April 2012 Upper Delaware River Fishing Report & Forecast

Another season is about to begin on the Upper Delaware with this Sunday, April 1st as the official start.  Technically, the season never closes on much of the system. But on the official New York trout season opener of April 1, all stretches of the East, West and Main Delaware become legal.

This year we've been seeing some of the earliest hatches ever starting with early stone flies and moving into olives, Quill Gordons, blue quills, caddis and Hendricksons. Yes, Hendricksons were seen hatching in March on the Upper Main Stem and on some days the numbers of insects were much more than just a scattering.  The stone fly hatch was/is impressive this year and in mid March with much warmer water temps than usual the fish were very active and keyed in to them well providing some excellent dry fly action.

As April opens up you can expect some unusually low water conditions for this time of year. Cooler nights have brought the water temps back down to the 40's which will slow the insect hatching and fish activity from what it was.  Who know, maybe even bring things back or nearly back on track.

This is a time of year that typically has rising water and ice cold water temps from the influence of snow pack melt. We don't have any snow pack and what we are seeing is something very close to the opposite. Rain hasn't helped. We're currently in a deficit of of about 4 inches for the year which is near half of normal and it's only March. But no need to for panic, yet.  April and May, our wettest month, are still ahead and a good dumping of rain could see us complain the rivers are blown out for a couple of days. At least I hope so.

To see how low the water is right now look at the mean flow for the date and compare it to the current flow. The USGS gauges important to the Upper Delaware can be found here: Delaware River Water Flow Data As an example, the mean flow at Hale Eddy on the West Branch for this date is 2,070 CFS. The current flow is just 264 CFS.  Throughout the system water levels are 15% to 25% of what they normally are. What's important now is that the cool early Spring temperatures are keeping the fish safe.  Or are they really safe?

Low water will concentrate the fish. Simply, there is less river for them to spread out in. This concentration makes them easy pickings for the kill 'em and grill 'em crowd. You know, those people who have no respect for wild fish and who will rape the resource for the ill founded thrill of fulfilling some bizarre and perverse urge to destroy rather than build up and support. It's hard to believe in this day and age there are so many ignorant fisherman out there and even harder to believe that the state agencies in charge allow such mayhem to go on.

In a perfect world there would be enough clean water to produce an abundance of fish to feed anyone who wished to take them. In the real world that's not the case. We need to stop pretending that killing the brood stock of wild fish is good for the fishery. It's not. Any state fisheries biologist who says that a pressured wild trout fishery can support a harvest should be fired. He's not doing the fish any good.

Anyway, I'm off of that rant... for now.

Now, as far as the rest of the season is concerned, will we be looking at very low water conditions? I can only say it would be best to consult a crystal ball or local psychic for that answer. Too many times over the past decade we've seen extremes in weather cause complete flip flops in conditions. Sometime these reversals are for the worse, sometimes for the better. Let's hope for the better.

 

NY State Trout Season Opening Festivities April 1, 2012

Sunday, April 1, 2012 is the 130th Trout Season opener in NYS.

Celebrating the 130^th Season Opening With an All Star Cast

The Catskill Fly Fishing Center and Museum (CFFCM) will officially launch the 2012 season with an All Star Cast at 9:30 AM on Sunday April 1. This year’s ceremony will be held in front of the CFFCM on the fabled Willowemoc Creek (Located at 1031 Old Rte. 17 between Roscoe and Livingston Manor, NY, accessed at either exit 94 or 96 on NYS 17/86).

This year’s celebration will be bigger and better than ever before with the return of Actor Olek Krupa, and a few others to cast in a new season. Hosted by the CFFCM’s 1st Family of Fly Fishing: Jeff, Erin, Alicia and Allie Phelan along with Aileen Gunther, Sullivan County Assemblywoman. Everyone is invited to participate in this First Cast of the season and all are encouraged to bring their own rod and waders to make it a memorable moment.

Following The All Star Cast, visitors can cast the bugs out after a long winter with some fine bamboo fly rods (no experience necessary). Bring your own bamboo rods or try what is there, everyone of all ages is welcome to join Mike Canazon and the Bamboo Boys, from 11 AM until 1 PM at the Livingston Manor High School Gym. This annual event is sponsored by the Livingston Manor Rotary Club.

In the museum, Ted Patlen will welcome in the new season with a fly tying demonstration and session though out the day and Agnes Van Put will ladle out her famous soups in the Gift Shop.

At 1:30 PM everyone will gather downstairs to officially cut the ribbon to the new Agnes Van Put Kitchen, followed by a ‘shovel in the ground’ ceremony for the construction of the Catskill Rodmakers Workshop and Heritage Craft Center. This construction will add 5,000 square feet to the Paul Dahlie Education Building and house The Wulff Gallery on the upper level.

The Catskill Fly Fishing Center and Museum is recognized as the center of the fly fishing community. It’s all about fly fishing.

First Cast ceremonies have usually been the weekend after April 1st . This year it was determined to make it official on April 1st , the real ‘opening day’, considering it falls on a weekend and will not do so again for 5 years. The CFFCM welcomes all, fishermen or not, to visit this very special day in the Catskills

Discovering the Delaware River Youth Enrichment Program

The Hancock Community Education Foundation, in a partnership with Hancock Central School, is beginning a new program called “Discovering the Delaware River Youth Enrichment Program” for all students in grades 5 through 12.

The objective of this program is to educate students about fisheries, ecology and the natural resources in their own community. The program will provide an opportunity for children and their families to learn new skills and introduce them to a lifetime sport.

The Fly Rods used for instruction and fishing for this new program have been provided by the New Your State Department of Environmental Conservation. Mr. Gregory Kozlowski the Fisheries Outreach Coordinator for the NYSDEC was instrumental in making sure that the students had the proper equipment needed for this program.

In April 2012 the entire HCS middle /high school students will receive casting instruction during their regular physical education classes. These lessons will be taught by Mr. Matthew Mastropietro the elementary Physical Education teacher from Deposit Central School. He will spend five days working with Mrs. Julie Cornwell, Mr. Brandon Olbrys and the students at HCS in a fly casting unit.

In addition to volunteers the following community partners have committed to providing the following classroom presentations and resources for our students at no cost. The National Park Service and Friends of the Upper Delaware FUDR.

                       

Thank you to all of the volunteers and community partners who have committed in helping with this program and making it a reality.

 

Catskill Rodmakers, Joan Wulff and The Catskill Fly Fishing Center and Museum To build Major fly fishing Complex

In September 2011, plans began to build a two story 5,000 sq. ft. addition to the Catskill Fly Fishing Center and Museum, Paul Dahlie Education Building. This major addition will house the Catskill Rodmakers Workshop and Heritage Craft Center on the lower level and on the upper, the Wulff Gallery. A ground breaking ceremony for the Workshop and Craft Center will be held on April 1, 2012 to coincide the opening day of the New York State trout season. Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther will be joined by rod makers and fly fishermen including celebrities Olek Krupa, Mark Ruffalo, and Laurence Hobgood for the ribbon cutting of the Agnes Van Put Kitchen and a shovel in the ground ceremony for the Workshop and Craft Center construction. 

The Catskill Rodmakers’ Workshop and Heritage Craft Center will be a fully operational bamboo rodmaking shop and include an area for historical rodmaking equipment and artifacts. Also planned will be a  dedicated area for the ‘arts of the angler’ with weekly scheduled programs to include: reel making, fly tying, net making, photography, carving, painting, writers workshops, etc. The Workshop will be a living and active component to the CFFCM campus with regular demonstrations of work in progress on and appreciation of bamboo fly rods. 

The Wulff Gallery will be on the upper level and is dedicated to exhibits of  Lee and Joan Wulff,  featuring both  permanent and temporary exhibits. Included in this area will be a library in a  multi purpose meeting room  for seminars, film festivals, classes, programs and lectures relating to fly fishing.

This major addition to the CFFCM campus is a joint project of the members of the Catskill Rodmakers Gathering and Southern Rod Gathering, Joan Wulff and The Catskill Fly Fishing Center and Museum.

Like no other place in the world, the Catskill Fly Fishing Center and Museum is the center of the fly fishing community. It’s all about fly fishing.