Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report

Often times I'm my own worst enemy. I have an aversion to doing the same thing over and over. Earlier in the week I stumbled upon a good mid day sulfur hatch that had good fish up and feeding and I was able to fool enough of them to make it my best day of the week. I didn't go back. Why? See the first sentence above. I'm easily bored, need to explore, try new places, find rising trout around the next bend. Sometimes it pays off. This week - not so much. This morning I fished three pools on the UE between Harvard and East Branch that I hadn't visited this year (and probably won't again). Saw some tricos (not enough to get the fish up), no other fishermen, an eagle, three deer, and not a single rising fish. Caught a nice 18 inch brown on one of my first casts and never saw another fish. Took a moderately long walk to a pool that use to have several fish in it. The huge tree that created the pool has broken up and been swung into shore thus erasing the pool and maki...

Sometimes you just need to vent, it's not so much about the fishing as it is the weatherman. Last Saturday the prediction was for hot and humid Sun. and Mon., then a major cooling trend with daytime temps in the low to mid 70's with nights down in the low 50's. Over 3/4 of an inch of rain was to fall on Tues. I was psyched, the river system would be freshened by the rain and cool temps and my new grass would finally grow. Tonight the temp is 68. It hasn't been below 66 all week. The daytime highs have been in the 80's and the rain never showed up. The fishing for me has been on and off, two good days and two rotters. Saved a skunking tonight with a last minute 17 inch brown. Tuesday was much the same with a 14 inch rainbow staving off the skunk. The whys: The water below the thermocline in the Cannonsville Reservoir has been depleted. The temp of the release water is rising and the silty water that was suspended above the thermocline is now coming down the river...

Morning olives on the UE and BR have been the most consistent hatch this summer, save for the sulfurs in the sulfur zone. The olives don't come off in big numbers but the fish are looking for them. Always a good thing for dry fly guys/gals. Drove over to the UE where I have enjoyed several good morning olive hatches. The river was in fog but you could see well enough to make out the occasional fish rising to sip something off the surface. One thing for sure, they weren't sipping olives. There just weren't any. Threw at rising fish (mostly one and doners) for almost three hours and got but five to eat (landed three). Drove back to camp and occupied myself until about 5:00 when I went out again. Tried three places, all above Hale Eddy and never saw a good fish rise until after 8:15. If you want/need to work on your casting/fly presentation (and who doesn't?) fish the daytime sulfurs up around Deposit. There are loads of yearlings (now 8.5 /9.5 inches) and they aren...

Opted out of the morning fishing to take advantage of the "cool" morning air to do yard work. By 11:00 I was soaking wet and dead tired. A long time neighborhood friend walked over just as I was quitting to say hello after spending a week in the hospital with congestive heart failure. We had a nice chat and before I new it it was noon. Cleaned up, had lunch and decided to read a book rather than go fishing in the bright sun and heat. About 4:30 I headed up to the UE to look for the sulfur/olive hatch. Instead of bugs I found fishermen, at least one in every pool I wanted to fish. Did a uie and headed for the lower WB. fished a fast run for about 45 minutes without seeing a bug hatch or a fish rise. reeled it in and went to the BR. Temp when I got into the river was 70.4. Waded out a little further and got 68. Decided to stay and give it a try. There were next to no bugs or rising fish. Hooked three rainbows and landed but one, got refused on a variety of flies and retur...

Got back to camp at 11:30 this morning. Ride down had pavement still wet from last night's rain and a solid overcast sky. Perhaps olives this afternoon. By the time I finished lunch the sun came out, burned off the clouds and turned it into another very warm day. Left camp at about 2:00, made a couple of stops in town and then headed up to the UE in search of olives and rising fish. On my first stop I walked down to the river and it was covered with bugs and rising fish (good ones). A thought might just have crossed my mind about just how smart I was to be in the right place at the right time, if I hadn't noticed that they weren't olives but the 11:00 to 1:30 UE sulfur hatch. In the right place for the wrong reason again. Fished for about three hours, caught four nice trout in about 15 minutes on a strange little fly they couldn't leave alone. Then all of a sudden they could. Spent the rest of the time changing flies and tippet while occasionally fooling a fish. Wh...