Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report

Started the day by driving up to the Troutfitter in Deposit to pick up some fly float and tippet using their "curb side service".  Worked like a charm. As long as I was there I decided to give the WB a try. Donned waders alongside a long time river friend and we shared the pool above the iron bridge in town.  There were some apple caddis hatching and a few fish making splashy rises while chasing the emergers up through the water column. About the fifth cast one of the risers looked up and ate my caddis.  A beautifully colored 16 inch brown that got the skunk out of my boots right away. With no other fish willing to eat my fly I reeled in and drove down River Road to the Men's Club. At 12:05 there was an Armada of 13 boats (most with 3 people on board) anchored between the Men's Club and the sewage treatment plant, all ready to fire broadsides at any rising trout. There were also half a dozen wade fishermen trying to find a place between the boats to fish. I know, I ...

What a difference a few days can make on the river.  Sunday and Monday with cold temps, gale force winds and high cold water, no one was fishing. Today with spring like weather (finally), fishermen were thick as maggots on a road kill. What a nice day. Migrating birds appeared out of nowhere (if you keep a list and jot down the ones you see, you'll be surprised how much of nature you have missed while standing right in the middle of it). You could hear the grass growing, the wind laid down (except for an occasional toss and turn), two shirts was too many and the Town of Hancock  was busy paving parts of Lordville Road. Had a bear meander out onto Rte. 97 between Hancock and Lordville. He stood and watched me until I was about 100 feet away and then he ducked under the guard rail and ran into the woods.  My trip back home tonight had as many deer as cars.  Does are dropping their fawns and saying goodbye to their yearlings (without teaching them how to cross the r...

Have to admit I was a tad full of myself when I left camp at 12:30 today.  The last six days of fishing were solid.  Had bugs and rising fish each day with no one around to hear me speak harshly to the wind. Being in the right place at the right time seemed to be just me being me. Until today.  Today started out colder but quickly warmed up in the bright sunshine. The wind at about 10 mph was but a trivial matter.  Water temp hit the magic 50 degrees a bit early and sure enough a few Hendricksons and apple caddis started to hatch.  Sat on a log and waited for the hatch to get rolling and the fish to start eating.  Maybe they did but if so it was after I was long gone. Drove over 80 miles along the river system, stopping often to glass the river looking for bugs and risers. Found a few places with bugs, lots of fishermen and very few risers.  By five thirty one fish had eaten my fly ( he gave it back on his first jump). Decided to drive back to Lord...

Woke to bright sunshine and 33 degrees. By 9:00 the north wind had hit 15 mph with a promise to go higher if the bugs got going.  The predicted high was 49 and they were just about on the money (my car said 50 at one point). A good day to go fishing?  Not if you aren't crazy.  The bright sun, strong gusty winds and a high barometer are a recipe for disaster (a dry fly fisherman's worst nightmare). Finished my chores, ate lunch, tied up half a dozen Hendricksons and set out about 12:30. Drove around the river system (Big River, Big East and  Beaverkill up to Horton Brook) without seeing one boat, one fisherman or one bug.  Turned around and started back down toward Hancock stopping at every viewpoint to glass the water for bugs and/or risers.  I was down to the BE before I saw some apple caddis on the water. Sat for a few minutes and saw two fish rise. They were down a steep knotweed covered bank, but they were rising steadily.  Suited up in what we...

To be more successful fishing the Delaware River system this time of year you need to pay attention to the numbers.  The USGS streamflow gauges will provide you with the necessary information.  You will also need to find a weather service that provides (with reasonable accuracy) the weather (predicted temp., amount of sun, wind direction and velocity) for the region. Why?  If, like most fishermen, you always go to your "spot" none of the first paragraph matters.  If, however, you want to increase your chances of success you will need to use all of the information available to you. Today the early morning air temp at 7:30 was in the low 30's with a predicted high of about 49. It was going to be cloudy with some rain showers. The USGS gauges on the river system showed varying water temps from a low of 43 to a high of 45.  So?  Well the paraleps don't mind cold water and will hatch in mid 40 degree water.  If you want Hendricksons, however, you need t...

 About a month ago (April 9th to be exact) I suspended the Angler 119's reports out of concern that the reports might encourage more anglers to come to the river and thus contribute to the spread of the Covid-19 virus. With all the usual suspects back posting fishing reports, it seems unlikely that my ramblings will contribute significantly to any increase in angler pressure. People now know what they should be doing to slow the spread and hopefully they will  act in a responsible manner when fishing the river system. Since you've last heard from me the weather has done a 180 with temps generally 10 to 20 degrees below normal.  There have also been several significant rain /snow events that have made wade fishing difficult to impossible.  The isolated days when the rivers were low enough to wade and the temps were warm enough for bugs to hatch, however,  have led me to believe that we may have the potential for a very good fishing season. Why?  Early in...