Rivers Outdoor Adventures

After a successful cross country trip, I had the good fortune to spend the last week on the Upper Delaware system with Jeff F., One Buggers Jeff M. and Glen E., and good friend Dave S. The system received some much needed rainfall and my rain gear as well tested on multiple days. My week started last Thursday with Jeff F. enjoying a rainy but epic day of dry fly fishing on the main stem Delaware from Buckingham to Long Eddy. We were the only boat on this beat and saw apple... caddis, olives, Hendricksons and Blue Quills. Jeff quickly got out his A game and proceeded to catch numerous browns and rainbows. The highlight of the day (actually there were many highlights) was a 22 brown on a Blue Quill dry that Jeff had personally tied. On Friday Jeff decided to take me on an adventure to the East Branch of the Delaware from Corbett to Oxbow Campground. The bugs were impressive but the trout only rose sporadically due to the rising water levels. Streamers and dry flies brought some fish to the net, but the forecasted 30+ mph winds and subsequent whitecaps caused us to abandon fishing a bit earlier than expected. Saturday and Sunday I guided in the Friends of the Upper Delaware One Bug fundraiser. A special thanks to Jeff M. and Glen E. for a couple of enjoyable days on the main stem Delaware. A tough river beat on Saturday was followed by some consistent dry fly action on Sunday. Monday through Wednesday was spent with good friend Dave S. Rising water levels and continued rain sent all of the wade anglers home and we enjoyed a couple of great days on the water. A special thanks to Sherri, Jeff, and Troutboy at FUDR for protecting this world class fishery and putting together another successful fundraiser. I highly recommend you visit www.FUDR.org and join this hard working, well connected organization. Hopefully the rain stops soon and I can spend a few days on the Lehigh River before heading back to Wyoming. Thanks, Paul Kanaskie

Greetings from Joe and Paul at Rivers Fly Fishing. With 2020 in the rear view mirror, we are looking forward to some sort of new normalcy for 2021. We thought we’d take a minute to bring you up to speed as to our whereabouts and guiding availability for 2021. Joe continues to reside in Pottsville PA and has been devoting his time to training and developing champion bird and show dogs. Many of you folks are aware of his dog training abilities and he has the ribbons and ...hardware to prove it. Paul decided (actually it was his wife’s idea) in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic that it was time to sell the farm and head west. In August of 2020, Paul and his family moved to Sheridan WY just east of the Bighorn Mountains. He has been spending his time chasing big game and learning the various rivers throughout the area. Recent trips to the Bighorn River in Fort Smith MT, the Bighorn River in Thermopolis WY and the South Fork of the Snake in Idaho have produced some beautiful fish and always impressive scenery. Paul is in the process of obtaining his MT guide license and looks forward to guiding opportunities in WY, MT, and possibly Idaho. If you have interest in a western adventure, Paul can provide recommendations for your success. Paul is planning to return to PA/NY to guide in the Friends of the Upper Delaware One Bug fundraiser on May 1-2 in Hancock NY and then stay n the area for several weeks to guide on the Upper Delaware and Lehigh Rivers. Paul is licensed by the states of PA and NY and has an NPS Permit to guide on the Upper Delaware. Both Paul and Joe have limited availability in late April through May and we will try our best to accommodate interested anglers; we will as always provide preference to repeat customers. Keep in mind that Saturday May 15th is a scheduled whitewater reLease date and therefore not recommended. If you are interested in booking a trip for 2021, we recommend that you reach out to us via phone or text message promptly at the following numbers due to limited availability. Paul can be reached at (570)972-9267 and Joe can be reached at (570)691-5476. We look forward to a successful 2021 season. Thanks for your business.

After enduring a long week of no fishing due to the very high water, Rebecca and I decided that a return trip to the Lehigh River was necessary to regain our sanity and check out the current conditions. Water levels remain too high for wade fishing but flows are slowly dropping below 3,000 CFS at the Walnutport USGS gage. There is nothing magical about 3,000 CFS at Walnutport but Rivers Outdoor Adventures feel that this is normally the upper range for good fishing. The wea...ther turned beautiful yesterday afternoon with temperatures in the mid 60’s and the wind was light and variable. The swallows were feeding actively on small caddis and a few March Browns that were hatching sporadically. A few opportunistic rising fish were found in the slower eddies and these fish were eager to eat a well placed mayfly. Rebecca brought here camera with her and we were able to get a couple high definition pictures of the 2 different mayflies that were present. The first was easily identified as a March Brown and the second I wasn’t really sure of the exact ID but thought that it might be a Gray Fox. In an effort to provide some accurate information, I reached out to renowned Aquatic Biologist Don Baylor. Don took a look at the photos and quickly responded that the second mayfly was a female Epeorus Vitreus, commonly known as the Pink Lady. A special thanks to Don for his help and expertise. Another interesting note from yesterday. I realized that these Epeorus Vitreus were the same mayflies that I had seen several years ago when the Lehigh Coldwater Fishery Alliance (LCFA) hosted the Reading Eagle on the Lehigh River. I reached out to Grant Mahon of the Reading Eagle and he confirmed that our float occurred on 05/11/2018 only 6 calendar days later than yesterday. Apparently the Epeorus Vitreus is right on schedule per 2018. A special thanks to Grant for the prompt response and continued interest in the Lehigh River. Conditions should continue to improve as the water levels continue to stabilize. The US Army Corps of Engineers indicated that the release from FEW Dam will be in the 500-700 CFS range this weekend and the release from Beltzville will also be decreasing daily to match inflow. Here are a few photos from yesterday and also a photo of Epeorus Vitreus from 2018. As stated in our previous post, Rivers is taking reservations for single angler trips and interested anglers should reach out to us via email at [email protected].

Updated Guiding Announcement Due to the continued concerns of the COVID19 pandemic, Rivers Fly Fishing is changing our driftboat guiding parameters effective immediately and until further notice. We ask all clients who have trips scheduled to reach out to us by email at [email protected]. The changes to our policies are as follows: - trips will be limited to one angler per boat in an effort to maintain social distancing requirements... - anglers will be required to supply their own lunch - we will supply drinks and snacks - anglers will be required to supply their own face mask - we will supply sanitizer for both personal use and to keep the boat surfaces clean and we will require all anglers and guides to wear a face mask at all times - we will be requiring all clients to assist us with our vehicle shuttles. We are doing this in an effort to minimize exposure to a third party shuttle drive or exposure to an Uber driver Rivers Fly Fishing is offering 2 pricing options based on the length of time you want to fish: 1. Half day float - this trip will include approximately 5 hours of actual fishing and will be scheduled around the current insect activity. For example, early season trips will focus on the afternoon hours and later season trips will focus on the evening hours. Rivers Fly Fishing will provide drinks and a snack. Price - $300 2. Full day float - this trip will include approximately 8 hours of actual fishing that will most likely start with several hours of nymph fishing followed by dry fly fishing if a hatch is present. Rivers Fly Fishing will provide drinks and a snack. Price $440 We will be flexible regarding start and end times for your trip and will do our best to provide an enjoyable experience. We will not be excepting any deposits but will confirm dates via email. As always, we will have flies, tippet, and other equipment available as necessary. Please reach out to us via email at [email protected] and we will try our best to accommodate your needs and confirm your date. Thanks for your patience and continued support.

Here is a short video from yesterday on the Lehigh