Love fishing in high water.

With all river flows out of my comfort zone, it was an easy decision to go home and spend  time with my wife. When the weather prediction for the next few days called for reduced wind, warming temps and no rain, my wife "suggested" that we do the shopping for the new couch that is to go in her "Fem Den" yesterday afternoon, so I could, "get an early start in the morning".  I obliged, we did and then I did.  Was on the road by 9:15 this am.

The streams were still very high but the big bug season is well underway I wanted to fish.  Had not a clue where to go until I checked the the stream flows and found that the Pepacton release had been cut way back and that the UEB was wadeable  Make no mistake, there were drift boats, lots of them, there were a few wade fishermen too but you could get in the water, there were bugs (apple caddis) and there were rising trout (FYI there was also a sneaky upstream draft).  From 1:30 until 4:00 there were bugs (always caddis and then a modest hatch of Hendricksons).  But when the wind blew the fish would stop rising.  It got cloudy and even sprinkled. I got cold and left.

Stopped at the Bk (it really doesn't fish well at 800 cfs), tried it for a few minutes, saw a few March Browns, no risers and left.

Headed for the WB, high water and all, hoping for a huge caddis spinner fall and got it. Never wading far from shore or into deep water, I had rising fish (and boats) galore. The water was covered with caddis egg layers but it wasn't until I put on a ________________ spinner (Dennis if you are reading, please fill in the blank) that the fish would eat. Reeled it in at 8:30 with a grin hooked from ear to ear.

If you go, wade carefully, stay close to shore (it's where the fish are) and don't take foolish chances.  The action is in the WB and the UEB, both are full of bugs, boats and big fish. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

IT'S GOOD TO BE BACK HOME AGAIN!

 It's Wednesday night, a fire is going in the fire place, an empty Perfect Manhattan glass is washed and back up on the shelf, 30 shrimp netted from Zane Gray Creek ((did you know that Zane Gray (famous fly fisherman and writer of westerns) was a dentist and that his office is now a museum that you can visit on the Delaware River?)), have been consumed by Jean and me, prior to the three pieces of venison backstrap that traveled from home to Florida and back, an early spring snowstorm is raging outside and most importantly, we're glad to be back home again! With that season opening sentence, Mrs. Haskins has no doubt thrown in the towel and disavowed all responsibility for my literary malfunctions. Run on sentences she could handle, but my never before attempted "double aside" was apparently beyond the pall. I sent her a "Go Duke" banner with apologies and hopefully she will cool off before the fishing heats up. Our trip back home was uneventful. Started at 2
Read more

All my life's a circle.

  Headed down to the Lordville Estate about nine this morning after watching a nice buck decide  not to tend the scrape I was perched above. Drove through Deposit where the Troutfitter Shop was dark and closed for the season. My fishing equipment did not make the trip. Had far too many things to do in the few hours of daylight we are currently being allotted. The doe with two fawns was in the backyard when I arrived and was joined by the orphaned button buck who spends his time either bedded down in my flower garden or walking around under the peach trees looking for the peaches he grew so fond of in September. Arrived with a trailer full of wood hitched to Jean's car (it has the trailer hitch) and spent the first hour replenishing the wood I burned this season. As if by magic both wood piles topped out just below the garage windows. Was interrupted by the button buck who walked up between the house and the garage and stood watching the wood stacking operation. A river friend and f
Read more

A rational explanation escapes me.

 Yesterday after driving up and down the "Sulfur Zone" in the afternoon without seeing bugs or rising fish, I headed back to Lordville without even putting my waders on. Headed out again at 6:00, got into the river around 6:30 and had two hours of delightful dry fly fishing to medium sized fish eating duns in a good sulfur hatch. Today, I made the trip up to deposit at about 1:30 figuring the cloud cover would delay the hatch (if any), it did, but by 2:30 the afternoon sulfurs were going and the fish were up and on them. Enjoyed about two hours of good fishing with four decent fish hooked and landed, two yearlings landed and a passel of refusals. About 4:30 the rise forms changed to boils and my fly was ignored. Tried half a dozen flies without so much as a look from the still feeding fish. Was happy with the afternoon fishing, (a big step up from Sunday), and at 5:00 it was too late to drive all the way back to Lordville. Decided to get something at Wendy's (calorie capi
Read more