The Delaware River - A Better Place To Be

 

If  there was ever a day to be on the river, this was it.  The cold front departed, the sun came out, the wind took the day off, the water warmed up, the bugs hatched and the fish ate, all day long! Knew the cold had suppressed the bugs and I wanted to get on the river early. Thought maybe I'd fish between Buckingham and Lordville. When I had seen six boats go by the camp before 12:30, I changed my plans. Found an empty pool above a launch site and fished there from 1:30 until 5:30. Finished up the day casting to sippers in a tailout. Had rising fish the entire day and a really good percentage ate my fly. Unfortunately an altogether too big a percentage avoided the net.

The bugs - Everything hatched, stones, caddis (Chimarra, grannoms and apple), pseudos and Hendricksons. When the hatching slowed down, the spinners made their appearance. 

The fishing - The hooking couldn't have been better. The landing left something to be desired. Started out 1 for 6 and spent the rest of the day trying to get back to 50%. Left flies in three fish (one spin out, one on the strike, and the third was a fish that just broke me off. There was a good mix of both browns and rainbows with over half of the fish I landed over 17 inches.

Wildlife report - There were deer everywhere, standing in the road, along the road, crashing through the dead knotweed along the river. Sadly on the way home there was a doe lying on the yellow line in the middle of rte.97 between Hancock and the Lordville Road turnoff. Her head was up but she couldn't move. Called 911 and they said they would send someone right out. On the way down Lordville Road there was a Tom turkey in full display not 50 feet from the pavement with three hens waiting to be serviced. He must have been gobbling because less than half a mile down the road I encountered a hen that was actually running up the road towards the Tom. She ducked into the ditch and let me pass.

The Hendricksons are hatching, sure, they are a week to ten days early, but if you want to fish them, rearrange your schedule, 'cause they won't rearrange theirs.   

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