Fishing that was worth waiting for!

 

With the temperature at 41 degrees on the back porch this morning, I threw a couple logs on the fire and worked on the crosswords. The forest fires up in Canada may trigger the next ice age (you heard it here first). The smoke from the fires has taken the heat from the sun except from noon until two when the sun is penetrating the thinnest layer of smoke. Temp never got above 54 until then, rocketed up to 64, and then slowly sank back down into the 50's. 

Got tired of trying to back fill actresses and French words and went for a drive. With the car thermometer never budging off 54, I drove up rte. 30 for the first time in over a month. Saw very few fishermen, no risers, four eagles, and my first fawns of the year. Nap time couldn't come soon enough. Called my GHOF who was dutifully up, out, and fishing to rising fish. Returned to the fishing camp and found myself more than willing to close my eyes for a bit (quite a bit actually). When I came to it was almost 5:00!

The fishing - This is a test. If it's overcast (smokey) and cold, what happens on the river? THE OLIVES HATCH !!! And did they ever.  Guess who forgotaboutit? A-119. With no enthusiasm whatsoever I waded into the Lordville riff and lo, there was wind, olives, and rising fish everywhere, there was also another angler who waded out from the other side while I was gearing up. When I got in the water he had a fish on. For the next two hours we both had fish on (he did go back to the car and get his dry fly rod). When it happens, there are fish every where. You can pat yourself on the back for being in the right place at the right time, but really - it's mostly bullshit luck.     


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

All my life's a circle.

  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 and f
Read more

IT'S GOOD TO BE BACK HOME AGAIN!

 It's Wednesday night, a fire is going in the fire place, an empty Perfect Manhattan glass is washed and back up on the shelf, 30 shrimp netted from Zane Gray Creek ((did you know that Zane Gray (famous fly fisherman and writer of westerns) was a dentist and that his office is now a museum that you can visit on the Delaware River?)), have been consumed by Jean and me, prior to the three pieces of venison backstrap that traveled from home to Florida and back, an early spring snowstorm is raging outside and most importantly, we're glad to be back home again! With that season opening sentence, Mrs. Haskins has no doubt thrown in the towel and disavowed all responsibility for my literary malfunctions. Run on sentences she could handle, but my never before attempted "double aside" was apparently beyond the pall. I sent her a "Go Duke" banner with apologies and hopefully she will cool off before the fishing heats up. Our trip back home was uneventful. Started at 2
Read more

A rational explanation escapes me.

 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
Read more