You can leave your bobbers, nymphs and streamers at home!
The high water had kept me and all other wade fishermen confined to the Beaverkill and even that was often unwadeable due to the high water. And then - NYC cut the flows on both branches. Understand, that we are just one good rainstorm away from high water levels again, (the WB is still spilling and the EB is brim full), but the difference in the fishing has been hard to believe. Combine my two skunkings last week with my last two days, which are sure to be top five for the season and you have the classic example of going from the outhouse to the penthouse.
The upper portions of both branches have bugs that you would expect to see in the first week of May. It's Hendricksons and caddis, both duns and spinners as thick as maggots on a road killed deer. The fish are still spread out all over the river where they were during the high water and are feeding non stop on the plethora of bugs.
The state of affairs - As is the norm on the Delaware River, the fish are hard to fool. During the high water the fish were pounded, non stop, by anglers in a flotilla of boats. Now after three short days of near normal water levels, the fish are faced with not only the drift boats but a picket fence line of wade fishermen who have waited over a month to even get into the streams. The situation requires patience by all. Boaters need to exercise basic common sense and not interfere with the wade fishermen's fishing, (remember you have had the river to yourself for almost two full months). Wade fishermen should not blame the drift boaters for their misfortune. It's not their fault that it has rained nonstop since last July. As soon as the rest of the big bugs start to hatch (and maybe they already have), everyone can spread out and fish the entire river system. In the meantime, leave your guns at home.
The fishing - In the aforementioned areas, it couldn't be better. Fish are feeding on top all day. No one need do anything but throw dry flies at rising trout, it is, after all, the reason almost all of us took up the sport.
The upper portions of both branches have bugs that you would expect to see in the first week of May. It's Hendricksons and caddis, both duns and spinners as thick as maggots on a road killed deer. The fish are still spread out all over the river where they were during the high water and are feeding non stop on the plethora of bugs.
The state of affairs - As is the norm on the Delaware River, the fish are hard to fool. During the high water the fish were pounded, non stop, by anglers in a flotilla of boats. Now after three short days of near normal water levels, the fish are faced with not only the drift boats but a picket fence line of wade fishermen who have waited over a month to even get into the streams. The situation requires patience by all. Boaters need to exercise basic common sense and not interfere with the wade fishermen's fishing, (remember you have had the river to yourself for almost two full months). Wade fishermen should not blame the drift boaters for their misfortune. It's not their fault that it has rained nonstop since last July. As soon as the rest of the big bugs start to hatch (and maybe they already have), everyone can spread out and fish the entire river system. In the meantime, leave your guns at home.
The fishing - In the aforementioned areas, it couldn't be better. Fish are feeding on top all day. No one need do anything but throw dry flies at rising trout, it is, after all, the reason almost all of us took up the sport.
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