Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report

It was a tough week.  There were fewer bugs, more boats,  more wade fishermen and fewer rising fish than the previous week.. Why?  I'm not sure but here are several factors that probably contributed. 1- The number of boats on the river system is certainly a big factor. 2- Wednesday was a sunny, high pressure day (never a good thing) that followed a run of cloudy low pressure days. 3- Thursday had winds in the 15 - 20 mph range making accurate casting a real challenge. 4- After allowing Cannonsville to spill without maxing out the release, NYC maxed out the release      on the WB which dropped the temp from the high 40's to 43. 5- The Hendricksons (one of the best tasting flies) have run their course on the Big River and the BE, which has resulted in an even greater concentration of boats on the UE and WB. 6- High water levels that concentrated what wade fishermen there were into the few wadeable areas. The outlook?  Last year at this time we...

Today I didn't fish.  I'm not sure why, but I spent the day trying to figure it out. The water levels are too high to wade. The weather forecast called for 10 to 20 mph winds.  There was yard work to be done.  The grass was finally dry and I could mow.  Two peach trees died this winter and needed to be cut down.  The two porches needed cleaning ( the upstairs too).  All true and good reasons, but not really why I didn't fish. For the past two weeks there have been places to fish without the need to face reality.  The Beaverkill and the Neversink  have wade fishermen yes, but because of historically low flows, they do not have drift boats (yet).  I have fished the Delaware when and where I could, but being able to fish without constantly looking over your shoulder for the next boat is a feeling only wade fishermen appreciate. With the Hendrickson hatch for 2019 winding down on the BK and the Neversink , I was faced with the prospect of f...

Marty from Syracuse wants to know why I don't fish the Upper East Branch more.  Simple answer - too much water.  The UE has been flowing at or above 1000 CFS all year. At that level there are only a few places where you can wade (I fished in two of them yesterday)' Last year the UE was also very high early and was unwadable again from late July right through October. I'm there most of the summer when we have normal releases. It's one of my favorite places to fish. Say hi if you see me on the river..

A beautiful spring day, bright sunshine, cloudless skies, warm temps and a nice breeze, what's not to like?  If you were a fisherman on the Delaware River system, you also had an abundance of bugs (Paraleps, Hendricksons and caddis) hatching all over the river system.  What could be better? RISING FISH FOR ONE !!!  At least where I was (UE, BK, and WB) the fish weren't having anything to do with the bugs.  From 1:15  until 7:30 I saw exactly 3 rises (none of which even looked at my fly).  Maybe it was the rise in the barometer, the bright sun, the temperature plunge from the increase in the release in the WB, or some new diet the the trout are all on, there were no fish eating flies on top (at least anywhere where I was). At 7:30, after having tried several places and having driven back and forth from Hancock to Hale Eddy to Corbett, and from Corbett to Peaksville and from Peaksville to Cooks Falls and from Cooks Falls back to Hancock, I had nothing to ...

The BR, BE and the lower portion of the BK are all entering into the Doldrums,  (the dead period between Hendricksons and March Browns).  The peak of the Monday night caddis  upriver migration centered around the 17 rest area just downstream from East Branch.  My windshield that was covered with green caddis eggs Monday night was untouched tonight. The concentration of boats on the WB today was among the worst I've seen, put-in and take-out lots were jammed and the river seemed to have a boat every hundred yards. Why?  The two branches have been running much colder than the freestones and the Hendrickson hatches are just starting on the water up top in both rivers. Except for the BK, the wade fishermen are as scarce as hens teeth.  Rivers at current flow rates are both dangerous and intimidating to wade fishermen.  I have tried to keep away from the heavy boat traffic.  The fish have become very difficult to catch where the boats are concentra...

Follow the bugs and avoid the boats.  That's been my mantra for many years.  When Paul Weamer (many, many years ago) worked in the log cabin fly shop where Rte 191 crosses the WB, I would come in and look at the shuttle slips.  Paul thought I was trying to find out where the guides were fishing so that I could go where they were.  Had a hard time convincing him that it was so I could go where they weren't. Boats keep the fish on red alert.  Every guide and good fisherman knows where the pods of fish are and they all anchor up or at least make sure their fishermen are ready to cast when they go by each pod..  When 20 to 40 boats go down a section of the river in a day the fish are under constant assault. Wade fishermen would catch more fish if they just got away from the boats. Bugs on the other hand are something you need to be around.  It's what the fish feed on and you want to be near feeding fish.  However, it's not as easy as it may seem....