Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report

Spent the morning waiting for the grass to dry so I could mow it. Takes longer to mow right now because I have to remove 15 support poles that are keeping the peach tree limbs mostly out of reach of the deer. When I'm done mowing I have to prop everything back up again.  The deer are up in the woods watching in hopes that I forget and leave everything down where they can reach it.  Forgot to mention with the flooded basement distraction, that Jean and I made our sour cherry jam last weekend. From start to finish we did 40 jars of jam in just two and a half hours.  Should probably note that Jean went to the farmers market to get the cherries, bought pectin, lids and sugar, sterilized the jars and had everything layed out before we started the clock.  This week was to be peach jam canning week but the peaches aren't quite ready.  Last week was when the Chanterelle mushrooms usually come up and with all the flood mitigation work we forgot to look. When I got home t...

The fishing - Went just to keep the fish on their toes. Cannonsville is spilling  and most of the river is now unwadable.  Didn't go until 7:00 and was back in the car at 8:00.  In about 1,600 CFS of water there were but a few sulfurs hatching.  Caught three fish about seven inches each that were sipping something along the bank.  Saw one good fish, made one cast too long, one too short and the third one just right.  He came up with a big yellow mouth facing me, ate the fly and before he closed his mouth completely I hooked. Felt the rasp as a chunk of tartar came off the back of a front tooth. Reeled it in and walked through the woods back to the car. THE RELEASES - Spent time talking with both Jeff Skelding at FUDR and with Jim Serio who is intimately familiar with NYDEP regulations. Thanks to both for giving freely of their time. The flexible flow plan is the best we have had in the 30 years I've had the Lordville Estate. We have bigger releases, higher ...

Someone please tell me why NYC did not, (and still has not) maximized the releases from both reservoirs a week ago.  The water flowing into the reservoirs currently far exceeds the amount by which they can be drawn down even with maximum releases.  It's my understanding that after June the city is required to maintain a void in both reservoirs for flood protection.  No effort has been made to maintain the void. I will try to get information tomorrow as to what is required vs. what has been done.  Consequences of a  major spill?  It depends. If the current releases are continued there will be a significant spill from both reservoirs of hot surface water.  It will raise the temps in both the WB and UEB dramatically.  Cold water hatches will be lost, the BR thermal refuge will be destroyed leaving all trout residing there in danger of potentially lethal temperatures.  If NYC maximizes the releases the temperature in both branches and the BR down...

Today was neither as bad as it could have been or as good as you might have liked it. If you live long enough there are a lot of days like that.  Faced with no home cooked dinners or my wife's company  for the next three nights, there was little doubt about where I would be headed. Lafayette had partly cloudy skies and a drying breeze this morning . We opened all the windows just to get a little fresh air into the house. Departed just before 9:00 and by the time I got to Tully I was on the phone to Jean telling her I was in a rainstorm and that she might think about getting the windows closed.  Went through several more showers before arriving at the "Lordville Estate". Unpacked, refrigerated the food, hung up ironed shirts and headed back to Deposit (the only place to possibly fish on the entire Delaware River System). The fishing - Left something to be desired. As far as I could tell there were less than a dozen boats on the entire system. There were some wade fishermen...

 My wife has announced that she will be spending the next three nights "monitoring" our two youngest (teenage) grandchildren. Some might consider this a plea for help.  With Jean, it was a signal for me to go fishing so she doesn't have to worry about feeding me dinner. Being realistic and perhaps a bit negative, the furtherance of the current onslaught of "severe" weather is not good for fishing this summer. Most of the streams are now too high to fish and even where you can get into the river the rainwater makes them too warm for concentrated sulfur hatches.  The reservoirs are heading in the direction of spills (they have already increased the Pepacton release as it is over 98% full). What to do? Hope the weather pattern changes. Fish where the water SHOULD be the coldest and the most wadeable (up top in both branches), and if nothing is going on there look for bugs in any water downstream  where you feel comfortable wading, late in the evening. Will look at ...

If you are looking for a fishing report here, forgetaboutit.  I'm in Lafayette trying to mop up the water in Jean's girl cave.  We had a real downpour last night, our little Rainbow Creek was a raging torrent this am, the two little rivulets that I have diverted around the trout and bass ponds to avoid siltation both broke through their banks and poured water, gravel and debris into the ponds. The ponds are both the color of coffee with three creams and the Heron was down there trying to find dinner in the sea of mud. Wet carpet and pads are draped over everything in the cellar and garage. The rivers in the Delaware System were hit but not as hard. DRC pointed to the Stilesville gage to assure fishermen that the river above Oquaga was low and clear. Failed to mention Cold Springs Brook and Butler Brook both of which are below the Stilesville gage and pour muddy water into the WB above Oquaga. It was a good day to stay home for sure.  With Delaware County under a flood wat...

 Dennis - Sorry, missed your question about trips out west.  Haven't taken one the past three years, Covid-19, too many boats on the rivers, a fish population crash and old age being the primary reasons.  For over twenty years it was a no brainer, go to the Missouri at Craig Mt.  Dozens of Delaware fishermen still go there. At one time we counted over 30 Delaware River fishermen eating dinner at Issacs's. Have heard there are more boats than ever and with low water the dry fly fishing is very tough this year.  For several years I enjoyed boat free fishing for big browns on the Owyhee in eastern Oregon but the river was filled with very old browns and there has been a steep decline in the population. Have talked yearly with the fish biologist there and the river may well be on the way back. May go next year.  Took a trip with another Troutfitter to the San Juan in October (missed a week of bow hunting) and had very good fishing for big fish on midges and sma...