Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report

 Doubt anyone will see this but it's probably something worth noting.  If there has ever been an extended period with more sunshine and warm temps in November in upstate New York during the last 77 years, I was somewhere else and missed it.  It has been beautiful beyond belief, unless you are a deer hunter.  It is simply too warm for the deer to be moving during the daytime. Made another trip down to Lordville to mow/rake the leaves, prune the cling peach tree, burn up the years accumulated debris and put hardware cloth around the new fruit trees. Worked steadily from 11:00 am until the clock in the kitchen said 3:30 and was about to drive back home in the daylight when I realized that it was only 2:30 (the clock hadn't fallen back) and just maybe there might be a bug or two hatching. Drove over the Lordville Bridge and sure enough there were fish up.  There was also a drift boat coming out from under the bridge heading for the risers. Continued on up to Buckingham where there

 Two weeks ago I had the best week of fall fishing I've ever had. That weekend I wrote the "This will be the last time - - " page.  I was totally satisfied with the years fishing (It was the fourth best year I've had fishing the Delaware). I had turned the last page.  It was time to close the book and move on to a new season.  My tree stands beckoned but the deer just weren't moving and I was bored.  With the camp closure process only partly completed I decided to come back down fish in the afternoons and finish closing up the camp. I've got most all of the work done (the gutters and raking will have to wait for my neighbors Norway Maple to shed its leaves about November 15th) but I'm  done fishing for the year. Left camp about two today and I knew by the time I got to Cadosia that I wasn't going to fish.  Drove around the river system for two hours taking in the beautiful hillsides of red and white oak that are now at their peak color.  It was in the

  Left Lordville early this morning and drove to Syracuse to get my flu shot and archery equipment.  Have seen more deer in downtown Lordville in two days than I have in three weeks in Lafayette. Might just hunt here. Drove back and spent the early afternoon crossing items off items on the camp close down list and sighting in the pins on the new bow. Found the fish  rising again below the Lordville Bridge so I decided to give them a try. Not a good idea. The shore is lined with knotweed and the water near shore is deep and muddy.  When I got down to the risers I couldn't get out far enough to reach them and had to slog back upstream through the mud.  Went up to the riff where there was a mix of pseudos and winged carpenter ants on the water.  Saw but one fish rise and was unable to get it to come to my fly. Hooked and landed an 11 inch brown on a blind cast. Drove over to the BE and gave one of the pools in the lower river a try.  Again there were pseudos and winged carpenter ants.

 It's been 10 days since I last was at the Lordville Estate.  I try to schedule appointments and meetings during the fall archery season as I am more likely to be home. Took care of most of the items on the list, cut up two of the trees that had blown over during the high winds two weeks ago but did not yet kill a buck.  Had a one horned crotch horn walk out in front of me opening day and I gave him a pass. Have not seen a deer since. What I have seen, however, is an array of bucks using my two trail cams for selfies.  Every night at least one (last night three) shows up and poses between the hours of 9:00 pm and 5:30 am.  Hopefully they get overconfident during daylight hours next time I'm up in a tree. Arrived in Lordville at 12:15, had lunch, got the front and two side yards mowed (they were the ones with the leaves) before the rain, put on a new tippet and went fishing. Stopped on the Lordville Bridge and it was obvious that the fish had not waited for me to be seated befor

 It's hard for me to believe that a month has gone by since the last Q & A offering.  With most fishermen having hung up their gear for the season it makes sense that the number of questions would be reduced. Thankfully some of the hard core regulars have continued to share their experiences both good and bad. The increased participation this year has made the writing far more enjoyable for me, sorta like everyone sitting around a campfire recatching the days fish. Jim N. your mention of the squirrel was interesting but I can top that one. Was fishing the BR last June when something 20 feet upstream caught my eye. It was a rattlesnake that was crossing the river. The snake came from behind me and was being carried downstream by the current as he crossed. Thank goodness he entered the water where he did and not twenty feet further downstream. Dennis -  A word of advice, always check the water flows before you go.  You ended up trying to fish the WB with the water in the process

I am no computer wizard but for the third time with my new laptop I have erased three paragraphs of a blog with one touch of something I'm not even aware of touching. Pisses me off!!!! Awoke this morning to a bright sun burning through the fog.  Decided to clean out the blue bird boxes (they are on the shut down list).  Assembled the necessary tools and walked out to the back yard where the two bluebirds that I haven't seen in over two months were waiting for me.  The female was sitting on top of "their box" and the male was on a fencepost near by.  It was as if they came to make sure I did a good cleaning job and to say goodbye.  Left camp about 1:00 to returned some hooks I bought by mistake and to drop off another load at the transfer station. With the WB high and colored I headed east. There were bugs, rising fish and fishermen on the BK. Found two pools with bugs, rising fish and no fishermen.  Spent a couple hours trying to get subsurface feeding fish to eat my

 Didn't fish today and it didn't bother me a bit.  Why? After four back to back days of the best fall pseudo/iso fishing I have ever had there was no need to punish myself.  Today was that high pressure day that follows the previous frontal system's departure.  It's marked by bright sun, below normal temps, brisk winds and high pressure. The fish just don't like it and are reluctant to rise. Today there were a few clouds, temp never got above 55,  the wi What did I do?  Sadly, began the shutdown process on the camp.  There's a list two pages long and I take my time, usually the draining of the pipes happens about the end of October. Today I tackled the fly tying room.  With CDC feathers of various colors piled up on the tying bench all season the room never gets a good cleaning.  A vacuum is like a tornado sucking up feathers and blowing those not near it's intake all over the room so I never get the vacuum anywhere near the tying bench. Got tired of the job

 It was an unusual day to say the least.  With the prediction of gale force winds there was little likelihood of getting in any meaningful fishing.  Looked out in the morning and not a leaf was stirring. Filled the car with trash and headed to the transfer station and then drove up to Oquaga Lake to help Jean unload a car full of household goods she was delivering to a friends house.  When I drove through Deposit there were bare rocks out of water in the middle of the riff above the town bridge.  The water was dead calm.  Not so at Oquaga Lake where foot high waves were breaking against shore. On the return trip about 11:30 I found fishable conditions and decided to try to get in a little fishing before the wind hit. Put on the gear, walked to the river and the wind and rain started.  Reeled it in and headed back to the Lordville Estate for lunch. The storm didn't amount to much and I set out to fish again in a relatively light breeze at about 2:00.  Got into the water, hooked and

 It's October 6th and I feel like a minister preaching to empty pews during the pandemic.  Why?  The salmon run is on up on the Salmon River and with both the WB and the EB far too low to float and even the BR a challenge to get down, all the guides have followed the money.  They gone.  The fishermen, they gone too.   Had a popular riff/run to myself all afternoon.  There were the usual bugs, little brown caddis that are always flying upstream and never land, pseudos and in some places isos. Even with the bright sun there were risers. In the early afternoon they were yearlings (rainbows now 10 to 11 inches, browns now 9 to 10 inches).  Certainly not the pulse pounding fish you come to the Delaware for but you have to make the same casts and it's a great way to improve your skills.  When the sun got lower in the sky the hatch got better and the bigger fish fed.  It wasn't as good as yesterday but it was good. At about 5:30 I headed to the BR for the "sun behind the hill

 Stayed in this morning and tied flies. A couple of  innovative iso patterns that I hoped would work, a  very small spinner, four brown fall caddis and half a dozen pseudos.  Before going out I checked the release at Stilesville and found out that they are shutting off the water to make a repair to the pipe.  The dewatering of the upper WB will probably do serious damage to the caddis population that has added a new dimension to the upper WB in recent years. The caddis nymphs can't follow the water drop as well as the mayfly nymphs and many will be left to die on a dry stream bed. Armed with the knowledge of  the planned release decrease, I headed for the BR, unfortunately so had everyone else.  Changed plans and decided to try the BE, which after the rise of water late last week should be full of fish.  Had gotten down the steep bank and walked several hundred yards along the stream before I noticed that the shoreline had changed.  The out of water rocks from my last visit were co

 After seven trips out to my tree stands I'd had enough.  Saw more golden crowned kinglets (2) than deer(1).  With the full moon, the deer are moving at night and have been nowhere to be seen during daylight hours.  Was on the road by 10:00 this morning and in Deposit by 11:30.  The pool below the town bridge was full of both fishermen and rising fish.  You needed a magnifying glass to see the bugs the fish were eating but there were lots of them and the yearling trout were enjoying an early lunch. Put on my waders and gave it a try.  The trout were zoned in on micro and my size twenty pseudos didn't get a look.  Finally tried a string thing and got both refusals and takes. By 1:00 it was time to go looking for a pseudo hatch. Got on 17 and drove over to East Branch. From 1:30 until 4:30 I divided my time between the UE and the BK. There were pseudos and rising fish in both places. An 18 inch rainbow from the BK and an 18 inch holdover hatchery brown from the UE ended up sharin

 I've been "blind casting" for more than 65 years. When I started out in my Dad's hip boots cut off at the knees no one told me to just cast at rising fish. The only advice I ever remember getting was from a friend of my father, Roy Ryan who stood on the bank watching me and hollered "Never saw anyone yet catching a fish while he was waving the G-- D--- fly around in the air".  The advice sank in, anyone who has watched me fish knows I make very few false casts and the fly is ALWAYS in the water. Blind casting (prospecting if you will) puts the fly in play. You will never catch a fish standing with your rod over your shoulder waiting for a rise.  Fish have to do three things, avoid predators, eat and reproduce.  If they don't know you are there and it's not spawning time you have a chance. What exactly is blind casting?  It is casting your fly on water undisturbed by a rise in hopes of enticing a fish to eat it.  Just last year I was fishing with a F

With the freestones blown out and both tailwaters colored, a 15 to 20 mph wind blowing and bow season opening tomorrow, I went home.  The good news - when things settle down again the fish should be back where they belong, except for the big browns who will be busy doing their best to insure that there is good fishing two to three years from now.  The days are much shorter and the fish will be feeding on top about the same time as they do when the Hendricksons are hatching.  Two until five is when the action will be taking place.  Warm days may result in some early evening spinner falls but don't count on it. Your hourly catch rate can be good, there just aren't enough hours. If you want to enjoy the fall colors get in the car now.  Last Friday north of Binghamton was beautiful, today it was more subdued, a lot of rusty orange has replaced the brilliant reds and oranges.  The Catskills with their huge stands of oak still have a lot of green but the hillsides with a mix of trees

Hats off to Jim N., Keith and Dennis for sticking with me while other fair weather anglers are golfing, raking leaves, watching football games or perhaps wearing out the bull's eye on their archery target.  Would like to tell the quitters that they are missing the best fishing of the year but Dennis blew my cover.  The last two days have been dreadful.  Today I fished a pool in the lower EB that I know has fish, never rose one.  Went to the coldest water in the WB and found pseudos and rising fish.  Pseudos are tiny but they taste good and fish like to eat them - in very slow water, think tail outs, back waters and little eddies where the current moves the little buggers around in a slow circle. Got close to the risers and was amused by the fish's reaction to my flies. The now 1.5 year olds mostly ate the fly. The 2.5 year olds either came up slowly under the fly and then sank back down or came up fast and pulled out at the last moment.  About 5:30 it was time to head to the BR

It you are wondering, it's been much better weather for sunfish fishing than it has been for trout fishing. Up until yesterday our attempts to restore a breeding population of sunfish in the bass pond had been a dismal failure.   We (Jean and I) caught 'em, brought 'em back to the pond and they were promptly eaten by the bass.  Finally this Saturday I saw two survivors from last weeks batch swimming around in the pond.  Armed with the knowledge of how big they had to be we went back to the Erie Canal and fished more selectively, caught a dozen, too big to be eaten sunfish and brought them back to the pond.  It was interesting to watch, the sunfish seemed to know they were ok.  The bass would swim right up alongside of them and they didn't even flinched. The bass may be hungry now but next summer they should have lots of little sunfish to eat. The unseasonably warm weather again stifled the bug hatches on the freestones and I made the mistake this afternoon of trying to

 In view of the results, I thought it might be interesting to compare yesterday's fishing with today's. Thursday, I fished a pool on the Big East, it had fish rising to ants and/or pseudos. I rose seven fish, four refused my fly, three ate and I landed one.  Next stop was a pool on the big river where I saw two risers, hooked and landed them both. Third and last stop was another pool on the BR, walked a long way without seeing a fish until I found some risers in a glide above a riff.  Was refused by one, hooked three and landed them all. On the way back to the car I saw another riser that I hooked and landed.  During the time I spent fishing I rose 14 fish, was refused by 5, hooked 9 and landed 7.  It was as nice a day of fishing as you could ask for. Friday, I started at an often fished pool on the BK, where there were fresh iso husks on the rocks and the fish were in the riff looking for and feeding on isos.  They would not even look at the iso I was fishing.  Made multiple f

 If you've been reading the reports this week you know that I talked with two fishermen on Monday (one of whom wasn't even fishing).  Did not see a single fisherman on Tuesday and had one boat come by yesterday.  Today I had to go into Hancock to get my archery license so I decided to see if I could find  unoccupied water further upstream.  First stop was a pool on the BE.  The river is too low to float and so far has not had fish or pressure.  Found a few fish that had obviously spent the summer getting their doctorial degree at junction pool. Got four to come up and look at an olive and one to eat an ant which he managed to get rid of as I was reaching for him with my net. Left the EB fish for someone with better skills than I, crossed over the WB on 191 and headed downstream. Shehawken had seven trailers and as many cars.  There was no one upstream from the ramp and I considered fishing there. Just then two fishermen who were getting geared up when I drove in came walking by

Today I ventured downstream on the BR, the water has been in the 50s and reports I've heard, say there are fish throughout the river from junction pool to Callicoon. Got in the water about 2:45, just in time for a drift boat to appear up river from me. The guide had to walk the boat down through the riff due to the shallow water.  Asked him how they were doing and he said they had already caught fish upriver.  He was very courteous, fishing from the far side of the pool and rowed down river without doing serious damage to my fishing.  The fishing - There were some isos and pseudos hatching with a few splashy risers chasing iso nymphs. Hooked a couple of fish on isos but got enough refusals to let me know that if I wanted to catch fish I'd have to fish a different fly.  In the quieter part of the pool there were fish sipping something from the surface. Stared at the water for a couple of minutes and saw several ants float by.  Tied on one of my new irresistible winged black ants

 If you want to talk about perfect days for a wade fisherman to be on the river this was one of them.  The water temps were ideal.  The flow levels make wading easy (not so for the floater/draggers).  The wind was negligible. The isos hatched more or less on schedule.  There were fish in the pools and they ate.  The forecast doesn't include clouds or rain for the next few days and that will probably change things on the WB and BR.  With the BR about 800 CFS at Lordville and 700 CFS at Callicoon???, changes are coming. The minimum flow at Montague is not being met when the Wallenpaupack power plant isn't running and the shortfall has to be made up by releases from Cannonsville. There was already a "minimum flow" release but more are sure to come and they may well be much larger than the 500 CFS we just had.  Best advice, look at the Stilesville release before starting out so you know what you are getting into on the WB and BR. Back to the fishing.  After river hopping

It's the fall solstice, things are changing at a rapid pace. Lordville has had four straight mornings with heavy frosts.  Days are getting shorter by about three minutes a day which doesn't sound like much until you realize you are losing half an hour of daylight every ten days.  I'm reeling it in at seven, just when the fishing was starting to get good about two months ago.  It's a time of transition for me.  Spent the weekend at home putting up tree stands, watching trail cam photos and shooting the new bow.  Even threw in another sunfishing trip. Got some bigger ones this time and hopefully they will  help the lone sunfish in the pond produce food for the bass next spring.  Got a late start and drove right by Hancock about 2:00 this afternoon in hopes of finding isos and feeding fish and for once I did.  Fished six different pools on the BE, BK and BR and caught trout on four of the stops.  Got to the BR a little later than planned and the shut down was all but compl

 You've all probably heard someone say, "He was bleeding so I kept him.  What's the sense in letting him go when he's gonna die anyway."  Well, I've had three occasions over the years where a trout turned the river red with blood and I think it would be good if you learned the outcome.  The facts in all three cases are remarkably similar so I'll just tell you about the one that happened today. After suffering through a half a dozen refusals I hooked a really nice rainbow. She never jumped but made three nice runs, the first into the backing, and several darts away before the the netting. When I opened her mouth the size 18 olive was down a gill slit. At the time she was not bleeding.  Got out the clippers and while holding the fish I used the rod to keep pressure on the leader so I could clip the fly off.  Just as I was about to clip the leader the fish thrashed and the result was something like a chainsaw massacre.  By the time I put the fish into the wat

 I've always enjoyed fall fishing.  With the entire system opened up again you can usually find a pool to fish all by yourself.  There may not be as many fish in it as some of the more popular spots but you and the fish that live there don't care.  It's just you and them.  Most times there are bugs and some fish that will eat but it's not really that important.  Fall trout fishing is a time to reflect, remember old friends that have made their last cast.  Think of how the river has been changed by both mother nature and man. Watch the shad fingerlings back down the river to the ocean. See the osprey and eagle arguing over fishing rights. Curse the merganser that just caught a yearling trout. Look at the changing colors as fall takes the place of summer and wonder how much time you have left to enjoy it all.  My birthday is March 30th but on April 1st I'm born again.  I don't add another year to my age until I take my tree stand down in the fall with the leaves o

 It's Wednesday, all of the storms are painted, some with just primer, some with two coats, others with just one. Jean has again blessed me with a visit. She had lunch with a Florida friend in Honesdale and was to return in time to drop me off at a spot where I have river access but I currently have nowhere to park. Left her the back yard to mow just to keep her from getting bored. Went out about 2:30 and again tried the BE without seeing a fish or a bug.  Trying to kill time until Jean returned from her lunch date I went to a place on the lower WB,  climbed down a steep bank only to find three wade fishermen had crossed the river and were right in the middle of the pool. Returned to Lordville and while waiting for Jean fished the "Home Pool".  The pool was unoccupied when I got there but I was soon joined by another angler who politely asked if it was OK to join me. This use to be standard ops but is now a rare occurrence, welcomed him to the pool and thanked him for ask

 What a difference a week makes.  Last week the temps were in the 80s and I had to check the water temp before fishing the BR.  This week with frost warnings, the orchids are spending their nights on the porch, the isos are hatching in the afternoon, there are pseudos on the UE and everything shuts down an hour before dark. Said goodbye to the last Hummingbird this morning. She was filling up at the feeder and I didn't see her again for the rest of the day.  Got the new bow along with several helpful pointers from the Olympic archer.  He said maybe I could give him a few pointers on fishing in return but I seriously doubt he needs any. The deer in the backyard are busy growing their winter coats but the three spike horns are still in the velvet. On the way down yesterday there was a bit of color along the road.  The Sumacs are starting to show their bright orange and red and the stressed trees are showing some of their fall colors. It's not time for the "Leaf Freaks"

 Don't know if I've gotten smarter in my senior years or if I've just turned into a wuss.  Arrived at camp at 12:30 and had no urge to go out into the wind and fish.  Got things put away, watered the orchids (with a frost warning I brought them inside tonight),  sat down and fell asleep doing a crossword.  By 3:30, with the wind still capable of blowing my hat off, I headed out. Went to the BK searching for isos and found some.  If you find where the isos are hatching in profusion you will find the rainbows lined up to eat them.  In thirty years I have found perhaps half dozen of those places.  Unfortunately the isos have never hatched in one of the hot spots for more than a couple years and when they are gone so are the bows.  The place I fished had isos but in modest numbers and the number of fish feeding on them was also modest. For starters they wouldn't eat my isos, they also wouldn't eat my little brown caddis (they are hatching now) or my olives.  Found a fly

Watched the SU game yesterday and think it might be a blessing if the season ends up being cancelled - quickly. Shot the old bow enough to know that if a deer is within 15 yards he is in trouble.  Twenty five yards - not so much.  New bow is arriving Tuesday along with a lesson from a former Olympic archer! Hopefully he can turn back the clock on my archery skills. Max - The piece on my short hand was "A closed mouth gathers no feet".  The BR is the Main Stem or simply the Delaware which is the river that flows from junction pool down to Delaware Bay.  For purposes of the blog the BR discussion is limited to the trout fishing section that runs from junction pool to Callicoon. Dennis - I use the twelve fool long Trout Hunter finesse leader which I buy in 5X.  I tie a 6X tippet on and fish it that way throughout the season.  If the water is high during early season so that my ability to follow a good fish downstream is impaired I sometimes just use the 5X.  If I'm trico fis

The front finally pushed through this morning, no precipitation just cooler drier air along with a 10/15 mph breeze out of the north and a rising barometer.  Was delighted to finally get the temps back down to what is now normal for this time of year (71/49).  The down side was the cloudless sky, bright sun, stiff breeze and rising barometer. None of those things are good for dry fly fishing so I again worked on the storms.  Most of which needed substantial reglazing.  Glazing is not one of my better talents but I plugged away at it and have most of it done.  Put a second coat of paint on a couple storms that were in better shape and hope to finish the rest next week. Left camp at 4:30, stopped at the Post Office, gas station and the Troutfitter (needed a spool of tippet).  Drove around looking for risers and bugs.  Saw a few rises in the pool below the Town bridge but no bugs to speak of and no boats.  There is not a lot of boat traffic on the system right now but most of it seems con

With the weatherman calling for an all day rain I dutifully set up shop in the garage and painted storms all morning.  When I emerged from the garage at noon it had stopped raining and the sun was out.  The weatherman and I are not currently speaking. Left camp at 12:30 with the prediction still calling for afternoon showers and evening t-boomers.  Spent the afternoon pool hopping on the BK and UE.  Found fish in all but one pool and was entertained trying to convince them that my flies were good enough to eat.  Lost the only three year old I hooked but caught enough two year olds to make it a sweaty but enjoyable afternoon. Then things got interesting.  Went to the BR  about six.  Fished the place I was headed to last night when all the trailers dissuaded me.  It was dead.  Nothing, no bugs, no risers, not even any boats. It had to be seven when I saw the first splashy rise ( an iso nymph chaser).  Soon thereafter flies began to hatch.  There were white flies, olives, isos and cahills

Went to bed last night with good intentions.  Woke up this morning to the coolest air and water temps there would be all day and went fishing.  It didn't take long to confirm that the BE, at least where I was, is still fishless.  The water is crystal clear and at a beautiful level for wading, if only - - - Stopped at a pool on the BR where there were a good number of both ants and olive spinners on the water.  Maybe the fish fed earlier but I never saw a rise.  Hooked a 16 inch rainbow on a blind cast and with nothing else willing to eat I went back to camp to attack my list of chores.  There clearly wasn't enough time to complete all three task so I deleted the storm window paint job from today's list.  Poor choice, tied flies for three hours and never used a one. At least the lawn got mowed.  Perhaps, just maybe, all my whining did some good. All week Thursday was given no chance of rain with temp in the 80s.  Weatherman now calls for rain all day with a high of 76. The e

Mowing the lawn, painting the storms and tying flies will keep me occupied 'til about seven tomorrow. If I were to go on a rant again it would be about the weather.  Most people wouldn't have a clue what I was talking about.  Eighty degree days with bright sunshine in September are a beautiful thing, unless you are a trout fisherman.  Last weeks fall fishing, fueled by an all day rain, cloudy days and nights in the low fifties is in the rear view mirror.  Until Friday we are faced with temps ten to fifteen degrees above normal with bright sun and no chance of rain.  If you think that doesn't put the brakes on the fishing, come try it.  The fishing - The trout had me on the ropes for most of the fight. With the hot temp and bright sun I started out in the coldest water.  Fished the first pool from 2:00 until 5:00, there were a smattering of flies mostly olives with an occasional rising trout.  Rose six fish, none of which ate the fly.  Reeled it in and went farther downstrea

In answer to Jim N's question.  No, when I reread it in the morning all I felt was foolish.  Had to turn on Bob Seger's Old Time Rock and Roll to get the job done.  Then I read the comments and Dennis caught some fish and the rest of you guys said it was helping and I felt it hasn't been a complete waste of time after all.  Started this because my senior year high school english teacher Mrs. Haskins wanted me to be a writer and I thought here's something I can do to both fulfill her wishes and help people to better enjoy the sport I love. The rant came out of frustration.  None of you are consistently catching fish at an improved rate because of the blog. It's either because I don't give good enough information, you are all just big kids who don't pay enough attention and misunderstand what I am saying or success on the Delaware is far more complicated than any of us thought.  I vote for "C". The fishing? It was much better Sunday than it was today

It's been a quiet week blog wise, thankfully no kerfuffles, (hats off to a new reader Keith who used kerfuffle in his introductory comment, haven't heard it or seen it used for years).  Thanks also to the others who shared their fishing experiences on trips this week. With no questions asked, no answers have to be given which gives me time for a rant. Regular  readers, I'm sure are aware that it has been tough fishing the past two weeks.  This week turned the corner. What that means is that I am catching good numbers of fish again.  I fish the river system a minimum of five days a week and have been doing so for 30 years. Fly fished for over 35 years before that. The fact that I'm catching fish doesn't mean that you will.  It means that there are fish willing to eat dry flies, if  you are in the right place at the right time with the right flies and the necessary skill to present them properly. The Delaware River System is the toughest place I know to consistently c

 After yesterday I was afraid to go out today and find that it had all been a dream. Didn't want to go back to the tough days of the past two weeks.  So I found things that I needed to do.  Finished painting the garage and razor bladed the paint off the last two windows.  The only things left to paint are the storm windows.  It rained enough that the grass needed cutting so I mowed again and before I knew it it was 3:45.  Bit the bullet and headed out. Found a riff on the lower WB that had no cars parked and walked down to the river only to find a boat anchored in the hot spot. Was tempted to fish up past him and say "Watch your back cast." But I stayed below him and hooked a nice rainbow.  When he left two more boats came through.  Caught two more nice fish after they rowed by, with another boat bearing down on me, I remembered it was Friday night. Reeled in and got out of there.  It was 5:00 and time to head someplace where both the boat traffic and wade fishing pressur

As I sat down to write this, a size 30, winged black ant lit on the rim of my perfect manhattan glass and - - - fell in. He didn't drink much.  Will get back to ants later. With the BK up over 1,000 CFS from the rain, the eastern half of the system, the BK, BE and BR were out of play.  The BR was fishable at today's levels but I don't try to cross it at 2,500 anymore and with the limited number of fish in most pools doubling the flow reduces your chances of finding a fish by more than half. The rise in the water is just what we have needed.  When things get back to comfortable wading levels the BE will not only be fishable but it will have fish in it and the fish will be better distributed in both the BK and the BR. Today I had little choice but to fish the WB.  It has by far, the most fish and also the biggest fish. With the sulfur hatch over those yellow flies you are seeing are probably Hebes, (which I use to call lemon olives), Cahill's or golden drakes.  There was

 Woke this morning to a nice steady rain.  Not the kind that blows out the rivers in less than an hour but the kind that soaks in and replaces what the sun removed from the soil during the scorching days of July and August. An olive day if I ever saw one.  Unable to work outside I spent the morning tying iso emergers and flomps (floating nymphs).  Also tied up some white flies.  Have a box of them from over thirty years ago when I fished the Salmon River, Fish Creek and the West Canada Ephron hatches. Even I have to admit that I tie a better fly now than I did then. With the flies tied and nothing else to do  I even oiled the hinges on my olive and iso boxes so I could quickly replace flies destroyed by hungry trout (just think about that for a minute before you go out to the garage for the oil can). By 1:00 I was ready to go. At 6:15 I had seen more deer and almost as many eagles as I had olives and isos.  Saw three trout free rise and four trout that came to my fly. The only one that

 Today was freestone day. The water temps have cooled in the last week and today all could be fished without endangering the trout. Started with the Beaverkill.  Fished three pools between the downstream  no kill and jaws. All had fish cautiously willing to eat a fly. More important was the fact that the rocks along the shore were covered with iso husks left in the last few days as the water dropped. The bugs weren't hatching while I was fishing but the fish were looking for them. The fish have become very careful about eating isos but the iso husks on the rocks told me that was the fly to use. Tried two pools on the BE, one near a thermal refuge and one in the lower river where the upstream migrants might have been spending the night. Never saw a rise or a bug at either stop. Last stop was a pool up high on the big river that I hadn't fished all year.  It was after seven when I got there and I was in the car driving home at 8:10.  There were a few white flies but little surfac

Spending most of my time in the bustling metropolis of downtown Lordville it's easy to find myself "out of the loop".  Needed a couple of little parts for my bow so I stopped at Walmart and Dick's, only to find that neither carry archery equipment or guns any more.  Not to worry, the archery pro shop in Tully is only a short bit out of the way on my return trip to the river. Turned out when I got there that they are closed on Mondays.  Got here in time to mow the lawn and then head out seeking revenge and retribution after last weeks performance. With the cool air temps over the weekend the BR was in good shape to fish.  Picked a couple of places  in the upper middle section of the river where some fish might have spent the summer and where some fish might have moved back home.  There were bugs, (isos, olives, Ephron's and Hebes).  There were some rising fish and for tonight at least there were no other fishermen. The fishing - If tonight was any indication, we

It's Saturday night and I can't say I'm sad to see the week end.  It was by far the worst week of the year for me on the river.  We need a good cold rain that raises the rivers and a return to seasonal temps to get the fishing jump started again. Jack McD - BK is Beaverkill, BE is the East Branch below Jaws (the confluence of the BK and the UE), BR is the Big River a/k/a the Main Stem or The Delaware which is the river from junction pool down to Callicoon. You got the rest figured out. Jim N -  Three ounces of a Canadian rye, .75 of an ounce of M & R sweet Vermouth, .75 of an ounce of M & R dry Vermouth and a twist of lemon all stirred briskly over lots of ice.  My wife, who is a beer drinker, says the first couple sips taste like lacquer thinner but after your "nips get lum" it's not so bad.  A word to the wise, never ever let more than two lemon twists get together in the bottom of your glass. Dr. M -  When I finally realized what you were referring

If you've been paying attention you already know, my heart wasn't really in it this week.  Fished only the evening hatch on Monday and Tuesday, gave it the full shot on Wednesday, then took a personal day on Thursday and found better things to do until about 4:30 today.   Why?  Pretend we are in the locker room after the second period of a hockey game.  The first period was the big bugs, the second period was the sulfurs and the third period is fall fishing. I love to fish, never get tired of it but deep down I just know sulfurs are over and the third period hasn't started yet.  Went out today with low expectations, yes there was an increase in the flows from yesterday's rain but the freestone water temps have been in the high seventies this week and it was a warm rain. To jump start fall fishing we need more rain, cold nights and a few cloudy overcast drizzly days. On the other hand you just never know what you will run into on the river. It being the last week of Augu

 Today didn't turn out exactly as planned, it rarely does. With rain overnight, a forecast for afternoon thunderstorms and a further threat of severe weather the porch fascia board didn't get painted. The temp was again back up into the 80's with high humidity and a strong south wind.   With the painting on hold I tied up some spinners and then took a drive up to the WB.  The nighttime temperature of the Cannonsville release has been creeping up the last few days which means that the water below the thermocline has been used up. Because we are almost into September this poses no threat to our cold water fishery.  What it will do, however, is send the silty water that has been in suspension above the thermocline out into the WB making it increasingly muddy as the days go on. You can already see the start of the color change. Walked out on the town bridge and watched a couple of nice browns come up and eat sulfur duns.  Got back in the car and drove up to the red barn where t

 After getting my tail kicked on both Monday and Tuesday evening, I went out firmly committed to righting the listing ship.  With the morning temp at 43 there were options. Decided to fish the WB water in the BR.  Waited until 9:00 for it to warm up a bit and then suited up. Rose three fish within the first fifteen minutes, one refused my offering, the other two ate and were landed. As the temp rose the wind picked up and I was soon fishing in a 15 mph gusty wind. The only bugs I saw over the water were honey bees that were crossing the river to extract pollen from the knot weed blossoms along the far bank.  Rose several more fish all of which refused my offerings (most of which were dragging at the time the fish took a look).  It was delightful to be out in more seasonable weather, there was space behind the hills for the first time in two months. Tackled the porch fascia boards after lunch. The two sides are done, a second coat on the south facing side will finish the camp!  Left abo

 While I encourage comments from followers of my (non alcohol related) ramblings,  I was nevertheless somewhat confused or puzzled - take your pick - by Dr. Manhattan's most recent comment.  He/she has commented favorably in the past and if memory serves me well even issued a warning of the consequences of giving out too much information. Perhaps the most recent comment is yet another warning expressing concern for the amount of alcohol I imbibe.  Let me assure you Dr. M. that the alcohol consumption is consistent and unvarying.  One perfect Manhattan a night measured carefully and consumed slowly.  If the comment refers to the spelling, punctuation and organization skills of the writer - I plead nolo contendere.  For thirty three years secretaries took care of that stuff for me.  In the past, an early morning review of my late night postings easily corrected a good percentage of the grammatical errors.  Alas, this is no longer possible as I can correct the Angler 119 blog page as

With all of the freestones sporting temps that resembled respectable rounds of golf (Bk 77, BE 77, BR 74), and the UE unplayable due to lack of bugs and no rising fish, I had no choice but to take my game to the upper reaches of the WB. At 11:30 there was no waiting time on the first tee. Nor were there any bugs or risers to be seen. Decided to forego the afternoon fishing and get the lawn mowed. Riding around the yard on the mower was like sitting under a blow torch.  Was soaking wet by the time I was finished. Got the weeks supplies put away (kept all the apples in the pail this trip) and waited for it to cool down.  It never did. Left camp around 5:45 and drove up to the WB. Decided to fish a bank in the lower portion of the no-kill where I would be at least waist deep in cold water.  Put on a second shirt and was glad I did. There were a few sulfurs and I saw one fish rise in the first hour of fishing. Surprisingly there were four of us lined up within about 150 yards so I had litt

First of all I'd like to thank ED S., Dennis, Maxwell, Dick, Jim and Jim V. for their reports from the river and/or their kind words.  Marty - The entire procedure took twenty minutes with little to no soreness or swelling.  Truly amazing. The head of Buckhorn already had three cars too many when I drove by. There were tricos no doubt but you won't find me fishing tricos in that kind of a crowd. Dennis - There are two fall caddis that I'm aware of - the October a/k/a pumpkin caddis that I'm told crawls up on land to hatch and the little brown caddis that spend Sept. and Oct. flying upstream in the evening but never fall. As to the trico hatch - Where the hatches are prolific you can fish the duns early in the morning.  On the Delaware you need to fish the spinner fall which occurs in the morning when the air temp reaches about 69 degrees. Look for them over riffs in the warmer sections of the river.