Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report

Speaking of which - With the wind that blew seemingly every day, I did put a few more knots than usual in my leader this week. Dennis - My sulfur box has well over two hundred flies in it representing various stages of the flies transformation from nymph to dun. The sizes, shapes and colors also vary. Nor sure if it makes any difference to the fish but it makes me feel that changing my fly increases my chance of success.  Congrats on your big day. Steve - The scenario you outlined aptly describes something we all have experienced. I have a mantra - "Don't fall in love with a fish."  Once he realizes you are there (either by a refusal, change in the rise form or no more rising, the game is basically over.  There are lots of fish and finding another riser who is unaware of your presence is a far better bet than trying to fool one that knows you are there. Jim V.  - Congrats on your 18 incher. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. You will get more chances to cas...

Spent the morning working on the yard.  In Lordville if you are outside working and a neighbor is driving by, its time for a chat. With the outside painting last year it was easy to keep up with Lordville news.  This year I haven't spent as much time outside and was happy to see both Steve, a fellow fisherman, and Kat both of whom live in the suburbs up river from town. Learned of several break-ins in the area which has never before been a problem in the 30 plus years I've been here. The afternoon just flew by.  Shot my bow and then decided to call in sick for the afternoon fishing.  I'm not a fan of being taunted by the trout as I have been the last few days.  Figured I'd rest up and renew the battle after the afternoon hatch. Laid down with a crossword puzzle and a sudoku and presto it was 5:00pm. The fishing - Drove up to Deposit planning on killing an hour and then going down river to fish the "sulfur spinner fall".  Funny thing, I never left.  Dor...

 After two days in the Sulfur Zone trying to catch fish that are feeding on spring sulfurs with, of all things, a spring sulfur dry, I admit defeat. Fished from 2:30 until six and never even had a fish look at a sulfur dun.  Did raise 8 to 10 really nice fish on an assortment of flies but not one of them ate my offering. Wide open mouths came at the fly only to turn away at the last second. Was clearly not even in the game. Drove down river tired and discouraged.  Decided to try a place just up from Hale Eddy that I walked out of for lack of bugs and rising fish a couple weeks ago. It was about six thirty and the sun was still on the river. First thing I saw were Dortheas!!!  Not a lot, but I would rate it a poor/fair hatch. The trout were unimpressed in spite of what I thought were an adequate number of bugs to get them feeding. Caught a three year old on a blind cast and then a fish I saw rise, ate my sulfur. It was another entry in the saddest big fish contest. It...

 Today is the reason I recommend retirement to everyone. The weekend and Monday were too hot and yesterday was just plain brutal, cold and windy with no bugs until late.  Today was everything (almost) you could ask for as a fly fisherman. The missing spring sulfurs showed up when and where they were supposed to and the fish ate them with relish.  Unfortunately they ate them subsurface. From 3:00 'til 6:00 I saw exactly one trout dine on a sulfur dun and he (an 18 inch rainbow) ended up in my net. It was the only fish I caught on a sulfur all day.  Though you said it was good? Well, if you noticed, I stayed until 6:00, the hatch was over about 4:30. The fish were still hungry and proved willing to eat "stuff" on top. Landed four quality fish and lost two more.  With no one providing information about the summer sulfur's progress up river, I decided to do it myself.  Drove to the game lands and in the still bright sun found a good mix of bugs with fish willin...

 The day started out still mild with a steady light rain.  As the low moved out, the wind started to blow and the temp dropped.  It was a three shirter with a raincoat kinda day.  Sorta like it was April 22 except there were pseudos and sulfurs instead of paraleps and Hendricksons. Left camp at 1:30 and took a drive over to the UEB. From the Sunoco station in East Branch to the Corbett Bridge there were three cars, all parked at power line pool. The car ahead of me on rte. 30 decoyed right in where the other two cars were parked. Stopped at numerous places and never saw a bug or a rise. Was in Deposit by about 2:45 and there was not one fisherman from the red barn to the sewage treatment plant. Never saw a rise or bug on the WB until 4:15 when I found some pseudos (the ones with the dark wings) trying to stay upright on the water in a 15 mph wind. When the bugs got going there were lots of them.  The olives came first but there was a good hatch of Dortheas that ...

The pendulum has reached the apex of its swing towards the sun, tomorrow it starts it's journey towards the nadir of darkness that is December 21st. There were 15 hours and 14 minutes of sunlight today in Hancock (7 more minutes if you were in Syracuse).  Tomorrow will be a full two seconds shorter in both places.  As a lover of the daylight hours, today represents the first step in the long journey to darkness. I find little joy in the knowledge that today is the longest day. On December 21st, (the darkest day), however, I am elated with the knowledge that the 22nd will be at least 2 seconds longer.  After reading that paragraph, you are as crazy as I am if you expect to get any reliable fishing information from me. To prove my point you need only look at my report on where and when to fish this past weekend and how I did today. The fishing - Arrived in Deposit a tad bit behind schedule but found a minimum of boats and wade fishermen. Picked an empty pool and waded in at...