My name is Tony Ritter out of Narrowsburg, New York and this is my sixteenth season on the river.
I'm licensed by the National Park Service, the New York State Department of Conservation and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.
I charter half and full day driftboat float trips for wild trout, walleye, shad and smallmouth bass using fly and light action spin tackle.
I hope you'll take a look at the portfolios of my client's catch of each species by clicking the links or fish below.
Listed below are tables that represent real time hourly data from the United States Geological Survey.
The numbers will change every few minutes to reflect the changes in water temperatures and water levels at the following stations within the Delaware River drainage.
What's the current weather up here?
Good question. If you click
Al and Willard on your left, you'll access an up to the minute
screenshot of doppler radar in the Catskills - Upper Delaware River Valley region along with the current weather forecast.
Sometimes there's a world of difference between what's happening in the city and up here. Hey! What about a good interactive river map of the UDR?
Click for a decent graphic which gives you river miles, access points and rapids.
And...If you scroll down further, you'll see my daily blog with screenshots and videos of my clients and trip data since 2003.
Save yourself time and money by checking this page before you drive up to wet a line.
I've begun booking for spring charters in 2010. I hope you'll visit often and if you have any questions please feel free to email me.
Kindest regards and tight lines always.
Tony Ritter
Licensed by the National Park Service, New York State DEC and Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission
845.252.3657 or 845.701.3894 - MOBILE
Optimum water temperatures for the following gamefish are listed below:
| B r o w n T r o u t | R a i n b o w T r o u t | S h a d | S m a l l m o u t h B a s s | W a l l e y e |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| 48 to 62 degrees | 54 to 68 degrees | 52 to 66 degrees | 67 to 77 degrees | Below 50 degrees |
Normal water levels on the main stem are from 2.7 to 3.2 feet or 600 to 1500 cfs.
| Upper Delaware River - Callicoon Gauge | Station | Date and Time | Height | CFS | Temperature |
| USGS | 01427510 | 2010-09-03 09:00 | 3.31 | 985 | 75 |
| Upper Delaware River - Barryville Gauge | Station | Date and Time | Height | CFS | Temperature |
| USGS | 01428500 | 2010-09-03 09:30 | 2.88 | 1020 | 78 |
| W. Br. Delaware River at Hale Eddy, NY | Station | Date and Time | Height | CFS | Temperature |
| USGS | 01426500 | 2010-09-03 09:30 | 3.88 | 1160 | 52 |
| E. Br. Delaware River at Fishs Eddy, NY | Station | Date and Time | Height | CFS | Temperature |
| USGS | 01421000 | 2010-09-03 10:00 | 3.68 | 301 | 69 |
| Beaverkill River at C o o k s F a l l s, NY | Station | Date and Time | Height | CFS | Temperature |
| USGS | 01420500 | 2010-09-03 09:45 | 1.04 | 96 | 32 |
Note the current CFS for Cannonsville Reservoir [West Branch Delaware River]. When NYC DEP releases UNDER 350cfs - the West Branch Delaware River cannot be floated.
| CANNONSVILLE RESERVOIR - WEST BRANCH DELAWARE RIVER - WATER DISCHARGE - Stilesville, NY | Station | Date and Time | CFS | Temperature |
| USGS | 01425000 | 2010-09-03 09:30 | The current release is 1090 cfs | 51 |
Upper Delaware River fishing videos
The 2010 Season
| Date | Location | Depart | Arrive | Comment | |
| 08-18-10 | Ten Mile River - Zane Grey | 70 3.1 feet |
74 3.1 feet |
|
Hey! Nice fish! There's Drew Alexander with a sleek 16.5 inch smallmouth bass caught on today's float trip south of Narrowsburg, New York. Great fish Drew! |
| 08-17-10 | Ten Mile River - Zane Grey | 70 3.1 feet |
74 3.1 feet |
|
Wow! First time river angler, Preston Reitz, caught this great looking 15 inch black bass in fast skinny water on this afternoon's float trip. Strong fish + fast water + TOPWATER ACTION = Great smallmouth bass fishing. Congratulations Preston! |
| 08-14-10 | Ten Mile River - Zane Grey | 70 3.1 feet |
74 3.1 feet |
|
Yes Sir! All around good guy and another veteran Big D. angler, Joe Lamberti, nailed this nice river bronzeback on today's float trip. |
| 08-13-10 | Ten Mile River - Zane Grey | 70 3.1 feet |
74 3.1 feet |
|
Veteran UDR angler, Andy Blau, with a chunky 15 inch Big D. bronzeback! |
| 08-10-10 | Narrowsburg - Ten Mile River | 78 2.9 feet |
84 2.9 feet |
|
John Metsger with a good lookin' 17 inch river smallie! |
| 08-09-10 | Narrowsburg - Ten Mile River | 78 2.9 feet |
84 2.9 feet |
|
Phil West with a scrappy 15 inch Delaware River bronzeback. |
| 08-07-10 | Narrowsburg - Ten Mile River | 78 2.9 feet |
84 2.9 feet |
|
Joe Morrison with nice 16 inch bronzeback.
Gary Shutz with a hefty 16.5 inch smallmouth bass. |
| 08-02-10 | Narrowsburg - Ten Mile River | 78 2.9 feet |
84 2.9 feet |
|
Tim Linehan with 16 inch smallmouth bass. |
| 07-21-10 | Narrowsburg - Ten Mile River | 78 2.9 feet |
84 2.9 feet |
Outstanding river smallmouth fishing continues on the Big D. near Narrowsburg.
Today's trip started with overcast conditions and no wind then becoming partly sunny by afternoon.
The water is gin clear, in the 80's and at normal levels.
Over seventy fish were netted on today's charter with Senkos the top lure.
At least 50% of the fish were legal at over 12 inches with about 25% over 14 inches and the top bass
was 16.5 inches. A great day on the river!
|
Newcomer to the Delaware River, Jack Faccibene, landed this terrific 16.5 inch river bronzeback on today's float trip south of Narrowsburg! |
| 07-15-10 | Callicoon - Skinners Falls | 77 2.8 feet |
85 2.7 feet |
Sunny, warm and humid but that didn't slow down the Upper Delaware River smallmouth bass on today's float trip.
Senkos and topwater plugs were again the ticket and our boat netted close to 50 fish.
Back to back on the same stretch, both Alan and Rose caught over 130 bass with over 35% of the fish legal and many bass going over 14 inches.
The Upper Delaware River is one of the premiere smallmouth bass fisheries in the United States.
|
One more time! Let's hear it for Alan Kaufman who caught this dandy 15.5 inch smallmouth today. It was a pleasure fishing with you Alan! |
| 07-14-10 | Callicoon - Skinners Falls | 74 2.9 feet |
78 2.8 feet |
It doesn't get any better than this for great Upper Delaware River smallmouth bass fishing.
The water clarity is great, water temperatures are back into the mid 70's and the levels are low.
Our float trip today caught over sixty fish - with many on topwater plugs like Chug-Bugs and Tiny Torpedos.
Windless and overcast to start and becoming partly sunny in the afternoon. All in all - a great day on the river!
|
Wow! Nice fish Rose! Quite a day for this lovely lady who can really fish. This smallie was high hook on today's charter taping out at 16.5 inches. Mmmmm...Sweet!
Let's not forget about the Maestro, Alan Kaufman, who scored close to a triple limit of bass with this fish measuring 15.5 inches. Nice fish Alan! |
| 07-10-10 | Narrowsburg - Ten Mile River | 81 2.9 feet |
87 2.9 feet |
It just doesn't get any better than this! Very few people out and about on the river this season.
Gin clear water + water in the upper 70's = Great bass fishing for scrappy smallies!
One man on board today and the catch was great with a double limit of bass.
It was all Senkos....leave all your other lures at home!
|
Veteran Big D. angler, Joe Lamberti, had a ball fishing on the Upper Delaware River today south of Narrowsburg. Here's Joe with a nice 15 inch river bronzeback that took a four inch Senko. Great fishing Joe! |
| 07-09-10 | Narrowsburg - Ten Mile River | 80 2.9 feet |
86 2.9 feet |
More great weather on the river today with very little canoe / raft traffic for a Friday in the summer.
The water is gin clear and warm. Most of the bass took Senkos and topwater plugs with a very good bite and
by day's end we had over forty fish in the boat with many legal fish.
|
Michael Grant came all the way from Washington D.C. to fish the Upper Delaware today and he was rewarded with this 16 inch UDR bronzeback along with many more legal fish. Way to go Mike! |
| 07-07-10 | Narrowsburg - Ten Mile River | 82 3.0 feet |
88 3.0 feet |
Hot...hot...hot! We're in the middle of a fierce heat wave and the water temperature on the river came close
to 90 degrees this afternoon. The clarity is excellent and the levels are low. The bass didn't seem to mind the
warm water and were found in fast moving oxygenated riffles. The fish took both Senkos and topwater plugs
with aggressive strikes. Over a double limit caught and relased on today's float trip.
|
Here's John Cregan who fished the Upper Delaware River for the first time today with a dandy 16 inch river bronzeback. Great fish John! |
| 07-3-10 | Ten Mile River - Zane Grey | 75 3.0 feet |
82 3.0 feet |
Sunny and warm on today's float trip south of Narrowsburg. The river traffic wasn't bad considering
this was a three day holiday weekend. Many legal smallmouth bass came to net on today's charter.
The river continues to be crystal clear, low and warm. Perfect smallmouth bass conditions!
|
What a nice smallmouth bass for Jay Hood! Jay fished on the river today and scored well with more than a handful of legal river bass. Nice to have you on board Jay! |
| 06-19-10 | Ten Mile River - Zane Grey | 72 3.3 feet |
78 3.2 feet |
It's a Saturday out on the beautiful Upper Delaware River...but where are the people?
You'd think it was a weekday since we had the river to ourselves today.
Great conditions to be fishing for bass with over forty fish landed and many legal.
Senkos and topwater plugs were the ticket for the scrappy bronzebacks.
|
Who-weeee! What a catch! Mark Gutshall, nailed two bass with one cast on today's float. Quite an achievement on the Big D.! |
| 06-08-10 | Narrowsburg - Ten Mile River | 72 3.0 feet |
79 3.0 feet |
Bluebird skies and the water is gin clear and at normal levels. A very good day today using Senkos and our charter netted over a double limit of very scrappy smallmouth bass. |
Nice fish for Rita Rozboril! Rita fished the Big D. today and came away with some beautiful smallmouth bass. It was great fishing with you Rita! |
| 05-25-10 | Ten Mile River - Zane Grey | 72 3.3 feet |
77 3.3 feet |
It felt like mid July out on the river today with bright sun and highs in the mid 80's.
The water is clear and at normal levels but by the end of the day the water temperature had hit 77 degrees!
Very good shad action was had along with some nice scrappy smallmouth bass. Some even hit topwater plugs in the
fast skinny water. And -- it's only May!
|
To Dream the Impossible Dream! Here's veteran UDR angler, David Issacson, with a beautiful Delaware River shad he caught on today's charter.
Dave's buddy, Bedros, got into the action as well.
Hey! With those reels singing, I couldn't resist to wet a line too! |
| 05-23-10 | Callicoon - Skinners Falls | 66 3.5 feet |
71 3.4 feet |
A Delaware River Grand Slam! The Maestro, Alan Kaufman, had a helluva day on the river today. Wild rainbows, wild browns, shad, walleye and smallmouth bass! It doesn't get any better than that! Partly sunny, the water is clear and at normal levels. Very few hatches throughout the day. VIDEO of Alan playing a feisty Upper Delaware River shad! |
Alan Kaufman, The Maestro, hit paydirt on today's charter with a Delaware River Grand Slam! Here's Alan with a chunky wild rainbow caught a bit south of Callicoon, New York.
The smallmouth bass have begun to turn on as well. Alan with a nice bronzeback that took a spinner.
Right from the get go out of Callicoon, Alan nailed this nice legal walleye.
Towards the end of the trip near Cochecton, Alan brought in this beautiful shad while wading at Pine Tree Eddy. |
| 05-22-10 | Ten Mile River - Zane Grey | 64 3.5 feet |
70 3.5 feet |
Overcast for most of the day along with a stiff south wind making casting and manuevering the boat a challenge.
We had four strong shad along with many smallmouth bass on today's float trip. The water is clear and at normal levels. VIDEO clip of today's fast shad action! |
Nice Catch! Here's John McDonnell with one of two shad he caught on today's river float trip on the Upper Delaware River.
Evan McDonnell got into the fast action as well with this nice buck shad caught near Ten Mile River on the Big D. |
| 05-21-10 | Ten Mile River - Zane Grey | 60 3.6 feet |
71 3.5 feet |
It was hot on the river today - felt like mid July! Water temperatures popped over ten degrees and closed out the day over 70 degrees. The water is clear but we found the fishing tough with a brace of shad and a handful of small smallmouth bass coming to net. We did see a few Green Drakes on this stretch. More info at: www.twitter.com/catskillangler |
Veteran UDR angler, Albert Yee, had a dandy fight on his hands with this feisty Shad that he caught this afternoon south of Narrowsburg, New York. |
| 05-20-10 | Hankins - Damascus | 58 3.6 feet |
66 3.6 feet |
What a difference a day makes! Today was clear, bright with bluebird skies. Dry with a light north breeze and the fishing was tough to the bright sun and clear water. A few shad came to net along with smallmouth bass. No rising fish were sighted throughout the day. A few sulphurs and caddis along with a stray March Brown were on the surface. More info at: www.twitter.com/catskillangler |
Big smiles for David Lepro with one of two nice shad he caught on today's river adventure along with a few scrappy smallmouth bass. |
| 05-19-10 | Hankins - Damascus | 57 3.6 feet |
60 3.7 feet |
What a day! Nine gorgeous wild trout up to 23 inches mostly caught on top using 5x. Overcast and windless for most of the day and
the river is clear. Primary hatches: Sulphurs, Caddis and a few March Browns / Grey Fox with sulphurs the choice of
food. Hatches seem to be better in the late morning. Along with the trout, our boat caught walleye and smallmouth bass too!
A great day on the UDR! We will have a VIDEO of Ralph, Jr. and the 23 inch wild rainbow on the site tomorrow. And now for a VIDEO! Yesterday we caught a beautiful 22 inch wild Upper Delaware River rainbow on film which we'd like to share with you! Click Enjoy and good fishing to you! More info at: www.twitter.com/catskillangler |
Big 'Bow!Ralph Petricone, Jr. nailed this beautiful 23 inch wild rainbow south of Hankins on 5x tippet today. This fish had Ralph way down in his backing.
Another photo of this beautiful fish. This trout was one of many - browns and rainbows - that Ralph caught all on dry flies in the same tailout.
One more time! A sweet wild UDR trout ready to be released into the Big D. to fight again!
And let's not forget about Ralph, Sr. who landed this awesome 22 inch wild brown north of Cochecton, New York. Great fishing fellas! |
| 05-17-10 | Hankins - Damascus | 58 3.7 feet |
65 3.6 feet |
Partly sunny to start and then becoming overcast and windless. The water is clear and at normal levels. Again the amount of bugs was minimal with a few caddis and sparse hatches of sulphurs and not many targets on the surface. Shad and smallmouth bass were the fish in the net today. More info at: www.twitter.com/catskillangler |
Happy angler, Stewart Epstein, with a nice hefty shad caught midway between Callicoon and Damascus on this afternoon's fishing charter. |
| 05-15-10 | Hankins - Damascus | 57 3.8 feet |
64 3.8 feet |
Stiff North winds were at our backs for most of the day making casting a challenge. Mostly sunny and in the 60's. However, we landed a beautiful 20 inch trout along with many LDR's (Long Distance Releases) of rainbows and shad throughout our float trip. Hatches were Sulphurs and caddis in the morning and then decerased as the afternoon wore on. Very few risers on top. More info at: www.twitter.com/catskillangler |
Hawg Wild!Wow! Look at that nice 20 inch wild brown trout caught south of Callicoon on today's float trip. That's happy angler John Bonaccorso that had this fish on the line for close to ten minutes before this photo was taken and we put this magnificent fish back into the beautiful Delaware River to fight another day. Great fish John! |
| 05-14-10 | Hankins - Callicoon | 53 3.8 feet |
62 3.8 feet |
A beautiful day to be out on the river! Light breezes and partly sunny. The water is clear and up about a half foot Hatches were minimal. Here and there would be March Brown, sulphurs and caddis but not that many and risers were non-existent. No matter since we had decent action with the rainbows and shad along with a few smallmouth bass on today's river float trip. More info at: www.twitter.com/catskillangler |
In the net! Here's a nice wild rainbow caught and released on today's float trip south of Hankins.
And...the shad are hitting fiercely. This buck shad took a chartreuse dart at the tailout near Pine Flats. |
| 05-07-10 | Hankins - Damascus | 59 3.6 feet |
66 3.6 feet |
What a day! Light breezes, sunny and dry. Great action with the trout from Hankins to Callicoon on today's float. Hatches are sparse but no matter - the clients caught a decent amount of trout along with smallmouth bass and shad. The Federally designated Upper Delaware River --- one of the best rivers in the Northeast - if not the U.S.A. More info at: www.twitter.com/catskillangler |
Newcoming to the Big D., Earl Ferguson, had a big day on the UDR today. Earl caught rainbows, browns, smallmouth bass and shad! This pix is with a hefty shad.
Here's Earl with a nice looking wild rainbow.
Earl, again, this time with a brown trout.
O.K. O.K. - Let's not forget about verteran UDR angler, Richard Quigley, who scored big with some big wild 'bows on today's charter.
Yessir! Pine Flats was rainbow heaven for both Richard and Earl today! |
| 05-06-10 | Ten Mile River - Zane Grey | 61 3.7 feet |
67 3.7 feet |
Another beautiful day to be out on the river! However, today, we had a north wind along with gusts at our back for the
better part of the float which made manuevering and casting difficult.
Anchoring in tailouts we were into some nice shad with incredible strength.
Bonus catches of smallmouth, walleye and a beautiful 20 inch wild brown trout topped off the day.
There was no trace of Didymo - or rock snot - on this stretch of river. More info at: www.twitter.com/catskillangler |
Wow! Big fish for Stan Kolodziejski who nailed this gorgeous 20 inch wild brown trout south of Narrowsburg.
What a beautiful fish! Let's see his other side. Great fish Stan! |
| 05-05-10 | Hankins - Damascus | 59 3.8 feet |
67 3.8 feet |
What a beautiful day to be out on the water! Bluebird skies, sunny and a light breeze. For the second day, there were no hatches and no risers. We're waiting for the March Browns but I haven't see one. The water is clear but has plenty of Rock Snot. In fact, it was reported today that the Esopus now is confirmed by the NYS DEC to have didymo, an invasive algae. A mixed bag and the anglers came very close to The Delaware Grand Slam with every freshwater gamefish - browns, rainbows, walleye and smallmouth boated and two shad dropped. More info at: www.twitter.com/catskillangler |
What a nice UDR wild 'bow for angler Walt Hamill. Great fish Walt!
Here's Walt again! This time with a UDR walleye.
Let's not forget about Walt's buddy - Art Terwilliger. Art nailed this wild rainbow a bit north of the Cochecton Bridge late in the day. |
| 05-04-10 | Long Eddy - Callicoon | 60 3.9 feet |
66 3.9 feet |
Unsettled weather for our float trip today. What started out partly sunny became cloudy with thunderstorms by mid afternoon. The water is clear but there is a lot of floating algae - or Didymo - making casting a chore for the anglers since it clings to the line. The alage appeared in every pool and suspends in the water column throughout this 14 mile stretch. Very few bugs to speak of and no risers. I believe the Caddis and Hendrickson are now long gone and the next hatch south of Long Eddy will be March Browns. |
Nice fish Jeff! Here's Jeff Klein with a nice river walleye!
A mixed bag on today's river charter! This time, Jeff caught a good looking wild 'bow near Kellams Bridge.
Dark threatening storm clouds didn't stop Gregg Kroner from landing this nice American Shad on The Big D.! |
| 05-03-10 | South of Narrowsburg | 67 3.9 feet |
67 3.9 feet |
Busman's Holiday! |
Yours truly went out for an hour at dusk and was treated with this feisty UDR Shad! |
| 05-01-10 | Hankins - Callicoon | 56 4.0 feet |
60 4.0 feet |
Partly sunny and warm on today's half day float - in the mid 80's. Less caddis hatching on this stretch than up river. We shoved off before 10:00am and were off the river after 2:00pm. I believe the caddis hatch is waning south of Long Eddy. A mixed bag of rainbows and browns made up today's river adventure. Next up: March Browns. |
Big smiles for Michael Breen with this gorgeous wild Upper Delaware River brown trout. |
| 04-30-10 | Hancock - Buckingham | [WB]49 3.3 feet |
[MS]58 4.0 feet |
What a beautiful day to be out on the water. No wind, sunny and warm. The water is clear and there was caddis hatching throughout the day along with Rusty Spinners, Blue Quill and Hendricksons after 3:00pm. Targets were few and far between. Best areas were Junction Pool and Sharp Rock Riff. |
What a nice wild rainbow that Gene Hardenberg caught in the tailout south of the West Branch Bridge near Hancock today! This fish took Gene down to his backing. Great fish Gene! |
| 04-22-10 | Hankins - Damascus | 53 3.6 feet |
58 3.6 feet |
Warm and sunny to begin and then scattered showers and clouds by early afternoon. After the cold front passed by we had a brisk north wind to end up the day. The water is crystal clear and warming to the upper 50's. Caddis were hatching and a few blue quills. Not many targets on today's float - possibly due to the wind and abundance of caddis pupas in the water. |
Welcome back to the Big D. Howard Dean! Here's Howard with a nice brown caught on today's charter.
And not to be outdone - all around good guy, Lenny Post, got into the action with this nice looking wild rainbow. |
| 04-20-10 | Long Eddy - Callicoon | 48 3.7 feet |
55 3.6 feet |
Bluebird skies with highs in the 60's and a light breeze. The water continues to drop and is gin clear. We had a massive caddis (Shad Fly) hatch that began at around noon and continued throughout the afternoon. Very few targets due to the ample food supply making their way through the water column. We had to work for our fish today and came away with a handful of rainbows, one brown and a smallmouth bass coming to net. |
What a rainbow! Big smiles for Larry Fox who caught this beauty just north of the Callicoon Bridge late in the day. |
| 04-19-10 | Hankins - Damascus | 46 3.8 feet |
52 3.7 feet |
For most of the float trip today, the wind was out of the north and at our back. The water is crystal clear and at normal levels - for late May! But, this is mid April! In any event, one man on board today and we caught four rainbows, two browns and a walleye. Most of the action was in the afternoon as the water warmed into the 50's. Very good hatches of Hendrickson, Blue Quill and Apple Caddis from mid afternoon on. |
Veteran UDR angler, Joe Lamberti, with a nice wild 'bow. This fish was one of four rainbows that Joe caught today!
Here's Joe again with a healthy golden river walleye.
A mixed bag for Mr. Lamberti! Joe with a chunky wild Big D. brown trout. |
| 04-15-10 | Long Eddy - Callicoon | 48 4.0 feet |
53 3.9 feet |
First float trip of 2010! We pick up where we left off back in mid November of 2009 with the water temperature about the same as well as the river levels. The water is gin clear and it was in the upper forties as we left Long Eddy at about 10:00am. Light breeze and mostly overcast conditions. The water warmed to about 53 by 7:00pm in Callicoon. A decent amount of Hendricksons showed from 3:00pm until 6:00pm with some targets south of Sippin'Hole. In addition, Blue Quills and Caddis were also on the water. A decent mix of wild 'bows and wild browns as well as one walleye came to net. |
Colorado angler, John Ventimiglia, traveled all the way from the Rockies to fish the Big D. with me today and was rewarded with this nice UDR 'bow!
John, again, this time with one of many nice browns he caught on today's float trip. |
The 2009 Season
| Date | Location | Depart | Arrive | Comment | |
| 11-15-09 | Long Eddy - Callicoon | 48 3.7 feet |
51 3.7 feet |
A nice mixed bag to end out the 2009 season. We floated from Long Eddy to Callicoon and had the river to ourselves today. Beautiful late fall weather with highs near sixty degrees and no wind. Smallmouth bass, wild rainbows and a legal walleye came to net today. All of the leaves are off the trees, the water levels were up about a half foot and there was some stain to the water. Bonus to our trip - many eagles and an osprey were sighted. |
This was Matt Dogza's first float on the Upper Delaware River. Here's Matt with a nice chunky wild rainbow caught a bit south of Hankins this afternoon. |
| 10-22-09 | Long Eddy - Callicoon | 52 3.3 feet |
56 3.2 feet |
What a glorious day to be out on the river. It's Indian Summer all along the river valley and the foliage is beautiful. A nice mixed bag came to net today - wild rainbows up to 16 inches, a large brown and many nice smallmouth bass. The water is at normal levels with some stain and getting cold - in the low fifties. |
Mmmmmm...sweet! Let's say hello to newcomer, Keystone angler, Fred Chu, who nailed this nice wild sweet sixteen UDR rainbow in The Islands north of Callicoon this afternoon. Fred also caught a large wild brown and two more rainbows on today's float trip.
O.K....O.K.! Here's Fred's brother, veteran river angler, Cliff Chu, with this nice chunky 16 inch Big D. bronzeback. Great fishing guys! |
| 10-05-09 | Long Eddy - Hankins | 56 3.3 feet |
58 3.3 feet |
A half day afternoon float trip out of Long Eddy. Mostly cloudy and then becoming sunny and brisk towards the end of the day. Walleye and trout were in the cards for us today with the water in ther upper fifties and at normal levels. |
Walleye Fever...Catch It!Newcomer, Vince Raupers, with a nice Big D. walleye.
And here's Leo Karpinski with yet another golden 'eye caught with Kellams Bridge in the background. Great fishing guys! |
| 10-04-09 | Long Eddy - Callicoon | 56 3.3 feet |
59 3.3 feet |
Another beautiful fall day on the river with no one about. The leaves are about 25% turning and the water is slightly stained near Long Eddy and much clearer south of Hankins. A very good mixed bag today with six rainbows, one brown, one walleye and a handful of smallmouth bass. Two eagles sighted as well. A decent pod of trout rising in the fast glide before Hankins Creek at around 2:00pm. Fall fishing on the UDR...it just doesn't get any better than this! |
In the net! What a nice wild rainbow! This nice rainbow was one of seven wild trout that Albert and Andrew Yee caught on today's river adventure south of Long Eddy.
Veteran UDR angler, Albert Yee, with a good looking 15 inch Big D. smallmouth bass caught north of Callicoon, New York. |
| 10-03-09 | Long Eddy - Callicoon | 53 3.4 feet |
57 3.3 feet |
Well, the weatherman had forceast showers with a chance of thunderstorms today and was he ever wrong! Partly cloudy with warmth from the sun made for a great day to be out on the UDR. It was a mixed bag for our boat today with a nice 18 inch 'bow, three browns up to 15 inches and a few smallmouth bass. |
Yes Sir! That's newcomer, Robert Denigris, with a great looking 18 inch wild UDR rainbow with Kellams Bridge in the background. This fish was one of three wild trout that Robert caught this afternoon!
Welcome back to the Big D - Rich Toohey! Here's Rich with a chunky 15 inch river smallmouth bass caught late in the trip north of Hollister's. |
| 09-25-09 | Ten Mile River - Zane Grey | 64 2.9 feet |
70 2.9 feet |
C'est magnifique! Bluebird skies, gin clear water, sunny and dry - and nobody else out on the river. What a day! Plenty of bass with a double limit and a huge bass on a Senko midway through our river adventure was icing on the cake! |
Wow! Trophy Fish!Bill Conley nailed this hawg a wee bit south of Masthope Rapids on this afternoon's float trip. Bill's buddy, Joe Paucillo, is on the left. Great fishing guys!
Here's another shot of that great looking smallmouth bass with Bill and yours truly.
Let's revive and put that big guy back so that we'll have a better bass fishery in the future!
Here's Bill again. This time with another nice legal bass under bluebird skies on the UDR! |
| 09-23-09 | Ten Mile River - Zane Grey | 64 3.0 feet |
70 2.9 feet |
What a beautiful fall day on the river! The air temperature went over 75 degrees, the water is crystal clear, sunny and the levels are a bit below normal. These river levels are probably the lowest they've been this year. Leaves are beginning to turn all along the river valley. Over forty fish on today's float with the majority of the bass hitting Senkos. |
The Maestro - Alan Kaufman! Here's veteran UDR angler, Alan Kaufman, with one of many legal river smallmouth bass he caught on today's river float trip. |
| 09-16-09 | Ten Mile River - Zane Grey | 66 3.2 feet |
66 3.2 feet |
Overcast and calm for most of the day. The water temperature at 66 degrees was warmer than the air which only went to about 60 degrees today. It's beginning to really feel like fall in the Catskills. The water clarity is super clear and the levels are normal A very good subsurface bite today with the fish taking Senkos but not much of topwater action. Best fish went to 17 inches. |
Welcome to the UDR Paul Winslow! Here's Paul with a great looking seventeen inch Big D. river bronzeback caught this afternoon south of Narrowsburg. Nice fish Paul!
Big smiles for Larry Fox with this beautiful smallmouth bass. Larry and Paul fished hard and came away with more than a double limit of smallmouth bass on today's river adventure. |
| 09-15-09 | Ten Mile River - Zane Grey | 65 3.2 feet |
70 3.1 feet |
Partly sunny for most of the day with gorgeous fall like weather to compliment the very good smallmouth bass action. The water is crystal clear and at normal levels. The bite is better by mid afternoon as the water warms close to the magic number of 70. Senkos and topwater plugs accounted for the fish today. |
After a long absence, a big Upper Delaware River hello goes out to Bob Benson of Long Island! Here's Bob with one of many bronzebacks he caught on today's river adventure.
One more time! Another legal UDR smallie caught south of Narrowsburg today. Great fishing Bob!
Yours truly got into the action as well. What a beautiful day to be out on the UDR! |
| 09-14-09 | Narrowsburg - Ten Mile River | 65 3.3 feet |
69 3.2 feet |
Partly sunny, crisp and dry with no one else on the water. Heaven on earth...we're on the UDR! The water is gin clear and at normal levels. The morning chill had the water temperature at a cool 65 by 10am and the bass were taking the bait real soft. However, the bite was right by mid afternoon and the fish turned on and began hitting Senkos from 3:00pm until dusk. |
Savvy angler, Jay Hood, nailed this nice UDR bronzeback early in the float trip just out of Narrowsburg this morning. Great fishing Jay!
Let's say hello to David Issacson a veteran Big D. angler who came on strong in the late innings. Here's smilin' Dave with a gorgeous smallie caught using Senkos. It's always a pleasure fishing with you guys! |
| 09-07-09 | Narrowsburg - Ten Mile River | 66 3.5 feet |
70 3.4 feet |
Mostly cloudy on our half day afternoon float trip out of Narrowsburg today. The water is crystal clear and at normal levels. The last day of Labor Day weekend and we only saw a few kayakers on the river and very few people at the launch. A good half day on the UDR with plenty of action using Senkos and Tiny Torpedos with the the smallmouth taping out at 15 inches. |
Let's hear it for Leslie Lee! This was Leslie's first trip on the Big D. and she hit paydirt with this beautiful 15 inch river bronzeback along with a handful of bass on this afternoon's float trip. Welcome aboard Leslie! |
| 09-05-09 | Narrowsburg - Ten Mile River | 67 3.7 feet |
72 3.6 feet |
Back to back to back stellar days. Partly sunny, dry and beautiful out on the river. Not that much traffic for a three day Labor Day weekend. Great fishing. The water is clear, the levels are approaching normal and the bass are hitting Senkos. A half day float this afternoon with many smallies - the two best taping out to 20 and 15 inches. |
A 20 inch UDR hawg! This was a combined effort by Phil Sr. and Phil Jr. Ottaviano. This was their first trip on the Big D. and were they ever rewarded with this trophy 20 inch river bronzeback that was on Jr's line for over five minutes and then sulked under a large boulder until Sr. coaxed him out! Who-weeeee. Great fishing guys! |
| 09-04-09 | Callicoon - Skinners Falls | 64 3.9 feet |
70 3.8 feet |
Another beautiful day. It just doesn't get any better than this! The photos should speak for themselves but here's the skinny: the water clarity is gin clear, the levels are great and the bite is right in the mid afternoon towards dusk. Let the good times roll! |
Yes! 17 inches of bronze!Newcomer to the Big D, Jane Young, with a hefty smallmouth bass caught south of Callicoon this afternoon.
O.K., O.K. - Yours truly helped Jane to bring the fish in.
This time Jane caught this 20 inch walleye all by herself! Welcome aboard Jane and may you have many tight lines on the UDR for years to come. |
| 09-03-09 | Narrowsburg - Ten Mile River | 64 3.9 feet |
68 3.9 feet |
Another beautiful sunny fall-like day! An afternoon half day float and the bite was light at first but getting stronger by mid afternoon and into dusk. The water clarity is good and the sports had a solid day with many bass caught using Senkos and Rapalas. |
Welcome aboard Angelo Roussis! This was Angelo's first trip on the beautiful UDR and here he is with this chunky 15 inch bronzeback caught this afternoon south of Narrowsburg. |
| 09-02-09 | Callicoon - Skinners Falls | 64 4.0 feet |
68 4.0 feet |
What a day! Gorgeous. Bluebird skies and not a cloud to be found. The water clarity is very good too. The levels are a bit high and the water temperatures chilly in the morning but we had a very good day with the bite getting better by mid afternoon through dusk. Many smallmouth up to 16 plus inches, a nice wild rainbow - and a bonus big pickerel! |
Big smiles for Kat Tripaldi who nailed this big UDR 24 inch pickerel in the Horse Farm Pool a tad south of Callicoon this afternoon.
Thumbs up for Rich Novie with one of many Upper Delaware River smallmouth bass caught on Senkos.
Here she is! It's Kat again! This time that smilin' gal has a hefty 16 inch Big D. bronzeback. Great fishing Rich and Kat! |
| 08-31-09 | Long Eddy - Callicoon | 64 4.0 feet |
69 3.9 feet |
Another beautiful day to be out on the UDR. Crisp, sunny with north breezes. Quite slow for the first half of the day with a few trout caught in the fast water but picking up nicely towards dusk with some smallmouth bass over the 16 inch mark. The water is slightly stained and about a foot above normal. Senkos...Senkos...Senkos! |
Big Bass!Veteran angler, Steve Mermey, nailed this big smallmouth in the Callicoon Pool late in the day on a Senko. Sweeeeeeet!
Hey! There's Steve again! Same pool...different fish! Another big brusin' bronzeback taken a few mintues after the first whopper. Great fishing Steve!
Let's not forget about Gary Tubridy since he also got into the fast action with this nice smallie. Always a pleasure guys! |
| 08-30-09 | Ten Mile River - Zane Grey | 66 4.1 feet |
69 4.2 feet |
Partly sunny, dry with light north breezes made it feel like we're already into fall. Very light river traffic for a Sunday in August. The river levels are still up more than a foot and there is moderate stain to the water with visibility to about four feet. We found most of the fish out of the main current near the shoreline and indentations on today's river fishing adventure. Senkos accounted for the majority of the fish. |
Freddie flew in from Chi-Town to give the mighty UDR a try to today and he was rewarded with a nice mixed bag! Here's Fred with a toothy golden river walleye caught right off the bat in the Ten Mile River Pool.
Freddie, again, with a nice bronzeback caught on this afternoon's float trip.
Big smiles for veteran UDR angler, Dave Pilla, with a chunky river smallmouth bass. Great fishing guys! |
| 08-27-09 | Long Eddy - Callicoon | 66 3.9 feet |
72 3.9 feet |
Partly sunny and cooler than yesterday after a cold front came through. Slow to begin but the bassn' picked up by mid afternoon using Senkos and spinners. Plenty of fish - and a few taping out to 16 inches. The water is very clear and about a half foot above normal levels north of Callicoon. |
Laissez les bons temps rouler! |
| 08-26-09 | Long Eddy - Callicoon | 66 4.1 feet |
72 4.0 feet |
Partly sunny to start and then mostly cloudy by mid afternoon with light rain coming in by the time we took out in Callicoon by 7:00pm. A nice mixed bag on this stretch today. Rainbows, browns, walleye and plenty of smallmouth bass. The water clarity was much better north of Callicoon Creek so we chose this route today and was rewarded with plenty of action. |
Big smiles for Craig Barry of the Garden State with this legal UDR walleye! |
| 07-28-09 | Narrowsburg - Big Eddy | 78 3.0 feet |
80 3.0 feet |
Threatening weather forced the anglers to decide that they wanted to fish the Big Eddy in the event of sudden downpours to be near to the vehicles so we opted to fish for bass in the Big Eddy this afternoon. Lots of bass and the bite was all on Senkos! |
Yours truly with a scrappy well-fed Upper Delaware River bronzeback caught on this afternoon's half day float near Narrowsburg. |
| 07-27-09 | Narrowsburg - Ten Mile River | 74 3.1 feet |
80 3.0 feet |
Great smallmouth conditions on the river. In fact, the river has not looked this good for over a month. The water is gin clear, at normal levels and in the mid 70's. That spells excellent bronzeback fishing for our charter today. Warm and dry with nice breezes. Over a double limit with close to forty fish in the net. If the weather stays dry with no downpours, the smallmouth fishing will stay great for the next two months. |
Veteran UDR angler, David Issacson, caught plenty of scrappy river bronzebacks on today's float trip south of Narrowsburg. Here's David with a nice 15+ inch smallie!
David's buddy, Bedros Sakuk, got into the action as well. In fact, Bedros nailed three smallmouth bass from the shore at the PA access while we were shuttling the vehicles before we launched! Great fishing Bedros!
Well, the way the fish were hitting today, yours truly had to get his line wet too. Here's a nifty smallmouth caught on top with a Chug-Bug north of Railroad Bridge #9 near Tusten Mountain. |
| 07-19-09 | Narrowsburg - Ten Mile River | 70 3.8 feet |
74 3.7 feet |
A half day trip with beautiful weather. Dry and partly sunny with water temperatures in the low seventies. The river is still about a half foot above normal and there is some color to the water with visibility to about five feet. Nonetheless, we had more than a few smallies in the net throughout the afternoon. |
Return trip for Mark Davis! Mark liked the UDR so much he came back for more river smallmouth bass action! Here's Mark with a nice chunky 15 inch bronzeback caught on this afternoon's river adventure. |
| 07-18-09 | Narrowsburg - Ten Mile River | 70 3.7 feet |
74 3.8 feet |
Well, those downpours from last evening translated into the river rising throughout the day and getting a tad stained. Under these changing conditions, the bass were still caught. Mostly on plugs and Senkos close to shoeline indentations, back eddys and obstructions. Many legal bronzebacks came to net throughout the day up to 16 inches. Partly sunny and dry with a light north breeze. |
Afternoon Dee-Lite on the Big D!Dennis Scanlon looks mighty proud with this beauty of a UDR smallie. Over 16 inches of bronze caught on today's fishing trip south of Narrowsburg. Congratulations Dennis! |
| 07-17-09 | Ten Mile River - Zane Grey | 70 3.4 feet |
74 3.4 feet |
Weatherwise - it began as a great fishing day with no wind and overcast skies. The water is crystal clear and the water temperatures are ideal for smallies. Using Senkos and some topwater plugs, the boat had plenty of action until late in the day when thunderheads began forming with downpours. Over 30 fish up to 14+ inches and a bonus walleye. |
Nice bass for veteran UDR angler, Gregg Kroner, who nailed a limit this afternoon on a river float south of Ten Mile River on the Big D. |
| 07-16-09 | Callicoon - Skinners Falls | 70 3.4 feet |
75 3.3 feet |
One man fishing solo today and the conditions were a carbon copy of yesterday. Excellent for river smallmouth bass. However, we found that the bass today on this stretch were finicky and the client had to work for each fish he caught. A few on top but the majority were on Senkos. The water is crystal clear and in the 70's. Sunny to start but we had violent thunderstorms and lightning and took refuge under the Cochecton Bridge at 6:00pm before finishing up at Skinner's Falls. |
Strike up the band for...The Maestro - Alan Kaufman! Alan fished hard today and came away with many legal fish. Here's a nice 14 inch UDR bronzeback caught a bit north of the Cochecton - Damascus Bridge on this afternoon's float trip. |
| 07-15-09 | Narrowsburg - Ten Mile River | 70 3.4 feet |
74 3.3 feet |
A half day afternoon float with the water levels and temperatures the best that they've been in close to a month. The water is gin clear and in the 70's. Perfect for smallmouth bass. Sunny to start and becoming cloudy by dusk. No wind. A decent amount of smallmouth up to 13+ inches hitting Senkos and topwater plugs as well. We saw more eagles than people on this afternoon's river trip! |
Here's Mark Davis in from the Big Apple who caught some fine river smallies on this afternoon's float trip south of Narrowsburg.
Mark again with a nice toothy walleye that came to net late in the day. Mark also caught and released a beautiful 16 inch wild 'bow near railroad bridge #9! Good fishing Mark!
Let's not forget about Jen Davis who had the touch and finesse using Senkos. Jen had a ball catching a handful of bronzebacks on the beautiful UDR! |
| 07-12-09 | Narrowsburg - Ten Mile River | 70 3.7 feet |
74 3.6 feet |
The Big D. is back in great shape after many weeks of high water. We had over fourteen inches of rain this past June which kept all of the Catskill rivers high and off color. However, during the past week, both reservoirs have stopped spilling and there has been no rain so we're getting back to mid summer conditions. The water temperature is over seventy degrees in the afternoon with sparking clear clarity. It's Senko and topwater time and on our half day float today the bass didn't disappoint. |
Big smiles for master chef and savvy river angler, Frank Passalaqua, who boated many nice river bronzeback this afternoon on a half day float trip out of Narrowsburg, New York. |
| 06-14-09 | Ten Mile River - Zane Grey | 68 4.2 feet |
73 4.2 feet |
A beautiful day to be out on the river - partly sunny, dry with a light breeze - and virtually no river traffic! The water temperatures are now becoming ideal for smallmouth bass topping out to 73 degrees by 5:00pm. However, the clarity is still stained and the levels are about a foot above normal. This will continue until the reservoir stops spilling and the the tribs begin to slow. Nonetheless, the action was decent with double digit bass netted on Senkos and crankbaits. |
Bass'n season has begun on the Big D!...And who better to kick off the season than veteran UDR angler, Dave Pilla! Here's Dave with a healthy river bronzeback caught today near Ten Mile River south of Narrowsburg.
Whoa! Big smiles for Dave again with this scrappy smallie caught near Diver's Rock north of Zane Grey.
Dave's buddy, Frank Passalaqua, got into the action as well with this feisty smallmouth bass. Nice fishing guys! |
| 06-13-09 | Narrowsburg - Ten Mile River | 68 4.1 feet |
71 4.0 feet |
A half day afternoon float trip south of Narrowsburg. What started off as a partly sunny day soon became mostly cloudy. The river levels are about a foot above normal and the water is stained. Visibility to about four plus feet. In addition, the water temperatures are now getting too warm for decent trout fishing and consistent mayfly or caddis hatches so I'm opting for smallmouth bass fishing around the Narrowsburg area. By the end of the day today, the water had warmed to 71 degrees. Light river traffic for a Saturday in mid June. |
Congratulations to young angler, Frank Santana, with his very first Upper Delaware River smallmouth bass! May there be many more Frank...Welcome Aboard!
Not to be outdone, here's Frank's Mom - Laura - with a dandy UDR river walleye caught on this afternoon's float trip south of Narrowsburg. |
| 06-10-09 | Long Eddy - Callicoon | 65 4.1 feet |
69 4.0 feet |
Overcast for most of the day with no wind. The river level went up a few inches from yesterday's rainfall and the clarity is stained with visibility to about four feet. Very few bugs hatched today and there were fewer targets - not good considering on paper we had everything going our way - overcast, no wind, water in the mid 60's, decent levels - well, that's fishing. The fish we took on top were chubs in the early going. All in all - a tough day eventhough we managed to bring walleye, shad and smallmouth bass to net. |
The Maestro!Veteran angler, Alan Kaufman, with one of two American Shad he caught on today's float trip. This big roe was netted a bit north of Hankins Creek on the Big D. Nice fish Alan! |
| 06-07-09 | Hankins - Callicoon | 63 4.1 feet |
68 4.0 feet |
Partly sunny and warm. The water is getting clearer and dropping by an inch to two inches a day. A half day trip with plenty of walleye coming to net. The bugs are sparse due to the sun and brightness. |
New York City angler, George Garcia, was all smiles with this nifty UDR walleye that he caught this afternoon.
Give a hand to George's son, Marcus, who also got into the action with this nice walleye!
Last but not least, your guide and host, with his walleye caught on a shad dart! |
| 06-06-09 | Long Eddy - Callicoon | 59 4.2 feet |
64 4.1 feet |
Partly sunny and dry throughout the day. Light breezes and not much river traffic for a Saturday in June. Hatches were off due to the brightness and bluebird skies. Sparse BWO's and Caddis but very few targets. The water is clear and about three quarters of a foot above normal due to continued reservoir spill. A mixed bag on todays float with trout, walleye and smallmouth in the net. |
Big 'Bow! What a beautiful 18 inch wild rainbow Dennis Scanlon caught north of Callicoon in The Islands this evening! Great fight and masterful angling on the part of Dennis. It doesn't get better than this!
Dennis' daughter, Jacqueline, with one of two river walleye she caught today on her first float trip on the UDR. What a wonderful day to remember and be part of - that father and daughter caught some fine freshwater gamefish on this beautiful river! |
| 06-04-09 | Hankins - Damascus | 58 4.5 feet |
62 4.4 feet |
Overcast for most of the day with breaks of sun. No wind and no other anglers on this stretch. The hatches were minimal today compared to yesterday's report - some Sulphurs, Caddis and Isonychia in the mid to late afternoon period. However, we saw more than a few targets on the surface. The water is now clear but is still about a foot above normal. The river levels are receding slowly - about two inches per day - due to water spilling over the top at Cannosville Reservoir. |
Veteran UDR angler, Stewart Epstein, with part of his mixed bag caught on the Big D. Here's Stewart with a strong American Shad netted south of Callicoon.
Stewart's all smiles with this bonus river bronzeback! |
| 06-03-09 | Hankins - Damascus | 58 4.7 feet |
58 4.6 feet |
Overcast with light rain for the majority of our float trip today. The day had started off partly sunny but a steady drizzle soon greeted us. No wind - and no other boats on this stretch. Hatches began after 2:00pm in the rain south of Callicoon with many Blue Wing Olives in 18. Later, decent hatches of Caddis (16), Sulphurs (18), Cahills (14) and Isonychia (12) added to the BWO's. This was probably the best hatch of bugs that I've seen on the main stem this year and it continued for over three hours. Fish were on them as well - in the Horse Farm Pool and the pool near Big Island. Even with the high water in the grass, the water clarity is now good with visibility to about 5 to 6 feet. |
Howard Dean of Rockland County fished through the steady drizzle today and nailed this 17 inch UDR wild 'bow at the tail out of Sippin' Hole. Nice fish Howard!
Howard's buddy, Lenny Post, also out of Rockland came away with this nice river walleye at the tail end of our float trip near the Cochecton - Damascus Bridge. |
| 06-02-09 | Hankins - Damascus | 58 4.9 feet |
60 4.8 feet |
Overcast with no wind for most of the day and the water is receding a few inches a day. It's still about a foot and half above normal, water is in the grass and wading is out of the question. Visibility is improving to about five feet. Sparse hatches of small BWO's after 4:00pm but not many Sulphurs or Caddis. |
That's sure a nice hefty roe caught by Garden State angler, Roger Thompson, on this afternoon's float trip on the Big D south of Callicoon. This strong fish sure gave Roger a run for his money! Great catch Roger! |
| 06-01-09 | Hankins - Callicoon | 58 5.1 feet |
60 5.0 feet |
Partly sunny to start and then turning mostly overcast on a half day afternoon float today. The water is in the grass and the river levels are up over a foot and a half with a lot of current. The water clarity is beginning to clear with visibility to about four to five feet. However, it will take a some time for the water levels to drop back to normal at 3+ feet since the NYC reservoirs are spilling over the top. Pepacton Reservoir on the East Branch is spilling at 100.5% capacity and Cannonsville Reservoir on the West Branch is spilling at 102% capacity. A mixed bag today. Small blue wing olives in # 18 were sighted in the Callicoon Pool after 5:00pm and there were rising fish. |
Mamma Mia!Look at this hefty roe shad caught by Bob Farrell on this afternoon's float trip south of Hankins! This fish weighed in at over five pounds and had Bob's reel singing! Great fish Bob! |
| 05-31-09 | Balls Eddy - Buckingham | 56 4.8 feet [WB] |
60 5.2 feet [MS] |
We hit the West Branch again for a float trip starting at Balls Eddy and ending up on the Main Stem at Buckingham. The water on both rivers is still high - about two feet above normal. There is color to the water as well. The West Branch has less visibility than the East Branch at about three feet whereas the main as it mixes with the East Branch is clearer with visibility to about five feet. The day started off sunny and warm and then an hour into the float turned cloudy and cool. A cold front pushed through and we had a steady north wind at our backs for the balance of the day. With the high water levels and wind at our backs we floated through at a fast clip. Very few bugs on the water today with the gusty wind and high river levels. However, all in all, a decent day with nine trout boated. The boat traffic was way down with only one other driftboat on our stretch today. |
Veteran UDR angler, Albert Yee from Westchester, scored big on today's float on the West Branch and Main Stem eventhough the water was high and off color. Here's Albert with a chunky 15 inch wild brown from the West Branch.
Andrew Yee got into the action as well on the West Branch with this healthy 16 inch brownie.
One more time! Albert again! This time with a beautiful 18 inch wild brown caught near the Hancock Bridge. Great fishing guys! |
| 05-29-09 | Hale Eddy - Shehawkin | 56 4.3 feet [WB] |
57 5.0 feet [WB] |
Overnight downpours made the main stem UDR high and muddy so our charter opted for a float trip on the West Branch of the Delaware River starting at Hale Eddy Bridge. Even there the water level was about two plus feet above normal with some color to the water. The closer one floated to Hancock, the dirtier the water became with additional tributary flow. However, the hatches on the WB were outstanding with Green Drakes, March Browns, Sulphurs and Caddis leading the way with plenty of targets between Hale Eddy and Balls Eddy. |
Wow! Nice fish John! Here's John Imbiano of Westchester with one of two beautiful wild trout he caught on today's float trip on the West Branch Delaware. |
| 05-28-09 | Hankins - Damascus | 57 4.5 feet |
58 4.4 feet |
What a beautiful day to be out on the water! Very little wind and overcast for the day. The river level is about a foot and a half above normal with water in the grass and the color is slightly stained. A mixed bag on today's float. Brown trout, walleye, smallmouth bass and a very big roe shad that still had a lot of power which unfortunately was dropped after a nice fight. Hatches were very small Olives in 22 and a few Sulphurs and fewer large Stoneflies. |
Savvy angler, Jay Hood, with a beautiful UDR bronzeback caught this afternoon north of Cochecton, New York.
Here's Jay again - this time with a lanky river walleye caught at the beginning of our float trip near Hankins.
A Closeup of Ol' Marble Eyes! The three boat party on our charter caught in excess of nine walleye on today's float trip! |
| 05-23-09 | Hankins - Callicoon | 59 4.2 feet |
66 4.1 feet |
Partly sunny to start and then becoming cloudy by early afternoon and then sunny again but cooler by dusk. The water levels continue to recede and are about a half foot above normal and the clarity is good. The mayfly and caddis hatches are poor. The big hatch today was big golden stoneflies (Size 6/8) that came out strong from 1:00pm until 5:00pm. It's quite possible that the trout are gorged on the stonefly nymphs that are in the water and making their way to the rocks along the shoreline. Very few sporadic risers. However, the anglers fished hard and were rewarded with a mixed bag today - trout, walleye, smallmouth and shad! |
Welcome to the Big D. Ted Kesten! A big day for Ted who got very close to a UDR Grand Slam. Here's Ted with a beautiful 16+ inch Upper Delaware River bronzeback!
Hold on! There's more! Big smiles from Ted with this nice spunky UDR American shad that came to net in Pumphouse Eddy north of Callicoon. Ted also landed walleye and trout as well. |
| 05-22-09 | Long Eddy - Callicoon | 59 4.4 feet |
62 4.3 feet |
Sunny and warm with light breezes throughout our float trip today with no other boats on this stretch. The water is slightly stained - visibility to about five feet - and about a foot above normal with above normal current speed. Very weak hatches. We looked for signs of caddis, sulphurs and March Browns but this was the weakest I've seen this year especially for a sunny day. No risers as well. We did find a golden stonefly on the water. Possibly the stones have begun their journey from underwater to the shore and the fish have begun to feed on the nymphs. |
Veteran UDR angler, Gregg Kroner, is all smiles with this chunky 16 inch smallmouth bass caught north of Callicoon late this afternoon. Gregg also had decent action working on a UDR Grand Slam today with brown trout, a brookie, a close up of a walleye and a handful of scrappy bass that came to net. |
| 05-20-09 | Hancock [EB] - Buckingham | 56 4.5 feet |
60 4.4 feet |
Another beautiful sunny day on the river. A half day afternoon / evening float primarily on the Main Stem. The water levels are receding and there is some stain - but not much - visibility to about five feet. Fewer hatches than yesterday but there were some Sulphurs, March Browns and Caddis about. Very few risers. |
Here's Wes Finger from Dutchess County. This was Wes' first trip to the beautiful Upper Delaware River and he was rewarded with a feisty 16 inch UDR wild rainbow. Nice fish Wes! |
| 05-19-09 | Balls Eddy - Buckingham | 48 3.3 feet [WB Del. River] |
56 4.6 feet [MS Del. River] |
This was my first float of 2009 on the West Branch since that river has been too low to float with a driftboat for most of this season due to no rain up until this past Saturday and very little in the way of water releases out of Cannonsville Reservoir by the City of New York. All of the Catskill rivers had risen since last Saturday night's downpours of 3 to 4 inches and were blown out for Sunday and most of Monday. The clarity on the WB was pretty good with visibility to about 4 to 5 feet and not bad on the Main Stem south of Hancock where it met the East Branch with visibility to 3 to 4 feet. I thought it would be a good day due to water color and water temperatures in the 50's plus no wind and bluebird skies. It turned out to be a tough day with only two browns caught up to 16 inches. Hatches were Tan Caddis, Sulphurs and a few March Browns. On two occasions we had rising fish in the foam lane for a good fifteen to twenty minutes but could not get them to take our offerings. |
In the net! |
| 05-16-09 | Long Eddy - Callicoon | 59 3.9 feet |
63 3.8 feet |
Overcast with a slight breeze for most of the day except for a few hours of S. wind in the late morning. Water temps were ideal and so was the low light conditions but the hatches never really developed. Sparse hatches of sulphurs, grey caddis, tan caddis and March Browns. Not many olives considering the clouds today. The best riseforms were to be found in the late afternoon at The Sippin' Hole. |
What a fight on 5x! Here's Garden State angler, Anthony Carratura, with his first Upper Delaware River wild rainbow. Anthony caught this beauty on a bead head in fast water at Pine Flats this afternoon. Great fish Anthony!
Smile for your close up...and then released to fight again! |
| 05-15-09 | Narrowsburg - Zane Grey | 58 4.2 feet |
64 4.1 feet |
The water color went brown due to the heavy downpours we received yesterday afternoon and evening. The tribs south of Callicoon Creek are running full. River levels went up about a foot today and the visibility was about three feet. A handful of smallmouth bass and a legal walleye came to net. Bright sun and light breezes throughout the float trip today with three bald eagles sighted. |
Big smiles for Theresa Castello of Westchester County, NY with this legal UDR walleye. Nice fish Theresa! |
| 05-12-09 | Hankins - Damascus | 58 3.7 feet |
62 3.6 feet |
The water is receding and becoming crystal clear again. Cool and dry with light N. breezes on today's float trip. More smallmouth bass than trout were caught. Sparse hatches of March Browns, caddis and the occasional sulphur. Very few targets on today's trip. |
Yours truly got into the action with a sweet UDR wild brown at the tailout near the Callicoon Bridge. |
| 05-09-09 | Hankins - Callicoon | 56 3.5 feet |
62 3.7 feet |
Within 12 hours of my last float in Callicoon, the water was rising and going off color when I launched the boat in Hankins at 10:00am for a half day float. We hadn't had that much rain in Narrowsburg but upriver they must have gotten dumped on last night from localized downpours. The skinny was that areas near Livingston Manor got pounded and the Willowemoc / Beaverkill went muddy and as the the rivers rose so did the East Branch and Main Stem UDR. The visibility was about three to four feet today down from ten feet yesterday and the levels went up a few inches during the trip. That made for a tough day. Overcast conditions to start and then sun with a south breeze. A mixed bag on today's float trip. Hatches observed: March Browns, Olives and Caddis. Targets observed a quarter mile south of Sippin' Hole before Pump House. |
Jim Miller, out of Rockland County, fished under tough conditions today but managed to fool a toothy golden UDR walleye north of Callicoon. |
| 05-08-09 | Long Eddy - Callicoon | 56 3.4 feet |
56 3.4 feet |
Overcast and windless conditions for most of the trip and then showers at the tail end at dusk. The water is crystal clear and at at normal levels. Visibility to ten feet. We had to work for these fish today and came away with a mixed bag - brown trout, rainbow trout, smallmouth bass and a walleye. Hatches are: March Browns and caddis. |
Callicoon Bridge and wild rainbow trout! Here's veteran angler, Richard Quigley, with a nice plump UDR 'bow taken at dusk near the tailout of Callicoon Bridge. Richard has something about that location - see another of Richard's wild 'bows: 5/30/2008 on the pull down menu below! |
| 05-04-09 | Hankins - Callicoon | 56 3.4 feet |
56 3.4 feet |
What a difference a week makes. Last week it felt like mid July with highs in the mid 80's with blizzard caddis hatches and today the air temp stayed in the mid 50's with overcast skies. The water is still crystal clear and the levels are normal at 3.4 feet. No wind made for ideal conditions. However very few targets and the hatches were a few tan caddis and the stray large March Brown in size 12. We caught rainbows and browns with a handful of smallmouth bass and the best rainbow taped out to 18 inches caught at a tail out on a bead head. |
Yours truly with a nice 18 inch wild 'bow caught on a bead head nymph near Pine Flats on this afternoon's float trip.
Stewart Epstein of the Garden State with a dandy wild UDR brown trout he caught today near Callicoon. |
| 04-28-09 | Callicoon - Damascus | 58 3.5 feet |
72 3.4 feet |
93cfs water release out of Cannonsville Reservoir into the West Branch Delaware River at Stilesville. Folks, that's a paltry release by NYC DEP and the Main Stem UDR is now warming over 72 degrees by the time you get to Callicoon. Mid summer weather for the past four days with air temperatures in the mid 80's along with blazing sun hitting the shallow riffs and baking them. In fact, the water was warmer in Cochecton by a few degrees than further south near Zane Grey due to the fact there are some tribs with cool water entering the UDR south of Narrowsburg plus - there are many shallow riffs on the Callicoon - Cochecton stretch with less then a few inches of water exposing rock from the blazing sun. Less than two feet of water depth at Hale Eddy on the WB. This is how you turn a magnificent tailwater fishery into a mediocre freestone stream. And - Cannonsville Reservoir is almost at full capacity. What does the F in FFP stand for? | |
| 04-27-09 | Ten Mile River - Zane Grey | 62 3.5 feet |
70 3.5 feet |
More sunny and hot conditions in the Catskills. It feels more like July than April. We fished south of Narrowsburg today looking for shad. The water is crystal clear and warming to about 70 degrees by 6:00pm. Mostly a few bass on today's trip with no shad to be had. | |
| 04-25-09 | Long Eddy - Callicoon | 52 3.6 feet |
61 3.5 feet |
Uh-Oh. Bluebird skies and not a cloud in the sky with bright sun. The air temperature was in the low 80's by mid afternoon. It feels more like mid June on the river and the water is crystal clear. Plus, the water is warming up into the low sixties. Low levels + bright sun on the rocks and shallow riffs + no water from New York City = water temps rising close to 20 degrees in two days. We had more of a blizzard hatch of caddis on today's trip. The caddis were out when we lauched out of Long Eddy at 10:00am and continued strong throughout the day. My guess is that the trout have enough food and are gorged on pupas. A real tough day with one man on board flyfishing and no hookups. The One Bug Tourney was this weekend and there were a few boats on our stretch. Throughout the day we didn't see one other boat with a fish on. | |
| 04-24-09 | Long Eddy - Callicoon | 46 3.6 feet |
54 3.6 feet |
Beautiful weather but tough fishing conditions greeted us on my maiden voyage of 2009 today. The water is gin clear with visibility down to ten feet plus bright sunny bluebird skies. Hatches are at least two weeks ahead of schedule with a few Hendricksons sighted after 2:00pm along with a huge caddis hatch which will probably get bigger this weekend with afternoon temperatures in the low 80's. The fish probably have enough pupas to gorge on and we ended up with a beautiful 18 inch bow caught near The Chutes and a small brown at the tail out of Kellams Bridge. |
Maiden voyage of 2009 greeted Keith Calandra of the Garden State with this beautiful 18 inch UDR wild 'bow! Great fish Keith! |
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2008 Log Book |
2007 Log Book |
2005 Log Book |
2004 Log Book |
2003 Log Book |
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Daily Water Storage for Cannonsville, Pepacton and Neversink Reservoirs |
| Recent images of the Upper Delaware River Valley by Linda Slocum can be viewed by clicking the photos to your right... |    |
| This past fall, I had the pleasure of taking New York Times photographer, Suzy Allman, out on the Upper Delaware River for a float trip. Her portfolio of "An Afternoon on the Upper Delaware River" can be viewed by clicking the photos on your right... |    |
© 1994 through 2010 ::: Anthony Ritter - Gone Fishing Guide Service - All photos were taken on location on the Upper Delaware River