Know any good muskrat trappers?

Spent the past two days relaxing with Jean.  We took in the annual Lordville 4th of July parade, enjoyed a dinner at the new Pheasant Tail Tavern in Deposit, watched fireworks from our back porch, took one of our many drives around the area and actually found a couple of roads we had never been on before. Jean departed this am and I tackled some yard work that had been postponed by the rain and got ready to go fishing.

By 1:30 I was on the road, by 2:00, I was fishing, at 9:30 I was still fishing.  Thank God for the nighttime once again, for not only did I get floored by a muskrat (second dunking of the year), I got humiliated by the trout.  On the 1st and 2nd I had my way with the fish, two of my best days of the year, was puzzled that DRC fish of the day pics showed water graphs. Not any more! I fished hard, if not well, was knocked on my rear (in the WB) by a muskrat, must have had over thirty fish come up and lift an adipose fin on my fly, and if it wasn't for the last half hour of light (???), the highlights of the day would have been the fact that my wallet didn't get soaked, the car key thing still works and my camera still turns on.

The fishing - Damned if I know, talked with the few fishermen and guides that went by me and the fishing was hard. Some reported a burst of bugs (all at different times) around midday but no one said they caught fish. They all said "It's been good after 7:00", and it was, sorta.  The sulfurs came, the fish fed and came up and laughed at my fly.  Then with lots of time still on the clock, both the bugs and the fish stopped. Everyone left, I was wading down to the car through the deep spot where I have to hold up my vest when I saw a rise. Had to have been a spinner fall, don't know, it was too dark too see, just tied on a big yellow fly and cast, salvaged the day.

If you are coming this week, have faith, the summer sulfurs are here, they just haven't figured where and when they are supposed to hatch. Your only hope with the fish is to either sort out the dumb ones or fish until it's so dark they'll eat your fly, and by all means, look out for muskrats.      

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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

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

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