Bring your clubs, you can get in a round before the hatch.

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 all the way to keep the sun out of my eyes. It's mid September and the sun at noon comes through the side windows. Drove out of Hancock on 97 heading for Lordville and noted that the "Cow Lick" is closed and boarded up for the season and that the roadside Sumac are showing a lot more red than they did just last Friday.

The fishing - Very good - with several disclaimers. Had my way with the fish last Thursday and again today BUT the success is fragile. Rains have filled the reservoirs and the tribs. There is too much water for good dry fly fishing at this time of year. Probably to create reservoir flood voids NYC DEP has increased the releases from both reservoirs. Usually the flows are decreased on September 1st which gets the trout up and feeding on the small stuff. Present water levels in the system reduce the trout's enthusiasm for eating on top. There are currently very good and reliable hatches of pseudos with a few isos, ants and white flies thrown in. BEWARE, the slightest increase in flows could turn the fishing from good to bad. Check flows before you go. Right now if you are looking for dry fly fishing be on the river by 3:00 on a cloudy day, 4:00 in the bright sun. The length of the hatch will be determined by the air and water temp.  The colder it is the sooner the bugs stop. Tonight they were still going after 7:00. Fish slow water pools, shaded banks and back eddy's. You have to look closely for the rises but they are there.

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