Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report

Knew it was time before I got out of bed this morning. Was going to drain the pipes today but it was just so nice I decided to wait until tomorrow. Mowed the grass, washed the kitchen and bathroom floors, cleaned out the cupboards, had lunch, shot the bow and before I knew it, it was 2:30.  Didn't matter, fishing today was like the last day of the Tour de France (mostly ceremonial). I've been playing this game for a long time. Every day I thank whoever might be listening, for having a wife that lets me do the things I enjoy, as much as I want (well, she does control the weekend calendar). Also am grateful for having been raised by a father, grandfather and an uncle all of whom hunted and fished their entire lives. I got into bow hunting to save my hearing as all of the aforementioned were deaf as a post from firing guns without ear protection. Fly fishing? How lucky can anyone get, with no forethought I became addicted to a sport that lets you preform with reasonable competence...

Stopped on the way down at the Troutfitter in Deposit where Dave manually transferred yesterday's offering onto the Troutfitter page. He said he would look for tonight's and get it up where it belongs asap. Set out from camp about 1:15 hoping the pseudos would find the cooler water temps to their liking and hatch during their scheduled two to five slot.  They didn't.  Drove up and down the BK and Willow without seeing a rise.  There were a few bugs on the BK but apparently the bright sun and rather stiff breeze quelled any urge the fish may have had to rise.  Did pull into several of the DEC parking areas along the Willow in an effort to learn more about a beautiful stream. Have found good numbers of fish there when there are bugs enough to get them up. The fishing -  With the releases both still way above seasonal norms most wade fishermen have been fishing the BK and Willow.  The number of anglers on the Willow today was next to none. The BK's popular poo...

Back in Lafayette waiting for the 10 pointer to walk in front of my tree stand. Fortunately most of the weekend rain fell up here and missed the Delaware. With the BK once again at a level where it can be waded and the water temps now low enough to hopefully trigger pseudo hatches, I'm planning on heading down to both fish and work on the camp shut down. Will let you know how things are when I get there. A tip of the cap and a big thanks to Ed, Keith and JIMI for your help with my disappearing blog pages. It's been 60 years since my one semester typing course and I'm liable to hit most any key at any time.  I tried JIMI's suggestion (Control +Z) after deleting a sentence by holding down the delete key and presto the sentence reappeared. If it also works when the page disappears as if by magic, I'll be able to reduce my blood pressure meds by at least half.   Just so you know -  - There is currently some problem with the blog page being transferred over to the Troutf...

Am probably the only person in all of New York grumbling about the weather,  it's simply beautiful.  Fifteen degrees above normal, bright sun and the leaves are at their peak.  Driving up and down the river system (which I did today) afforded me one beautiful vista after another. However, the pseudos have decided they like it right where they are and are not hatching until they get some cold snotty weather. Yesterday I had a very good pseudo hatch with rising trout for almost three hours on the UEB. Today they were nowhere to be seen. The fishermen on the UEB also vanished, saw two drifters and zero waders. Maybe it got going after I left but I saw neither bugs nor risers. Spent some time in the afternoon on the bugless BK, rose three fish, two of which ate and were landed. Then on a hot sunny afternoon I drove back to the BR which was still 150 cfs above my comfort level, in hopes of finding rising fish. Stupidity knows no bounds. Never saw a bug  or a rise. It's no...

It just happened again. Tried to type the word AND and the entire blog page disappeared, the only thing on the screen was ND.  There is nothing near the missing A that could make five paragraphs disappear.   My Perfect Manhattan is watery and I'm sorry but I'm not typing it again, even for the faithful few of you out there that are still willing to indulge me by reading it. NEVER BUY A DELL (at least if you are well into your 70's)! The fishing was very good, the UEB has pseudos and rising fish. Caught a good number of quality fish in the UEB and in the BK (late). If you are staying at the Troutfitter this weekend, take the short drive, it's worth it.  

 Fall days don't get any nicer than today. Woke to fog this morning and the sun didn't burn through until after 11:00.  Grass was so wet I waited until after lunch for bow practice.  After a kind of erratic day yesterday I shot lights out today. Actually moved my aim point around so as not to endanger the nocks. My 8:00 am call from Jean didn't come until almost 11:00, she and her sister Pam were in the car on the way back from visiting their brother in Cleveland. Said the leaf color along I-90 was disappointing. With no further reductions in the releases I decided to take a drive over to the Neversink. Had two days of spectacular Hendricson fishing over there about four years ago and have been averaging down ever since.  Today was no exception. The river was covered with leaves instead of bugs. Stopped at a half dozen designated fishermen parking areas and never saw a bug, a rise or a fisherman. Maybe next year at Hendrickson time. There was very little traffic on 1...

With sunshine and an air temp in the 70's there would be no pseudos on the freestones this afternoon (if they didn't hatch with cloudy skies and 57 degree water yesterday, they certainly wouldn't hatch in 60 degree water today). Headed for the UEB, which with 700 cfs of 44 degree water being released from Pepacton has the only temps suitable for pseudo hatching in the system.  Arrived at 2:00 to find both pseudos' and rising fish in an "A" pool with no fishermen in sight. Geared up and waded in and for the next three hours had good bugs and rising fish. The fish were fussy and were eating both just under the surface and on top. Surprisingly 2/3s of the fish I landed were rainbows. The two biggest fish were 19 inch holdover hatchery browns. One gave a good account of himself while the other came in like that wool hunting sock full of water I've talked about before. At 5:15 there were still bugs on the water but the fish just plain stopped eating.  Reeled it...

It's five thirty and both my perfect Manhattan and laptop are on the table in front of me.  That should tell long time readers all they need to know. Left the fishing camp about 1:00 (both the bugs and fish were going when I found them yesterday and I didn't want to be tardy today), and went right to the UEB where the 43 degree release water has had the pseudos hatching. First let me say this - it's Columbus Day weekend (or is it?), the leaves are near peak, Route 17 looks like Talladega on race day, and the wadeable water is very limited, but it's the 10th of October and the wade fishermen were as thick as maggots on a two day old road kill. When I finally found a place with bugs, rising fish and no other fishermen I had to wait for about fifteen minutes for the fish to start rising again after two pairs of kayakers went by. The fishing - In twenty minutes I cast at six fish, one ignored, two refused (had to downsize) then three ate.  One came unstuck and the other two...

 Drove down with the same plan as last week, mow the lawn, watch SU football and North Florida women's volleyball and fish tomorrow. Funny thing happened. The SU game was on ESPN2 so You Tube didn't have it and neither did ESPN+.  At 3:30 I got in the car and headed east to the Willow which was at least fishable. Saw lots of fishermen but nary a bug or a rise.  At 4:30 I was in the car heading for the the UEB where at 900cfs you can wade out in some places far enough to make a back cast. Arrived at one of those places at the same time as a drift boat (the only one I saw on the UEB). They were great and floated down to the deeper part of the pool where I had no chance of wading.  There were bugs (pseudos) and rising fish when I got there and they weren't all that fussy about what they ate. Hooked half a dozen and landed four all wild and between 12 and 15 inches within a half an hour and then everything came to a screeching halt. There were still some bugs on the wate...

It doesn't really matter much what the weather forecast says, if the rivers get anywhere near a safe and potentially productive wading level, you just know it's gonna rain.  Woke up this morning and stepped outside to see if I could hear Humphries Brook roaring. If it's making noise you know you're done.  It wasn't too bad.  Looked up the BK flow and it was in the 800s and the rain had stopped. Maybe, just maybe I could fish the Willow again.  By 11:00 all hope was gone. It got black as the night and the rain came down steady and heavy for hours. At my last look the BK was heading for 3,000cfs and the BR out back is once again brownish orange and a rising.  Took an hour this morning to tie the last flies of the season.  Had to replace the pseudos that were either left in fish or were rendered useless by the removal of tiny hooks from head shaking mouths. That done I mothballed my feathers and finished cleaning up the fly tying room. Spent the afternoon...

With the water levels dropping and the grass growing I got up early Saturday and drove down to the fishing camp. Knew that I wouldn't be fishing as I had to mow the lawn and then wanted to watch Syracuse  play Florida State in football and North Florida (our grandaughter's team) play FGCU in women's volleyball.  The games were streamed back to back from 3:30 until almost 10:00. Both exciting, closely contested games but both SU and NF lost. Today just had to be better. Spent the morning crossing things off the shut down list. (FYI I did get the screens put away and the storms put up during timeouts and half time of the SU game). The BK water level dropped below 500cfs during the night, and with cloudy overcast skies and a promise of light afternoon rain I was hopeful of some good olive action. Stopped at the BK first and with only a very few pseudos in sight, fished an iso emerger. Got half a dozen refusals, and hooked and lost three rainbows. Headed up river and when I fou...

No, I haven't closed the Lordville Estate or even taken my gear out of the car but deer season opens Friday and it's pretty much time to move on. If I'm down at the camp fishing, I'll write, but reports are likely to be both sporadic and intermittent. The eastern side of the system remains very high and even without any additional precipitation it will probably be a week or more before you can safely wade the BK. The maxed out release from Pepacton  coupled with runoff from the most recent rains pouring in from the tribs makes the UEB also too high for waders. The EB below jaws  at 2,900 and the BR  at 5,900, are both floatable by experienced boaters but way to deep to wade. If you are familiar with the WB and know the levels you can safely wade as, it is now down below 2,000. There are several places I can fish at that level but I'm probably not going to. Why? The Cannonsville release is at 1,400 and the accumulated silt is being pulled out of the reservoir. It doe...

Headed for home about 2:00 this afternoon when it had become clear that the the rivers would be blown out once again. It's 10:00 pm and all of the USGS  flow charts are still going straight up. The rivers will be high and muddy for several days and there is a strong probability that NYDEP will again max out the releases from both reservoirs in an attempt to create a flood mitigation void behind the dams. I may be in a tree stand bow hunting before I'm able to fish again. With regard to the question raised by Dennis, and Craig's comments about tippet - Have talked with a guide that uses 4x exclusively and catches fish.  5x is probably the most commonly used tippet. I'm a dry fly guy and  use  the Trouthunter 12 foot finesse leaders tapered to 5x and add three or four feet of 6x Cortland ultra premium fluorocarbon as a tippet. The Cortland tippet is pricy, a little bit stiffer than some, has good abrasion resistance and doesn't get a curl in it when you tie on a fly, ...

 If there was a bug hatch on the river system, one thing was for sure, A-119 didn't see it. It was windy but that wasn't even a good excuse. The wind was from the south at ten to twenty. The rivers run basically east and west so there are plenty of places where the hills let you get out of the wind - and I did. It was 78 degrees on the car thermometer and that is way too warm for fall bugs. They just never showed up. They cut back the release from Cannonsville by almost 400 cfs and it opened up much of the WB and some of the BR for wade fishermen. If any of you got into places where the drop in flow turned the fish on let us know 'cause I sure didn't.  The fishing- For me, was dreadful. Never cast at a rising fish. There were no olives, isos could be counted on one hand and the few white flies I saw never attracted a rise. The only salvation was that I was able to get five fish to come to blind casts. Three ate and they all stayed on to be netted. The best was a fat and...

Spent the afternoon and evening (3:00 to 7:30) fishing the BK with my gray haired old friend. No, we didn't stand shoulder to shoulder sharing a pool, that's not our way. We both set out with a plan to go east and to have dinner and perhaps a libation at the Riverside in Horton. Plans changed late when we drove into the parking lot at the Riverside and found it was closed. Adjourned to the Hancock Hotel where Ramona fixed a perfect, perfect Manhattan and served us up a couple of Bleu Cheese Burgers with fries. Talked about the days fishing (GHOF caught a beautifully colored 18 inch wild brown that was easily fish of the day). We also touched on the years we have spent fishing together, the good times we have shared and the friends we fished with that have made their last casts. Raised a glass to the memories and made plans to fish again tomorrow, (assuming the rain holds off). The fishing - With both branches high from the maxed out releases, most of the wade fishermen were on ...

 With the Beaverkill dipping below 500 cfs  today and the nighttime temps back down in the 50's, I decided to come down and try to get in a couple of days fishing before the next rain is predicted to fall (Wed., Thur. and Fri.).  Bought a BJ's roasted chicken, filled the car up with gas and took a leisurely drive down, arriving at 12:00 on the dot. Had lunch, got stuff put away and headed out about 3:00 hoping to find pseudos and rising fish. There were eight or ten cars in the "Jaws" parking lot at East Branch and about the same number at the pull off above barrel pool where there were a dozen of fishermen getting into their gear. I assume that there must have been either a fishing class or some other gathering going on. The fishing- By the time I found a place to fish and got my stuff on it was about 4:00, the river was in shade, there were pseudos galore, rising fish and fishermen throwing at them.  Walked a long ways, had rising fish most of the time and even fou...

If it were Hendrickson time I'd be on the river system fishing. The current water levels offer limited wading opportunities if, you are familiar with the area you want to fish and are comfortable wading at the current USGS gage levels.  But it's not Hendrickson time. Yes, there are still a few iso's, cahills, and white flies but the bread and butter fall flies are the pseudos. These tiny olives hatch in good numbers all fall but trout show a reluctance to eat them in high water. The present near maximum release rates from both reservoirs have pretty much eliminated the good fall pseudo fishing on both branches, the BE and the BR. If and when the releases are cut back to normal fall levels this should change but for now the best fishing opportunities appear to be on the BK and Willow. They are still a bit too high for good fishing  but if we avoid meaningful rain for a couple more days I'll be back down to give'm a try. Note to D.D. - EB is the East Branch below it...

As you've probably guessed, I'm back in Lafayette.  For dry fly fishing this time of year the outlook is bleak. The pseudos' like cold water and the trout like to eat them in slow moving  (low water) pools. We have high water and some of it is too warm. The outlook - the NYDEP has the release valves almost wide open with (I assume) the intent to create a void in both reservoirs to reduce flood danger in the coming months. When will the releases be reduced? Who knows. Certainly not anytime soon if it keeps raining. The fishing - Drifters are in their glory. Throwing streamers is the preferred method and in the off color WB it will probably produce some fish. If nothing else there should be a good number of big fish that come up to the fly and refuse it at the last minute with an impressive boil. If/when the releases are cut back and the water cools there will again be dry fly fishing, until then I'll be erecting tree stands, cleaning out the basement in Lafayette and yes...

Today, like yesterday, promised to be a hot one. As soon as the grass was dry, I mowed the lawn and then practiced with the stick and string. There is no doubt I'm better for the archery lesson I got last year but I still have my bad days and this was one of them. It was 80 on the porch when I quit and I was in no hurry to head out to fish. The weather forecast was for severe thunderstorms once again. Left camp with the knowledge that I probably wouldn't fish but that I might get a chance to see if the Beaverkill Angler had any G3 Guide waders or my DT4 line.  Arrived streamside just as two gentlemen were leaving because of the lightning. Sat for a few minutes and when the storm cell had gone past I waded in. Saw two rising fish, the first refused and the second ate (a 12 inch hatchery fish). There was a flash of lightning from behind the hill and my count never got to three before the thunder. Reeled it in at 4:38 and headed for the Beaverkill Angler. Walked into the shop just...

 It was an interesting day.  There is one lone hummingbird still using the feeder.  She sits in the apple tree and tanks up on the sugar water all day long. Every morning I look out expecting her to be gone and she's still there. There are so many apples this year that the deer can't keep up with the drops.  The ground is covered with them. Usually the deer lay out in the back yard and come over to the tree every time an apple drops. Saw eagles, osprey, turkeys, geese and mergansers on my journey today. The geese have altered their behavior ever since the season opened (haven't heard a shot), they don't get anywhere near me and are flying up and down the river out of range of steel shot. Left camp about 1:30,  I wanted to see if the fly shop in Shehawken had a DT-4 fly line (they didn't have a single DT). Someone please tell me what is so G.D. good about weight forward lines? I will fish double tapers until I either die or they stop making them. Why?  I ask...

Got up early this morning and took care of remaining items on my at home to do list.  Drove into town, got the car washed and filled with gas, picked up supplies for the weeks stay at camp and  made it to the barber shop fifteen minutes early for my 10:30 appointment. It was good that I did because my name isn't Dan. I botched my attempt at scheduling the hair cut appointment and Dan was scheduled for my 10:30 slot.  Nicole who has both grumpy and pleasant days (this looked a lot like it was going to be one of the grumpy ones) said she could "fit me in" and I got in the chair.  Nicole was born to be a barber, she has the quickest hands I've ever seen. The first few times I went to her I was sure I would lose an ear she snips so fast. By the time Dan ambled in (right on time) the eyebrows were being trimmed (an experience those of you under 65 have to look forward to) and I was out of there by 10:35. I was on the way to camp before 11:00 and had to have the visor down...

With bright sun, high water and a stiff breeze it wasn't hard for me to pack up my dirty laundry, the last of the peaches and my bow and arrows and head for Lafayette at 1:00 this afternoon. The peaches don't keep well and by 4:15 we had them all canned.  One of my grandsons has a volley ball game tomorrow morning and Syracuse plays Rutgers at 2:00pm. Will probably dine out with Jean after the game. In the back of my mind was an afternoon departure on Sunday so I could get in another session with the WB olives. A check of my schedule, however, revealed that I have a hair cut scheduled for 10:30 Monday morning. Hopefully the rivers will have receded enough by Monday afternoon to give me lots of options. If you are wade fishing the river system this weekend your best bet will be the WB.  I'm there all the time and under present conditions I wouldn't venture out until at least 3:00 if it's cloudy or 5:00 if it's sunny. Olives happen late. This time of year there ar...

Has it occurred to you that we are living in a strange world?  Politics aside, Covid-19 has been a huge disruption. It's been  over 20 months since the onset of the pandemic and the supply line is still in disarray. Manufacturers can't hire enough workers or even get the necessary parts to make their products. It is certainty symbolic of the problem rather than being an important factor in anyone else's life but I have been unable to buy a new pair of G3 Guide waders for the past several months. Simms just can't seem to make them fast enough. Turned down a pair that were "Camo" color a month ago, telling the very nice sales person that they were for duck hunters. Have been wading "wet" ever since.  As I'm sure you all know the freestones were all blown out again last night. That left the two tailwaters to fish and I decided to head to the WB. Picked the rest of the peaches this morning, got my archery license and headed up to Deposit to have Dave...

Left camp about 2:00 and decided to spend the day over on the BK. Why? It has been too high to fish since Ida, it has the best iso hatches in the entire river system, it has good fall olives, it was almost down to the level at which I like to fish it (300 to 450 cfs) and todays predicted rain would probably put it back up into the unfishable category. Found the rocks along the shoreline covered with iso husks. Some rocks had over a dozen husks on them and there were rocks that were still wet that had husks on them. So how was the iso hatch? Saw a few hatching during the afternoon but saw nothing that got the fish going. What did get the fish up were tiny olives hatching along the far bank of Cemetery Pool.  Cemetery is one of my favorite pools on the BK, it has some good fish, the riff dumping into it is an iso factory, there are fall pseudos and catching the fish that sit in the slow water along the far bank is a casting challenge. If you go there watch out for the big flat rocks,...

 Had three items to cross off the list before I could go fishing today. The first was to get the leak in my right rear tire fixed. Warning light came on Friday night of Labor Day weekend. Fortunately it was a slow leak and I had no trouble keeping enough air in it. Drove over to the Equinunk garage about 8:30 and was back on the road in about twenty minutes with the hole plugged. Next stop was the post office where I went to return a pair of Simms Freestone waders sent to me in error. I had ordered and paid for G3 Guides. Biggest problem was finding a box the right size to ship them in as the box they arrived in was battered beyond repair. Many places have boxes piled up for anyone who wants them but most have the top cut off. Finally found one at the liquor store, packed the waders into it, taped it shut but didn't attach the return label they had mailed me as I was concerned that all the writing and bar codes would be a problem.. Got to the post office and it was a no go. Can...

Yesterday the stars aligned. Heavy overcast with an on and off again drizzle, olives on the water with fish eating them. Fishermen had targets all over the river. Todays weather forecast promised clouds with a chance of a shower and maybe some sun. Well, there were clouds this morning, no shower and just when I started to wade out in the river, bright sunshine in a cloudless sky with a wind strong enough that I had to pull my hat down to my ears. Yesterday I had the river to myself, today, even further downstream, two drift boats, four pontoon boats and numerous kayakers went by (not a one bothered my fishing even a little bit). Shortly after my arrival there was a brief hatch of olives that I thought would surely get the fish going, saw two rises, neither of which I could get to and poof, the hatch was over. Fished from 3:30 until 7:30 and cast at two fish I saw rise. One ate and came unstuck, the other was apparently unimpressed with what I thought was a reasonably good cast of a fly...

 If you were ever going to hire a guide to float the Big River today was the day to do it.  Why? Well we just had the fall "redistribution rise" in water courtesy of Ida. The flow is now back down to around 2,500 cfs which can be safely waded if you are familiar with the place you are wading but is not a good level at which to learn the river. The BR fish have been lightly fished since the drake spinner fall back in June and are now back in their home pools.  Lastly, today was a five star olive day from the time the first drizzle began running off the porch roof.  There were about a dozen trailers at Buckingham and I bet most anglers left the river happy. I know I did. Didn't leave the fishing camp until about 3:00.  Would have started out earlier but had invested $6.99 in ESPN+ to see my granddaughter's North Florida volleyball team play a match that started at 1:00.  Thankfully they won in three straight games. Drove up the PA side of the BR and as usual,...

 It's been so long since I've been to the LVE that I had to punch the address into the GPS just to find it. Was delayed yet another day by an unscheduled social obligation that arose last night. This morning Jean and I drove down in separate cars (her's has the trailer hitch), unloaded a trailer full of junk metal, unhitched the trailer at camp, exchanged cars, Jean headed back to Lafayette and A-119 headed out to fish. With no clue what was happening when or where, I drove up to Deposit and stood on the town bridge. The water has a greenish cast to it from the silt now being pulled out of the reservoir. It doesn't affect the fishing one bit. I've had fish come up out of three feet of silt laden water to refuse my fly when I couldn't see bottom in water six inches deep. It's not pretty but the important thing is whether there are bugs and rising fish. At 2:00 pm in the bright sun there weren't.  Got on 17 and headed east to rte. 30 and then up the UEB. I...

It's Thursday night and I'm not at the Lordville Estate. The pond restoration project took an extra day and I had lots of cleanup work to do after the excavator departed.  He did a fantastic job working with some of the wettest material (pond dredging's) you could ever imagine.  Don't want to jinx the project but the inlets and outlets should be able to withstand whatever mother nature can throw at them for the rest of my years.  Jean arrived back home yesterday at 1:30 and we had the peaches canned by 4:30.Will be hauling another trailer load of basement debris to the transfer station, probably tomorrow, and then plan to get reacquainted with the fishing camp and the river system. Ida smacked the Beaverkill hard but seemed to let the rest of the system off lightly. I'm sure there were people fishing today and by tomorrow both branches should be easily wadeable.  The water beneath the thermocline in the Cannonsville Reservoir has been used up and the WB water will p...

Was out picking peaches early this morning when I got a call from the guy who is repairing the damage done to our  ponds by the three flood events of the past month.  He was there working and wondered  where the hell I was. Got in the car and headed home. Work will last at least two days. Jean returns about noon on Wednesday and we will be canning peaches in the afternoon. If everything goes well I will be back down to the fishing camp Thursday morning. Current projected path for Ida shows a frontal system taking it out to sea just south of the Delaware River drainage system and well south and east of my basement in Lafayette.  Hope the weather man is right. Have had a hectic couple of weeks and will be looking forward to spending some quiet time at the Lordville Estate. Maybe even try to catch a fish or two. 

 Finished up some yardwork about 11:30 and gave consideration to driving home to pick up another load of  basement trash. Decided to wait until tomorrow as the transfer station will be open and I can go there directly. That momentous decision out of the way, I ate lunch and fell asleep trying (unsuccessfully) to do the Friday NYT crossword puzzle. With current water levels and temps unfavorable for early morning and mid afternoon fishing I have not been going out until about 4:00 and not fishing 'til there are both bugs and rising fish. Today on the UEB there were bugs and rising fish about 4:30. Unfortunately (for me) there were also other fishermen in the pools I had hoped to fish. Stopped to watch one angler with what looked like a good fish on. Drove up to the Corbett Bridge only to find that it is closed "until further notice". Thought of the times I've been standing under the bridge casting at rising fish while the Matson farm trucks, full of harvested crops rum...

 Finally a day where one shower was enough. Overcast skies kept the temp in the low 70's which lets you work outside without having to ring out your tee shirt when you're done. Was in no hurry to go fishing as I had work to do and the olives have not been coming until late.  Left camp about four and put more than enough miles on the car trying to find the missing olives and rising fish. By six o'clock I had driven both sides of the WB, chatted with a river friend, and sat in several places looking unsuccessfully for an olive hatch or a rise. In the process became aware that the seasons are a changing. The herd of deer that lives off the peaches and apples in my back yard have all (except the fawns) entered the "blue phase" where their winter coat starts to show, the unsightly fall bag worm webs now adorn my apple trees, the goldenrod is turning fields bright yellow and yes, fishing is over by 8:00. Was about ready to head back to the LVE to watch the Travers when ...

 Knowing full well that my raincoat is hanging up in the cellar back home, I checked the hourly weather forecast for Hancock. "No rain until after midnight", it said. Left for Deposit at 5:30 hoping to again find fish feeding on olives. By the time I got to the Troutfitter it was raining so hard I didn't even get out of the car.  When it let up a little I ducked into the shop to see if I could borrow a raincoat. David didn't have his there. Headed towards a place where I could fish within 50 yards from the car only to find the road blocked because a tree had knocked down the power lines. The rain then picked up in intensity.  Finally realized that it just wasn't meant to be and headed back to the Lordville Estate where I can spend some more time looking for the size 20 olive that I tied and then dropped on the braided rug where it remained hidden for my full ten minute search this afternoon. 

 Yesterday had it's plusses and minuses. We have been battling  flood water, mildew/mold and the need to clean out forty years of accumulated "treasures" from our basement.  Jean's girl cave suffered the most damage as the new carpeting had to be  cut up and taken to the dump yesterday. On the positive side her new recliner couch appears to be ok.  With the temp and humidity both going into the 90's again I got up at 4:00 am, finished the mildew/mold treatment of the basement walls and headed for the Hancock transfer station.  Why drive to Hancock with a load of moldy carpet you ask? The OCWA, along with many other trash collection agencies have made it difficult or impossible to dispose of many items of household waste. What they do take, they charge you for. IMO waste disposal is something the government should do in a responsible manner at no cost to the individuals trying to properly dispose of items that no longer work. Tires, batteries, paint cans (th...

Just hit what was possibly the last key of a five paragraph blog page - - and - - for at least the fourth time this year it vaporized. Don't have the desire, energy or creative genius to even try to do it again. You are all spared having to read it and I on the other hand, have to go take my blood pressure medicine.

 Drove down to Lordville today.  Traffic along 81 was moving along at somewhere between 80 and 85 mph. As cars sped by I kept checking my cruse to see if I had set it wrong. State fair traffic? Perhaps some, but the light didn't come on until I got near Binghamton and saw the signs directing drivers to the university. Students were returning to college and traffic resembled I-95 on the last weekend in March with all of the snowbirds heading north. Arrived at the Lordville Estate not to fish but to mow the grass and drive the trailer to Lafayette. There are several trips to the dump on the schedule. Finished the lawn, re-braced the peach trees, hooked up the trailer and was back on the road in time to take Jean out for dinner.  First plumber didn't show, second is to be here between 9:00 and 11:00 tomorrow morning. The gentleman who is doing the repair work on the trout and bass ponds came by and feels he can do the work in the coming week.  Fishing, if any, will have...

 If you are looking for a fishing report, you've gone to the wrong site. Got a call at 5:00 AM this morning that we now have a swimming pool in what was the basement. The house is almost 40 years old and we never had a water problem  -  until a month ago. In the past month we have been hit with three torrential rainstorms, Tuesday night we got four inches of rain and water came in.  Last night I don't know the amount of rain but there was two inches of water on the basement floor.  We have gutters and drainage that carries surface water away from the house.  That wasn't the problem. We have an artesian well and water occasionally bubbles up out of the ground in areas near the house.  In the past the drain tile under the house would carry away any water that built up under the cellar floor. This morning the water was coming up out of the two cellar drains.  Why? Over the years there has been a significant build up of limestone in the pipes. The dra...

 With the sun poking through the clouds there was little point in rushing out to fish the lower section of the WB. Left camp at 3:30 and when I saw no bugs on the water at Shehawken (one of my look/see places) I went over to 17 and drove up to Hale Eddy. Stood on the bridge for a good ten minutes without seeing a bug or a rise. Drove down the "PA" side thinking I'd fish the game lands. Two cars in each lot changed my mind. This time of year the fishing can be good if you have room to move around and cast at fish that haven't been disturbed. If the crowds that blanket the river in May were to appear in August no one would catch anything.  Completed my loop of the lower river when I arrived back at the 191 bridge.  During the drive I began to realize just how good yesterday's fishing was.  My rating system has been skewered by the last six weeks in the sulfur zone where there are enough bugs hatching to sometimes get a dozen or more fish up and feeding in easy casti...

 It was an olive kind of day right from the get go, dark overcast sky and a steady rain almost all morning. Was in no hurry to get on the river as olives are notoriously late sleepers. Set out at one thirty with the knowledge that I didn't need to go back to the UEB and that I had no desire to fish the "Sulfur Zone. That left the  BR and the lower WB.   Drove up the PA side of the BR  and stopped at Buckingham to look for bugs and risers, saw none. There were a couple of guys loading their drift boat onto the trailer.  Asked how they did. "Caught both trout and walleyes, saw some rising fish and lost a really big fish we never got a look at." They had put in at Shehawken early and were soaked by the time they got to junction pool. Based on their report I tried the BR, in two hours of fishing I hooked the only fish that rose within casting distance (a 15 inch fall fish).  Moved to a riff/run on the lower WB. Didn't see the first olives until almost 4:30...

 Finished up Monday morning to do's by 9:00 and was on my way to the fishing camp.  Didn't stop in Deposit on the way down and had no urge to drive back up to the SZ after lunch. The sulfurs are waning, the fish are paranoid about eating dry flies and I'm sick of fishing the same pools day after day.  Worked around camp until about 4:00 then headed east. Haven't been over that way since the high water.  The BK was in the 80's last week and the mid 70's the last three days. No point looking there. The UEB, however is still enjoying a "flood mitigation" release of 300 CFS. The release has given the UEB and the BE a refreshing flow of cold water good for both fish and bugs. Drove up the UEB and saw but a few parked cars and fishermen. Did see rising fish in a slow water pool. With the binoculars I could see sulfurs. Donned waders and waded in. It wasn't long before I found out why no one was fishing there. The risers were almost all 7 to 8 inch yearli...

 Dennis wants to compare advantages and disadvantages of studded boots and felt soles. Studded boots are much better on banks with mud or wet grass, they are noisy in the water and can put fish on alert, they are good on slippery rocks.  Felts are a hazard on wet muddy banks, wet grass and leaves.  They are much quieter in the water and  are quite good on slippery rocks. I  wear felts, my only experience with studded boots is on the Salmon River. People with differing opinions feel free to chime in. Ed S. - Call David at the Troutfitter. Jim N. - If they aren't sipping flies large enough to see, you (and everyone else) are in trouble. Spent two hours a couple weeks ago casting to almost a dozen fish that were eating on top.  One ate a sulfur, the rest ignored my flies and kept right on sipping, often waiting until just after my fly had drifted over their back. If you stare at the water surface in a slow moving pool from bifocal  range you will be amaze...

With another bright, sunny scorcher on tap I took a personal day. Got in the water to see if I'd finally fixed the leak in my waders. I did! Fourth try was successful. The leak was in a seam where the leg met the upper part of the waders. Ran Aquaseal along the seam for about two inches and presto dry pants. If you haven't tried to buy them, you probably don't know, but Simms waders (along with a long list of other fishing products) are in short supply do to the effects of the Covid pandemic. Hopefully I can get through the rest of the year patching my current pair and buy new ones in the spring. Was planning on an evening foray into what ever part of the river system looked most inviting.  Those plans were scrubbed by the Severe Thunderstorm Warning along with a  Flood Warning for, among other places, Stilesville and Deposit. It's seven thirty and a T and L storm has gone by Lordville with much noise but little rain.  The warning said one to two inches of rain which wi...

It was a delightful day. Why? Because I spent from 1:30 until 7:30 standing in 50 degree water. Even had the heater on in the car heading back to the Lordville Estate. Several showers went around us, one even sent me scrambling back to the car for my raincoat. Tomorrow is predicted to be another scorcher with some relief coming over the weekend. (Do I sound like the DRC blog?) Shared a pool with Kevin who I first met this year when I was fishing "the secret spot" on the Willowemoc, (unless he was the guy who took a picture of me years ago holding a large brown in the dark by the Hale Eddy bridge).  Kevin said "the secret spot" was Angel Bridge, should have asked him the story that must go with the name. The reason I found out about Angel Bridge is that Kevin and I spent quite a bit of time talking while both the trout and bugs were in absentia.  The fishing - On a scale of 1 - 10 maybe a three or a four.  There was a hatch (fair), there were rising trout (some), the...

 An interesting day to be sure. Was greeted this morning by a bat that hopefully entered during the night through the wide open porch slider. Spent the day in the house and was looking for a way out when I got home tonight. It is 85 in here right now (a camp record) and the sliding door is going to be open again tonight. The porch is screened in but there are gaps between the roof and the beams.  Despite the heat I didn't head out until one. Arrived at the red barn to find two of yesterdays attendees back at it.  There was also a driftboat anchored along the near shore.  Compared to the last two days the place was deserted. Paid the big bucks and waded in.  Shortly after my arrival a gentleman who apparently had reserved a specific spot in the pool came down and started fishing.  His spot must have been right where the driftboat was parked because he stood there casting not 15 feet away. The guide apparently realized his mistake, pulled his anchor and quiet...

 Even Jean who loves the heat said it's too hot. For me the last three weeks were just the way I like it, cool enough during the day to do a little yard work without being drenched in sweat and with nighttime temps in the low 50's, it's been great for sleeping. Tonight it's 80 again inside the LVE and 77 on the thermometer out on the porch. Gonna be a hot night. Was in no rush to leave camp this morning.  Bugs started to go at noon yesterday but with the cloud cover today, was pretty sure they would be a bit late. Drove up to Stilesville on Route 8 only to discover that I had been marked tardy and that things had proceeded without me. There was an unbroken line of anglers from Cold Springs Brook to Butler Brook, standing at parade rest with their rods over their shoulders seemingly waiting for the command to cast. Drove all the way down along the river to the barking dog takeout without seeing anyone casting, or for that matter a single fish rise.  What I did see were a...

It's 10:00 pm, and I've just finished mixing my perfect Manhattan.  It's over 80 in the Lordville Estate but I don't dare open the sliding door to let in cooler air until the lights are off. Sometimes at night I'll turn on the outside flood lights and sit on the porch watching the insects circle the lights.  Last Friday there was the most incredible swarm of midges around the lights I've ever seen, no way do I want them flying through the open door towards a light in the house. Finished all items on the Monday morning "to do" list and was on the road by 9:45.  Arrived in Deposit in time to talk with Dave at the Troutfitter before heading out to fish.  He said the weekend guests found the fish challenging.  There were sulfurs, bright sun and a sneaky little draft that added a degree of difficulty to fly presentation. Today - Drove up to Stilesville on Route 8 and then drove along the river back to Deposit.  You people do not need my help, you all know w...

 Dennis had the only question this week and it comes in three parts.  Part one - Do fish refuse a fly because of taste?  It's possible, but extremely unlikely. Bonefish guides often squeeze a shrimp on their sports fly to increase chances of a take. Bonefishermen are careful to wash their hands after applying sun tan lotion. I've seen bonefish turn from over 100 yards away and swim up tide to a chum tube with live shrimp in it. So some fish use their nose to help in finding food. Technically this would be smell, not taste.  I believe trout feed on floating flies primarily by sight.  That said, I have seen trout come up to my fly and bump it with their nose (actually hooked one in the nose this year), so maybe. But actually by taste? No, if the fly was in their mouth you would have already hooked it.  What causes a fish to reject a fly at the last second?  Fishing as much as I do and for as long as I have I've probably had more flies rejected than most ...

 Things got into a routine this week. The afternoon sulfurs have become quite regular, with the hatch starting right around noon. They have hatched in good enough numbers in the upper few miles of the WB to get most of the fish up and feeding. If you go, know that it will be crowded.  There are rising fish everywhere so you don't need to be in one of the "A spots" to cast at feeding trout. Catching them is another matter. The evening fishing this week was for me lots of fun. Stayed up top one night and had good bugs. They seem to get going around 7:00 or when the river is in shadow and went well until about 8:00. There are still some risers right up until dark but the sulfur hatch thins out, be sure to check for both olives and  spinners on the water late.  The fun part for me was being able to fish down river on the WB and a bit of the upper part of the BR.  The flow is just about perfect and the water temp never went above the mid 60's.  Unfortunately tha...

The grass needed mowing, more peaches needed to be taken off the freestone trees (to avoid further breakage), tied new and repaired old flies, shot my bow, cleaned the toilet and vacuum the rugs (Jean will be here tonight). With all the delays it was a minor miracle to be riverside about 2:30.  Please note that riverside is not fishing. It's counting the number of anglers (9) in the Red Barn (aka pasture) pool, chatting with river friends and just trying to find an uncrowded place to fish.   Settled on a place that I fished about a month ago.  The one that no longer has a path upstream.  Waded up to where I wanted to start and promptly hooked a nice 18 inch brown on a blind cast. A few minutes later a guide friend came down the river and while we were chatting another 18 incher ate a blind cast. They were the first browns I've hooked that were over 16 inches in over a week.  Fished for almost three hours without seeing more than a handful of rises that were...

Finished up my tasks back in Syracuse, had a bite to eat and was on the road at 12:45. Arrived in Deposit shortly after two and it looked like a different river from Monday. There was a solid line of wade anglers from Stilesville to at least the corn field pool (do they still call it that?) and probably all the way to barking dog. Boats were everywhere most were anchored (some with sports and guide out of the boat). Fishing the "A" pools was not an option. Spent two hours trying to fool about a dozen fish who were  sipping living creatures not far up the size chart from an amoeba.  Saw one eat a sulfur and quickly threw mine at him.  The fish came half way up to the fly and then sank back down as if to say, "As a fly tier you've got a long way to go". Next stop was water with a little more pace. There were a few sulfurs and olives on the water and if you were patient every once in a while a fish would rise. Most good casts got a look, some a take.  Spent three h...

Back in Lafayette this evening so that I can take care of a few obligations tomorrow morning.  If all goes well I'll be on the river tomorrow. Did I fish today?  You betcha! After yesterdays fish catching bonanza there was no way I wouldn't be on the stream today.  My arrival home time was listed as TBD (to be determined). If I fished late and was tired, I'd sleep at the LVE and head home early in the am.  If the fishing was lousy, I'd head home tonight. I'm home and it's only 7:00pm, what does that tell you?  Well you're probably wrong. Got to the river earlier than I have been arriving but later than I'd planned on.  Was delayed watching a golden eagle fly around the pool in front of the camp. He/she lit in one of the silver maples that block my view of the Lordville riff. Also took the time to shoot my bow.  Am determined to become a more accurate archer, there is progress but at my age the improvement comes slowly. The fishing - Left camp about 1:0...