Tips

The Upper Delaware System is comprised of the three rivers along with many tributaries that eventually lead into the main stem Delaware at Hancock, New York.

1. The Main Stem Delaware

This river, also known as The Upper Delaware River,  begins in Hancock, New York where the East Branch Delaware and the West Branch Delaware join to form this river.   The river is a free flowing river for 270 miles from Hancock south to the Delaware Bay and on towards the Atlantic Ocean.    The tidal portion of this river begins in Trenton, New Jersey.

The Upper Delaware River is under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service.   This river has been designated a "Scenic and Recreational River" by Congress and is protected under the river management plan which is overseen by the Upper Delaware Council located in Narrowsburg, New York.    The Upper Delaware Council is a consortium of towns along the river in Pennsylvania and New York along with state and federal agencies.

Access along the Upper Delaware River is limited.  The river is very large, has few islands to break the flow, reads more like a freestone and cuts through a steep valley.    Most of the land on either side of the river is private and the roads, for the most part, are away from the river.

Angling pressure is far lower on this river than that of the West Branch Delaware.  I believe that there are fewer trout per mile though.    Main Stem fish are larger than those on the West Branch on average and they tend to be rainbows located in the fast water and at the extreme heads of the pools.   In fact,  from Lordville, New York south to Callicoon, rainbows probably outnumber browns 6 to 1.  There is no stocking of the Main Stem - all of the trout are wild.

The eddys, or pools, on the Main Stem Delaware run from an eighth of a mile to at times a mile and a half.   The average depth can be anywhere from four to ten feet.   When fishing for rainbows, I try not to spend much time in the pools.  It's better to row through them quickly to get to the next riff - or riffle - or pocket water.

Further, the majority of the rainbows I pick up is by nymphing - especially when it is bright and sunny which is a majority of the time from late June through Labor Day.   There are many times when there are no hatches and there are no fish working.   It pays to wade carefully by nymphing through these riffles for success.   Good nymph/emerger patterns are:

a. Weighted Bead Head Pheasant Tails in #14, #16, #18

b. Bead Head Brassies in #16, #18

c. Bead Head Prince in #14, #16

d. Bead Head Zug Bugs in #14 and #16

e. Isoynichia emerger in #12 and #14

f. Blue Wing Olive emerger in #16 and #18

g. Caddis pupae in #14, #16 and #18

It also pays to fish these patterns with a dropper.  I usually fish with 7.5 feet of leader to 5x and add another sixteen inches of 5x tippet.    I prefer a white strike indicator of polypropelene fastened about two and half times the water depth I am fishing - or four to five feet - up from the dropper fly.

Rainbows, browns, brookies, smallmouth and walleye can be found on this river along with panfish and chubs.   Most of the smallmouth will be found from Callicoon south to Port Jervis where the water becomes warmer since it is farther from the reservoir water releases.

1. The rainbows far exceed the browns in my opinion. Their range is from Hancock south to Callicoon, New York although they can be caught throughout the river if optimum water temperature prevail.   For the most part, rainbows will be found in the riffles and at the extreme heads of the eddys.

2. Rainbows spawn in the various feeder streams during the spring.  They do not get active in the river until mid May.  If the conditions warrant in early spring - which is not always the case -  and you fish the main stem from April through early May chances are very good you will catch brookies, browns and possibly a rainbow.   But, for the most part, rainbows begin to get active by May 10 with water temperatures in the mid fifties.

3. Optimum water temperatures for rainbows:  56 to 66 degress

4. Optimum water temperatures for browns: 50 to 62 degrees

5. Optimum water temperatures for smallmouth bass: 68 to 75 degrees

6. Optimum water temperatures for shad (in season between April though June): 52 to 66 degrees

7. Optimum water levels for wading:  3.2 feet or 1000cfs and below.  That is not to say that you cannot fish effectively above 3.2 feet but wading becomes increasingly difficulty and above 4.0 feet is dangerous due to levels and heavy velocity of the current.

8. Both the West Branch and the main stem are fertile rivers.  They are also artificial in that they receive cold water releases from June through September.   This will effect both the flow and the temperatures which, in turn, will affect the fishing.  The United States Geological Survey maintains a website which gives data to anglers on a four hour basis.  Their website is located at: http://wwwdnyalb.er.usgs.gov/rt-cgi/gen_tbl_pg     As a rule of thumb, when the water levels on the main stem are less than 3.2 feet, or 1200cfs,  you can be assured of good wading levels.  When the water levels are over 3.4 feet, or 1500cfs, fishing can be productive but, for the most part,  it will be from a boat.

2. The West Branch Delaware 

This river has two sections.  The southern stretch of this river begins in Stilesville, New York - below Cannonsville Reservoir and travels to Hancock - a distance of about 14 miles.   The northern stretch is above Cannonsville Reservoir.

Most people think of the southern part of the West Branch Delaware River when they read about the "West Branch" due to this stream getting constant cold water releases out of Cannonsville from June through September.   In addition, the southern section  is wider than the northern reaches.  It also has far more angling pressure than the Main Stem Delaware due to easier access, campgrounds and resorts.

The West Branch has fewer tributaries running into it than the East Branch Delaware.  It would be my first choice if there was a heavy rainfall or for early spring fishing.    This river is the first medium sized river to clear but it is also the first to warm if there are no releases due to lack of cover and lack of feeder streams.  As a bonus, if we have had a lot of precipitation in the winter or early spring, Cannonsville Reservoir will, at times, spill over into the West Branch bringing with it tons of sawbellies - or alewifes - which the browns crave.  A good early season pattern under these conditions would be a large weighted white wooly bugger with crystal flash or a large weighted Zonker in a size 2.

The West Branch has many islands to break the flow along with side channels.  You will find undercut banks and far fewer rock outcroppings than on the Main Stem.  In my opinion, this river reads more like a spring creek than a classic freestone like the Beaverkill or for that matter the Main Stem.

Brown trout and rainbow trout are the primary species on this stream with the browns far in majority.  As with the Main Stem, all of trout are wild.  In my opinion, the brown trout have acclimated themselves to colder water due to bottom releases out of Cannonsville Reservoir for the past thirty years which, during the heat of the summer, can read at 45 degrees at Deposit.

3. The East Branch Delaware

The East Branch Delaware has two sections as well.  The southern zone extends from Pepacton Reservoir at Downsville, New York south to Hancock whereas the northern section is from Pepacton Reservoir north towards Margaretville, New York.

From Downsville south to Hancock, the angler will find public stream access along Route 30.

New York state stocks the East Branch of the Delaware and there is also a good supply of holdovers as well as wild trout.

There are many feeder streams and tributaries such as the Beaverkill which run into the East Branch Delaware River which can, at times, delay good fishing after a heavy rainfall.   

This stream differs from the West Branch Delaware River in that it resembles more of a freestone and has far fewer islands to cut the flow of the river.   You will find that it has more cover since the topography is in a steeper valley graced with tall pines to shade the river from extreme heat.

For additional information, please e-mail me at: riverguide@gonefishing-gs.com

or call 845.252.3657