Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report

Was in the big river by eight-fifteen - morning fishing has been good  and I wanted to fish before it got too warm - never saw a bug or a  rise. Second stop was WB at the  gamelands - hooked and landed a nice  eighteen inch brown. Proceeded to the no-kill where I again saw no  bugs or risers.  After a Wendy's #7 (family style chicken sandwich) I  was off to the upper East.  Saw a pool that had no fishermen and  rising trout.  Ended up landing three there including a second eighteen inch brown - left at 2:30  after quelling all risers and  drove up river past Corbett without seeing a single fish rise. The  Beaverkill was my next stop and I was rewarded there with a "blind  cast bow" that took a iso in a riff. Back on the road trying to find a place to fish the "evening hatch".  The big east was too warm and had no bugs, risers or fishermen.  Returned to the upper East hoping to find a spot to fish - no luck...

The ragged robin which grows in the drainage ditches along highways is  in bloom. It creates a pastel pink ribbon that is beautiful to see.  It also signals the start of the Green Drake hatch. With the unseasonably hot weather most all of he Big River, big EB and  Beaverkill  will have temps above seventy during  the day and should  not be fished.  The upper EB and the WB should be ok temp wise but are  too low to be floated without interfering with the wade fishermen  attempting to fish them. Many of the more ethical guides have cancelled their trips until flows  are increased or it cools off.  Unfortunately there are some who feel  that they have a right to be on the river and don't care how many  peoples fishing they disrupt.  If you are coming - leave your boat at  home - wade fish early in the morning - then enjoy the Catskills. Evening fishing under these  conditions lasts less than an hour and  w...

Love to fish the big river - but with bright sun, air temp over 80 and  water temp pushing 70 any action there is limited to the last fifteen  minutes of light. Buckingham trailer count went from twenty-one down  to eight. (Eight hours out in the hot sun for fifteen minutes of  fishing is no bargain). The big East Branch and Beaverkill are much  the same with low water flow and high water temps.  The upper East  Branch is on Green Drake alert and there are too many fishermen for  the low water level to accommodate. That leaves the algae laden West Branch.  It's too low for floating -  it's cool enough for the fish and the big bugs (green drakes) are  starting to hatch.  The downside - ALGAE - the green slime coats your  fly - wraps around your legs and turns one pound fish into three pound  globs of slime before they are landed. Decided to fish early and late and leave the heat of midday for chores  (or a nap). I...

From last Thursday until today the flow at Lordville was cut in half  (from 2,500 cfs to 1,250cfs).  The high water temp during the same  period went from 55 to 65.  With the lower water flows the fish become   concentrated and are more vulnerable to predators.  They are also  disturbed more by boats and wade fishermen and are the less likely to  eat your fly. With the higher water temps the day time bug activity has come to a  halt.  I fished three rivers (WB, EB, BK) yesterday morning and never  saw a bug hatch or a trout rise except for the two that came to my  fly.  From five until seven I rose four fish in a run on the lower WB.  Again I saw no bugs hatching or trout rising except to my fly. From seven until dark I fished the big river downstream from the  Buckingham takeout.  There was no activity from either bugs or fish  until long after the sun went behind the hill.  When the bugs sta...

After saying goodbye, at the dentist's office, to old #thirty, a molar that had spent its life grinding up anything sent its way, I headed to the river. Decided to fish a pool on the Beaverkill that I have never tried during prime time.  There were a number of trout rising there one day last week but another angler was right in their midst. This time the pool was vacant when I arrived at six-thirty , so I waded down into the pool.  The pool deepens quickly and has a lot of flat slippery bed rock which limits your ability to move around to get to risers. As I stood looking for fish, the toads began to sing.  It's a shrill sound but one I love to hear as I associate it with the peak of the big bug season. The sound seemed to come from the side of the river with a very steep bank and I wondered how the toads managed to get down such a steep slope.  Forgot about the toads when a dark cloud rolled over head and...