Week of March 1, 2026: Tug of Weather
Twenty days of winter are left! The shift in weather is here and this week looks good for the long run, but a bit wet in the near run. We may see highs in the 60s, some sun, snow, PM showers, showers, AM showers, PM showers again, and then some clouds. But hey - highs in the 60s! The levels are going to come up faster than the water temperature until all the snow and ice are gone.
It is hard to predict (for me at least) what this will do for bug activity, but it will certainly get some fish moving. I like streamers in the soft water before I try to sink one through a fast moving run or short plunge pool. Fish may hang just outside the fast water, but within range for a quick dart out into the flow of food. Poke around rocks and logs as they will offer refuge if the showers (AM or PM) bring things up quickly. Be careful of debris if you wade in significant rain. Chunks of ice and freed-up branches can take an unexpecting angler out; it is a good time to remember the wading staff.
Midges and BWOs continue to hatch in the midst of both rain and sun. I took a rare jaunt to the Pequest on Saturday afternoon, assuming the worst about the parking situation at the Gorge and rolled past the gridlock at Point Mountain. I’m going to spend more time there! The flow was perfect and several types of insects were in the air. I’d guess they were a mix of midges and BWO, both grey and #18 - #20. The tug to go fishing has been growing and Saturday was a nice day to be out.
The Pequest is like a mix of the SBR, with some challenging pocket water and deep banks, and the Musky, some deeper slow pools that meander before the bottom seems to rise from the depths creating even runs with nice, rocky bottoms. Of the three, the silt and sentiment (again - just my opinion) builds up more at the Pequest, as does the algae and other kind-of slimy vegetation that midge hooks can help but scrape and hold on to. I am being needlessly critical, because it is a great river that holds some nice fish - or so I hear too often to disbelieve. This day was like many of my days on the Pequest. I couldn’t find a fish, but it was glorious to be out.
I did have better luck on Friday afternoon, from about 3:00 to 4:30 in the KLG. The flows are up but the wading is not quite dicey. I explored the southern end and found a nice brown in a pocket who liked my dark #18 midge. WD40, RS2, Zebra midges can be sunk alone with some split shot or trailed behind a heavier nymph. Little Black Stoneflies and Chimmara caddis are going to take center stage this week before the mayflies are ready to make their move. We are stocked with John C’s electric caddis and Jeff D’s Chimmara pattern in the colors to match the natural. I say “colors” because the pupa of Little Black Sedge caddis change color as they grow, from something of a yellow to a bit more amber/orange. These webspinners like fast, rocky water despite not being adept swimmers. When the time and temp comes, large numbers of them make their move and drift in great numbers. Trout will key-in on the sudden bloom when water temperatures reach low forty degrees. Don’t wait for the thermometer to click over, caddis pupa are a staple in trout diets and are around well before these emergences occur. Today’s (Sunday) water temperature had not changed much since a reading Saturday afternoon around 2pm: 38 degrees.
Things are going to start happening in the rivers soon!
It is perfect, somewhere…
Roy B.