Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report

With the "Flash Flood Watch" set to expire at 8:00 pm, wouldn't you know that at 7:30 a thunder boomer hit Deposit ending my fishing for the week.  Drove back to camp and as I write this Lordville has at 8:15 (despite three days of the flash flood watch), not had enough rain to increase the flow in Humphrey's Brook. Today, with morning rain spiking river levels everywhere else, I went above Oquaga on the WB in hopes of finding clear water. It wasn't that the flows were too high, just too muddy.  At two o'clock, Cold Springs Brook and Butler Brook had two thirds of the WB muddy.  I waded out to the clean water and watched for risers.  Bugs started going and a few fish started rising. There was a good fish working in a back eddy that I made numerous casts to.  He never gave my fly a look.  As the flow from the tribs dropped more of the river cleared and I had fish to fish to.  Caught numerous 11 inch hatchery fish, some washovers and some from Oquaga...

With a "Flash Flood Watch"  again issued by the weather service I drove up the UEB at 2:00 pm without seeing a single fisherman.  I was going to look for sulfurs above Corbett but as I crossed over the bridge it was obvious that was not going to happen. The trib above the bridge was gushing mud and the river upstream of the bridge was already muddy. Did a u-turn and headed back down stream in search of clear water.  In the time it took to get back to Shinhopple the feeder creek there was up and muddy. Found clear water, olives and rising fish above Harvard and had a couple of hours of nice fishing  to two year old trout.  Did hook and land a 17 inch tiger trout that did little (other than to eat the fly) to distinguish itself. When the sun came out the olives stopped hatching, the fish stopped rising and I left. It was five o'clock (the dead period) and I drove over to Deposit to see if the WB would also be blown out.  It wasn't.  Drove along the r...

With flash flood and severe thunderstorm warnings in effect for the area I decided to fish close to the car.  Ventured into the "sulfur zone" and found to my surprise that it was almost deserted.  Perhaps the weather forecast kept people away or just maybe fishermen are finding the fish too difficult to catch.  In any event I had a riff/pool all to myself. Arrived riverside about 1:45.  There were a few fish rising to the first few sulfurs. The rising was quelled by two pontoon boats that came through the pool. The lead boat sat in front of me playing with his oars and talking on the phone for five minutes.  When the second boat arrived they rowed through the pool two abreast effectively spooking every fish on half of the river.  At the current low water levels anyone in a boat should know that they are adversely affecting the fishing of everyone they go by.  If you feel you must float please move past anglers as quickly and with as little disturbanc...

After two weeks away from the river which included a trip out west and restoration work following the flood that hit our house a week ago last Saturday, it's good to be back. It's summer on the river.  There are sulfurs 2:00 to 5:00 in the upper reaches of both branches.  From 5:00 until 8:00 things are tough.  From 8:00 until dark (got in the car at 9:45 tonight) there is good action wherever the water is cold enough to fish without endangering the trout. Because of my well known dislike of boats on trout streams and crowds of people in general, summer is my favorite time on the river.  Historically I catch just about as many fish each month from May to September.  The big browns disappear after the last brown drake spinners have fallen but there are plenty of big rainbows and two and three year old fish to keep one satisfied. That said, if the crowds that are here during the "big bug season" were to show up in the summer no one would catch many fish. ...