Monday morning gave me no warning of what was to be.

 

With a list of half a dozen items to cross off before departure, I was up early. Spooked "our fawn" who was walking around in the front yard at 5:30. An hour later Mom was in the back yard looking for him. Yesterday the doe walked by the kitchen window on her way to nurse the fawn. Each year the does make a reasoned decision to bring their new born fawns right up close to houses recognizing that humans are less of a threat than coyotes and bears. We have a fawn in our yard almost every spring. Usually I have at least one here at the Lordville Estate but the houses on both sides of me are occupied this year and each owner has a dog. The does know. No fawns being nursed in the yard this year.

Having read last weeks comments and noted water temps and the predicted weather forecast, I felt the best place to fish this afternoon was on the WB. Did a drive around and found fewer boat trailers down river than the last two weeks, nine cars parked at the Hale Eddy bridge (it wasn't a fishing class), and the game land lots full of cars on both sides of the road. Clearly the Sulfur's were moving upstream. Girded my loins and waded in. From 3:30 until 5:30 I saw a very sparse hatch of sulfurs, even fewer rising fish, wade anglers everywhere and enough boats to - -  never mind. No one crowded me or spooked the fish I was fishing to, and I was able to make a 60 foot cast almost anytime I wanted. So how did I do? Hooked and landed the seven inch brown that rose downstream from me, Foul hooked and lost the twelve inch rainbow that dared refuse my fly, and was humiliated by at least a half dozen other fish that refused my offerings.

Was in the EB at 6:00 and out at 7:20. Water temp 69 degrees, some fish rising (chasing something in the water column), rose three fish, refused by the first, landed a 12 inch rainbow and hooked and lost a really nice rainbow.

Drove down to the BR not knowing if there would be room to even fish, there was, however, there were no bugs whatsoever. Blind casted my way down a couple hundred yards of river hooking three big rainbows (lost the first two) and then landed an 18.5 incher. It was almost dark when another big 'bow ate my iso. While I was fighting him, I saw a good rise in the seam along the downstream side of a rock. Landed the 19.5 incher and made two casts along the seam before hooking what turned out to be a 20 inch rainbow. Didn't mind the walk back up the hill to the car one little bit.

The freestones are clearly circling the drain (BK-70, EB-69, BR- 66 today). Without cloudy days the BK and BE will both be done in the next few days.

Note to Brian - GHOF, Gray haired old friend. BK, Beaverkill. BR, Main Stem.


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