Fishing was tough yesterday with some good pulls with large streamer patterns but generally few fish in the net. Some sporadic risers in the early evening but not much was consistent. Today was a bit better. We had a healthy brown on a white Chain Reaction Leech, not a monster but it was good to get the skunk out of the boat within sight of the boat ramp. We spotted some risers in the Palmerton area and were able to convert on one of them with a #10 CDC Parachute Slate Drake(the fish ARE NOT selective about flies right now), the others were tucked into the brush too tight. We had some other good pulls with the Chain Reaction Leech, including a pretty big bow(20+) but nothing hooked up good, and one pretty big mystery fish checking it out in a deep pool. So needless to say the fish were looking for groceries and weren’t afraid to attack something 5″ long. We found a few more risers in the Walnutport are today than yersterday. I(Tim S.) had a rough time hooking up but Paul K. was gracious enough to let me stick at least one of the many fish rising around us, Thanks Paul! A #14 Parachute Adams did the trick. Paul worked on a tough customer tucked deep into the bank under an overhang, but it just would not play ball. All in all I thought the fishing was good today, it just needs to warm up a bit and it looks like the weather is going to be a bit cooler for a while.

Stilesville to Hales Eddy was the plan. Streamers got whacked throughout the day but it was mid afternoon when we finally got hooked up well enough to land the fish. For his first time on the Upper Delaware, Dan agreed that it was worth the effort - having lost a few big fish that he hooked up with he finally landed a beautiful 23″ brownie that put up quite a fight. This fish absolutely inhaled a white 5″ Chain Reaction Leech and made our day. Needless to say, two days on the Upper D and Dan is in love with the river, hopefully we’ll get to fish there together in the future. Our other Guide School attendee, Charlie, had various hookups but the fish were pulling Houdini tricks today with everybody. Toward the end of the float, Blue Quills began hatching in good numbers and a few fish between 12-14″ were landed but no big fish were spotted. The river just needs a little consistent warm weather and it will be rockin from top to bottom. Surface activity still seems to be better on the Main Stem.

Whew! Hit the Upper D today for a two day Guide School training session. We launched at Balls Eddy and floated to Buckingham. The plan was to fish streamers until we saw a head poke out somewhere and we did just that. The lower West Branch did not produce any fish for us with just one hook up on a streamer. A moderate hatch of stoneflies were in the air but despite the breeze, few of them were blown onto the water and no fish were seen taking anything off of the surface. From the Junction Pool to Stockport we dealt with high winds and whitecaps that seemed more appropriate for an episode of The Deadliest Catch than a day on the Upper Delaware. BUT, then the winds died a bit and a few fish were spotted surface feeding. A generic cdc emerger pattern with a rust body and a dun cdc wing got a strike immediately, but the fish was missed - chalk that up to tired arms from rowing the high seas for a few hours. The next riser was not so lucky and a 22″ brown was landed shortly after. It’s a bit early on the Upper D yet but consistently good fishing is near.

Another Guide School float today, Glen Onoko to Bowmanstown. We didn’t expect too much because it was ripping. That section was pretty high and we just did not have time to sit in one spot for too long, and most spots where you normally could anchor were just not possible. We did see a variety of caddis, stoneflies, and Quill Gordons later in the day. We expect the river to fish well soon. We’ll be out again this weekend for more training and we’ll post another report soon.

The Little Schuylkill is still high and rolling from rain earlier in the week. Anglers did not report high catches today, it seemed if most guys caught a fish or two they were happy. Visibility was about a foot, temp was not taken but it was most certainly in the mid to high 40s. An angler reported that he saw a few caddis butit seems a bit early for the Little Schuylkill and I did see a few stoneflies so I’m guessing that’s what they saw. I didn’t see any mayflies but I have the feeling a good Quill Gordon hatch is going to happen soon, they seem to hatch best in moderate to high flows in early April on this river. Visibility is an issue right now so if the fish can’t see your fly(s) they definitely won’t eat them. Think contrast, very dark or bright and consider loud colored flies such as Glo Bugs and Green Weenies. The river should fish well when the water drops.