West Branch of The Delaware River Key
River Report:
http://www.catskillflies.com/stream.html
Water Flow Key:
Relating the West Branch of the
200-300 cubic feet per second
These are very low flows. Fishing is generally very slow during low water like this. The trout will be pooled up in the deeper holes for cover. The river can heat up during a hot summer day. Your best bet would be to fish during low light periods like early morning and late evening. Dry fly fishing is EXTREMELY technical and requires patience, stealth and long fine leaders.
300-600 cubic feet per second
Morning and evening are still the best times to fish. The fish start moving into the riffles to feed. Once the flows get to be around 500 cfs. The fish start to become a little less spooky. These are excellent flows for wading anglers. Dry fly fishing can be very good in these flows. Trout will look up to the surface to feed. Long fine leaders are still required to catch these wary fish. Nymph fishing the riffles can also be productive during these flows.
600-1,000 cubic feet per second
These are the perfect flows for fishing. There is enough holding water in the riffles. There is also enough water to spread the people around. Nymph fishing and dry fly fishing can be at their best. The fish are very well distributed. The closer you get to 1,000 cfs, the better the streamer fishing gets. Also, the closer the river gets to 1,000 cfs, the better the fishing can be in the drift boat. I think that wade fishing is still the best option until the flows get up around 1,000 CFS.
1,000-1,500 cubic feet per second
These are my favorite flows for fishing this river. The nymph fishing can yield very good catch rates. Also, the streamer fishing from the boat can be out of this world! The trout start to move to the edges of the river to escape the high current velocity. You can still have excellent dry fly fishing in the tailouts and edges of the larger pools. The dry fly fishing, more than usual is dependent upon heavy hatches and spinner falls.
1,500 – 2000 cubic feet per second
The fishing can be great. Fishing from the boat is the way to go. It is hard to beat the excitement of throwing streamers and having 20” ++ wild browns smashing your offering. You can still wade fish but you have to be careful. Fish the seams with nymphs. The majority of the trout will be found on the edges escaping the fast main current. Usually, there is no dry fly fishing during these flows.
2,000 cubic feet per second and higher
Fishing streamers out of the boat is the only tactic. You can have some really good days out of the boat if you know how to fish streamers effectively.