Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report

With an all day rain forecast for Syracuse on Thursday and partly cloudy skies for Hancock,  it was a no brainer.  I packed my stuff  (including three extra sets of underwear in case the fishing was good) and headed down to the Delaware to close up the camp.  The hills that were ablaze with red and orange from the maples were now a cold barren gray, but the red and white Oaks were in there glory with  their rich gold and brown leaves mixing with the green of the pines in a stately elegance that the maples lack. Turned on the heat in camp and headed out to fish the pseudo hatch - - - I needn't have bothered. There were Pseudos in modest numbers and it was entertaining watching them being blown across the water (wonder what they think when a 20mph gust sends them cartwheeling across the stream?). It was windy and the fish, that like to sip pseudos in slow water pools,  were having none of it.  Found a few risers in  spots protected from the wind b...

After yesterdays fiasco I set out this afternoon to try to right the ship.  It rained all morning and was overcast with the threat of more rain to come.  In short, it was a day tailor made for pseudos and I was determined to make the most of it. Found a pool on the Beaverkill with rising fish and no other fishermen (there were lots of fishermen on the river today). Descended a steep bank and and found fish feeding on what might charitably be called a "sparse pseudo hatch". I hooked the first fish I cast to and then worked my way up through several rising fish without so much as a sniff from the intended targets. With one fish left to cast to the wind picked up and the fish quit rising.  Finally the fish rose in a lull and I hooked my second fish, it was good I did as the wind returned and all rising ceased. Drove to several pools with the wind blowing harder and  no fish rising.  Left for the Upper East where I could at least escape the wind.  Found a qu...

Been fishing the Beaverkill since last Saturday.  Every day the same, good fish rising in the pools from 1:00 'til dark.  Very few anglers on the water, so you you have your choice of pools.  Water is very clear and low, fish are very careful about what they eat but they can be fooled. A perfect situation for dry fly fishermen. So whats the problem? Well the Beaverkill is part of the Delaware River System and if you have a good day on the Delaware they say "don't go back".  Well, today was bright and sunny just like the other days, maybe a little breezier and little cooler than yesterday but basically another beautiful fall day.  Except the fish and bugs took the day off! I fished different pools again today and when I didn't see fish I went back to pools where I found fish earlier in the week,  Even went up the upper east in hopes that the increased flow would liven things up there.  All a waste of time. The fish just were not up.  Didn't c...

With the temp around 80 I was in no hurry to go looking for pseudos. They like it cold!  Forty five with a cold rain and they float down the river by the thousands.  Today - none.  It really didn't matter as the Beaverkill fish were up top even in the bright sun.  What were they eating?  I haven't a clue.  Stared at the water from two feet away and saw two ants in a five minute period when the fish in front of me were rising at least a hundred times. At the end of the day my fly patch had an olive, a caddis, an iso, an ant and a spinner.  If you are on the Beaverkill and make good presentations with those flies you should catch fish. Continued my assault on the  Beaverkill fishing five different pools.  Four of them had big rainbows (the browns have other things on their mind right now)  on top sipping with regularity. Those I caught were fat.  Looked in their mouths for a clue - nothing. If you want to throw a streamer and wa...

Checking the flow rates tonight I saw where the release from Pepacton has been increased from 108 to 264 CFS in an apparent attempt to balance the draw down needed to make minimum flow downstream..  While this will probably not significantly impact  the Dow Jones averages, it will have an effect on the East Branch fishing.  The additional flow will make for better conditions in the upper East Branch and MAY be enough to stimulate those fish still waiting for a flow  increase to migrate back up the big east from the main stem. With the brown trout spawning period now upon us the outlook is bleak.  The fish cannot get up most of the tributaries and if by chance they do they are easy prey for any number of predators.  In short we need rain, lots of it.  Be aware of browns spawning in both branches.  Don't step on the spawning beds and do not fish for or disturb spawning trout. Also remember the upper regions of both branches are now closed to all f...

The last two days have been good ones. The fall foliage is as beautiful as I have ever seen it.  Syracuse beat up on #17 ranked Virginia Tech.  AND the fish have decided to feed on top! It's been a long time since I've had consistently rising fish to throw at.  Yesterday was a start, today was better.  Arrived at the stream at 1:30 and found fish going on top. At 6:30 when I reeled it in, they were still going. The fishing?  At 55 CFS the Beaverkill isn't easy.  An 18 inch drag free float deserves a standing ovation.  A refusal is something to be proud of.  If a fish eats your fly you won the lottery. It's not Hendrickson time.  These fish have been fished to.  They are nobody's fool.  I got refusals more than twice as many  times as I got eats. BUT I HAD RISING FISH TO FISH TO ALL DAY!!! They were all quality fish.  The fish I  landed were all between 15 and 17 inches.  A wild brown (there are hatchery f...

With the River Master sending 1500 CFS of dirty water down the WB and Lordville going from 500 CFS to 1700 CFS,  I was off to fish the Beaverkill and EB.  Both are incredibly low and clear and many of the pools and runs do not seem to hold fish at the current water levels. I found fish (mostly rainbows)  in some of the deeper runs and riffs.  The fish are no doubt wary of eagles, mergansers and osprey and will not stay in quiet pools that are too shallow to offer  protection from predator attack.. There were very few flies hatching and I saw but one fish rise. Pseudos were again the most abundant fly hatching.  At the end of the day my fly patch had a pseudo, an iso, a spinner and a caddis on it.  The only fly that failed to catch a fish?  You guessed it, the pseudo. A beautiful and heavy 19 inch rainbow was fish of the day!

Motivated more by the lack of deer sightings from my tree stand than the expectation of good fishing, I drove down to the river.  It was bright and sunny without a cloud in the sky and the foliage colors were beyond belief.  If you have a chance go this weekend do it.  The trees will be bare a long time.  Syracuse to Binghamton and back will do the trick but the whole ride to Lordville was beautiful. I wanted to fish downstream on the big river while the water was low so I went all the way to Callicoon.  Did not see an angler from Deposit to  the bridge in Callicoon.  Fished in solitude for almost three hours.  There were pseudos but with the warm sun they were popping quickly off the water and there were no risers to be seen.  Rose four fish blind casting, three of which ate and were landed.  The fish (all rainbows) were  quite heavy (perhaps they have eaten a lot of shad fingerlings) and were all between 16 and 17 inches.  ...

Drove down to the camp yesterday with my bride to take in the foliage and to do some  "shutdown" work. The leaves from Syracuse to Binghamton were  beautiful with bright red and orange maples glittering in the sun.  From Binghamton to Roscoe the colors became more muted as the drought in the ares has caused the leaves to turn in on themselves.  The big river and the Beaverkill  are nothing but stone piles with water  flowing between the rocks. I've never seen the big river this low.  As is our custom when in the Roscoe/Cooks Falls area we stopped at the Riverside for dinner.  The restaurant overlooks the Beaverkill and the food is very good.  We were enjoying the meal when a river acquaintance saw us and came over to our table to talk.  He guides part time and said it had been very slow lately but that he did have one good day fishing  down river. He was looking forward to the pseudos and said that they never get going until the s...

With the entire river system at it's lowest flow level in years, now is a good time to get to know it better.  The big river, which is sometimes intimidating to anglers, will probably hit an all time low today.  The temps remain ok for the fish and you get a chance to learn where the main channels, deep pockets and fish holding structures are located.  The fish will be concentrated and may even be willing to eat a carefully presented fly. The manner in which the flow was  dropped will no doubt adversely affect the insect population as some have limited ability to follow an abrupt reduction in stream flow.  The saving of water over a gradual step down is minimal compared to the loss of stream life but that has been NYC's manner of doing things and it apparently isn't going to change. If you do plan on going, check the release at Stilesville as the flow will no doubt be bumped back up as soon as the Wallenpaupak draw down ceases. It would sure be nice if Mat...

Arrived at the Beaverkill at 1:15, just in time for the pseudo hatch (they forgot to show). Found a pool with no fishermen and six good fish rising.  Tried to figure out what they were eating but there wasn't anything on the water that the human eye could see. Perhaps they were just practicing but it was exciting - - - until I tried to catch them.   The first one ate and I rose the other five and got several other looks, but never touched a second fish.  Quit after about two hours (it was clear long before then that they were better at what they were doing than I was at what I was trying to do). Drove up the upper east intent on fishing a low water pool that I have tried to fish two other times lately only to find someone else there first. There was a car at every pool I drove past (except Long Flat and Power Line which are usually the two most heavily fished pools). When I got to "my pool", sure enough, there was a guy up to his elbows right in the middle of it. D...

It's been a week since I promised you sporadic/intermittent reports. So here goes one. The West Branch release continues to be adjusted almost daily to meet minimum flow requirements down river. Thankfully PPL is drawing down Wallenpaupak so it can perform a dam inspection and routine maintenance. Without the additional flow from the Lackawaxen the West Branch releases would be up around 1,500. The fishing remains very difficult. Got a report from a group of the Troutfitter's more experienced Delaware River fishermen who spent Sunday fishing the WB and main stem. They saw no risers and caught no fish. Fish have seen so many stream that fishermen are left counting swirls rather than hookups. The fly hatches have been consistently poor and very few fish are taking on top. The main stem and presumably the East Branch are full of shad fingerlings making their way to the ocean. They offer hungry trout an ample food supply and perhaps cut down on the number of fish trying t...

Today I gave it a good try. Left camp at noon and fished four pools on the Beaverkill. Two did not seem to have repopulated and there was no sign of fish. In the third pool I had two fish come to the fly. Both were rainbows and both ate and were landed. They were long and very lean. The fourth stop was a riff and I found numerous yearling rainbows and a few browns all of which were about 9 inches long. Saw a few olives hatching in the riff but saw no bugs or rising fish in the slower pools. Drove from the Beaverkill to the WB where I tried two places both downstream from Balls Eddy. Saw nothing (bugs or fish) at the first stop. The second pool had a few olives hatching. Cast at three or four subsurface swirls without getting even a look. Did get a nice brown to eat a spinner blind casting. The clouds came about two and thickened as the day wore on. The wind was gusty but since there were no risers it was not a big factor. Before calling it a day I made one last stop on the...

I've done well lately fishing mornings and evenings and sitting out the middle of the day when the sun is at its brightest. It was 39 this morning (no bugs are stirring at that temp) so I waited 'til after lunch to head out. Heard rumors of pseudos hatching in the afternoon on the Beaverkill (they didn't where I was) so I drove over and pulled into one of the many "Angler Parking Lots" and was putting on my waders when a car pulled up next to me. It turned out to be someone I know from the Troutfitter. We had both heard the pseudo rumors and so we gave it a try. There were no bugs and nary a rise on the river, BUT we both found fish in a riffle below the pool where we started. They were rainbows, lots of them. Yearlings mostly, about 9 inches long. Not exactly what we were after but lots of little bows means lots of big bows in the next couple of years. With nothing else going on at the Beaverkill, we headed to the Delaware where there were enough cars in the ...

Went out again in the morning and tried the lower big east - nothing. Drove over to the Beaverkill and found fish willing to look at/eat iso emergers and spinners. The Beaverkill is low and clear and the fish are not easily fooled. If one doesn't eat, move on. In the evening I tried two pools in the big river, farther down than I have been fishing. Stay above Buckingham. I hooked one fish in the first pool and saw one fish rise in the second pool. The weather forecast calls for a big drop in temps, which if it actually occurs, should put an end to thermal stress concerns for this year (it's almost October after all). The browns should begin moving towards their spawning grounds and the rainbows should be moving back to their year round homes after summering in cooler water.

Gave the morning fishing a try today and was glad I did. Fished several places on the upper part of the big east and the lower reaches of the Beaverkill. Found at least one fish every place I stopped but I never rose more than three in any one place. They were all rainbows and most took the fly on blind casts. If I were to fish those same places tomorrow my report would probably be less positive. There just aren't many fish that have moved back into the thermally stressed areas. It's heading towards October but the water has just been too warm. Stayed at the camp all afternoon. With the cloudless sky, bright sun and hot temps, I had no desire to fish. Left at 5:00 and drove up river without a plan. Buckingham had several fishermen and numerous trailers . Stockport had two trailers and one car. I thought about it and passed. It has been heavily fished lately and the lack of cars speaks for itself. Saw boats at every view point as I drove on. At Balls Eddy a lone tra...

Spent the morning putting up tree stands. Drove down to the camp and with the bright sum and warm temps, was in no hurry to go fishing. Decided to take care of a few things around the yard and before I knew it it was 5:00. With the recent fluctuations in the releases and the warm rain water, the temp had risen in both the WB and main stem. The increased temp was no threat to the fish but it has an adverse affect on the hatches. When I drove over the WB in Deposit it was muddy and unappealing. When I left camp I decided to try the upper EB. They have cut back the release from 130 to 100 but the rain water has kept the flow up. The water would be clear and no one would be fishing. How wrong can one person be? The water was at a nice level and clear, BUT almost every pool had an angler in it. At this level one is enough. I drove up past Corbett and couldn't find a pool to fish. Turned around and drove back down towards East Branch and stopped at a pool that I fish when the ...

This summer we have had several dry periods in the drainage system. Thunderstorms have distributed their water unevenly to say the least and the most recent series of storms is no exception. The west branch got the bulk of the rain with gauges above and below the reservoir recording flows of over 2,000 CFS. The water below the reservoir came from the tributaries (release was cut to 300 CFS) and was heavily silt laden. The WB, and by now, the big river are orange/brown in color and unfishable. The east branch is a different story as the bulk of the rain was to the west. Fish's Eddy was up to about 500 CFS with moderate turbidity. Both the upper East and Beaverkill are at fishable levels. The rise in flow may also start the fish migration back into the big east branch. At Montague, the gauge has fallen well below the minimum flow requirement. PPL abruptly shut off their release from Wallenpaupak yesterday and the storms failed to dump water on the lower river. I don't k...

The hummingbirds have gone, the camp buck is strutting around with his shiny new three inch spikes ( the does are NOT impressed) and last night the screens had more than a dozen pumpkin (October) caddis on them. I've been whining a bit about the lack of rainy, cloudy days and today we got one. So what did I do? Went fishing of course. Was it as good as I hoped it would be? No. Was it worth going? You betcha! Started at Lordville and kept my perfect record. No bugs and no fish. Third time I've fished there since they jacked up the water and still haven't seen a fish. Moved up to the WB to take advantage of the low water. Most of the river has been unwadeable for the last few weeks and I hoped maybe the fish had gotten careless. Apparently I was not alone in this thinking because I was surrounded by anglers and run over by boats in both places I tried. Did hook a few small fish and got refused by a good one in the melee. Got back to the car and headed down to t...

As I mentioned in an earlier post PPL has scheduled a draw down of Wallenpaupak starting tomorrow. If this happens there will be a corresponding cut back in the release from Cannonsville. At present levels most of the WB is not safe to wade. The big river is at about 1650 CFS and can be waded. Both can be floated. Fished the big river downstream from Stockport and again found a few fish. There were no bugs hatching whatsoever and only a handful of olive spinners. Saw three rises got a refusal from one and the other two ate. I also hooked one blind casting. Landed the big one and the little one and lost the one in between. Without bugs on the water it's really hard to say how many fish there are in a particular place. At present I don't think there are very many below Buckingham. I certainly wouldn't sign up for a float to Long Eddy just yet. If the water is shut down (at 8:30 pm it has not been) it will be interesting to see where the fish are and if they will ...

Called the Troutfitter this morning at 10:30 to give them an update on the Delaware and learned that it was cloudy, cool and raining in Syracuse. In East Branch where I was, it was 75 and sunny. The front finally came through this afternoon with a brisk wind and cooler temps but not a drop of rain. It's been hot and humid for sure, but the watershed can't buy an inch of rain. Tried the Beaverkill this morning. It's very low, clear and this morning, bugless. At least the water temp was OK. Saw fresh iso husks on the rocks but no flies or fish. This evening I decided to try the big river below Stockport again. It was cloudy and breezy with the temp was down to the mid 70's. Didn't start fishing until 5:30 and was back in the car at 7:35. In that time I saw a few olives, a handful of Cahills and no Isos. The fishing? Surprisingly good. In the two hours, I rose eight fish, four of which ate. I landed three of them. I saw about a half dozen rises that w...

Didn't start my day until almost three. Yesterday in the bright sun, nothing happened until the sun went behind the hills so I had no urge to rush. Was riding around "just looking" when I drove into Balls Eddy to see if there were any bugs on the water (no) and to count trailers (0). There were two fishermen sitting in waders by a drift boat bobbing in the water. They flagged me down and explained the situation. They had ordered a shuttle that was to drop off their truck at Balls Eddy by 2:00. It was now 2:45 and no shuttle. I ended up driving one of them up to Hale Eddy (no truck there) and then to Barking Dog where they had left it. There it sat right where they left it. I was happy for the delay as I still spent over an hour casting at nothing in the bright sun. The two anglers had spent the day casting streamers and had caught one nice fish. They said they had lots of swirls but no other takes. The water in the WB is getting dirtier every day as the silt that ...

The crisp, dry air felt nice, mid forties last night cooled the rivers and there was "space behind the hills" for the first time in two months. The bright sun was still with us, however, and the frontal system didn't bring enough rain to fill a tea cup. As promised I tried the Lordville riff this afternoon. The bright sun probably didn't help - then again it might not have mattered- never saw a fish. If they have moved back they sure don't want anyone to know about it. If anyone tries to get you to float from Buckingham to Long Eddy this week - don't go. Stopped at junction pool and watched two guys in pontoon boats casting into the foam line. Saw no risers. Then drove up to Deposit and watched some Yellow Drakes float unmolested the length of the Men's Club pool, never saw a rise or a fisherman. Went down to the gamelands where two empty parking lots were to much to resist. Fished for two hours without even seeing a rise then rose and hooked two...

For the first time since last June I needed a fire this morning. Temp outside was 46 and in here it was 64. The front went through yesterday and hopefully took all that hot muggy weather we've been having and dumped it somewhere out in the ocean. For the first time in months all of the rivers are OK to fish temp wise. Of course there will be few if any fish in the big east which has been well over 70 for months. The front gave us only a few sprinkles and we will need a good rain before the fish migrate back up the EB. I had planned on fishing the big river below Stockport yesterday but the winds that came along with the front nixed that idea. Went to the upper east late and got out of the wind but could have caught as many fish in my back yard. No bugs, no rises and no fish. Will fish the big river today.

I don't fish on the weekends, but here I am writing a fishing report on Saturday night. Our social calendar is quite rigid during the "big bug" season. My wife understands and I love her for it. This time of year I am happy to make concessions to preserve peace in the family and to see friends who aren't available on the weekends. The last two weeks have been a little jumbled but it's late in the season and the fishing has been slow anyway. It's the second Saturday in September and from 3:45 until 7:15 twelve boats went by me. The worst part is that I drove upstream past all of the parking areas jammed with trailers to avoid the congestion. Every one was polite and no one disturbed my fishing. But still. It was sunny, hot and muggy, AGAIN! Have never seen a summer with such unrelenting heat. The water temp at Stilesville is still cold (although the water below the thermocline has been depleted). This late in the season a small increase in the temp of ...

Its hard to keep up with the river master. He (she) has been increasing the release from Cannonsville twice a day to meet minimum flow at Montague. The West Branch is now difficult to wade in most places. The big river is cool to Lordvill and below. It is only a matter of time until the fish repopulate the lower river. There were seven anglers at Buckingham tonight. From what I saw they out numbered the fish. One guy caught a nice rainbow on a streamer. I saw on fish boil in my allotted space. Left to check out Lordville and was glad I did. The water was covered with ants of all sizes. The fish? Were no where to be seen. It takes time for fish to relocate. They want the cold water to be the real thing, they have probably been fooled by "thermal releases" before. An overcast sky and some cool rain would sure help matters. The fish in the big east and lower Beaverkill are still in thermal refuges, don't bother looking there. Have spent most of the week do...

With another bump in the WB release (now about 1040 CFS) I decided to try the big river down at Lordville before the additional cold water shut things down. In about 45 minutes of fishing I saw a few of the large black caddis hatching but I did not raise a fish. It will take a while before fish leave their summer residence and move back into their cool weather homes. It doesn't help that day after day features a beautiful. cloudless sky and unseasonably warm temps. Today was a stark contrast to yesterday. There were no fishermen or boats to be seen on the WB. The launch sights that were full yesterday were all empty today. The addition of almost 250 CFS of cold water into the WB seemed to stop both the bugs and fish. I drove along the river and saw neither bugs nor risers. With no rain in sight you can expect continued big releases to meet minimum flow requirements unless PPL again generates power. I was told today that starting the 17th PPL will begin to draw down Wallenp...

It's Labor Day weekend, a time when many fishermen close out the season with a last trip to Delaware. This year is no exception. Showing no regard for just how bad the fishing has been lately, they have dipped into their wallets and shelled out money for a guide to take them down the river. I wasn't here to count on Friday or Saturday (often the busiest float days) but today the launch and takeout sites (Shehawken, Stockport and Buckingham) were filled with cars and trailers. There were close to tewenty trailers and almost three times as many cars when I drove up the river at 5:00 PM. Being my usual contrarian self I kept on driving (Balls Eddy had only one trailer and there were only two cars at the game lands). Thought maybe the additional cold water would start the bugs on the lower WB. It didn't. There were a few olives and I saw two isos, nothing else. The only fish that rose were yearlings eating the olives. I hooked four and lost them all. Never saw a good...

After cutting back the WB release to 400 yesterday, the River Master bumped it up to over 800 today. Why? With Wallenpaupak generation information not available one is left guessing. My guess is that with the cooler air temps there will probably be less demand for electricity and PPL is cutting back on its generation schedule to save water for times of greater demand. Without the additional water from the Lackawaxen the river does not meet minimum flow requirements at Montague and additional water from the WB is required. If both my guess and the weather forecast are correct (little or no rain is forecast for the next ten days) we can look for sustained high releases from Stilesville. This will serve to cool down additional miles of the big river (probably down to Buckingham) and should provide additional fishing opportunities within the next week or so as the fish spread out. At 800 CFS and above some areas of the WB become more difficult/dangerous to wade, use caution. The add...

The release at Stilesville was dropped to 400 CFS today under the FFMP which calls for a flow adjustment on September first. At this time the release on the EB remains unchanged. What are the effects? It's hard to say. PPL power generation at Wallenpaupak has continued unabated, making it unnecessary for the River Master to call for additional WB water to meet minimum flow at Montague. Haven't been able to get the projected generation schedule as the data is not currently loading on their web page. The reduction wasn't drastic but it will make it harder to float the WB. It will also provide less cold water to the fish in the upper big river. Although my fish sample is admittedly small, all of the fish I have caught between junction and Stockport in the past month have been very thin. If the hot weather continues they will be further stressed. Hopefully the cooler nights and shorter days will keep temps there at acceptable levels. The fish have been crowded into t...

Today I left camp around 2:15, it really doesn't matter 'cause the sulfur hatch is over up river- and- if there is anything going on anywhere I'm not privy to it. But I've only been fishing evenings and I wanted to know - now I do --- Stay home!!! Everyone else is. Saw one guide the past three days and almost no fishermen. Fished up in the Deposit area for most of the afternoon and early evening. Hooked one good fish right off the bat and lost him. Then fished a good five hours without catching a fish over twelve inches. The bugs? There were Golden/yellow (?) drakes up river and Hebes down. Saw fish chasing the drake nymphs up to the surface but they left the duns alone. Everyone (even the fish) know Hebes don't taste good. I'm on track for one of the worst catch total for August in the 25 years I've recording catches. Yes I missed the first two weeks but I could have missed the last two weeks and it wouldn't have made much difference. Headi...

With bright sun (yet again) I didn't venture out to fish until six PM. I needn't have rushed. There was no one on the river from Lordville to Stockport (one car there) no trailers or cars at Shehawken, no trailers at Balls Eddy, no cars at either gamelands parking areas and one angler standing on the bridge at Hale Eddy. Up river (where the action is) there was no one in sight above or below the Deposit town bridge, two boats fishing the pool just below Rte.17 and four anglers from there to the men's club. I saw a couple of rises in a big pool, put on the gear and waded out. From six-thirty until 8:00 I had rising fish, hooked seven and landed five, with a 17 incher being "fish of the day". There were sulfurs (very few) on the water, no olives, ants or isos. A few yellow drakes floated by, uneaten. Either the fish have been hooked on them or they just don't taste very good. For the hours I have fished the past two weeks my catch rate has been fine, b...

Today was another scorcher One of far too many this summer. Chose to stay at camp and work on distributing the top soil/gravel that I purchased earlier this year. After a cool shower and a short nap I felt good enough to at least drive around and look at what wasn't happening. Left camp a little after 6:00 and took a drive up the EB. Saw a dark haired angler heading downstream from the junction of the EB and the Beaverkill with a smirk on his face and a large creel over his shoulder. The EB was near 70 at Harvard and the Beaverkill had to be well over 75. Perhaps he was hoping to find fish belly up overcome by the heat. Traffic was heavy heading back to NYC but everything was quiet when I turned up RT30. Saw a single cars parked at several pull offs and kept going up past Corbett to see if there were any bugs in the cold water. Found a few olives and nary a sulfur. Fog enveloped the river as I looked for risers. Found one working along a seam on the edge of the current and...

Friday night with old friends was great. Got chores done today and decided to pull the plug on the reunion, first one I've missed but I just needed some quiet peaceful time. Decided to return to the fishing camp, finish up some chores and try to catch a fish or two. Did both. Didn't get here until after four and stopped in Deposit to see what, if anything was up (nothing). Drove down river looking for a place to fish, no room in the inn (it's Saturday after all). No-kill was filled with boats and wade fishermen, five cars, multiple boats and wade fishermen at the 191 bridge. SEVEN trailers at Shehawken take out. I was on my way to camp when I saw only one truck at Stockport. Decided to give it a try. Met the two anglers with the truck who were walking out. They hadn't seen a thing. Walked downstream to the pool and looked at the water, it was covered with ants! The fish? Couldn't have cared less. I mean there were too many ants to count in each square...

After four days of fishing, I've landed a total of six "countable fish" (I don't count the yearlings). It's true I didn't put in my usual number of hours - but still - 6 fish? It's got to be my lowest total ever for four days this time of year. So I'm out of here 'til Monday. Have a dinner scheduled with old friends, a high school reunion and a big yellow birch tree that blew over at home and needs to be cut up. How'd I do today? Went looking for tricos and strangely didn't find any. Tuesday there were lots with yearlings up. Today I tried spots above and below where I fished Tuesday and saw almost no bugs. There were a few rising fish at the second spot. Hooked four small fish and got refused by three decent fish. Tonight I got fogged out. It sprinkled between Deposit and Hancock and the high humidity resulted in dense fog over the river. I was wading upstream to where I wanted to fish when I smelled smoke from a pipe. Sure eno...

At the end of the day I had landed but one fish. Decided not to fish tricos this am. Will probably try yet another place tomorrow. Reports from Deposit were consistent. Fewer and fewer sulfurs, some olives with an iso thrown in. Boats were anchored on the best spots. What risers there were, were looking at everything with their bifocals on. If the fishing was good DRC wouldn't have to go to their archives for "fish of the day" pics. It's not their fault, it's just the way it is right now. Tonight I left camp at 6:10 and headed up the WB in hopes of finding bugs and rising fish in the cold water. I did! When I got in the water (above Hale Eddy) there was "smut" on the water, tiny little creatures that could not possibly be tied on a hook. The biggest flies I saw were spinners about one quarter the size of anything in my spinner box. In the slow water pool where I was there were a few fish sipping on'em. Hooked two of them and lost both. The se...

With the morning temp in the 40's I didn't have to rush. Left camp about 9:30 and drove up to the EB to fish the trico hatch. Arrived about ten to find lots of bugs - all still in the air. They started to fall about a half hour later and the fish fed for a good two hours. There was no wind, a bright blue sky and lots of fish to throw at. Almost all of my good casts got at least a refusal, many were eaten. BUT, as has been the case since my return from the western trip, all the fish were yearlings about nine inches long. If I threw at anything bigger I wasn't aware of it. I may try another place sometime later this week but the handwriting is on the wall, the big fish are just not up on the tricos. Again took a pass on the Deposit afternoon fishing. The hatch may have waned, but the number of boats hasn't. One of the fishing Steves (there are two) from Lordville has been going almost every day. His reports keep me from even thinking about it. Went out early i...

If I was doing this report for a lodge or fly shop along the river that was trying to promote the river and get people to come and fish - - - I would say: Couldn't get on the river until after six due to prior commitments. With the cool day, the water temps were down and I headed for the big river. Saw hebes, yellow sallies, and isonichia hatching and spinners over the water late. Trout were seen rising for the spinners. I rose six trout in the two hours that I fished and landed three rainbows and a brown. The recent rains and cool temperature have invigorated the river system and it looks like the fall season is upon us. Those of you who read my reports regularly know that I am not a huckster. That said - - - Here is my report: Based on last weeks fishing, I was in no particular hurry to rush down to the river. Took care of some loose ends in Syracuse, lunched with old friends at Ruston's Diner (the cholesterol capital of the world) and left for the fishing camp ...

With most all of the anglers and guides concentrating on the upper WB where the fish have been pounded for the last three months and where the sulfur hatch has all but disappeared, I took my game elsewhere. In the am I tried the upper big river. It looked good for the first ten minutes as I hooked and landed two small rainbows, got a refusal and saw another fish rise. Then nothing for two hours. In the evening I cut my way into one of the better pools on the upper EB with a pair of pruning shears and then sat and watched the water go by. No bugs or risers. Just before dark when it looked like my 12 inch rainbow from early morning would be fish of the day, I saw two fish rise. They turned out to be a pair of 15 inch browns that shared the daily award. The hot weather, bright sun, restricted fishing area and dearth of bugs have combined to make the fishing about as difficult as it can be. We need a cold front with a rain heavy enough to freshen the system. There is rain pred...

If you want to go trout fishing you really don't have many viable options right now. It's been hot and in many places, dry. Freestone streams are too low and warm to fish. Tailwaters? You've got the Delaware River System, arguably the best trout stream east of the Rockies right in your back yard. Big browns and rainbows sipping dries, any anglers dream. Just hop in the car, head on down and catch a few - but wait - before you go, take a look at the Delaware River Club daily report. They are trying to encourage people to come and fish, it's how they pay the bills. They like to have a picture in every daily report showing one of their anglers gleefully holding up a big fish. Since back in early June there have been a lot of pictures of river flow charts, may flies and "fish caught last week". Delaware River fishing is never easy and right now its very demanding. The Delaware River fish are perhaps harder to catch than fish in any other river. Why? ...

First of all, my apologies for the appearance of the reports. I DO break the report down into paragraphs but for some unknown reason it has been printed in one big paragraph the last few days. If someone can tell me how to fix it please do.  If anyone has a friend who is a golfer, you know the fatal mistake is to ask him how he did. You can only hope he just played nine and he shot a thirty nine because you are going to relive every shot, no matter how many. Fly fishermen? Not like that at all. First of all, no one, not even your best fishing buddies or the most loving wife, cares or wants to know how many fish you caught, how big the "monster" was, what fly he ate, how many times he jumped and how far into the backing he went. Fly fishermen, of necessity, are much smarter than golfers. We only hit the high points in recounting our days fishing. Seldom to you hear about the dark side. Because broken rods, leaky waders, keys locked in the car, no hatch, no risers, los...

For you early risers, the trico hatch offers an opportunity to sharpen your dry fly skills. Be on the river early and look for a cloud of the little buggers swarming over a riff (Cedar Waxwings will be having them for breakfast). Get downstream in a quiet pool below the riff and wait for the fish to start feeding. Most literature says the spinner fall will occur when the temp hits 69 degrees. I've gotten to the river when the air is 67 and found the water covered with spinners. Play it safe and get there early. If its windy or it rained hard during the night, sleep in. Tricos don't like cold water, they can be found on the big river, the lower half of the west branch and on the upper east branch below Shinhopple. If you get there early you can fish duns. The fish eat them but the main attraction is the spinner fall. Six-x will do the trick but seven-x will give you a better presentation. The yearling trout (they are now about 9 inches long) will be up in pods and are ...

Left at 7:15 this morning to try a little trico fishing. Found a good sized group of spinners being attacked by waxwings over a run on the EB. Got in the water and saw fish eating duns. Within fifteen minutes there were spinners on the water and even more risers. Had fish to throw at for two hours. Hooked about a dozen and landed about half. Fun? You bet. Exciting? Not so much. As is often the case with trico spinner falls, the majority of the risers were juveniles about nine inches long. Usually you get a shot or two at bigger fish and the stocked fish, of course, love to eat anything on top but today I didn't see anything but the little guys. Perhaps the higher water cooled their ardor for the tiny spinners. Skipped the afternoon fishing. The sulfur hatch has run its course on both branches. To be sure there are still sulfurs but "the hatch" is over. In it's place there are olives, isos, caddis and the Yellow Drakes. In twenty five years of fishing the...

The parade of storms last night missed us. The water was lower, clearer and colder. I was there at one pm for the sulfur hatch. Donned my waders, vest - - - and then my raincoat. When the flash and boom came I decided to sit in the car and wait it out. Good decision. It rained hard enough and long enough to get all of the tribs gushing brown. When it finally let up I drove down stream to get ahead of the mud. Fished a couple of hours until the water turned brown. Hooked a couple of 15 inch fish. Landed the brown, lost the rainbow at the net. Saw no bugs and no risers that didn't come to my fly. A cold front would sure be nice.

For the second time this season I had to brake hard to miss a bear crossing the road against the light. This one chose to cross an unlighted area on route 97 in downtown Hancock just three houses up the street from the Rite Aide Pharmacy. You never know. The entire system was hit by thunderstorms Friday night and was high and muddy Saturday morning. With tricos out of the picture, I waited until three o'clock to venture out. Surprisingly, with almost no place else fishable, the upper WB wasn't crowded. With the warmer water temps from the rain, however, the sulfur hatch had started early and was for the most part over. I decided to stick around and stand in the cold water to beat the heat which again was well into the nineties. Not having fished the river for almost three weeks I didn't have a clue what to expect. From the time I started until dark, sulfurs and olives hatched in modest numbers, there were more isos than I have seen hatch since early June, but the star...

After 14 days out west (nine on the Owyhee, two on Silver Creek and three in transit, I arrived home at five am Wednesday morning ( Delta computer melt down didn't help the trip home). Yard work, bill paying and other misc. chores took up two days and a flat tire this morning delayed arrival at the fishing camp by another couple of hours. The 94 degree temp and the hay field claiming to be my lawn, dampened my ardor for fly fishing.  At six-thirty my chores were done and the temp had plummeted to an even 90 degrees. What else was there to do but go fishing. Upper WB was crowded when I drove by so I decided to go below Hale Eddy.  Found both game land lots empty so I stopped there.  No sooner got to the water than the sun disappeared behind a big dark cloud  and the rumblings of thunder and flashes of lightning filled the air. Threw a caddis and then a steno blind (never saw a bug on the water or a fish rise other than to my fly).   In the hour  I fished...

If all goes well I'll be casting to big browns on the Owyhee River in eastern Oregon starting Thursday.  On August 2nd I'll be driving over to Silver Creek in Idaho for a shot at the monster fish that sip dries there.  Scheduled to head  east on the 11th and should be back on the Delaware within a day or two. Enjoy the sulfur hatch in the Deposit area.  If you don't have a long ride home stay 'til dark  and fish down river.  With the warm temps the hatching is late but the fish feed and there aren't as many boats and people. If you have some free time on your hands do a rain dance! Good luck to all, will be in touch in a couple of weeks.

If you've checked the Stilesville water level you know that the release has been bumped from 500 to 777 cfs.  This is a substantial increase which will alter conditions on the West Branch and the upper big river. How will they be affected?  Some things we know for sure.  The algae in the water will be increased short term as the higher flow will wash it loose from the shore lines , rocks and obstructions where it has been lodged.  The increased current may also disturb the algae growing on the stream bottom (as does wading and anchoring in it).  Within about 36 hours there should be a marked decrease in the algae in suspension as the system flushes out. The insect hatch consequences are harder to predict.  Often a sizable increase in the cold water will shut off the sulfur hatch for a day with the hatch being heavier the following day.  On the whole the increased flow (if it continues for an extended period) should increase the bug activity through...

It is hot.  Very hot.  Usually this means I go soak up in the cold WB water.  The sulfurs have sometimes put on a good show, (then again sometimes not) and with record heat and below average rainfall, it's the only game around. Strangely I have avoided the upper regions of the WB where the sulfurs lure you like Lorelei. (even I don't understand why).  There are some big fish up there but I have done well avoiding crowded areas and my desire to avoid boats is known by all. The last three  weeks I have been a contrarian and have done well. This week I didn't run into crowds as much as I ran into one or two anglers at each place I tried to fish, doing what I try to do.  So today I sulked - not playing this game anymore -  got out early and DID YARDWORK!!!  By one I was soaking wet and dead tired - took a much needed shower and laid down with a book. At six thirty I headed out into air temp of 86 degrees.  Went above Hale Eddy and after a lon...

It just wasn't my morning.  Went looking for Tricos on the upper east and both my first and second choice spots were already taken.  Third spot was vacant and I saw fish gulping spinners downstream about a hundred feet from where I went in. Started working slowly downstream towards the fish when a flock of 26 (I counted them) mergansers swam by me on the far bank and headed right into the feeding fish.  What ensued was fascinating but difficult to watch.  For fifteen minuted the mergansers turned the pool into a frothy whirlpool of  mass hysteria.  I saw six trout eaten and probably missed many more.  The birds acted in harmony to create mass subsurface confusion/panic.  There were drivers who created the disturbance and eaters who waited for the panicked fish to come to them they then dove and came up with a fish.  When it was over the mergansers formed a line across the river, and went downstream with their eyes under water looking for yet ...

Last Friday morning I drove into the parking lot at Junction Pool.  To my surprise no one was there.  I didn't see any fish working in the tailout but there were a couple of rises in the bubble line upstream.  A couple times a year I'll fish up from the parking lot to the actual junction and then up the WB.  So I decided today would be one of those days. I walked up stream to where you can cross and started for the PA side when I started seeing heads - lots of them - eating Trico spinners. Where were my tricos?  Back at the camp.  Threw every spinner I had at them, got four open mouthed refusals and no hookups. Came back to the camp too late for Tricos on Monday and Tuesday I wanted to checkout the EB tricos.  This morning I returned to Junction Pool armed with my Tricos and ready to do business.  Pulled into the parking lot at nine with the temp at 62, well ahead of the spinner fall. So how did I do?  There were five cars of fishermen in...

One of the most beautiful days of the summer, sun with white puffy clouds, fresh air with low humidity, moderately warm temp and a delightful breeze.  Ask a fisherman what he thought of it.  "Wind came up in the morning before spinner fall and blew the Tricos away, high pressure stopped fish from rising and bugs from hatching all day. Give me a calm wind, an overcast sky with a light drizzle and cool enough temps to get the olives hatching." Tried the upper east this am and found a fair hatch of Tricos.  The fish were not on them in numbers yet and the breeze came up and blew at least some of them away. The afternoon sulfur fishing  on the WB has taken on a carnival like appearance with multicolored drift boats everywhere between Stilesville and barking dog and fishermen lined up in neat rows along all the good pools.  Being a curmudgeon by my own admission, this area is better left unfished (by me) at the present time.  Devoted the afternoon to tyin...

It was a strange day.  Arrived in Deposit  at three after driving through on and off showers most of the way from Syracuse.  Got off 17 at the second  Deposit exit  with the intent to fish sulfurs in or around town.  On several occasions this season I have shared a pool with Mike, a retired resident of Deposit that I have known and fished with for over twenty years. Seldom have I seen  anyone else fishing there.  It is easy to access and is not difficult to wade but is not by any means an "A" pool.  I haven't seen a guide fishing it all year.  Today I counted six fishermen, plus Mike in the pool with two more donning waders in the parking lot nearby. Drove down to the "Barking Dog"  boat launch at the bottom of the  "No Kill" and found it full of trailers and cars. Left Deposit and next stopped at Hale Eddy where there were four cars but only one fisherman.  The river was shrouded in fog and there were sulfurs and ol...