Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report

Heavy frost at day break quickly gave way to bright sun and warm  temps. I drove around from 12:00  'til 2:15  when I saw the first  splashy rise.  Got in the water but didn't hook my first fish until 2:50 The water was lower and warmer. The bugs hatched better but got off  the water quicker with the warmer air temps.  There was better feeding  (still mostly subsurface) but it was over quick.  A one hour feeding  frenzy after which you had to look hard to find a feeding fish. When the first Hendricksons are on you don't need to go fishing in the  morning. Tie flies, rake the lawn, was the car, the fish know when  dinner is served and they don't come to the table 'til it's on the  water. BTW- I counted 15 trailers at Buckingham (no doubt a record for (4/15).

Opened the camp -- everything worked -- even the mouse trap -- one floated in the bucket.     Drove up river and found risers at the junction pool being set upon by four pontoon boats and one drift boat. DRC home pool had risers with nobody fishing.   Started fishing on the WB below monument where there were good numbers of bugs (paraleps, red quills, hendricksons, caddis, and stones), but just a few risers. Left after an hour and tried a spot on the big river, which had the same mix of bugs with a few more fish up. Some of the fish looked up, some didn't. of those that did about half refused my offerings. A handful ate, making it a good first day of fishing. With warm weather and dropping stream levels it's starting to happen -- be here this weekend.

Returned to upstate New York last night with snow flakes swirling in  the air.  With predictions for better weather in the forecast, I've  packed the car and if the hot water heater and fridge work at the  camp, I'll be ready to provide meaningful reports on Delaware River  fishing conditions starting tomorrow. In the course of gathering up supplies for the camp opening, I stopped  by the Troutfitter  to say "Hi" and see if they had any new stuff I  just had to have.  I was looking over the flies when I saw a copy of  Paul Weamer's  New York Hatches.  Over the years I have had numerous  opportunities to fish with authors and the one thing I can say without  hesitation is that there is absolutely no correlation between fishing  ability and writing ability. That said, I found the book interesting for several reasons.  First of  all, Paul got most of his knowledge about New York hatches fishing the...

"Doc Pete" Bousum ,a tireless and effective advocate for all things good on the Delaware river passed away on March 26th. Back in the early 2000's he could be found weekend evenings, after fishing, at his cabin " The Knight Watch" where over a glass of wine (or two) he was eager to discuss the many problems facing the river as well as the means of best making improvements. When the flood of 2006 put four feet of water in the camp he mover to higher ground. Most weekends he could be found on the front porch of his fishing house on route 191 overlooking the "Braids". He was instrumental in unifying various factions of the fishing community.  He realized that politics played a critical role in all decisions affecting the welfare of the Delaware River. Towards that end he encouraged working with representatives of local communities. He recognized the need to gather scientific data to support positions and he helped present the data...