And the Thunder Rolled.

 

I've said many times that the Delaware River System is home to many of  the best fly fishermen. It only makes sense. If you fish here and want to consistently catch fish, you have to become a student of the game, constantly trying to improve your skills in every aspect of the sport. Because so many anglers have bailed on what has been a difficult month of fishing, I've run into several of the good ones this week. How do I know? Somehow you can just tell. You meet them walking out a little known trail in the pitch dark. They still wear a fishing vest and it's dirty and worn with a fly patch covered with flies. Their car is parked in a spot you thought only you knew about. You won't see them crowding into a heavily fished "A" pool, during the hatch, but you might see them there late in the evening when most sane people are enjoying dinner. Chatted with three of them this week. They all acknowledged that the fishing has been difficult, but I'm sure that none of them has given a thought to taking up golf.

The fishing - Set out at 12:30 with a plan to fish the "17" pool during the sulfur hatch. It's a long walk for us waders and I don't do it but once or twice a year. It's going to be once this year. When I got back to the car at 2:30, I hadn't seen a rise except for the refusal to one of my blind casts. There weren't enough sulfurs hatching to fill the stomach of a seven inch brown. Got in the car and drove upstream in something of a dark mood. Saw virtually no one on the river (waders or boaters). Was ready to head back the the Lordville Estate for what has become the high point of the day, "the nap", when I decided to try one of the empty "A" pools. Had to wade upstream a couple hundred yards to get to it but saw rises before I even got there. For almost an hour I threw at fish eating in what I would call a good sulfur hatch (first one I've seen this year). Got a rise on almost every cast. Not the big fish, didn't see any of those, but one, two and three year old fish. You would need an abacus to count how many times I was refused. Caught half a dozen yearlings and one twelve inch rainbow, which I kissed in gratitude. At 4:30 I was on my way back to camp for that nap.

At 7:00, after seeing that the radar showed no rain closer than Scranton, I headed for Deposit only to find everything soaked from a recent downpour and the river shrouded in fog. Drove back downstream until I got out of the fog and went fishing. It was probably close to eight when I started and there were both rising fish, and lightning all around me. The hills up by Deposit disappeared in the rain, lightning flashed from cloud to cloud with occasional shots aimed at wrongdoers on the ground. Never got rained on, stood my ground and cast at rising fish, sometimes in gusty wind and sometimes in dead calm. There were both little olives and sulfurs on the water and enough fish feeding to give me targets. Bull's eyes got eaten which was a refreshing change from the afternoon. Most of the fish were two and three year old's with a 19 inch male being far and away the fish of the day.

To be frank, the afternoon fishing has been difficult to the extreme. The number of correct choices that the fish made this afternoon was amazing. If you want a realistic chance of catching fish you have to fish from 8:00 till dark. Was back at the car with the path lit by my flashlight and the lightning at 9:29.

UPDATE - Checked the flows this morning at 6:30 and both the EB and WB got blown out by storms during the night. They are both dropping fast but, judging by the photo of the WB, are a sea of mud. Best to wait a day and watch the stream flows before making the drive. If you are here already, check the WB above Oquaga, or take a ride over and fish the Willow or BK which were spared the worst of the storms. Just check water temps as both have been in the 70's for the past couple weeks.