Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report

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 ...