Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report

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...