Fishing Report, September 21st

Greetings Compleat Anglers!  Here is your Fishing Report for September 21st.

It has been on-and-off in the Catskill rivers.  The decree parties that control flows for the Cannonsville and Pepacton reservoirs have continuously failed to reach agreement as to a permanent healthy flow plan and thus flows have been cut back on the West Branch and East Branch of the Delaware which is affecting both the West Branch and Main Stem Delaware. Flows have been extremely low and coupled with the Indian summer-like warm weather, water temperatures in the Main Stem, lower East Branch, and lower West Branch have been in the high 60s-low 70s so the fish are definitely stressed. If you are planning to fish these rivers, your best bets are on the Upper West Branch through Stilesville and Deposit, and the Upper East Branch from Harvard downstreamwhere water temperatures are still cool. For the time being, consider giving the Main Stem a rest (it is running around 800cfs and has been as high as 72 degrees in the afternoon.) On the West Branch, there have been Trico Spinners and tiny Olive Spinners in the early mornings before the fog burns off, as well as flying ants, beetles, BWO's (#18-#26), Caddis (#16-#18), Cahills (#14), and Isos (#12-#14.) As always, small nymphs (Copper John (#18-#22, Zebra (#20-#26), Pheasant Tails, Flashbacks, and other small nymphs - Soft Hackles, wets (Leadwing Coachman,Pheasant Tails, Dark Cahills, Hare's Ears) fished in the deeper runs and riffles will account for some nice fish. And don't forget to take some time to fish those little unassuming pockets of soft water tucked into the edges of riffles and runs. Most anglers wade right past them, but in the Delaware, they hold some huge fish - take a moment to watch for rises in them, or swing a small Pheasant Tail or soft hackle through them - you may be rewarded with the fish of a lifetime! Hopefully, flows from both Cannonsville and Pepacton will be increased and as the cooler weather moves in, all the Delaware branches will cool down! If this scenario happens, there will be some amazing fishing from late September through November!

Catskill River Flows are as follows:

Delaware West Branch at Stilesville:  339cfs @49 degrees;

Delaware West Branch at Hale Eddy:  412cfs @ 52 degrees;

Delaware East Branch at Harvard:   122cfs @ 57 degrees;

Delaware East Branch at Fish's Eddy:  300cfs @ 68 degrees;

Delaware Main Stem at Lordville:  800cfs @ 68 degrees;

Beaverkill at Cooks Falls:  122cfs @ 66 degrees;

In Connecticut, the Farmington West Branch continues to fish well despite running somewhat low. Here at the shop, Pat reports that he had a great day in the TMA over the past weekend. He found some lovely fish rising that were very cooperative, as well as some nice fish on nymphs.  During the day, look for fish in the deeper runs and riffles with small nymphs, wets and soft hackles, and in the evenings search for rises in the riffles, flats  and upper ends of pools. There are still some morning Trico Spinners upriver towards Riverton so keep your eyes peeled! Best dry fly bets are Trico Spinners (#22-#26), flying ants and beetles (#14-#18), Caddis (tan and green) (#16-#18), Isos (#12-#14), and small Olives (#22-#26).  For nymphs, in general, the smaller-the better. Zebras (#18-#26), Copper Johns (#18-#26), soft hackles, Caddis Pupa and Larva (#14-#20), Pheasant Tails, flashbacks and other small wets and nymphs will also be effective.

Farmington Flows are as follows:

Farmington West Branch at Riverton:  110cfs in the low 60's;

Still River at Robertsville:  17cfs

Farmington West Branch through the TMA:  127cfs in the low 60s

The Housatonic River has been fishing very well!  The recent stocking was considerable, and there has been lots of dry-fly and wet fly action. Flows are perfect for great wading - right now you can wade just about anywhere in the TMA section. There have been morning BWO's and the fish are on them.  During the day, nymphs and wets in the riffles and runs have been very effective, and in the afternoons/evenings, there are Isos (#12-#14), Caddis (#16-#18), flying ants and beetles, and Cahills (#14).  Best wets/nymphs have been soft hackles, Pheasant Tails, Hare's Ears, Princess along with some bigger yellow stone flies. Here at the shop, Bob Reichart, Sal Rensuella, and Scott Loecher have all had some stellar days on the Housatonic over the past couple of weeks - so be sure to head up while the conditions and fishing are ideal.

Housatonic flows are as follows:

Housatonic at Falls Village:  238cfs in the mid-to-high 60s;

In Long Island Sound, fishing was superb up until Hurricane Jose' paid us a visit. There had been great schools of harbor Bluefish, schoolie Bass along with some bigger Blues and Stripers crushing topwater poppers and plugs. Here at the shop, Pat had even scored on some good Albies in the middle ground. Although the storm did not cause any real problems here on the land, it did stir up a lot of froth in the Sound. And with Hurricane Maria on the way up, weather conditions in LI Sound are projected to be very rough over the next week. All we can do is wait to see if when the waters calm down, we go back into the favorable pre-blow conditions. So let's keep our fingers crossed!

Don't forget to stop by the shop and check out some of the great new product for the Fall 2017 season. In particular, check out the new Sage Foundation series fly rods and Sage's new Spectrum series reels, as well as Reddington's new Vice series fly rods.  We also have a great inventory of fall/winter clothing from Simms and Patagonia, including fleeces, jackets, vests, underclothing, rainwear, shirts, hats, gloves, socks - everything and anything you need for your next fishing trip, whether it is to Pulaski in January or Cuba in February!  We have a fully-stocked inventory of additional rods and reels from Scott, Sage, Loomis, Echo, Winston, Hardy, Nautilus, Hatch, Ross, Abel, Lamson and others. Browse through our amazing inventory of flies and fly-tying materials for both freshwater and salt water - we've got it all!  Hope to see you soon!

Tight Lines!