Quote Originally Posted by flyI4 View Post
the fish are doing fine- this season was prob my best season I have ever had and there were more 20-24" fish around this year than I've ever seen in the system. The rivers are healthy . The bugs are not totally gone -I hit a decent sulpher hatch this weekend and saw some of the better hatch activity I've seen all season. That said- bug numbers are definitely down and I think it is normal to see fluctuations in bug life that coincide with extreme weather events. They aren't all dead- just down in numbers . It happens and has happened in the past. The fish are clearly eating well bc they are fat as hell with average fish size bigger than ever.
Lots of guys did very well especially with the high water and streamers.The fish are fat as hell for one reason.They had Alewifes for weeks on end, tremendous amounts of protein will do that.

It been proven that Fish populations are way down, and the 8-12 inch class of fish are almost non-existent.

The water quality is horrible ,every year the insects decline and in some cases disappear.

The West Branch is not a healthy ecosystem.That is a fact.