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Home › Waters › New York › West Branch Delaware River
Tailwater · Catskills · New York

West Branch Delaware River Fishing Guides

Cold Cannonsville tailwater with large, selective wild browns and rainbows, floated by drift boat from Deposit down to Hancock and fished with matching dry flies to legendary hatches.

A river breaking over ledge rock between forested banks in the Appalachians

Map of the West Branch Delaware River

17 numbered points: 6 access points, 1 bait & fly shop, 4 outfitters, 1 bridge, 1 park or conservation area, 2 regulation section limits, 1 hazard, 1 USGS gauge. Tap a marker for details. Reviewed Sep 21, 2026.

Printable version →
  • Access / boat ramp (6)
  • Bait, tackle & fly shop (1)
  • Outfitter / canoe rental (4)
  • Bridge crossing (1)
  • Park / conservation area (1)
  • Regulation section limit (2)
  • Dam / hazard (1)
  • USGS gauge (1)
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Points are curated from OpenStreetMap and state agency sources; confirm access and hours before you go.

Print it. Bag it. Bring it.Phones die, screens crack, and most of this water has no signal. Print this map, fold it into a zip-top bag or dry bag with your license, and you have a backup your electronics can’t give you. Every marker is numbered so you can say exactly where you are.

Open the printable map
All 17 points on this map
#PointTypeLat, LonNotes
1Cannonsville Dam
NYC water-supply dam (Cannonsville Reservoir)		Dam / hazard42.06574, -75.37639The bottom-release dam that creates the West Branch tailwater. Cold water drawn from deep in Cannonsville Reservoir keeps the river trout-cold through summer. No passage; the fishery begins below it.
2Lower West Branch Fishing Access (Stilesville)
NYSDEC access - bank fishing, no boat launch		Access / boat ramp42.07981, -75.40169NYSDEC access on the uppermost tailwater at Stilesville. DEC prohibits launching boats here (July 2026 notice) - it is a walk-in bank site. Float trips put in downstream at Deposit or Hale Eddy.
3Main Street bridge
Deposit village crossing		Bridge crossing42.06570, -75.41506The main road crossing through Deposit, between the dam and the Route 17 bridge. A roadside look at the water in the village.
4Catch-and-Release reach - upper limit
NY Route 17 bridge at Deposit		Regulation section limit42.05484, -75.42280Upper end of DEC's two-mile Catch-and-Release reach, at the Route 17 (NY 17) bridge in Deposit. Wild Premier water lies above here up to the Stilesville Weir. Rules on DEC's page, not here.
5Airport Road Access
NYSDEC fishing access, Deposit		Access / boat ramp42.04475, -75.42019State fishing and float access off Airport Road below Deposit, a common upper put-in for the Wild Premier and Catch-and-Release water.
6River Road Boat Launch
NYSDEC hand-launch		Access / boat ramp42.03557, -75.41422Boat and hand launch off River Road, the next access below Airport Road. Within DEC's Catch-and-Release reach.
7Catch-and-Release reach - lower limit
Two miles below the Route 17 bridge		Regulation section limit42.02978, -75.40997Lower end of DEC's Catch-and-Release reach, placed by walking two miles down the centreline from the Route 17 bridge. Wild Premier water resumes below here to the NY/PA border. Rules on DEC's page.
8Hale Eddy Access
NYSDEC access at the Hale Eddy bridge		Access / boat ramp42.00307, -75.38382The main mid-river float access, at the Hale Eddy (Sherman Creek Road) bridge and beside the USGS gauge. A popular take-out for the upper float and put-in for the lower.
9USGS gauge 01426500 - West Branch Delaware River at Hale Eddy
The tailwater's index gauge		USGS gauge42.00303, -75.38353The flow and temperature gauge guides read before floating the West Branch. Cannonsville release drives it; check it against DEC's release schedule.
10West Branch Angler Resort & Fly Shop
Fly shop, lodge & guides		Outfitter / canoe rental42.00717, -75.36571Fly shop, lodge and guide service on the upper tailwater near Hale Eddy - a hub for West Branch anglers, with drift-boat guides and current-flow advice.
11Balls Eddy Access
PA Fish & Boat Commission access		Access / boat ramp41.96815, -75.33821Major float access on the Pennsylvania bank at Balls Eddy, with a ramp and parking - the mid-river put-in and take-out for the lower West Branch.
12Delaware River Club Fly Fishing Resort
Fly shop, lodge & guides		Outfitter / canoe rental41.94786, -75.30657Fly-fishing lodge, shop and guide service on the lower West Branch above Hancock, long a base for float trips on the West and main-stem Delaware.
13Robert W Nichol Nature Preserve
Nature preserve, Hancock		Park / conservation area41.95662, -75.28941Riverside nature preserve and science center at Hancock with trails to the bank, near where the West Branch meets the East Branch.
14Marino's Outdoor Sports
Tackle & sporting goods, Hancock		Bait, tackle & fly shop41.95431, -75.28009General sporting-goods and tackle store in Hancock, the town at the junction of the two branches. About 0.9 km off the water.
15OAR Kayak Rentals
Kayak & canoe rental, Hancock		Outfitter / canoe rental41.95321, -75.29053Paddle-craft rental in Hancock for the lower West Branch and the main-stem Delaware below the junction.
16Cross Current Outfitters
Outfitter & guides, Hancock		Outfitter / canoe rental41.94133, -75.28970Outfitter and guide service at Hancock, close to Junction Pool and the start of the main-stem Delaware.
17Junction Pool Access
Confluence with the East Branch, Hancock		Access / boat ramp41.93506, -75.27732Access at Junction Pool, where the West Branch meets the East Branch to form the main-stem Delaware - the bottom of the West Branch float and a famous piece of water.

Guides on the West Branch Delaware River

Claimed profiles take booking requests. Unclaimed profiles are built from public records so the river is never empty; the guide can claim or remove one any time.

About the West Branch Delaware River

Cold Cannonsville tailwater with large, selective wild browns and rainbows, floated by drift boat from Deposit down to Hancock and fished with matching dry flies to legendary hatches.

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Posting to West Branch Delaware River.

JPG, PNG or WebP, up to 12 MB. We resize it and strip the location data out of the file.

The name shown under the photo. Leave blank to stay anonymous.

Reader photo license v1.0 — the short version:

  • You grant Guided Floats, LLC a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to publish, resize and crop your photo on guidedfloats.com and in GuidedFloats’ own social posts and apps. You keep the copyright and can use the photo anywhere else.
  • You confirm that you took the photo yourself, that publishing it does not infringe anyone else’s rights, and that anyone recognisable in it (or a parent or guardian, if they are under 18) is happy for it to appear here.
  • Credit is printed beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, using the credit name you give us. Leave it blank and we use your name; write “Anonymous” for no name. Your email address is never published.
  • Withdrawing is one email to hello@guidedfloats.com naming the photo. It comes off the site within 7 days.
Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

Flow alert

Tell me when the West Branch Delaware River cfs

Now: 331 cfs, read 5:45 pm CDT, Sun Oct 18, 2026 (USGS 01426500, WEST BRANCH DELAWARE RIVER AT HALE EDDY NY).

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Questions

What is the current flow on the West Branch Delaware River?

As of Oct 18, 5:45 pm, the USGS gauge WEST BRANCH DELAWARE RIVER AT HALE EDDY NY reads 331 cfs, the 35th percentile for this date, with water temperature 53.8 F. Conditions update every 15 minutes.

What species can you catch on the West Branch Delaware River?

Anglers target Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout on the West Branch Delaware River in New York.

Are there fishing guides on the West Branch Delaware River?

GuidedFloats lists 5 guides and outfitters on the West Branch Delaware River. Claimed profiles accept booking requests; unclaimed profiles are built from public records and link to the business.

Where are the fishing regulations for the West Branch Delaware River?

Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the New York agency site: https://dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/freshwater-fishing/regulations