Never drive past an empty pool in the No Kill, during sulfur season.
After the weekend off and a short day (of fishing) yesterday, I was anxious to get after it today. Finished my mandated three hours of painting (gutters and screens), cleaned up, ate lunch and headed out at 1:00. Drove up to Deposit and just plain couldn't find a place to fish. It wasn't crazy crowded and other people would have squeezed in somewhere but I like room to roam and what passes for solitude on the Delaware, today, in the "Sulfur Zone" there just wasn't any of either.
Drove back down to Hale Eddy and saw some sulfurs coming off in the riff above the bridge. Decided to try just upstream, saw lots of sulfur nymph husks but no sulfurs and more importantly no rising fish. Returned to Deposit and sat in the shade under the pavilion and chatted with Dave who said that the anglers had found the sulfur hatch hard to pin down as to when and where.
Got back in the car about 3:30 and drove around. Talked with an angler who had just finished fishing the lower part of the No Kill, he said that the sulfurs came good for about 45 minutes and that it was over. Noticed quite a few anglers leaving the stream between 3:30 and 4:30. By 4:30 I had my pick of the pools. Chose to fish in the upper part of the No Kill. On the shady side of the river where there were a few sulfurs hatching and a few fish waiting to feed on them.
With the pool to my self I offered every riser I saw my fly. Many came and took a look, a few even ate it. It was slow going but more than enough action to keep me occupied. Then, just as the sun went behind the hill, the bugs started hatching, the fish started rising, the driftboats and the wade fishermen started appearing and within minutes I was boxed in with no where to go.
Reeled it in and headed for the car with the idea that anywhere would be a better place to be as the whole WB is in play the last hour of the day. Driving towards the Laurel Hill angler parking lot I noticed that there were no cars parked along the road at Norbord. Sure enough there were neither drift boats or wade anglers fishing.
The fishing - You already know that the afternoon hatch was of short duration in the lower portion of the No Kill. You already know there were no bugs or rising fish just above Hale Eddy. You already know that at 7:30 there were no fishermen at Norbord. With the sun behind the hill I donned my vest and headed out to fish the Norbord Pool. There were a modest number of sulfurs on the water and a modest number of fish feeding. But with no one else there I had them all to my self. It was fun. The later it got the more fish were up and the easier it was to get them to eat. A holdover, often hooked, hatchery fish and a "too tired to fight" wild brown, both at 17 inches, shared fish of the day.
Drove back down to Hale Eddy and saw some sulfurs coming off in the riff above the bridge. Decided to try just upstream, saw lots of sulfur nymph husks but no sulfurs and more importantly no rising fish. Returned to Deposit and sat in the shade under the pavilion and chatted with Dave who said that the anglers had found the sulfur hatch hard to pin down as to when and where.
Got back in the car about 3:30 and drove around. Talked with an angler who had just finished fishing the lower part of the No Kill, he said that the sulfurs came good for about 45 minutes and that it was over. Noticed quite a few anglers leaving the stream between 3:30 and 4:30. By 4:30 I had my pick of the pools. Chose to fish in the upper part of the No Kill. On the shady side of the river where there were a few sulfurs hatching and a few fish waiting to feed on them.
With the pool to my self I offered every riser I saw my fly. Many came and took a look, a few even ate it. It was slow going but more than enough action to keep me occupied. Then, just as the sun went behind the hill, the bugs started hatching, the fish started rising, the driftboats and the wade fishermen started appearing and within minutes I was boxed in with no where to go.
Reeled it in and headed for the car with the idea that anywhere would be a better place to be as the whole WB is in play the last hour of the day. Driving towards the Laurel Hill angler parking lot I noticed that there were no cars parked along the road at Norbord. Sure enough there were neither drift boats or wade anglers fishing.
The fishing - You already know that the afternoon hatch was of short duration in the lower portion of the No Kill. You already know there were no bugs or rising fish just above Hale Eddy. You already know that at 7:30 there were no fishermen at Norbord. With the sun behind the hill I donned my vest and headed out to fish the Norbord Pool. There were a modest number of sulfurs on the water and a modest number of fish feeding. But with no one else there I had them all to my self. It was fun. The later it got the more fish were up and the easier it was to get them to eat. A holdover, often hooked, hatchery fish and a "too tired to fight" wild brown, both at 17 inches, shared fish of the day.
Angler 119, you sometimes refer to having a glass of bourbon as you draft your report for the editors. What is your favorite brand of bourbon?
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