There are no instant replays on the Delaware.
After yesterday's UE bonanza there was no question where I was going this am. There were two cars parked on the lower part of the river at trico spots and two fishermen in the pool I had fished yesterday. I was unable to see waxwings or tricos anywhere from the Sunoco station up to Shinhopple. I wasn't the least concerned by the fishermen or lack of tricos as I don't go back to the same pool two days in a row and I was going to fish the olive hatch and spinner fall - except there weren't any olives, spinners or risers. Reeled it in after half an hour and drove over to the WB. At 10:00 it was already hot and I was glad to get into the cold water. Fished an hour before I saw the first olive hatch and it was 30 minutes later that the fish started to rise. Most of the rising fish were yearlings and even they showed little enthusiasm for what was a reasonably good olive hatch. Trudged back to the car at 12:30 and returned to the camp.
If there was air conditioning in the camp I never would have left but the thought of getting waist deep in cold water sent me to Deposit. There were thunderstorms all around the area and I wanted to stay near the car so I decided to fish the top of the first pool below the 17 bridge. When I got out of the car it was like Saturday morning at the Troutfitter in Syracuse. One Troutfitter Regular (TFR) pulled in behind me and two more stopped in the middle of the road to exchange notes on the days fishing. With dark purple clouds downstream, thunder rumbling all around us and dense fog covering the water, it didn't look promising. Put on my raincoat and headed into the water, the fog was so thick you couldn't see the other shore but there were sulfurs and rising trout.
Before going further let me say this, I was not fishing in a "secret spot". The pool is at the top of the "No Kill" and just below Oquaga Creek which is heavily stocked by the NY DEC. Oquaga warms up and the fish drop down into the Delaware and lo the top of the pool is full of trout. It is also usually full of anchored boats and wade fishermen. Today, probably because of the weather, I was alone (only one boat came by). There were sulfurs on the water and feeding fish, lots of them. Hatchery trout look up when they want to eat, it's what the've done all their lives (it's where the pellet machine throws their food). They are not bred to be overly bright and they get caught - a lot. Their mouths are a mess from constantly being hooked and they are too tired to fight very well.
Caught a good number of the hatchery fish including both the yearlings which are about 11 inches long and the two year olds that are about 15 inches long. It wasn't until nearly dark that the wild trout began to eat, hooked half a dozen of them (two nice rainbows and four browns). There probably are lots of fishermen who would disagree, but I could do without the stocked fish in the Delaware. It's a great wild trout fishery and to me, the quality of the fishing experience is diminished by the presence of the stocked trout. That said, they do eat dries.
If there was air conditioning in the camp I never would have left but the thought of getting waist deep in cold water sent me to Deposit. There were thunderstorms all around the area and I wanted to stay near the car so I decided to fish the top of the first pool below the 17 bridge. When I got out of the car it was like Saturday morning at the Troutfitter in Syracuse. One Troutfitter Regular (TFR) pulled in behind me and two more stopped in the middle of the road to exchange notes on the days fishing. With dark purple clouds downstream, thunder rumbling all around us and dense fog covering the water, it didn't look promising. Put on my raincoat and headed into the water, the fog was so thick you couldn't see the other shore but there were sulfurs and rising trout.
Before going further let me say this, I was not fishing in a "secret spot". The pool is at the top of the "No Kill" and just below Oquaga Creek which is heavily stocked by the NY DEC. Oquaga warms up and the fish drop down into the Delaware and lo the top of the pool is full of trout. It is also usually full of anchored boats and wade fishermen. Today, probably because of the weather, I was alone (only one boat came by). There were sulfurs on the water and feeding fish, lots of them. Hatchery trout look up when they want to eat, it's what the've done all their lives (it's where the pellet machine throws their food). They are not bred to be overly bright and they get caught - a lot. Their mouths are a mess from constantly being hooked and they are too tired to fight very well.
Caught a good number of the hatchery fish including both the yearlings which are about 11 inches long and the two year olds that are about 15 inches long. It wasn't until nearly dark that the wild trout began to eat, hooked half a dozen of them (two nice rainbows and four browns). There probably are lots of fishermen who would disagree, but I could do without the stocked fish in the Delaware. It's a great wild trout fishery and to me, the quality of the fishing experience is diminished by the presence of the stocked trout. That said, they do eat dries.
Comments
Post a Comment