Archive : New York

If you have faith in your favorite fishery, good things tend to happen.  Such is the case on the West Branch of the Delaware River.  High water, heavy wind, and cool temperature put a damper on early season wade fishing.  Recently, conditions improved as warm, stable weather coincided nicely with...

Over the past three weeks I’ve closely monitored the USGS Water Flow for the West Branch of the Delaware River.   It’s been plenty high this season.  Wading has been limited and it’s been tricky to catch this superb fishery just right.  This is the first year in many, that I haven’t...

Well the flows finally came down enough to make the Oatka fishable on Friday.  We were hovering around 3.0 ft (3.4 ft is the upper limit).  As I am writing this the creek has made its was up to 5.36 ft over the weekend.  Looks like a complete blow out.  Glad I fished on Friday. Another reason I was...

April  delivered a record 5.8 inches of rain.  So much rain, that larger tributaries were rendered not fishable for days at a time.  Cool springtime air temperatures also held tributary temperatures below 50 degrees.  All this rain, coupled with cooler temperatures, work to keep steelhead in tributaries...

Daffodils are blooming in front of the house and birdsong welcomes each day.  It must be springtime!  The soaking rain we enjoyed last night gave a nice boost of water to our tributaries.  Before the rainfall, small tributaries were especially  low and clear.  We’re now into mid-April and...

The sting of Syracuse University Basketball losing in the second round of the NCAA Tournament was affecting my psyche.  As an incorrigible SU hoops fan, our premature loss to Marquette left an unsavory taste in my mouth.  Rooting for  Orange Basketball is a wintertime passion, second only to angling. ...

Steelhead fishing has improved the last two weeks.  The betterment of conditions is most evident in small tributaries.  These clear quicker after snow melt or a heavy rain.  They warm sooner than large systems.  Based on our weather conditions, I’ve focused my attention on two tiny Western...

The combination of melting snow and weekend rain raised water levels in our tributaries.  An additional 5″ to 7″ of snow that fell Sunday will eventually add more fresh water to creeks and rivers.  Couple our existing snow pack and gradual warming temperatures, and our tributaries will...

Our slight warming trend got the best of me.  All that snow melt running into our creeks was too much temptation.  When Monday’s temperature pushed above forty degrees, I knew that I had to find a way to get to get on the water.  I wasn’t as concerned about the WNY Flood Watch, as I was...

This Winter hasn’t been kind to the angler.  The past three months have provided plenty of snow, persistent sub-freezing temperatures and windy conditions.  Tributary browns and steelhead are  present, reaching them is another issue.  Snow covered banks, shelf ice, fully frozen portions of...