catskills for the next few days are the Willowwemoc and Beaverkill - both have cleared and are mostly wadeable. Best bets for flies on these two rivers are Hendricksons, #18 caddis, Olives, and #16 Paraleps. Also, nymphs such as BH Prince, BH Pheasant Tail, Hare's Ear, as well as Stoneflies and caddis emergers will catch fish.

In Connecticut, the West Branch of the Farmington River is in great shape and perfect for wading. The TMA was stocked last week with 2-year old survivor strain Browns and the rest of the river has been stocked generously, with many holdover and wild fish also providing lots of action. There are now Hendricksons all the way from Unionville through the TMA as well as BWO, small dark caddis, midges and early Stoneflies. Keep your eye out in the late afternoons for Rusty Spinners, and, of course, nymphs, wets and soft-hackle patterns such as BH Prince, BH Pheasant Tails, Hare's Ear and any brownish-wet pattern should produce nicely.

The Housatonic is running clear and nicely fishable. Streamers, nymphs and wet fly patterns such as BH Prince, BH Pheasant Tail, Hare's Ear, and other wet and soft-hackle patterns will work well, along with San Juan Worms, egg Patterns, Mop Flies, and Wooly-Buggers. Hatches are somewhat behind schedule from the other rivers, but there have been a few Hendricksons reported so hopefully the rest of the hatches will progress steadily.

River Flows are as follows:

Delaware Main Stem at Lordville:  9650cfs at 45 degrees;

Delaware East Branch at Fishes Eddy:  4640cfs at 45 degrees;

Delaware West Branch at Hale Eddy:  2600cfs at 45 degrees;

Beaverkill at Cooks Falls:  1210cfs at 46 degrees;

WB Farmington at Riverton:  321cfs at mid-40's degrees;

Still River at Robertsville:  94cfs;

WB Farmington through the TMA:  415cfs at mid-40's degrees;

Housatonic at Falls Village:  1590cfs at mid-50's degrees;

In Long Island Sound the fishing has been steadily getting better with lots of schoolie bass and some better-sized bass mixed-in. Best wading locations are still at the mouths of rivers, as well as some of the ponds in our area. Best times are still early in the morning and, at the river mouths, a couple of hours before low tide until the low tide begins to turn.  Boaters report lots of fish still up in the rivers, as well as schools beginning to show scattered around the harbors.

Best flies are still tried-and-true patterns such as Clousers, Deceivers, and any bait-like streamer pattern.

Be sure to stop by the shop for all your angling needs, as well as great information as to fish locations, fly patterns, river conditions, tackle questions, guide recommendations and much more! Our inventory is always stocked full with all the latest models of rods, reels, waders, boots, lines and accessories. We carry all the major brands such as Sage, Scott, Winston, Reddington, St. Croix, Hardy, Nautilus, Tibor, Hatch, Ross, Aibel, Lamson, Simms, Patagonia and many more, plus a full line of fly-tying equipment, feathers, tools and vises.  We can assist you with your casting questions, line needs, or set you up with a guide for a specific area or specialty as well.