Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report

  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 ...

  Today was just so beautiful, it made me nervous. Why? I'm down at the Lordville Estate for perhaps the last time this season and it's sunny, warm (75 degrees) and I'm going out to fish with knowledge that the bugs probably won't show. Called Jean at about 2:00 to tell her that I've decided to stay overnight and come home in the morning, unless the pseudos don't show up, in which case I'll head home tonight. Called her at 5:55 just east of Deposit to tell her that I had the contents of the fridge (including her beer and a thawed out hamburger) in the car and that my ETA was 7:15. Arrived at 7:11 to find Jean frying up some onions and peppers to put on the hamburger. Sometimes it's more important to be lucky than good. It's a sad time of year for me. Drove past the homes of several river friends who are no longer with us, walked past Nate's house on the way down to the river, his refrigerator door is wide open (hopefully turned off) and he and hi...

  It was just too nice a day to spend sitting in a tree. Scheduled an 11:30 hair cut at Vicki's in Deposit and drove down from Lafayette arriving at 11:27. Was out before noon which left me plenty of time to open the camp, put away my stuff, blow the leaves off the front yard, and have lunch before heading out to fish at 1:30. By 3:00 I had driven from Lordville to the Willow and back down the BK to Jaws all without seeing a single bug or rise. From 3:00 until 3:45 I fished two bugless pools and had four 12 inch rainbows eat my offerings. One has a size 22 pseudo and almost three feet of tippet as a souvenir. I didn't see the take and just might have hooked a little too briskly when I felt something tugging on the line. Landed two of the other three, one just came unstuck.  A stop on the EB at about 4:00 resulted in my spotting  the first flies of the day but alas, nary a riser. Stopped on a run in the WB which is high (for pseudo fishing) and "stained' as they like to...

 With over 35 years of bonefishing on open ocean flats, I'm not one to wimp out when a little wind blows. Hendrickson time, you know it's going to blow, and you suck it up and fish. October pseudo fishing is another matter. With winds predicted to blow from the NNW at 10 to 20 today and my granddaughters volleyball game on at noon, I got in my bow practice early, crossed camp close up items off the list, and sat down and watched the game. Noticed leaves blowing by the window during the game, but it wasn't until after it ended that I took a good look at the six inch waves blowing down the Lordville pool. Packed up and headed home. Temp dropped 10 degrees enroute and it was blowing and raining by the time I got to Cortland. Never gave sitting in a tree a thought. Will stick my nose out the door in the morning and decide if it's worth going. The two days of fishing were, for October, exceptional. It's not that you can't catch fish, it's that each days window of...

Apparently Mother Nature thought things were too easy yesterday. Today the "breeze" was again out of the south but at 10/15 which put waves on some of the pseudo sipping pools. At 4:30 (quitting time yesterday) I  was lucky to have two fish. Spent a lot of time driving around looking, in vain, for spots out of the wind that had bugs and rising fish.  After complaining about how poor the fall foliage was a week ago (the hard maples leaves on the trees in our woodlot turned a dull yellow/brown and started dropping in September). The Catskills on the 10th of October were partly bare (the maples) and partly still green. Today, on my drive, the hills were in full color, soft maples were bright red, there were a few hard maples that were bright orange, yellow and dull orange (rust) colors were everywhere, a few young oaks had turned along the roadside and there were even some sumacs still showing bright red. Made for a pleasant drive. The fishing - Once again the catch was made up ...

 Was surprised, in recording todays catch in the log book, that it's been two weeks since I last wet a line. Came down once to mow the lawn and was tempted, but with a good hatch of pseudos on the water there was nary a riser to be seen and I had enough time to drive home and get up in my tree stand which I did, but to no avail. (The preceding verbiage , just might be a run on sentence. I was never too clear on what constituted one, only that Mrs. Haskins always seemed to find one or two of them lurking in every essay I wrote).  The original plan this week was to drop Jean off at the airport at 5:00am Tuesday morning and drive down to the Lordville Estate in plenty of time for the world famous pseudo hatch. Fortunately (I guess), the eye doctors office was kid enough to call Monday afternoon to remind me of my 3:30 eye exam on Wednesday. The exam went smoothly (still 20/15 corrected in both eyes) and with dilated pupils I had time to climb up into the GD tree stand yet again. ...

 I admit it, I've been bow hunting and have provided no helpful information on the status of the Delaware River fishing. Most of those fishing in October are hard core anglers and know what they are doing. They don't need my advice, but perhaps outlining a few basics will be useful to anyone who wants to take in the fall colors (poor at best this year) and spend a couple of afternoon hours fishing. The pseudos - They are tiny olives that hatch in the fall when both the water and air temps turn cold. The hatch occurs during the warmest part of the day (somewhere between 1:00 and 5:00). You'll need very small  (20/22) light winged olives. The real bugs sit on the water a long time as if wondering what they've gotten themselves into and the trout sit just under the surface and quietly suck them in. Where - Pseudos hatch throughout the Delaware system, however, I've found the fish reluctant to spend the energy required to eat them in high water. Fish the lowest and slow...

  Drove down to the Lordville Estate today primarily to mow the grass. I've only been away five days but, even with the sun shining and the temp in the high 60's the camp felt cold and empty.  A squirrel had smelled the apples on the back porch and had ripped a hole in the screen door (didn't get in) and the skunks had torn up the back yard feasting on grubs. I had put milky spore on the lawn for two years and thought the grub problem was solved. On the way down I got to thinking about whether bigger is better. Getting ahead of the Joneses seems to be a deeply ingrained promotional idea (think cars and homes) but I was applying it to deer hunting.  The DEC has required three points on a side to shoot a buck in several areas (including the Delaware region) and has promoted the idea of letting the 18 month old bucks go so that there are more "trophy bucks" in the woods. I've gone along with the idea and for the last eight or ten years my deer have been a bit che...

  If anyone is wondering, I'm back in Lafayette. After enjoying a delightful dinner last night at Indian Springs Club (my neighbors just up Warren Road in Lordville) I went to bed hoping that the front would coold things down enough to get some bugs hatching. Alas, when I awakened at 7:15 the air temp was still in the 60's. Spent the morning putting away my fly tying materials (love the smell of moth balls) and checked off several items on the camp close down list. At noon I decided to drive over to Roscoe to replenish some hooks that were running low. Was surprised to see muddy water at Fish's Eddy (my check of water levels at 7:00 gave no evidence of heavy rains). At East Branch, the East Branch was clear and the BK was muddy and high. When I got to the Cooks Falls/Horton exit the BK was low and clear with fishermen lined up fishing Cemetery and several other pools. At the Roscoe exit the Willow looked like it was just about out of it's banks (2,500 cfs). Got my hooks...

  Well I got the rainy, drizzly day I been asking for and just maybe I've been asking for the wrong thing. There were almost no bugs or rising fish in any of the three places that I fished. Went out at 1:30 sure the water would be covered with olives. It wasn't. If I had decided that I would drive around until I saw rising fish, I'd probably still be driving. The fishing - First stop was on the lower WB where, with the cut back in water, I could fish some places that aren't easily reached in higher water. In two hours of fishing I didn't see more than four or five rises other than to my offerings. Landed four fish between 11 and 12 inches and lost two good fish one a brown the other a rainbow.  Next stop was on the BE where I found a pod of nice fish eating something subsurface. Got two of them to come and turn up their noses at my flies. Was working back up stream to where I could cross when a nice fish came up and slowly porpoised on my olive. Lifted expecting a s...

 After sitting  in a deer stand a couple times swatting  mosquitos, I decided that there were better ways to spend my time. Jean was coming down to get new tires at CL Repair in Equinunk on Wednesday and I was able (with the promise of a dinner out) to get her come down a day early. We spent two delightful days, confusing the GPS, taking in the fall colors in places most people don't know exist, enjoying our cocktail hour while being entertained by the deer in the back yard and yes, a dinner at West Branch Angler where we were one of two couples in the dining room. They would normally be closed but they have three more weddings scheduled. Jean departed for home this morning and I was left with nothing to do but to go fishing. I know, I know, it's much too warm for Pseudos, but just two weeks ago I had a bang up morning on the EB. Waited for the fog to almost burn off and went fishing. Got a Rainbow to eat my caddis (after first refusing an olive) right off the bat. In the...

 Well, it's October first, which is the bow season opener. Sat in one of my tree stands this morning and watched a combo of five does and fawns walk down an old logging road about seventy five yards away. With the temps scheduled to be in the high 70s and low 80s this week I'll probably spend more time fishing than hunting.  During October I transition from trout fishing to deer hunting. While it's pleasant to sit out in 70 degree weather there is usually little deer movement. Late in October the bucks start "getting the urge" and are much more likely to walk past my stand. Surprisingly a ten point buck posed for a picture this past week. The previous week there was an eight pointer and a group of three 18 month old bucks who were still traveling in a batchelor group. It's enough deer to get me enthused. The 2023 fishing season - At this time last year I predicted there would be more big fish than ever before, but fewer two year old fish and my numbers, especi...

  The table was set. An all day drizzle was the featured guest. Ideal water level said he would come but only if all day drizzle kept his word to provide less than a quarter inch of rain. The bugs said they would come but only if Mr. Sun wasn't invited. The fish said if the bugs are coming count us in. All day drizzle started early to insure being on time but ran out of water about nine in the morning. When Mr. Sun saw that all day drizzle was out of water he crashed the party. When the bugs saw Mr. Sun they cancelled. When the bugs cancelled the fish went back to eating yearling trout. Thankfully, ideal water level showed up and let me cast my flies all afternoon and evening. He must have thought I needed the practice. A few fall fish showed up uninvited and ate my flies, either to be polite or they need glasses.  The fishing was a bust. Only salvation was a nice 18 inch brown that rose while I was walking out. Waded over to him and he ate a little olive on the first cast....

  Not a word of a lie. Two or three years ago I did the fall cleanout of the bluebird houses and the next morning I looked out the kitchen window and there were the bluebirds checking out the nest box as if to see if I did a good job. Yesterday I spent several hours repairing, replacing, and cleaning out the bluebird boxes and this morning the bluebirds (that I haven't seen since their second brood fledged in late June) were once again out there checking out the new bluebird box. I raised the rent and they didn't stop by the camp to sign a new lease, so I guess I'll just have to wait until April to see if they will be staying here next spring.  Never tire of watching the neighborhood deer and it appears that they never tire of watching me. Most of my deer watching is done either from the back porch or through the sliding glass doors in the kitchen. The deer will stand out side begging me to get my hooked stick and shake some apples off the tree at the corner of the porch. W...

   I've been busy mornings and early afternoons this week. Got what will probably be the last six gallons of water from the Lordville spring this year. Finished the bluebird house restoration project. Went over to the Equinunk garage and ordered two new tires for Jean's car. Mowed the lawn which took time from two days as it isn't dry until almost two o'clock. Cleaned and closed up the upstairs sleeping quarters for the year. Tied the olives that the fish liked last night and then tied another half dozen this morning only to find they weren't on today's menu. Was so pressed for time I even forgot about bow practice today. And, I finally realized that I was missing out on some good fishing. Why? Well first off, there were clues. Every day this week the fish were going when I got there. The guide yesterday said he had bugs and rising fish from 11:00 'till he took out at Buckingham about 4:00. A fisherman I talked to when I was leaving the Shehawken parking lot...

It was another mostly overcast day. Had to wait until noon to mow the back yard. Yesterday's fishing, while not great, gave me hope that the week wouldn't be a total loss. Left camp about 3:30 and once again drove up the PA side. Pulled in the Buckingham launch site (two trailers) and drove down to the ramp where there was a guy sitting in a pickup truck. Looked out at the water and there were risers, quite a few actually. Got on my waders and walked down to the river but saw only two fish within reach. One was a fall fish, the other an 11 inch rainbow. A drift boat pulled in while I was fishing and I walked over to talk to the guide. Said there were bugs and rising fish from Balls Eddy to Buckingham. As luck would have it, he had spin-fishermen in the boat. They caught a nice fish (on a nymph rig I think, while I was "fighting" my 8 inch fall fish.  Left Buckingham at about 4:15 and headed for the WB. Fished two places (the first offered ground up glass instead of gr...

After another rainy weekend trying to get things done at home, I was surprised to find that today was to be a much sought after "rainy, drizzly day". My enthusiasm was quickly dampened by a check of water levels which were still fine at bed time last night. It was clear this morning that this week would be a case of fishing where you could, not where you wanted to. Took care of the remaining items on the at home to-do list, packed the car, filled half a five gallon pail with drops from our Bartlett Pear tree (most are disfigured and small as the Bartlett needs to be cross pollinated and the cross pollinator died years ago).   Drove down the road and filled up a five gallon pail of apples at a neighbors and headed for the Lordville Estate only to remember  I forgot the sandwich rolls on the top of the refrigerator. Felt like I was attached to a bungee cord. Finally arrived at Lordville about 1:30. Humphries Brook was roaring and the BR was at 4,000cfs. With the WB and UEB ...

 With helpful commenters having answered some of the more pressing problems I'll have to meet my minimum word contract obligation with some random thoughts. Jim Dygert was quick with the info on steaming flies. I keep an old tea kettle for that purpose. Be sure to  use forceps to keep your fingers out of the steam. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to do much for CDC.  Black Boat mentioned Hank Locklin a country western singer who did "Please Help Me I'm Falling" and "Send Me The Pillow You Dream On". Looked him up to be sure and learned he also sang "We're Gonna Go Fishin' ". Who knew? Dennis 2 brought up the subject of trout preferences (or tolerance) of water temps. The rainbows in the Delaware River system are found most commonly in water that gets the warmest, ( BR and EB) while the browns numbers are highest in the colder tail water sections, (WB and UEB). Neither are mutually exclusive. While on the subject of fish distribution - Som...

Despite yesterday mornings success I passed on another morning of fishing. Had several items on the to-do list and I just might have been a little tired from yesterday's double header. Had to do the end of season dump run, fill the wood stacker, shoot the bow and reorganize my two spinner boxes. This entailed sorting out the ones no longer able to pass muster, steaming the hackles on the ones I put away in a hurry and inserting the half dozen newly tied ones into the boxes. Also had to stop at Marino's to get my archery license on the way out fishing.  Left the fishing camp about 3:00 and by the time I got to Buckingham (a dozen trailers in the lot) it was evident that my fishing plan had to be changed. Headed east only to find that the guy with the white pickup truck was already fishing my fall back location (he's there often). Did another route recalculation, as my GPS likes to say, and went to a place I haven't fished since before Covid. It use to be a regular stop w...

Despite Tuesday's debacle this has been by far my best week in September. Why? Water temps and water levels levels are both low enough that I can fish where I want to, not where I have to. Monday it was on the UEB, Tuesday the BE, Wednesday the BR and today I was on both the BE and the WB. Decided to get out early this morning and give it a try before the bright sun got a chance to quiet things down. Was on the BE as the fog burned off. Saw a total of three rises all morning (each one of the risers refused my fly). Blind casting was a different story. As the sun warmed things up there were brown caddis in the air. The fish were unimpressed with mine. What they did like were my spinners. Hooked a dozen fish (mostly 12/16 inch rainbows), landed only five of them but had lots of action in less than three hours of fishing. Went out again at 4:00 and tried a different place on the BE. There were some good fish making boils that wouldn't give me a look but I hooked six rainbows blind...

  Today was one for everyone who enjoys nature.  Didn't get up until 7:30 and was out on the porch checking the temp when I heard the noise a hummingbird wings make. She acted like I'd invited her for breakfast, sat right down on the feeder and took a drink, then sat and drank at each of the other three "flowers" on the feeder. When she was done she rested for a couple minutes on a limb of the apple tree and then took off south across the yard climbing as she went to get over the ridge on the other side of the river. Jean and I always leave the feeders up for a few days after the locals leave as somehow, travelers seem to find them and refuel on their long journey south. Finished breakfast and looked out the sliding glass doors to see two adult does come together and start licking one another's heads and ears. It went on for a good five minutes. My best guess is that they were trying to get rid of ticks or lice that they themselves couldn't reach. Their gentle...

  Just a quick apology for my somewhat over the top reporting of yesterdays fishing. Those days just don't happen very often in fall fishing and perhaps I got a little carried away. I promise not to let it happen again. Was up early this morning (6:15), it was just starting to get light but the deer knew I was back and were waiting to greet me outside the back porch. Kept an eye on the hummingbird feeder all morning but they're gone. There were two still at the feeder Friday which is the latest I've ever had them stay. Didn't see them Monday afternoon and today was the clincher. Mowed half the lawn, worked on the blue bird boxes, (need to buy three 8 foot pieces of rebar as the old posts are shot). Tied half a dozen flies and at 2:30, despite the bright sun and north wind, I couldn't wait any longer. Made the usual PA side drive up river and found decent olives floating by the Buckingham launch site unmolested. Sat glassing the river (apparently the waxwings have fo...

  Didn't get an early start this morning and had several stops I had to make on the way down. Arrived just before noon and by the time I unpacked, put things away, and had lunch, it was time to go fishing. Drove up the PA side, there were bugs at Buckingham but no risers. Shehawken had a row of fishermen (perhaps a fishing class) in the water at the takeout, but no bugs. Did see  "Black Boat" being driven out of the parking lot and later into the Hancock Hotel lot???  From Hancock I drove east, which was not my original intention, but with yesterday's rain, I decided to forego my planned BR fishing for a day or two to let the water get back down to a river crossing level (which for me gets lower every year). The fishing - I don't wear a watch and I once again left my cell phone home (more on that later), I was probably in the river by 2:30 which turned out to be too early. With water temps in the high 50's and low 60's I had hoped to see afternoon isos; di...

It's Sunday morning. Watched Syracuse's win over Purdue last night so I didn't get started on answering your questions until this morning. Black Boat had me going again with his Casey Kasmiri, thought he was equating me with a famous Indian fly fishing savant that I'd never heard of. Casey Kasem I remember well.  Dennis asked about white flies and Hebe's. White flies (Ephorons ) are a very prolific warm water fly that hatches in late summer and early fall. They hatch, molt, mate and die all within a couple hours around sunset. The spinner falls can be spectacular. Because of the cold release water the best hatches on the Delaware occur below Hankins. Hebe's are a small, big winged lemon/olive fly that hatches in the fall usually after the daily iso hatch is over. They don't taste good and I've never caught a fish on one. Darryl Bogart asked about the "Pay Side" which for me, is a fictional side of the A-119 fishing reports where paying customer...

 There's not much question fall has arrived. Spent a couple hours working both out in the yard and then up in the sleeping quarters and didn't sweat a bit.  Somethings going on with the Lordville deer. There's been a button buck following me around the yard for the past two weeks, never with a doe. Two days ago he showed up with his girl friend a small fawn still covered with spots. They were both laying down on the front lawn watching the cars go by (not 15 feet from the road). The herd? No where to be seen. There were tracks in the dew this morning but I never saw an adult deer all day. Tonight when I got home I went out on the back porch and spooked a doe that earlier this week I had to run at just to get her away from my archery target while I'm trying to shoot. Just maybe someone's shopping for their winter meat a little early. Left camp about 3:00 after watching a thrilling volleyball game (for parents and grandparents). The good guys North Dakota State, who l...

 Woke this morning to a chilly 68 degrees in the fishing camp and 47 out on the porch. First item on the agenda was to close the upper level (sleeping quarters for guests) windows which suck out the warm air during the summer but let too much hot air escape in the fall. Was stymied by the Thursday Sudoku, (I'll try to finish it tomorrow), shot the bow (quite well thank you), ate a sandwich and sat down to watch our granddaughter's volleyball game (at 12:30 on a Thursday). When they won in three I left to go try to catch some Delaware River trout. It was the first day of a high pressure system with cool temps, bright sun and a bone chilling (for me) wind out of the north. Fishermen, trout and even bugs don't like it. At 3:30 I was in the water on yet another pool (my seventh) on the UEB in the past ten days. Most have had bugs and at least a few rising fish. Today I had to add an adjective (very) to the number of fish. It was hard to tell about the number of bugs because of ...

  After overdoing it with the bow yesterday I decided to take today off (pitchers get 3 or 4 days off between starts, don't they?), tie a few of the brown caddis that were clinging to my waders last night, polish off the Monday and Tuesday crosswords and set out early to try to find some fish. Departed about 1:30, in a rain shower no less, and drove up to Deposit, not to fish in the mess created by Oquaga, that was once again belching mud, but to get a look at Dave's new boot. Thought it strange he only got one, but with people in the shop, I didn't want to ask personal questions. Left the shop  before two and drove east (the rain was mostly all west of Hancock). Stopped at a pool on the lower BK where the fish have now skunked me three times in a row. Never even got a fish to come up and refuse my offering. From there I went all the way over to the Willow where I saw nary a fly, a rise or a fisherman at the world famous Hazel Bridge pool. Journeyed slowly back along the Bk...

Those of you who have never been confronted by an angry landowner probably thought I'd nodded off to sleep again when writing the title to yesterday's page. The landowners and fishermen among us who have been confronted, know that "I've been fishing this pool for----" is one of the worst defenses a trespasser can make in justifying his presence on someone else's land. Repetitive transgressions do not cleanse the soul. You were lucky, apologize, and get the hell off the land owner's property. I've twice had the good fortune to have a landowner who was kicking me off his property become a river friend who not only let me fish but made me feel welcome doing so. Today was, hopefully, the last day of above average temps until November. The rivers have been slowly dropping from the three most recent rain events and with normal (or even slightly below normal) daytime temps predicted, we will be able to fish anywhere we want. Actually had a little spring in my...

  Had a long list of items to pick up at BJ's this morning as the Lordville Estate larder was empty. Got everything I needed. The only disappointment was the selection of the $4.99 roasted chickens. At 9:30 the first batch had been picked over. There were only four left and the skin had broken open on three of them. This dries out the meat and I never like taking them. The last bird was a little small but the skin was intact, in the basket he went and I was on my way. Drove through a fine mist that had me thinking about a couple great days this summer. Unfortunately, just before Deposit the clouds parted and everyone else was  served up a beautiful afternoon. Me? I decided to get the lawn mowed. Left camp a little before 4:00, hopeful that the olives I met on the UEB last week would be hatching and they were. Saw between ten and fifteen seemingly good fish gulping the olives one after another in a slow water pool. Put on the gear, waded out to within casting range and every fi...

 Sitting home today watching an all day drizzle that hopefully produces olives and feeding fish for all those on the river. Was surprised to see that it's been three weeks since the last WK&TL page. Even more surprised that there were next to no questions during those three weeks. Hopefully last week was the nadir of my season, if the rivers aren't blown out, the predicted cooler weather will perk up the fishing. The olives have been hatching in the coldest water and fish have been on them - albeit carefully and only just before dark.  Dennis, Perfect Manhattans come in two flavors rye and bourbon. Personally I agree with your good wife and use rye in mine, no bitters thanks, and just a lemon twist (skip the cherry please). Andy thanks for the tip on the catchup at Wendy's but I couldn't reach it from the car window, thought I would find it in the bag. The mysterious "Black Boat" added some intrigue to the comments section, Scarlet Pimpernel indeed. Quite ...

The fireworks display that pushed through yesterday dropped the air temp from 90 to70 but it didn't change the humidity. It got to the mid eighties today and I got soaked taking 24 shots with the bow. Watched the one o'clock volleyball game (3 -0) for the good guys and then got in the car and took a  tour. The east side got hit hardest by yesterday's rain so I went to Deposit and drove along the WB from Stilesville down to the Men's Club. At 5:30 there were no bugs and I saw but one rise. Got on 97 and made the short drive over to East Branch. The BK was far too high to fish and with the second volleyball game scheduled to start at 8:00, I didn't want to drive all the way over to the Willow. Headed up rte.30, stopped at a pull-off, walked along the river and heard rises before I saw 'em. Unfortunately there was a fisherman who had seen them before me and was wading up to them. Next stop was at one of the better trico spots on the UEB. There were no cars parked s...

Call me a coward if you will, but I've been too close to too many lightning bolts this year. Got my waders on and heard the rumbles, the sky turned purple and I headed back to the fishing camp. It's six thirty and black as the inside of a cow's belly. Lightning is lighting up the sky south of the camp and Equinunk Creek has turned the far side of the river muddy. I'm done for the night and with thunderstorms scheduled for the foreseeable future, I'm not very hopeful. Check the flows before you go.  

Want you to know that before starting this, I poured myself a PM and I just might have added a touch more rye. It's been a tough day.  After yesterdays morning venture I never gave a thought to am trip. Spent a couple of hours cutting back the garden and pruning branches the deer have broken on the peach trees. The button buck followed me everywhere I went hoping for a handout. Yesterday I cut back the tomato plants that the deer have been eating through the fence. Walked over to the button buck and his mom and laid the pruning's out on the ground. Both deer gave them a sniff and walked away? Was soaking wet so I went in and took a shower.  Messed up a Wednesday Sudoku two times, vacuumed (how many people know there are two u's? I typed  two c's and then two m's before throwing in the towel and using spell check),  (I'm saving the toilet cleaning for tomorrow), finished both crosswords (except for a couple of foreign words and a violinist's first name) and w...

  With hot sun and temps a good fifteen degrees above normal, it's a good time to ask your wife what she wants done around the house. There is no meaningful relief in sight until the weekend and with the cooling comes thunderstorms that may well put the rivers up again. The heat on my back, shooting the bow, was blistering, but only the BR went over 70 degrees. With the sun lower in the sky the time the sun is on the water is reduced, but the nights are warm and the water temps are creeping up daily. Tried the BR in the dissipating fog this morning. There were good sized olive spinners in the air and tiny olives hatching. If there was a fish in the river he had his head under a rock. Never saw a rise to my fly or to anything else. Forty-five minutes was enough to let me know I was just wasting time. With the hot sun there was no need to rush back to the river. Vicky kindly scheduled me for a hair cut at 5:00 and my plan was to hang around Deposit until 7:00 and fish what was a very...

  Drove out to Dayton Ohio to watch our granddaughter play three volleyball games against teams from different conferences. There are about 30 division one conferences and there is a pecking order among them. All three opponents were in conferences higher in the food chain. How do I know? By the height of the hitters and middle blockers. Our granddaughters team sends three six footers out on the court. Two of the teams had at least two players between 6' 4" and 6' 6". They played well and won a five set match and lost two matches that went four sets. Jack, there were maybe 900 (no comma and two missing zeros short of Nebraska's crowd) in attendance. Spending time with our daughter, her husband and our granddaughter was priceless. The drive out and back totaled a little under 1,200 miles. Arrived at the Lordville Estate Saturday night about ten and we were making peach jam (21 jars) by 1:30 Sunday. Then to prove we weren't quitters (or maybe how stupid we are) ...

 The unrelenting rains that have created high water conditions and restricted wading opportunities are reminiscent of 2018 and 2021. The eastern half of the system and the BR are once again blown out leaving the WB as the only viable fishing. Jean and I will be leaving early Thursday morning for Dayton Ohio to watch our granddaughter play in a three match tournament (her team won all three matches this past weekend out in Idaho). The lack of rising fish, absence of bugs and the high water will take my mind off the fishing and I will be looking forward to watching Logan play in person. We will be returning late Saturday with peach canning scheduled for Sunday. Hopefully by Monday there will be options for where to fish. Had to chuckle a little bit in reading Jim D's question. I'm old, and while I may well have "lost my religion" years ago, my reference was to Jimmy Clanton's 1956 hit "Just a Dream". Even ED Smith our music expert who seldom, if ever, miss...

 Was last Thursday, with olives from 1:30, 'til dark, and big fish up and eating everything, just a dream or was Friday's one fish effort a nightmare? Had to wait four days and I still don't know. Left Lafayette at 9:00 this morning. Had a pleasant ride down until about five miles west of Deposit I came up behind two small trucks equipped with yellow flashers blocking both lanes and moving along at 15mph. By the first Deposit exit there were dozens of trucks and cars in the parade. Exited, drove through Deposit and got back on 17 at the second Deposit on ramp. Had an empty road all the way to Hancock. Arrived at the Lordville Estate slightly behind schedule and set to work making the bed with clean sheets, (Jean's arriving tomorrow), put away food and clothes, mowed the lawn and at 3:00, set out to fish. At 4:00 I still hadn't seen a single rise.  The fishing - Fished four places, two on the BK, one on the WB, and one on the BR. In four hours of fishing I never saw ...

  On the Delaware system you are often brought back down to earth quickly. Went from my best day of the year to narrowly escaping another skunking. Woke this morning sure nothing could derail me. There was the same misty rain as yesterday. Went in to the bench and tied more olives. It wasn't until noon that I looked at the stream flows and realized that most all of the freestone fishing had been taken off the table. The BR was out, as was most of the BK and EB.  Didn't even venture out until 3:30. Fished a spot on the EB where I could at least get off shore and rose four fish in two hours. One refused (3Xs), one ate just as I was picking up my cast (he got a souvenir), two others ate and I landed one of them, an eleven inch rainbow that was THE fish of the day in more ways than one. Stopped for an hour on a slow water pool on the BK where I couldn't get more than twenty feet off shore. On my second iso cast I rose the Titanic. He had no intention of eating the fly but boy w...

 On August 10th the blog title was  "The Next Day They Say Chance Of Showers, Be There". Were you today? 'Cause if you came and you brought your olives, ignored the call of the "Sulfur Zone", and fished the freestones you should have a big smile on your face while drinking your celebratory beverage. I sure do. The fishing - It just had to be good and it was. Started at 1:30 and there were a few olives and a like number of rising fish in a light drizzle. By three thirty, on my third stop, there were enough olives along with a few isos to get more fish feeding. On my last stop at 6:15, I walked into water covered with olives and rising fish that were eager to eat anything put before them.   Before the last stop I had had a good day. Landed a 21.75 inch brown along with a nice mix of browns and rainbows. There were not a lot of fish up, but if you saw a rise and made a good cast, the fish ate. From 6:15 'til 8:15 you wondered where all the fish came from. If yo...

 With the meeting of the associate editors of the Angler 119 fishing reports scheduled for 4:oo pm at the Troutfitter Inn, I decided that the sulfur hatch in Deposit would be the best place for the afternoon fishing. Went out on the town bridge at 1:30 and there were both bugs and risers. Suited up and enjoyed about twenty minutes of fishing to rising fish. Spent the next hour and a half blind casting a caddis below barking dog. At three I reeled it in and drove back to the Troutfitter to await the meeting. Not to lavish too much high praise on mere associate editors, but considering the fishing, the meeting was the high point of the day. We caught more fish sitting under the pavilion than the combined group put into their nets in the afternoon fishing. The meeting adjourned about 6:15 which left me with plenty of time for another a--  kicking , this time on the BR, which was still two or three hundred cfs too high for my liking. The few bugs that hatched didn't come until alm...

No, I'm not talking about after birth care or even getting rid of cable TV. I drove up to Deposit early this afternoon and just couldn't do it. There were sulfurs hatching and some fish rising in a brisk wind. There were lots of anglers, all of them casting sulfurs at fish that were wishing the damn hatch was over. So was I. Turned the car around and headed east. The fishing - In a word, delightful. The BK was, at 675cfs, a bit higher than I'd like, but it was algae free, not slippery, and clear. Descended a newly installed set of stairs, walked down a mowed path to the river where I rose eight fish (mostly yearlings), was refused by five of them and landed a young brown and rainbow. The stairs were nice, but someone just maybe is fishing the pool. At my second stop I had to hunt for the trail, remove a long multiflora rose runner from the path, pick up several downed limbs and plow through the knotweed just to get to the river. Noticed some waxwings flying over a riff two ...

 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...

 Drove down late this morning in horrific traffic. People out for a Sunday drive (60/65 mph), college students heading back to school (75/80mph and texting, without parents), with parents (70/75), semi's pissed at the traffic and at being on the road on Sunday (77/80mph,), State Police (no where to be seen). Everyone rude and inconsiderate, cutting in and out, tailgating, flashing lights, drifting from lane to lane (texting), afraid to pass semis and campers, going around the turn at Binghamton at 40mph (a miracle no one was hit in the rear). Stopped at the Troutfitter in Deposit and chatted briefly with Andy D. who was giving David a day off. Drove down to the barking dog boat launch, stopping along the way to chat with a couple Troutfitter regulars neither of whom had seen rising fish. Then drove on down to the Lordville estate to unload and regroup. Hadn't seen a fish rise on my recon drive and was in no hurry to get back to the madness that was rte. 17 (in both directions)....

 Am sitting home watching the water levels SLOWLY recede. With three serious rain events in less than a week the ground is saturated and the tribs are going to be slow to recede. In addition the reservoirs are now at an above average level and the releases have been increased. I believe the releases are supposed to be cut back on September first but I don't have the FFMP plan here at home to check. With all the warm rain water it's hard to tell, but I believe the temp of the release from Cannonsville has been creeping up which would indicate that the cold water beneath the thermocline is about used up. If so, the sulfur hatch may soon be at an end. Frank wants to know about my reject flies. They are lasting proof of my ineptitude as a tyer. Once in a while I sort through them for ideas. Surprisingly some evoke pleasant memories of days gone by. Taylor - Right now I'm tying only duns and they don't work. Ed J. - Positioning yourself in the stream is often overlooked as a...

  The entire Delaware river system is high and most of it is not wadeable ( why is fishable ok and wadeable redlined?). Back to back rainstorms will do that to a river. Just to make it worse the east side of the system got another little squirt of water yesterday which was enough to set back its return to wader friendly levels. The high water has resulted in every wade fisherman trying to cram into the WB between Oquaga Creek and Stilesville.  We've all been there since mid-June and I for one am ready to fish elsewhere. With relatively good water temps the entire system is fishable, if only the water levels would drop. Today I broke one of my cardinal rules by fishing the same pool twice in the same week. Actually I fished it two days in a row and the results were predictable. Wednesday I hooked seven good fish and today I hooked but three. Instead of coming up and eating or refusing my fly many of the fish started up and turned away a good six inches to a foot below the fly. ...