It's all in how you say it.



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 at one pm. Unloaded the car, did some work around the camp in bright sun but cool temp (68 degrees), and headed for the river at a little after six. With the bright sun, it was still too early but with the cool water temp I wanted to see if there was any day time bug activity. There wasn't.

With the sun well off the water but still shining on the hills I saw my first yellow sallie (one of about a dozen I saw), a little later the hebes started to hatch. I spotted over half a dozen of them. Neither the fish nor I am impressed with hebie's. They look good sized in the air but when you catch them they are all wing. I use to call them lemon olives for the color of their body. I don't think trout like them and neither do I.

As the hebie hatch subsided the isos heated up, I saw three of them ride past me unmolested. There were some huge spinners in the air and I saw one eaten by a trout not ten feet from me. The trout ate the big red spinner I floated by it on the first cast. I rose five other fish blind casting. One refused the fly and the other four ate. The biggest fish was a 14 inch rainbow. A thin 12 inch brown ate a dry as did two juvenile rainbows, both under 9 inches. The best fish I hooked took off downstream and was but a few feet short of the backing when it came unstuck.

There was almost no bug activity and I saw but two fish rise that didn't come to my fly. Don't waste your gas, stay home til something starts to happen.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

All my life's a circle.

  Headed down to the Lordville Estate about nine this morning after watching a nice buck decide  not to tend the scrape I was perched above. Drove through Deposit where the Troutfitter Shop was dark and closed for the season. My fishing equipment did not make the trip. Had far too many things to do in the few hours of daylight we are currently being allotted. The doe with two fawns was in the backyard when I arrived and was joined by the orphaned button buck who spends his time either bedded down in my flower garden or walking around under the peach trees looking for the peaches he grew so fond of in September. Arrived with a trailer full of wood hitched to Jean's car (it has the trailer hitch) and spent the first hour replenishing the wood I burned this season. As if by magic both wood piles topped out just below the garage windows. Was interrupted by the button buck who walked up between the house and the garage and stood watching the wood stacking operation. A river friend and f
Read more

IT'S GOOD TO BE BACK HOME AGAIN!

 It's Wednesday night, a fire is going in the fire place, an empty Perfect Manhattan glass is washed and back up on the shelf, 30 shrimp netted from Zane Gray Creek ((did you know that Zane Gray (famous fly fisherman and writer of westerns) was a dentist and that his office is now a museum that you can visit on the Delaware River?)), have been consumed by Jean and me, prior to the three pieces of venison backstrap that traveled from home to Florida and back, an early spring snowstorm is raging outside and most importantly, we're glad to be back home again! With that season opening sentence, Mrs. Haskins has no doubt thrown in the towel and disavowed all responsibility for my literary malfunctions. Run on sentences she could handle, but my never before attempted "double aside" was apparently beyond the pall. I sent her a "Go Duke" banner with apologies and hopefully she will cool off before the fishing heats up. Our trip back home was uneventful. Started at 2
Read more

A rational explanation escapes me.

 Yesterday after driving up and down the "Sulfur Zone" in the afternoon without seeing bugs or rising fish, I headed back to Lordville without even putting my waders on. Headed out again at 6:00, got into the river around 6:30 and had two hours of delightful dry fly fishing to medium sized fish eating duns in a good sulfur hatch. Today, I made the trip up to deposit at about 1:30 figuring the cloud cover would delay the hatch (if any), it did, but by 2:30 the afternoon sulfurs were going and the fish were up and on them. Enjoyed about two hours of good fishing with four decent fish hooked and landed, two yearlings landed and a passel of refusals. About 4:30 the rise forms changed to boils and my fly was ignored. Tried half a dozen flies without so much as a look from the still feeding fish. Was happy with the afternoon fishing, (a big step up from Sunday), and at 5:00 it was too late to drive all the way back to Lordville. Decided to get something at Wendy's (calorie capi
Read more