If you get what you ask for, it's best not to complain.

 

Well I got the rainy, drizzly day I been asking for and just maybe I've been asking for the wrong thing. There were almost no bugs or rising fish in any of the three places that I fished. Went out at 1:30 sure the water would be covered with olives. It wasn't. If I had decided that I would drive around until I saw rising fish, I'd probably still be driving.

The fishing - First stop was on the lower WB where, with the cut back in water, I could fish some places that aren't easily reached in higher water. In two hours of fishing I didn't see more than four or five rises other than to my offerings. Landed four fish between 11 and 12 inches and lost two good fish one a brown the other a rainbow. 

Next stop was on the BE where I found a pod of nice fish eating something subsurface. Got two of them to come and turn up their noses at my flies. Was working back up stream to where I could cross when a nice fish came up and slowly porpoised on my olive. Lifted expecting a solid hookup but there was nothing there. Checked the fly and one of the tail fibers was caught in the bend of the hook which is the surest way I know of to get a fish to refuse your fly.

The third stop was selected for me by a fireman who was directing traffic in downtown Hancock. There were lots of sirens and horn honking with people out in the street taking it all in. The fireman gave me one choice - south on 97. So, I headed for Lordville and fished the riff for the last 45 minutes of daylight. Again there were almost no bugs. Was refused by two fish and then got a nice 'bow to eat a straight downstream cast. Landed the fish, dried off my fly and a second fish ate it. Unfortunately he also came unstuck. The rainbow I landed was just over 18 inches and was fish of the day with lots of room to spare. There were probably times years ago when I might have been frustrated losing three good fish. I'm a tad mellower now. For what I had to work with, it turned out to be a good day on the river(s).

 With the cold weather in the forecast you can look for the pseudos to get cranked up again, (water was too warm today). Did see a massive spinner fall of the little buggers floating down the NY bank at Lordville and not a single fish was on 'em?   

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Had To Get Out The Neosporin For The Tooth Cuts On My Index Finger.

  To say the Delaware  is a hard river to figure is an understatement. Yesterday was an overcast day that had fishermen thinking olives. Turned out the water was probably too warm for olives and too cold for sulfurs, in short, a dud. Today the air temp was a little cooler, (I think), with a mix of sun and clouds and the sulfurs, (both yesterdays and todays), hatched. The fish? At least where I was, went nuts, threw caution to the wind, and ate everything that came down their feeding lane, both with and without hooks. Heard from two sources that the sulfur hatch at the red barn was also very good today. If my last report on the red barn sulfurs was erroneous, blame it on Ed who has been in Hawaii for the last two weeks, (hence no reliable red barn reports). The fishing mid-day was so good, and the number of fishermen in the "Zone", (it's Friday afternoon), so high, that I decided to fish down river during the evening hours. Fished a pool in the middle section from 6:30 unt...
Read more

Fishing A Cold Blow From Out Of The North.

  Jean came down and we spent the weekend watching wildlife in the backyard, driving around the area and enjoying two "nights out", one with David and Maryann, (the apprentice Troutfitter Inn cleaning lady). A shout out of thanks to her for spending four hours on the road to have dinner with us. Not sure the company or the meal was worth the drive. We drove up to Stilesville to witness the hordes of anglers, and then along the reservoir all the way up to Walton, where we usually stop and go in some of the shops. It was threatening to rain so we elected to keep going. It was raining on top of the mountains but we took route 206?? to Downsville anyway. We hit the rain part way up the mountain and then drove down the other side to Downsville in a torrential down pour. Came out of the rain at Downsville and drove down route 30 with the intention of checking  out the trout in some of the BK's thermal refuges, saw the muddy water at "Jaws" and drove back to the Lordvi...
Read more

Don't let that that rain come down.

 My South Holston river friend, (one of only two people who will fish with me), (the other is currently on injured reserve), is up for a visit (he brought his boat) and today we floated. There might have been some question about where we chose to float (no one else launched where we did), but we enjoyed the fact that we never saw another fisherman, let alone another boat, on the river all day. The weatherman might well have gilded the lily a bit when he predicted a chance of showers and a high temp of sixty degrees. It rained all day, and the temperature peaked at fifty three degrees. When I read the forecast for the rest of Mark's stay (rain for the next four days) I was thankful that we got in the day that we did today.  How was our day? We sucked it up, paid an extra $5.00 to launch (didn't have the proper change), parked in the wrong place (got a note from the owner where we put in), never made it to the predetermined takeout place, and had a delightful day counting bugs (...
Read more