Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report

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 referri...

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...

 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...

 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 fi...

 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 ...

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...