There just aren't enough pockets in a fishing vest to be ready for a day like today.

 

My plans for an early start this morning went out the window when dawn didn't crack for me until  8:30. Was on the road by 9:45 and had light traffic all the way down, arriving at 11:50. Decided to mow the lawn before lunch and was done and ready for lunch by 1:15. Drove up to Deposit and was casting at rising fish by 2:00. Fished from then until 6:00. Had rising fish the entire time. Feeling a bit tired but hopeful of a couple hours of good freestone fishing, I drove over to the EB and once again fished to rising fish for another two and a half hours.

The bugs - If there is anywhere else you can do what I did today, I don't know about it. Had apple caddis and the little Hendricksons in Deposit. Quite a few caddis and enough Hendricksons to get the fish up and eating them. In the evening I was treated to a plethora of bugs, march browns, gray foxes, isos, caddis, sulfurs, and yes, green drakes (both duns and coffin flies). The entire array of "big bugs" was present somewhere on the Delaware River System today. Of course I might have done better if I hadn't left the drake duns and coffin flies back at the Lordville Estate.

The fishing - For sure I upped my game during the four hours spent on the WB. Couldn't get a look at first. Added more tippet, worked on better presentations, sorted out flies and fished only the ones that got looks. As time went by I got more refusals and more takes, lost the only two big fish I hooked, landed five or six yearlings about 6/7 inches long and five counters (all between 11 and 16 inches). The evening effort was hampered somewhat by the flies I didn't have with me and my inability to land rainbows. Hooked more fish in the evening and did land a 17.5 inch rainbow among those that made it to the net.

Just say 'in, watch out for the yearling deer, Mom's booted them out and is busy keeping the fawns safe from bears and coyotes. Counted five dead yearlings on the way down and had two live ones cross right in front of me this morning on Lordville Road.  

Comments

  1. John HMay 28, 2023 at 10:14 AM

    Thank you, great report! We’ve been here since Wednesday afternoon. Fished the BE and BR mostly, with a smattering of the WB thrown in. Seen all the bugs you are seeing plus one more), caught some fish but no monsters and all of the well earned.

    Re: the other bug, early this morning golden stones started hatching and the fish were in them. Even the geese were in them, they were walking on the rocks next the bridge abutment picking them off the concrete. First for me on that one.

    It truly is a special place!.

    ReplyDelete

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