Fishing Report, September 28th

Greetings Compleat Anglers!  Here is your fishing report for September 28th.

In the Catskills, the Upper Delaware System is enjoying a temporary reprieve due to the increased release from the Cannonsville Dam in order to meet flow perimeters downstream. The current flow from Cannonsville is 1027cfs - great for the West Branch and great for the Main Stem. Both rivers are running cool and are in great shape for floating and wading. The West Branch has some color and as a result, streamer fishing has been pretty good. Today (September 28th) the DRBC Regulated Flow Advisory Committee will meet in Trenton, NJ and will announce new flow proposals for the coming years (FFMP 2017). This is a crucial meeting and will determine the health of the Upper Delaware River fishery and the economic health of the river towns and people that surround it for the coming years. Friends Of The Upper Delaware has been a huge advocate for this amazing ecosystem and has been key in lobbying for increased flows and a healthy river system. Stay tuned for a special report on the decisions that this committee proposes.

If you will be fishing this amazing fishery,  the West Branch, Main Stem and Upper East Branch are the most fishable waters. Stay away from the lower East Branch and the lower Beaverkill which are too warm and the trout are currently stressed. There are currently Isos (#12-#14), Cahills (#14), BWO (#18-#26), Heptagenia (olive sulphurs) (#16-#20), Caddis (#16-#18), and flying ants (#14-#18). Best nymph/wet bets are anything small (#18-#22) such as Pheasant Tails, Flashbacks, Copper Johns, Zebras, Hare's Ears and Princes as well as soft hackle wets (#14-#22) or wets such as Leadwing Coachman (which are Iso imitations)  (#12-#14) or Dark Cahills (#14-#16) which imitate pretty much everything.

Flows are as follows:

Delaware West Branch at Hale Eddy:  1110cfs @ 52 degrees;

Delaware Main Stem at Lordville:  1520cfs at 61 degrees;

Delaware East Branch at Harvard:  110cfs @ low 60s;

Delaware East Branch at Fish's Eddy:  261cfs at 67 degrees; 

Beaverkill at Cooks Falls:  93cfs in the high 60s/low 70s;

In Connecticut, the Farmington West Branch as had a slightly increased flow from the dam at Riverton. Current flow at Riverton is 93cfs with the flow through the TMA being 105cfs in the low 60s. During the daytime, if there are no heads, concentrate on the riffles, pocket water and deeper runs - look for small pockets of deeper water in the riffles and glides which trout can settle into during lower-water periods and carefully work them with small nymphs (#16-#22) and even some bigger Stonefly patterns (Golden Stone) (#8-#12).  Best nymph bets are Pheasant Tails, Zebras, Copper Johns, Princes, Hare's Ears and other smallish-brown patterns. On the surface there have been Caddis (#14-#22), Isos (#12-#14), BWO (#22-#26) and Cahills (#14),as well as cripple patterns which have been very effective. Also, specially effective at this time are terrestrial patterns - flying ants (#14-#24), beetles (#12-#18) and hoppers (#12-#18). Attractor patterns such as Stimulaters, Chernobyl Ants and others can rise some good fish as well. 

The Housatonic River has been fishing very well after receiving it's fall stocking which has produced some great action. The river is currently running 185cfs at Falls Village, with a water temperature from the high 60's to the low70's - so be sure to release your fish quickly as they are quite stressed at those temperatures. During the daytime, fish the riffles, pocket water and deeper runs with small nymphs, soft hackles and wets such as Hare's Ear, Prince, Pheasant Tails, Zebras, Flashbacks and Copper Johns. As evening comes on, look for hatches of Isos (#12-#14), Cahills (#14), and BWO (#16-#22). As well, terrestrials such as ants, beetles and hoppers can be very effective attractors. 

In Long Island Sound, fishing has been steadily improving as fall comes on. There have been schools of Albies here and there, from Middle Ground to the harbors along the coast, but over the past week they have been pretty absent. There have been schools of mid-sized Blues cruising in the afternoons off the reefs giving the lucky anglers who come across them an opportunity to sight fish to them if conditions permit.  We were out yesterday with Capt. Roger Gendron from Connecticut Island Outfitters info@ctislandoutfitters.com, and we cruised from Darien to Westport. We were into some nice schoolie Bass with the occasional bigger fish mixed in. Most of these fish were deep and we used sinking lines and weighted Clausers in 8-10 feet of water to get results. We got a couple of occasional Blues which were scattered around but no large concentrated schools were working bait, at least when we were there. Best fly bets are the usual - Clauser and Deceiver patterns that represent peanut bunker and other small baitfish - we noticed a lot of dense schools of tiny minnow-like fish so smaller Deceiver patterns will be effective.  There is a cold front moving in today/tomorrow along with some breezy weather, so it remains to be seen how this will affect the fishing. But over the next month fishing should be great so take some time, get out on the water and have some fun!

As always, be sure to stop by the shop for all your fishing needs. We have a great selection of salt-water flies - including some killer Albie patterns - as well as patterns for Bonefish, Permit, Tarpon, GTs, as well as Bass & Blues. Also, we carry a huge inventory of freshwater patterns for trout, salmon, steelhead, bass, and pike, along with a fully-stocked selection of fly-tying materials and vises. We feature almost every major brand of rods, reels, waders, boots, clothing and accessories - such as Scott, Sage, Loomis, Winston, Reddington, TFO, Abel, Nautilus, Hatch, Ross, Hardy, Lamson, Patagonia, Simms, and so much more. Be sure to stop by if you're needing some river or LI Sound information, looking for a guide or needing some brush-up fly-casting instruction or fly-tying information. We look forward to seeing you!

Tight Lines!