Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report

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...