Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report

If you haven't started for the river yet don't.  If you have started - turn around.  The entire system has been hit by heavy  downpours and is unfishable.  The first showers hit during the night and raised the levels but there was still a possibility of fishing up near the dams. The WB got hit with a gully washer around 11:00 this morning and all of the tribs are raging torrents of orange mud.  The UEB might have been fishable this morning but is off color and rising with a line of yellow and red storms heading it's way.  When  it is all over the reservoir system will be about 10% above normal with more rain predicted.  Clearly the weather pattern has changed.  NYC scrimped on the releases during the dry spell but has opened up the spigots since the rain came. The fish, bugs and fishermen will benefit from the cold water releases during the coming month. Enjoy your weekend! 

Drove to the UEB early this afternoon. While it's not like Green Drake time, the UEB is being fished.  There are a number of fishermen who fish only the UEB.  They find the WB's crowds of wade fishermen, boats and algae 3 good reasons to stay on the UEB.  Enough of them have been fishing this week that planning where to fish is impossible. You just have to go and look for an empty pool.  Tried two pools above Corbett and found sulfurs but no risers.  Maybe if I learned a little patience the fish would have gotten up and come to the table but the days are getting shorter and I want to cast to rising fish.  The third stop, which received at least two shifts of fishermen last time I fished the UEB, was empty and I stopped there.  There were a very few sulfurs and small olives and a lot of stuff too small to see (tsts).  There were little sippy rises, tight to the bank under an overhanging tree.  Left two flies in the tree.  One around a b...

If you like variety today was the day for you. There was sunshine, partly cloudy skies, cloudy skies, rain and fog.  There was a good sulfur hatch which was underway when I arrived about 1:45 and continued until 5:30  after the rain there were good olive hatch. If you are looking for a challenge the Delaware is the place for you.  The fish fed from about two until I left the upper WB at 7:00.  They have learned not to eat duns and do most of their feeding subsurface.  Never saw a nose above the water.  To catch one on a dry fly is something to be proud of. The cold water has extended the afternoon sulfur hatch at least to the bottom of the "17" pool (Dream Catchers).  There was one other wade fisherman in the pool.  He got there before me, stood in the prime spot and never moved. Saw him catch two fish.  Four boats came down, each anchoring within casting distance of the same pods of rising fish. Saw one guide hook and land a fish.  ...

With the predicted rain never showing up and a partly sunny day filling in as a last minute substitute, I was forced to change plans.  The increased flows have cooled both branches down and with the predicted cloudy rainy day I had planned to see if the WB would have olives down river. Went to the UEB instead, in part to see if it was the clouds or the cooler water that brought on the bug hatch yesterday.  It was the colder water. There weren't a lot of fishermen on the UEB but the one man per pool rule was in effect and everybody was in compliance.  Three places I would have fished had anglers.  The place I stopped at had an angler donning his waders.  Rolled down the car window and asked him if he was alone and where he planned to fish.  Said "I am" and "right here".  He also said there's plenty of room and invited me to join him.  Said thanks but as long as he was alone I'd walk down to the next pool. It was almost 4:00 again when I got to ...

Two weeks ago on a cloudy overcast day there were bugs on the UEB.  There were also feeding fish and I had a very nice day.  Since Hendrickson time, that was the only day that I found good bugs and feeding fish on the UEB. With the sky clouding over midday,  the UEB at 300 CFS, (rain and an increase in the release), I decided to see if I could get a July 18th do over. Was busy doing yard work (rain is forecast for the rest of the week, you know) and the time got away from me.  Didn't arrive at the UEB until 4:00.  Don't know what I missed but there were sulfurs and rising fish when I got there. I cast at rising fish from my arrival until 9:00.  There was a bit of a slow period say from 6:30 until 7:30, but there was always a fish to throw at. Were they easy? Next question.  Did I lose as many as yesterday? No.  Did I catch any "big ones"? No, (lost two fish that I thought were of that ilk but never saw them).  Did any boats go by? No....

Hadn't fished since last Tuesday what with the rain, high water, a day canning peaches and yet another funeral to attend up in Vermont.  Arrived in Deposit about 1:30 and drove around looking in vain for bugs and rises.  Was on my way elsewhere when I saw some waxwings working over the riff behind  the grass island above the Gentlemen's Club.  Turned around and parked at the G.C. lot.  One of the Delaware's veteran anglers was just unlocking his car and I asked him how he had done. Said he'd been there since 11:00, which was when the sulfurs had started Saturday and still hadn't seen a dozen sulfurs and but a couple of splashy rises. Within half an hour there was a good hatch of sulfurs.  The fish? They took their sweet time to get going.  It must have been an hour and a half before they were feeding.  They got going good for about 45 minutes and they quit as the hatch waned Drove down to the middle section where there were fewer fishermen, bo...