Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report

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 long walk, ended up sharing a pool

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 another meal. If what I described wasn&#

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 the lot ahead of me.  They and four

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 tying flies for my upco

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 olives glued to the water. Saw s