Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report

Returned to camp after six days to find the north facing hills a barren gray with isolated spots of color where a lone aspen or oak is making it's last stand.  The oak trees on the south facing slopes which were green when I drove home last Friday are now a beautiful combination of burnt orange and burgundy interspersed with the green of the pines.  If you enjoy fall foliage it's your last chance 'til next fall to take in nature's art work. After yesterday's fishing it became an easy decision to finish the camp shut down.  Yes there were olives and rising fish but the adult browns are busy spawning and the risers were all fingerlings and yearlings.  If water conditions improve there may yet be chances to hook some rainbows sipping pseudos in slow water pools but it's time for me to call it a season. For the record it was one of my better years (fourth out of twenty six).  I didn't catch as many fish over 17 inches as some years but there were lots of two...

Most people probably thought today was a beautiful day.  Why not?  A mid October day with bright sun and the temp pushing 70.  What's not to like?  Well, standing in a trout stream you sometimes see things differently.  The "delightful' 10 mph breeze blew so many leaves into the river that there was no place to even land a fly.  Trying to cast a size 20 olive to a rising fish on 7x tippet was mission impossible.  Several times when I picked up my fly it was more than 10 feet from where I thought it was.  That said, three fish ate that little size 20 olive during the delightful afternoon I've been describing (two of them even have a souvenir olive to prove it).  (Don't fish small flies on 7x tippet in the wind). At about 5:00 the wind died down and the olives started to hatch.  It was still warm and the spinners said "tonight's the night".  The fish began to go in earnest.  Boils everywhere.  There just couldn't be that m...

I admit it. The last two days of fishing didn't sit well with me.  I had some good fish rising Monday that I couldn't fool and I fooled some good fish Tuesday that I didn't land. Gave it a little thought, tied up a few new olives, re-rigged my leader using 7x tippet and headed out. Took a look at the WB which resembled the Mississippi in color, stopped to chat with Lloyd Hornbeck  at his shop in Deposit and headed back over to the UEB seeking revenge.  The day offered bright sunshine, no wind and air temp between 65 and 68 (in the sun).  Didn't have to worry about the sun, by the time I got to the river at 3:00 it was in shadow.  When I left the car in full sunshine two shirts seemed fine.  With the sun off the river I was cold long before I reeled it in at 5:00. The fishing?  For October it was a WOW.  There were olives of various sizes on the water and feeding fish (mostly eating emergers).  With the water at 80 CFS scrunching gravel sp...

Cool temp, negligible wind and bright sun (at this time of year with cool air temp, sun is a good thing) had me on one of the Beaverkill's two little "no-kill stretches.  (With well over 90% of the trout anglers "no-kill" why do the "meat fishermen"  get to strip the trout from the rest of the river?  But, I digress. Found enough olives (mostly pseudos) to get the good fish up and sipping.  In the first hour of fishing I got a hook into five big fish.  Also cast to and was refused by several others.  Gone were the little guys that  occupied me on the UEB yesterday. How'd I do?  Landed a 12 inch rainbow just before dark to keep the circling skunks out of my waders.  The five "good ones" all came unstuck, each in a different way, which I choose not to discuss. With cool air temps the fly hatch is a two to five affair.  Gone are the 10 fish days.  You have fish to throw at but there are just not enough hours to hook (let alone la...

It was a tailor made day for Pseudos.  I had to turn the windshield wipers on at least twenty times on the ride down.  Low scudding clouds covered the tops of the hills  and the temp never got out of the forties.  The wind at 10 to 15 promised to be a challenge but after a quick lunch I headed out. The high muddy water in the WB coupled with the wind blowing down the BR sent me east on 17 to the Beaverkill and the UEB.  A quick look at the wind on the BK sent me up rt 30 into more protected water.  Both the UEB and BK are now flowing at under 100 CFS and are a challenge to catch fish in. Found a pool with some protection from the wind  and a few rising fish (surely it was only a matter of time 'til the pseudos got going).  About 3:30 the fish got going a little better and a few pseudos and larger olives (20's?) appeared. There was no "feeding frenzy" but there were plenty of fish to throw at.  I didn't know it when I started but today w...

Saw that they dropped the release on the WB to about 500 and decided to give it a shot.  Stopped at the lower game lands about 3:00 (the lot was empty) and walked down.  DRC's report has been talking about cahills, isos, olives, hebes, and an assorted array of caddis. Today's report said the olives would be more concentrated due to the lower water and thus easier for the fish to find. I could barely contain my excitement. Two hours later I had seen one "concentrated" olive that the fish had not yet found and not another bug of any kind.  Never saw a rise that wasn't to my fly.  How'd I do?  Rose five fish blind casting assorted attractor flies.  Four ate, one refused.  Two were small browns and two were nice rainbows.  From the game lands I went to the BR and fished a run that has been kind to me this year.  Again, no bugs, no rises, not even any fish looking at an hours worth of blind casting.  Finally after the sun set, in a slow w...

I picked the day so I've got nobody to blame but myself.  I've been gone a week.  It's been hot for this time of year. The weatherman said it was going to rain today.  Overcast and drizzly, "O'boy",  I thought.  Bugs and rising fish!  The water temps are in the 60's, unheard of for the second week of October.  The isos are done and no self respecting pseudo (or any other olive for that matter)  will hatch just because it's "overcast and drizzly", they want cold water. Fished in the BE in a place where there are a good number of fish.  Saw exactly one caddis (that I caught in my hand just to have a closer look).  Saw no other bugs, duns or spinners.  Saw a grand total of three rises that weren't to my fly.  Rose a fair number of fish, got a good number of refusals and hooked seven fish.  Lost two of them one of which might have been bigger that 12 inches (none of the others were). At about 6:15, on what was a dark ove...

 It kinda snuck up on me is what it did. The "Irma" necessitated trip to Florida knocked nine days out of September.  I no sooner got back and it was October.  Didn't even stop at Marino's until yesterday to get my archery license. A dentist appointment and social obligations will fill up the remainder of this week and then I'll be doing a little bow hunting while trying to cross off items on the "to-do" list back home.  To put it in words fly fishermen will understand, Angler 119's reports are about to become "sporadic and intermittent".  Sort of on an if I go, you'll know basis. The fishing.  After a frosty morning it was another bright sunny day with no chance of rain.  Temps got up into the 70's and the fish, who are without sunglasses, hunkered down along shady banks and under rocks.  Drove around reflecting on the season (more on that later) and opted to fish a long riff in the Beaverkill strewn with basketball sized boulder...

If  you think you're good dry fly fisherman and are up for a challenge I've got the fish to test you on.  Pick a pool, any pool really, from East Branch up to Downsville.  Start at noon and fish 'til dark.  There will be olives, maybe some ants and an assortment of little stuff on the water and the fish will be feeding on top. Gave myself the test today. The fish were on top eating duns.  In two hours of  casting to rising fish I got two refusals and one boil under the fly.  I tipped my cap to them and headed back to the car. If you take up the challenge, let me know how you do.  Good luck! With the warm afternoon air temps the last of the iso spinners have been on the big river and the fish are looking for them.  I found fish feeding on spinners the last two nights both in the soft water and in the tailouts. The fish of the day was a 22 inch brown that was sipping spinners in the tailout of a big river pool.  he was not only fish ...

It was 38 on the porch this morning and the sun didn't burn through the fog until about 10:30.  After that things warmed up quickly.  Left the camp in bright sunshine at 1:30 with the air temp at 64 degrees.  After yesterdays efforts to find a place to fish on the UEB and Beaverkill without being set upon by the weekend warriors, I opted to fish a piece of the BE that sees lots of boats during higher water but is not often crowded with wade fishermen. From two until six I fished three pools without seeing another fisherman.  I hooked at least one fish in each pool, landing four of the six fish hooked.  Some of the fish were the 1 and a half year olds now about 11 inches long.  One was a mature fish that summered in the EB, long, thin and quite weak.  One was a mature fish that had found a better place to spend July and August, she was fat and sassy. From what I've seen there are a few fish in every pool in the BE.  When I say a few, I mean a f...

When I left for Florida the iso's were hatching everywhere.  The WB was at 450 CFS and the big river was below 900.  Temps were good in the entire river system and fishing was great. While I was gone a heat wave raised the water temps above 70.  Lack of rain required increased flows of silt laden water in the WB to meet downstream minimum flow requirements. The iso's said enough was enough and quit hatching.  Then the cold front hit dropping air temps forty degrees. There has been no significant rain.  Releases have increased in the WB while flows elsewhere have continued to drop to levels so low even a good cast sends fish for cover. Today with a high temp of 52 degrees there were pseudos!  Lots and lots of 'em.  So many of them that you couldn't even find your fly among them. There was a pesky upstream breeze that created instant drag. There were three and even four cars parked by nearly every pool on the Beaverkill and UEB. With all the  fi...

With the temp struggling to hit 60 mid afternoon, I threw a third shirt in the car.  Put it on when the sun went behind the hills and was glad I did.  The car's thermometer reported the temp at 53 when I called it a day. Weather wise today was a big upgrade from yesterday.  There was very  little wind which made casting a pleasure.  Another big plus was the water was free of all the wind blown leaves and seed pods that a dry fly is magnetically attracted to.  There was enough  warmth from the sun to get bugs hatching and spinners flying. In short, it was fun to be on the water. The fishing?  Funny thing, I saw far more bugs and rising fish yesterday than today.  The big difference today was that the fish were looking up and were far more willing to eat a fly with a hook in it.  Started out on the BR.  Never saw a bug hatch.  One fish rose but paid my fly no mind.  What I did see, however were countless shad fingerlings m...

Back from the Florida Keys where three days of work in the hot and humid weather got things mostly cleaned up.  The damage is incredible to see.  We were very fortunate in only losing two appliances and a hot tub.  Our neighbors, one house away, lost their roof and the house ended up totaled.  Hard to believe that the mountains of debris and appliances will ever disappear from the sides of the road. Returned to New York only to find temps higher than in the Keys (humidity was much lower here thank you).  Woke up this morning to much more seasonable temps and headed to the Delaware.  Found the lawn burned up by the hot dry weather, the WB high and brown, and the BD with white caps on the pools. Drove up the UEB which is the best refuge on windy days but found little relief even there. What I did find was olives (perhaps reinvigorated by the cold air) and rising fish.  There were two cars parked between East Branch and Downsville.  I found an em...

It's all clear to me now.  September and August have switched places. Today was another scorcher with temp in the eighties, bright sun and the freestones hitting 70.  Did chores around camp, tied some flies and took a little siesta before heading out about 3:00. Decided to take a look at the WB in Deposit.  It wasn't pretty.  The water beneath the thermocline in the reservoir is gone and the murky water that has been sitting on top of the thermocline is now being sucked out the pipe and into the WB.  In the silt laden water I saw no bugs, one rise and but one fisherman.  I left town without putting a toe in the water. By 4:30 I was in a pool on the UEB with a good number of rising fish to cast to.  A very few olives and stenos could be seen on the water but the fish were on top feeding like hatchery fish when the pellet machine turns on. Tied on 7X for only the third time this season and tried some of the tiny little flies I tied this morning. ...

With the unseasonably cool nights and cloudy, rainy days we had in August and early September, the entire river system was again open for fishing.  The recent spate of warm nights and hot sunny days, however, has raised the water temps in the freestone sections of the system to or above the "no fish" level of 70 degrees. With the tailwaters "the only game in town", I was forced to face reality.  The olives that have been something both the trout and fishermen could count on for over two months are waning.  The decline was masked by the appearance (at least where I was fishing) of prolific numbers of ants. When fishing the BR the hatches of isos and white flies made the decline of the olive hatch seem unimportant. Today I went looking for olives  -and - didn't find any.  Stopped at half a dozen places on the UEB without seeing an olive or a rise.  Once again with zero chance of rain I got caught in a downpour (with raincoat this time - taking no chances)...

With warm temps and sunshine forecast for today I was in no hurry to get to the stream.  Yesterday's double header was fun and productive but one game today will be enough.  The temps have stayed warm the last couple of nights and with the predicted sunshine the freestone streams will be getting quite warm.  This pushes the bug hatches back to the cooler evening hours.  Bottom line, back to the tailwaters. Left camp at 3:00 with no clear plan for where to fish. Ended up heading up the UEB and to my surprise there were anglers fishing almost every pool (it is Friday afternoon after all). There is a pool I like to fish that has a difficult entry and exit path (very steep) and perhaps because of the formation of  hills surrounding it, it is often so windy you just can't fish it. It is also a pool that is "no secret" to UEB fishermen and often times someone else has gotten there before me This year there has been a fourth problem in trying to fish it. The three ti...

It was overcast.  It rained a few times.  The wind didn't blow.  There were ants, tricos, olives, isos, stenos and spinners of all of the above (except for the ants).  It was so warm that the spinners stayed late and finished the job. The fish?  They knew a good thing when they saw it.  They ate! Now don't get me wrong.  The fish on the Delaware may eat but they always  do so carefully.  If you keep track, refusals will always out number takes.  And ignores probably out number refusals.  But all day today you had fish to throw to. After avoiding the WB for several weeks I decided to give it a try.  The water is at a level where floating is difficult (a good thing).  And just maybe the bugs hatches have started up again. And perhaps the fish have gotten a little careless. The first six fish that came to my fly refused it.  It wasn't  until I was trying to watch a size 18 olive emerger in a heavy riff that ...

When I was filling the bird feeder with sunflower seed, I almost took down the half full hummingbird feeder.  Saw one hummingbird last week but I haven't seen one at the feeder this week.  Left it up in case a traveler stops for a fill up on his/her way to mexico.  It seems like only yesterday the first arrivals staked out their claim to the feeder back in early May. Driving along the river today, couldn't help but notice that the roadside sumac's leaves have started turning scarlet red. The leaves on the top branches of the soft maples are also turning a brilliant red. The roadside fields are yellow with goldenrod bloom. The fall asters haven't put in an appearance yet and only a few of the less healthy hard maples have started to turn orange but the message is clear - fall is on the way. Split time today between the Beaverkill and the UEB.  Found ants and olives on both rivers and landed the same number of fish on each river.  The fish in the Beaverkill ar...

You almost know without asking.  The salmon are running!  How do I know?  The Delaware is deserted.  Most all of the guides and fishermen have moved up to the Salmon River to tangle with the big guys.  Me?  I'm down here trying my best to keep the fish from getting too easy to catch - and - apparently I'm doing a  good job! Today I worked on the BEB fish.  Went out about two and stopped at a big slow water pool I hadn't fished all year.  In the bright sun there were at least a dozen fish up and feeding, on -  what else? Ants! Donned waders at had at 'em.  Half an hour later, I was reeling it in and moving to the next place, my job done.  How'd I do?  Threw at eight fish.  Got two refusals and six ignores.  Only two fish dared to rise after my first cast and my second cast quelled even their urge to eat. My second (and last) stop was at a riff where often times fish get in too big of  a hurry to grab fo...

A week ago I fished all day with ants on the water.  I went to great lengths to tell how seldom that happens.  Well, today it happened again!  It wasn't really all day today as I didn't leave Rustin's Dinner (The Cholesterol Capital of the World) until 12:30. At about 2:00 I was drooling out of both sides of my mouth ( a Pavlovian response to the little smears covering my windshield).  Got in the water about 2:30 and sure enough, there were ants in the film (also on my neck, nose, waders and one in a fly box for a sample). The big problem was that I couldn't catch the fish that were rising.  There were a good number of ants but also lots of olives and big may flies of assorted varieties.  There were plenty of fish to cast to but they just paid me no attention.  When the sun finally went behind the hill I had hooked three and landed one. I don't know much about ant flights but when the sun disappeared the water became covered with them and the fis...

Went home Thursday and enjoyed a night out with old friends.  Probably would have stayed home through the weekend except that the camp grass was too wet to mow all week and after nine days looked like a hay field.  Arrived at camp at ten thirty to a lawn still wet from an overnight rain. The weather forecast said showers starting at 12:30 so things didn't look good.  But the sun came out and dried the lawn and the rain held off until the mower was back in the garage at 1:30. With the sky full of dark clouds and a steady rain coming down, I headed for the big river downstream from Camp. It rained steadily while I suited up and walked down to the river.  But as soon as I got in the water the rain stopped and the sun came out again.  The sun glinted off the wings of isos and olives of all sizes.  I fished for two hours with hatching bugs in the air at all times.  The fish?  Never made an appearance. Sometimes you have to pull the plug even in the...

As I often do after a really good day, I set out to fish places I haven't fished all year.  I do it for a number of reasons.  First of all I just don't like fishing the same places over and over (the sulfur zone for example).  By checking out places you haven't fished this year you get a chance to evaluate the success of  the 2016 year class that is now about a year and a half old (10 inches).  If you find lots of youngsters it's going to be a go to place next year.  It's also interesting to see what changes ice and high water have made in the river since  the last time you fished it. It keeps me up to date on the status of this years "C and D places" which often times become "A" places next year or the year after. Today I concentrated on the Big East which is too warm to fish most of the summer and which has been in a downward cycle for the past two or three years. I fished three places one downstream and the other two in the "upper middl...

Every year about mid August my ant box goes in my vest.  As every fly fisherman knows, the ants fly in late August and throughout the month of September.  Apparently they aren't very good at picking landing spots because every year untold numbers of them land on the water.  It doesn't seem to matter what water, lakes, ponds, streams, rivers, they all get their fair share. I've even had one land in my perfect manhattan (he didn't seem to drink much). The problem with the ant flight is that it's not like the Hendrickson hatch that starts at 3:00.  It's not like the trico spinner fall that occurs when the air temp hits 69.  It happens when the ants want it to happen.  Worse yet it only happens in certain places at certain times.  Your friend may be on the WB surrounded by fish gulping ants while you are on the big river watching a flock of Mergansers devour the remainder of this years crop of yearlings. To be on the river, with your ant box in your vest...

With the bright sun, warm temp and "delightful"  breeze, it was a day best spent perhaps taking advantage of dollar day at the fair.  It sure was not a great day to be on the river. There was no place to hide on the big river and after a bugless, riseless hour I called it quits and headed for more sheltered water.  My ill chosen stop on the Beaverkill was more of the same, the only good thing was it only took me about ten minutes to figure it out. The UEB had a modest number of fishermen seeking shelter from the wind and a large number of kayakers out enjoying the last day of the holiday weekend.  I usually don't fish the UEB on the weekends but have not had a problem with kayakers who almost always go out of their way not to disturb your fishing. Today there was no getting away from the wind or the kayaks.  The wind came around corners like a  Nascar driver at Darlington.  The kayakers were courteous as usual but their sheer numbers made fishing...

I've been fishing a long time.  Back when I started everyone used Maxima 4X tippet material.  It was the go to tippet material if you were fishing dries, swinging wets or roll casting salted minnows.  It didn't abrade or kink up when you tied on a fly and it was tough as nails. The only negative thing I ever heard said about it was that "it didn't mike down to the .007 shown on the spool".  It cost $.25 cents! I fish more days than most and I use a lot of tippet.  I'm also old and a bit crotchety.  I don't like tippets that seem to abrade when you run them between your thumb and finger.  I don't like tippets that develop little curlicues next to the fly when I get excited and pull a clinch knot tight a little too fast.  Most of all I don't like tippet that breaks in random spots between the fly and the knot to the leader when you've got a good fish on. This season I tried all of the "new and improved"  brands currently available a...

With SU football at 7:00 I decided to do a little recon and take an early quit. Drover up the Beaverkill to see if the cold water temps had gotten the iso's going there.  It had!  The rocks along the riffs had numerous fresh iso husks on them.  At 3:00 with bright sun and a brisk wind there were none hatching.  Was able to pick up a few fish on caddis but it was slow going until the isos started to hatch about 4:00. With isos popping out midstream the fish started feeding.  There were two year old rainbows (about two inches shorter than their cold water brothers over in the Delaware).  There were also a good mix of 11 to 13 inch browns (again somewhat thinner than their tailwater relatives).  Some of the browns were hatchery fish, some were wild.  The best fish by far was an 18.5 inch holdover hatchery fish that was eating iso duns with unbridled glee - until I came along.  I'm sure he'll be more careful from now on. There was little to...

Closed out August on the big river.  It looked like a perfect "big river day" about noon when I had to duck inside to avoid a rain shower.  By three, however, things had changed.  The sun broke through the clouds, the wind blew and the water warmed up enough to delay the hatching until after the sun went behind the hill.  Not all days are perfect. Met a troutfitter regular on his way back to the car after fishing from 7:30 until 3:30.  He decided to turn around and join me.  We both found it difficult going for the first couple of hours but then a few bugs started hatching and the fish started looking up.  When the sun got off the water the olives came and the fish fed 'til dark.  It was never easy but enough ate to make it a good day for both of us. If you are a regular reader of the blog, you know that this August has been a good month on the Delaware.  How good?  This was my best August in the 26 years that I've kept records. ...

When I said in yesterday's post "I won't go to the big river tomorrow", I was repeating a saying often heard  among guides and fishermen on the river.  "If you do good on the river today, go somewhere else tomorrow".  The river is a fickle and ever changing lady.  Clouds / bright sun,  wind / no wind, rain / no rain, increased flows/decreased flows, boat traffic / wade fishermen, air and water temps, insect hatches and spinner falls are all things to consider when deciding where on the river to fish. Does anybody get it right all the time?  No of course not.  The best you can hope for is to be right more than you are wrong and be ready to pull the plug and try another place if  "Plan A" isn't what the fish had in mind today. Yesterday on a cold, cloudy, misty day there were bugs and rising fish all afternoon. today in the bright sun I threw at three rising fish.  The fish wanted to eat (they almost always do) so I spent the day blind cast...

There was no mystery about where I would fish today.  It was overcast with a heavy fog/light drizzle.  Air temp in the sixties and water temp right around 60.  Everything screamed BIG RIVER.  There would be olives and isos galore.  All the fish would be up and feeding. AND THEY WERE!!! If the stars should align again, call in sick, use a personal day but be there.  It didn't matter much where you fished as long as you were no farther downstream than Buckingham.  I tried a spot further down early and rose a handful of yearlings but the big fish are still in their summer digs. It often takes a good rise in the water level to start the migration back to their home pools. I do realize how lucky I am and how hard it is to change plans at the last minute ("because Hon, it's going to be cloudy, rainy and cold").  The reputation of the Big River is made on days like this - and - strangely I never saw another soul on the river. How'd I do?  Th...

Monday is take care of business day and there were a lot of items on the list.  The only one I didn't get crossed off was an oil change on my car.  It's number one for next week.  Didn't leave home until 3:00 and it was 5:45 before I got into the water. Fished a place on the UEB where I've been caught by thunderstorms twice this year (one with rain coat, one without).  The olives were hatching when I got there and I had plenty of fish to throw at but unlike last week, they wouldn't eat my fly.  In fact they wouldn't even look up.  Started with a small olive then went smaller, smallest with no acknowledgements that I was even there. When the olives started to taper off I had landed two out of the three fish I had hooked.  Was reeling in to walk back upstream to the car when I saw a big red spinner on the water.  Put on a red spinner at about the same time the fish started looking up and got several to eat. The air was "crisp" and the spinner fa...

If you are at a loss for what to do this weekend, ask your wife, she's got a list.  If you have already planned on fishing the Delaware River system - do it, it's fishing very well. There are tricos on the WB below monument, on the big river and on the EB below Shinhopple. With the cold nights you don't have to be here early.  Trico spinner fall occurs when the air temp reaches about 69 degrees.  If the waxwings haven't eaten them all, the trout will be up top feeding. For dry fly guys like me, mid day is time to tie flies or take a nap. Around 3:00 head up the UEB and look for a place with no other fishermen.  Most all of the  boats on the UEB emanate from the B----- House in Roscoe and even they seldom float the river when it's below 300 cfs (not because they care about ruining your fishing, they just don't want to put holes in their boats).  There may not be much going when you get there but the olives are coming and the fish are ready.  Unles...

Stayed at camp until Qadir White announced his commitment to SU for their football recruiting class. That done I decided to drive around and look at some of the water that has been "out of bounds" due to high water temps or that I just haven't gotten to this summer.  Found a fish or two but mostly just looked. Got serious about 4:00 and drove to a place on the UEB that I have only fished once this year.  There were no cars in sight so I walked in only to find a fisherman walking in from the opposite direction. Before I had a chance to decide what to do a drift boat banged its way down the riff between us sending all trout into the deep water pool.  I left! This may sound a little strange but with all the drift boats, Angler 119 blog readers and just plain wade anglers trying to fish the UEB, it has become a bit crowded.  Drove over to the WB to get out of the crowd.  Two trailers at Balls Eddy and one car at the gamelands.  One drift boat went by as I...

The trout must have eaten so many tricos for breakfast that they just skipped lunch.  Was standing side of the road about 4:00 still looking for my first rise of the day  when I was run into (see what I just did there?) by one of the  Troutfitter regulars.  We had a nice chat while dump trucks, logging trucks, farm equipment and a variety of pick ups (all with studded tires) roared past us.  Hope he went where he said he was going and stayed 'til dark.  When dinner was served the trout were ready to eat. When I finally got on the water there were a few very small olives being served as an hors d'oeuvre.  A few fish were giving them a try.  Within an hour the action picked up as the larger olives (some as big as 18's!), pink cahills and Isos were served as the main course. As the last rays of sun disappeared from the top of the hills, every trout in the stream ordered olive spinners for desert. Rise forms that never showed a body part gave way to...

It's 7:15 and I'm sitting in camp typing today's report with rain pounding down on the porch roof. Bright sun, high winds and a severe thunderstorm watch all played a part in both increasing the degree of difficulty and shortening the hours of fishing. With the olive hatch still going strong I tied flies and did chores this morning and didn't go out until two.  Bad mistake.  By then the wind was cranked up over 20 and the temperature had climbed to near 90 degrees. Found rising fish in what boaters might call a "moderate chop".  Getting a fly to them was another matter.  After almost two hours of trying to land a 16 foot leader in a 20mph wind I chose shelter over olives.  Moved to a place out of the wind.  The casting was easier but with no olives on the water there were almost no rising fish.  Just as the olives began to hatch the thunder started to rumble. I've been caught out in far too many storms this year.  Reeled in and headed for the ...

Was driving past the Sunoco station in East Branch at about 2:15 when I saw people looking up at the sun.  Then I remembered and took a look myself.  There were clouds but you could see the sun through them and when I looked (at least I had my polaroids on) it was about three quarters covered by a black ball.  Kinda neat. Was on the water (UEB) about 2:30 and neither the bugs nor fish had started yet (probably had been watching the eclipse).  Shortly thereafter the bugs (olives again) came and the fish ate.  Had almost three hours of dry fly fishing to fish sipping olives in a still water pool.  Lots of bugs, fish , casts and quite a few hookups. Things came to a halt by 5:45 and I set out for the lower WB.  Had very good fishing there early last week on a late evening hatch of olives.  Today rated fair to good, there weren't enough bugs and it was mostly yearling rainbows (now 10 to 12 inches long in the WB) that were feeding.  Had good ac...

A wigi board, tarot cards or even a cell phone that works in the Delaware River watershed would have been a big help for anglers trying to fish today. With a prediction of about an inch of rain for the area, several considerations came into play.  Would the rain be widespread and uniform or hit and miss like a lot of the rain this summer? Would fog envelope both the WB and UEB?  It being Friday, where would the early arrivals and boats be? Started out at the Lordville Riff at 1:00, never saw a bug or moved a fish.  Drove up the PA side and stopped at Buckingham which was enveloped in fog and deserted.  Stockport already had four cars (and fog).  Couldn't see the water going over the WB on the 191 bridge.  Gassed up and headed for the Beaverkill where warmer water temps would help the fog problem.  It was raining hard, moderately foggy and there were no fishermen, bugs or fish rising. In spite of fog on the river behind the Sunoco station, I drove...

Traded the fly rod for a kayak paddle and did Downsville to Shinhopple with Gramma and grandkids. All survived.  Fishing reports to resume tomorrow.

With a bright sun in the sky all day, I was in no rush to go out to fish.  Left camp about 4:30 and headed for the cold water up top of the UEB.  The trout were feeding on something subsurface (not the olive duns I could see on the surface) and I spent a good hour and a half not catching them. Second stop was in a narrow stretch of stream where the sun had already gone behind the hill.  Six or eight trout were feeding quite steadily on something I again couldn't see.  Saw the ones closest to me come up partway, give my flies a look and return to the bottom (they kept right on feeding on whatever they were eating).  Those rising across the stream were more obliging and ate my offerings. A 17 incher eating near the far bank gleefully ate an olive with a hook in it and was fish of the day. Third stop was further downstream where the trout were again eating something  not visible to the human eye.  Finally got them to eat a soft hackle fished in the fi...

When I plan on fishing the WB or big river one of my considerations is to minimize the amount of boat traffic I will encounter (if you think boats don't reduce your chances of success you're not fishing the Delaware River). I check the take outs below where I will be fishing to determine how many boats will be going by.  I then try to pick a section of the river where the boats will not get there while I'm fishing or have already gone by. Today things didn't go according to plan.  There were three trailers at Shehawken. It was about two o'clock when I started fishing a riff about an hour (by drift boat) above the takeout.  Was going to fish there about a couple of hours and be gone long before the three boats showed up.  Hooked and lost a nice rainbow just after starting (perhaps an omen)  and then pointed in the direction I wanted the first drift boat to go - he did.  Twenty minutes and a second lost fish later I was pointing again.  This time the c...

Arrived a Deposit about 3:00 and stopped???  Why??? After all I've said.  There were almost no  sulfurs or rising fish.  The fish I did see rise were 12 inch hatchery fish eating #22/ 26 olives.  DON'T STOP THERE!!!  The fish have been pounded every day, all day, for two months.  You won't do well. Even the recently stocked hatchery fish just down from the sewage treatment plant have been pounded and they have hardly learned to swim in moving water. If you want a decent chance to get into good fish go anywhere downstream from Hale Eddy and upstream from Stockport.  on bright sunny days don't expect much 'til the sun is off the water.  On cloudy, cool days it can happen in the afternoon.  Don't leave 'til dark. The last 45 minutes of light are as close to a sure thing as you will get.  Get a large coffee and head home (It's getting dark sooner, you'll be on the road by 8:45). Left the camp around 6:00 and ended up fishing a riff ...

With an overcast sky and a promise of rain, I skipped the morning fishing hoping to find afternoon olives or isos. I found neither.  The first bugs I saw were isos that showed up in a heavy rain about 8:15. My first stop was on the big river where it seemed that I wasn't the only one looking for bugs.  The fish were more than happy to eat my fly on blind casts.  Most of the fish I rose were yearlings (now between 9 and 10 inches long) but I did land a couple of nice ones. Second (and last) stop was farther up river where the fish have been fished to.  They were much harder to fool.  Threw at three fish that rose in the afternoon and never got a look. Crossed the river and moved away from the parking area and things improved.  Fish came to the fly and ate. My only problem seemed to be landing them once they were hooked.  Big, medium, even small, it didn't matter I lost them all (actually 1 for 7 during my slump).  Just before dark some isos and...

With water temps in the low 60's I tried a riff/run in the big river this morning.  Shared the pool with a doe, fawn and probably last years doe fawn.  An eagle watched me fish for a while and then flew off knowing he was better at it than I was.  Started by hooking and landing a nice 18 inch rainbow in the first ten minutes.  Then fished three more hours to land a 14 incher.  Just don't seem to be many fish in the lower river as yet.  It was a long walk back to the car in the midday sun. Set out this evening undecided about where to go.  The last three trips had been big water, big flies and big fish.  With the fishermen the lower WB and upper BR attracted yesterday and the warmer water temps today, I opted for the finesse fishing  and solitude of the UEB.  Never saw an angler from the Sunoco station in East Branch all the way to Harvard.  From Harvard to Shinhopple there were two anglers, one in each of the two pools I planned o...

Despite the sulfurs and olives still hatching in the sulfur zone up in Deposit I've decided to play the game elsewhere.  Simply stated there are too few fish, too many anglers and the fish that are there won't eat my flies. This morning I fished a run on the lower WB from 9:30 until 1:00.  I never saw another angler.  Saw two fish rise (they never gave my fly a look). Saw exactly one mayfly and no caddis.  And now the rest of the story:  threw attractor flies all morning, rose 18 fish, almost half of which refused the fly, the rest of them ate, (they were good ones to). After yard work and a power nap I set out about 6:30 to fish the big river.  So did everybody else!  Lordville had the same angler I saw there yesterday.  Buckingham  (a ghost town for the last 6 weeks) had four cars and a trailer.  Stockport had too many cars and trailers to count without stopping (9 and 3) I think.  Shinhopple had three trailers and half a doze...

After losing a battle with a scalpel wielding dermatologist yesterday morning I spent the rest of the day on the recliner with an ice pack for company.  For those who were able to fish it was the kind of day you hope for and dream about.  An all day rain with cool enough temps to have the water covered with olives.  Hope your day was better than mine. Set out from home today with the intent of fishing the trico hatch.  The 61 degree temp when I left home had warmed up to 66 by Binghamton.  Not a good sign.  When I turned onto 17 the cloud cover increased and the temp dropped back to 64.  Arrived streamside at 66 degrees and set out on a rather lengthy walk to my fishing spot.  It was midway between the two places where I had found tricos last week and I was sure there would be a good spinner fall.  Never saw a trico or a fish.  Later heard the same report from someone who was there Monday. You never know 'til you go. On the way back ...

Was it a "Hendrickson wind" in August or a precursor of the Fall winds to come?  Doesn't matter, it wasn't fun to fish in. The first day of high pressure after a low is always a good day to mow the lawn, do the wash, pay the bills and cross a few items off the honey do list.  Today was no exception. With overnight rain and a stiff breeze in the morning, I took a pass on the Trico fishing. Worked around the camp and tied flies until about two. With the wind up over 20 and the WB up over 1000 CFS from the rain, I headed once again to the UEB to try to get out of the wind.  Found a semi protected spot with olives on the water and some of the smaller fish  feeding on them (not many 18 inch fish get worked up about a modest hatch of size 20 olives).  The fish were hard to catch with the wind blowing the fly either five feet upstream or downstream from the intended target.  It being the weekend, there was also an abundance of canoes and kayaks coming down the...

It's not easy being me.  I tell my wife that all the time.  Went trico fishing again this am.  Drove by the #1 pool with no intention of stopping.  Jersey was parked there again, pulling on his waders and talking with someone in a car from NY.  Two of the three fishermen on the UEB. Drove up river and quickly ran out of tricos.  The hatch moves up stream and is still in the lower section of the UEB. Found a  place with tricos, rising fish and no one from NJ.  The fish were hugging the bank and the bank had a mirror like reflection in the water, which had an ample supply of both tricos and bubbles. If you've ever fished tricos you know I had no clue which trico was mine. Because of the warm night and sun the whole thing was over by 10:30. After waiting out a T-boomer at the camp I headed for the UEB yet again.  Found a good hatch of olives (sizes very small, small and sorta small).  Got a bunch of ignores and a couple of takes just a...

Took Wednesday off  to "supervise" the grading of our driveway prior to tomorrow's blacktop instillation.  Stopped in Deposit on the way home and fishermen were lined up like a picket fence from Stilesville to Barking Dog. Got to Deposit today at 1:45 and saw empty pools everywhere.  Parked at the first fisherman- less pool and waded in.  There were a few sulfurs hatching but little feeding activity.  That was the high point.  An immature eagle came down the river and lit in a tree above my head.  Either it was slow going up river or he had high hopes for the pool I was in.  After twenty minutes watching me cast, he left, sure that I would never catch anything. In the two and a half hours I was there, alone, in a very good pool,  I hooked one big fish which came unstuck about five seconds later, and one 12 inch hatchery fish.  The eagle new something! Left the WB and drove to the UEB where I never saw a single angler.  When I ...

It was a cool morning so I didn't have to rush to check up on the Trico hatch (spinner fall at 69 degrees).  Left the camp about nine with the temp at 63.  Drove to the UEB and stopped at the first pool without a car.  It's a good one and I could see a swarm of Tricos dancing about 30 feet above the water.  Within minutes two things happened.  The trout started rising and I heard a car door slam.  Hooked a fish and had him ready to net when a guy hollered "Way to go."  I looked over at him and the fish came unstuck. There were feeding fish and tricos but two fishermen sharing a pool on the UEB at summer levels means no one catches fish. The fishermen in the sulfur zone  today more than made up for the scanty numbers on the river yesterday.  Every pool had multiple fishermen and several boats navigated their way down river through the wade anglers.  The hatch is best above Oquaga but there are sulfurs down stream at least to the NY laun...

Judging by the absence of fishermen on the river today, the weekend fishing left something to be desired.  Could have fished almost any pool in the sulfur zone today with little or no company.  Chose to fish down river from Deposit.  There were some sulfurs and the ubiquitous little olives that seem to be on the water rain or shine. The fish?  They had nothing to do with either fly.  There were risers (if you kept a good lookout for them) mostly to cahill duns and iso nymphs.  Could not get a fish to even look at my iso or iso emerger but the same fish ate an iso "flomph" with relish.  The bank sippers ate cahills.  Fish that rose in faster water would come up and kiss as many as three different flies without eating any of them. From 1:00 until 5:00 I rose eight big fish, hooked five and landed two.  I felt good about the number of big fish that came to the fly, not so good about my landing percentage. What I don't feel at all good about...