Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report

There was bright sunshine - wind was no factor - four canoes went by  me with a pair of fishermen in each one.  They all said they had bugs  and risers all day but they couldn't figure out what the fish were  eating.  I told them, "flies without hooks in 'em". I was apparently below the hatch as there wasn't much going on until  the sun got off the water. Cast at what risers I did see and did some  "blind " casting.  Got an uncountable number of "refusals" and lost  almost half of the fish that I hooked.  As the sun went down and the  moon came up there was a brief feeding spell where I got even with a  few. There are over ninety miles of river in the system.  Somewhere today  Hendricksons will be rising and somewhere else Green Drakes will be  coming off. Being in the right place at the right time is a combination of knowing the trout stream, using information available to everyone and sometimes Bull*** luck. ...

Between the bright sun and the wind the degree of difficulty was  raised several notches today. I had landed one nice rainbow and had  another on with three more fish rising within casting range - it was  sunny - the caddis were hatching and the fish were feeding - and then  the wind came - and when it came it didn't mess around - it blew. From the time the wind hit until the sun went behind the hills seven  hours later I caught one twelve inch fish. With the wind still blowing  and the temp dropping I sat on the bank of the big river hoping to see  a rise - and then the wind died -  and the first splashy rises  appeared.  There were a mix of bugs on the water and the fish started feeding in earnest. I changed flies several times trying to find one  they would eat. The sulfur was refused by several fish - the caddis  was eaten by three, then ignored.  finally the fish started feeding on  top and ate my gray fox whenev...

Each day this week the air temp has gotten a little warmer - today there was even a little sun - enough to make the fish stop rising.  Mid-afternoon the clouds came back and so did the fish. Fished a couple of pools on the Beaverkill - it's at a great level and the fish are up and eating.  When the sun put the fish down I departed the Beaverkill and got behind the boats on the big river.  It's still a little high but can be waded in places with care. In both rivers the fish were feeding mostly on caddis emergers but there are all kinds of mayflies hatching.  Put your cast in the right place and you never know.  A few fish ate my caddis (one ate a floating pupa) but most ate a small mayfly emerger.  My sulfur (the hot fly yesterday) and March Brown got only "ignores". The water is still cold and both the fish and bugs pretty well shut down around seven.  With sun today it could go 'til dark. It was a day for big rainbows - haven't gotten a twenty-incher...

Day started off warmer than Monday  but with no sun.  It wasn't what you would call windy but there was an annoying breeze. Found bugs on the water from one until six. Was never into a heavy hatch but had risers all day.  No evening fishing as bugs on the big river shut down early again with the cold. If you are planning on fooling a lot of fish with March Browns on the big river or the big east your flies better look better than mine - got two refusals (one indignant and one indifferent) all day. Everyone has been throwing MB's for the past two weeks and most of the fish have been hooked on one.  They are very careful about eating the duns. I did much better on sulfurs (which they ate with relish), olives and caddis. With the algae problems up river, the heavy boat traffic and the large number of wade fishermen I have crossed the WB off my itinerary for now.  Sorry but I fished seven pools yesterday, saw only two fishermen and one boat.  The MB's should be...

Woke up to snow on the roof - temp thirty one - winds at twenty  gusting to thirty and a rising barometer.  I like fly-fishing as much  as much as anyone else but even I could see that this was a day to  look for better things to do.  A dentist appointment and eye exam were  already scheduled.  I added a hair cut, car wash, oil change and a stop at the Troutfitter to pick up some CDC and a new Amadou patch. I was done at 1:30 . With the wind still howling I headed for the  camp in hopes of getting the lawn cut.  Finished the job at 5:30  and noticed that the wind had quieted down a bit. What was a person supposed to do? I put on my waders and three shirts  and went fishing.  There were sulfurs on the water with a few fish  rising between wind gusts.  By 6:30  the wind had died.  Unfortunately so had the sulfur hatch.  Walked about half mile along  the river and found enough fish eating blown o...