mayflies on the neversink

[moosekid]

I've only been fishing it for 5 or 6 years so I don't know this first-hand -- but from what i've heard, the Neversink was hit pretty hard during Irene and people say the hatches of mayflies have been pretty non-existent since.

I've spent a good deal of time down in the gorge. Outside of cloudy day olives in May, and sporadic evening Isos in late August/September -- I've never seen a "hatch" of mayflies. I'll see one here or there mixed in with the pretty regular caddis hatches, but nothing that would encourage you to tie on a mayfly pattern.

Maybe i'm wrong about the whole thing -- but I was in a blizzard hendrickson hatch the other day. You could cut the number of bugs in half and it would still be four times as many Hendricksons as i've ever seen down there...and I usually get a good 5 or 6 days in there about this time a year each season. I think I woulda seen some if they were around.

Anyways -- could be a good sign...

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[Rusty Spinner]

Irene was nearly 8 years ago, and any damage done is more or less considered in the past by now when it comes to macroinvertebrates.

Sorry I wasn't with Rick Axt when he bumped into you and your drift boat last week. Rick is a notorious NEFF lurker, so maybe I can pull him out of hiding to respond here. He mentioned he needed to get his login in reset as it has been years since he posted regularly.

[flyI4]

The neversink has some great mayfly hatches- you just need to fish further upstream for more reliable dry fly fishing. The gorge gets the most attention because its a unique/wild/pretty area but the reality is that water is far less productive than the upper stretches that more mirror a tailwater and provide better habitat for both bugs/fish on a year round basis. You will find afternoon sulphers up top just like the other tailwaters during the summer, and as you said the hendricksons were epic there this year. Fish size is also much larger on avg up top with the avg fish being 14-15'' in my experience.

[moosekid]

The neversink has some great mayfly hatches- you just need to fish further upstream for more reliable dry fly fishing. The gorge gets the most attention because its a unique/wild/pretty area but the reality is that water is far less productive than the upper stretches that more mirror a tailwater and provide better habitat for both bugs/fish on a year round basis. You will find afternoon sulphers up top just like the other tailwaters during the summer, and as you said the hendricksons were epic there this year. Fish size is also much larger on avg up top with the avg fish being 14-15'' in my experience.

I've fished the Woodbourne area alot. Good fishing and a great place to catch a Sunday matinee of Fiddler on the Roof. It's like driving into another time-period...

Irene was nearly 8 years ago, and any damage done is more or less considered in the past by now when it comes to macroinvertebrates.

Sorry I wasn't with Rick Axt when he bumped into you and your drift boat last week. Rick is a notorious NEFF lurker, so maybe I can pull him out of hiding to respond here. He mentioned he needed to get his login in reset as it has been years since he posted regularly.

I forgot about that. I can't tell you how many lurkers/neff folks i've met in the tops parking lot.

[Rusty Spinner]

I forgot about that. I can't tell you how many lurkers/neff folks i've met in the tops parking lot.

I was with both RickA and Agust G yesterday up on the WB. Good Hendricksons up the WB still. Never seen them hatch as late as June 1 that I can recall ever. No complaints as there were targets everywhere you looked.

[mudbug201]

I was with both RickA and Agust G yesterday up on the WB. Good Hendricksons up the WB still. Never seen them hatch as late as June 1 that I can recall ever. No complaints as there were targets everywhere you looked.

Guess I chose the wrong river yesterday. I hit the EB instead. Great looking conditions with clouds all day, but zero bugs throughout the day. Went 3 for 6 before 10am, 1 for 2 right at dusk - the rest of the day was watching the water, looking for hatches that never materialized.

Which part of the west did you hit?

[Rusty Spinner]

Guess I chose the wrong river yesterday. I hit the EB instead. Great looking conditions with clouds all day, but zero bugs throughout the day. Went 3 for 6 before 10am, 1 for 2 right at dusk - the rest of the day was watching the water, looking for hatches that never materialized.

Which part of the west did you hit?

I was in the no-kill, but the Hacklebarney TU chapter is staying at Dreamcatcher this weekend and they are doing great right there. All the anglers and guides I know have been saying how spotty the mainstem has been this year and chub filled it is. The East seems to be fickle so far as well, but the West is just now wadeable the last week or less.

The weird thing is that the angler trails along the West are way overgrown with Japanese knotweed because nobody was trampling that early in its growth cycle in April and May due to the high water. I had to either hack my way through or just walk in the river in places I would normally not walk in the water. I'm sure the crowds began this weekend and the wade anglers will beat it all down so you can walk from spot to spot.

[mudbug201]

I was in the no-kill, but the Hacklebarney TU chapter is staying at Dreamcatcher this weekend and they are doing great right there. All the anglers and guides I know have been saying how spotty the mainstem has been this year and chub filled it is. The East seems to be fickle so far as well, but the West is just now wadeable the last week or less.

The weird thing is that the angler trails along the West are way overgrown with Japanese knotweed because nobody was trampling that early in its growth cycle in April and May due to the high water. I had to either hack my way through or just walk in the river in places I would normally not walk in the water. I'm sure the crowds began this weekend and the wade anglers will beat it all down so you can walk from spot to spot.

It's been a whacky season so far, with no wading fishermen in the river. It's made for nice floating, but lots of the pools I fish are usually lazy dry fly water, and haven't been quite right, with lots of current in places where there usually isn't any. I imagine CDun sitting in his rocking chair in his log cabin overlooking the river, angrily watching the banana boats go by and waiting for the water to recede.

The hatches have been strange too. I think 80-90% of the fish I have caught this season have been on caddis patterns. Never seen UDR trout eat caddis like they have this year. My typical response to a blizzard caddis hatch is to get eye strain trying to spot the sporadic mayflies that the trout are actually eating. Not this year. Meanwhile, I saw my first green drake of the season today on my patio, sitting on my daughter's high chair, right next to a Hendrickson. Craziness.

Yesterday morning was a case in point. The lower EB was completely dead, and the water was a bit off-color - decided to throw a small yellow and brown streamer that has always looked good to me but never really caught a lot of fish. The browns in my home pool just attacked it. I had six takes in less than an hour, some of them ferocious. Couldn't explain it.

Later in the day, floating not far upriver from there, my 7 year old son spotted dozens of crayfish in a long shallow pool - he's pretty much the official crayfish census taker for the upper Delaware - never seen so many. Everything's a little off this year - not a bad thing, just makes things less predictable up there.

[moosekid]

I was in the no-kill, but the Hacklebarney TU chapter is staying at Dreamcatcher this weekend and they are doing great right there. All the anglers and guides I know have been saying how spotty the mainstem has been this year and chub filled it is. The East seems to be fickle so far as well, but the West is just now wadeable the last week or less.

The weird thing is that the angler trails along the West are way overgrown with Japanese knotweed because nobody was trampling that early in its growth cycle in April and May due to the high water. I had to either hack my way through or just walk in the river in places I would normally not walk in the water. I'm sure the crowds began this weekend and the wade anglers will beat it all down so you can walk from spot to spot.

I didn't see alot of Drakes on the Upper Main yesterday, but there was a huge coffin fly spinner fall so they must have been hatching somewheres downstream of me. Chubs were keyed on them.

[Trout Nazi]

I didn't see alot of Drakes on the Upper Main yesterday, but there was a huge coffin fly spinner fall so they must have been hatching somewheres downstream of me. Chubs were keyed on them.

They weren’t keyed in on the big bugs yesterday, they got to live another day. I did all of my damage on a small rusty spinner.

On on a separate note, man what a shit show up there. Was my first time up this year and there were people everywhere. I pulled into Bard, then pulled right out. Guys in there paddling around in Kayaks, canoes, people lined up in the bubble line. Stockport and all the other obvious places were the same deal. I had to think out of the box and burn a lot of felt to find a quiet spot.

[Rusty Spinner]

They weren’t keyed in on the big bugs yesterday, they got to live another day. I did all of my damage on a small rusty spinner.

On on a separate note, man what a shit show up there. Was my first time up this year and there were people everywhere. I pulled into Bard, then pulled right out. Guys in there paddling around in Kayaks, canoes, people lined up in the bubble line. Stockport and all the other obvious places were the same deal. I had to think out of the box and burn a lot of felt to find a quiet spot.

After an April and May with no wading for the most part, I guess I can't be surprised. Although I must say that last Friday wasn't too bad all things considered. Now that flows allow both drifting and wading, it will be zany for awhile.

[emoussa]

Hey Charlie. I'm thinking of making the trek into the gorge this weekend if I can find the time to sit down and tie a few flies beforehand. What patterns have been working down there?