Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report

  I've said most of this before, but year after year questions come up about which fly or pattern works best. There are several things I know for sure that will help you catch more fish. 1- If an angler catches a fish on a particular pattern he gains confidence in it, fishes it more and will probably catch additional fish with it. But seldom will he fool more than a couple fish a day. 2- If you fish with any fly (Royal Coachman, Cow Dung, Wickhams Fancy, Adams, etc.,etc., long enough, you will catch a fish with it. How many fish ate your yarn strike indicator back before everyone on the river switched to using orange ping pong balls as their strike indicators? 3- Fish know what the real fly looks like, and fish in the WB look closely at every fly they eat.  4- The closer your fly resembles the flies the fish are feeding on, the more fish will come up and look at it. Many will refuse it, but with good presentations you should catch fish on a regular basis. 5- Fish never miss a ...

  Home watching grandson's lacrosse team advance to state final with a convincing win. Ride home was in light traffic on an interstate strewn with yearling deer carcasses, sad. Dr.'s appointment went well and he scheduled me for my next appointment in six months so I guess I can buy green bananas. Dennis asked about the wisdom of making long distance casts. Since we are both archery hunters, I'll try to use that as an example. I'm a lousy shot, so I set up my stands where I can reasonably expect a shot at twenty yards. I have never killed a deer with a shot of over 30 yards. Good archers are comfortable shooting at greater distances but the longer the shot the greater the chance of a miss or worse yet wounding a deer. In fly fishing the same rules apply but with less severe consequences. The longer the cast the more variables that prevent you from getting a drag free float down the fish's feeding lane (wind, current and casting skill among others). On the plus side,...

  Today was a replay of yesterday with mostly minor changes. The red line on the porch thermometer was just below the black 40 line at 6:15 this morning. The temp hung at 54 until after noon when it crept up to 58. There were clouds instead of the heavy smoke although the "air quality alert" will be in effect until midnight tonight.  Instead of taking a recon drive, I sat down at the bench and replaced a bunch of chewed up flies.  The first boat arrived in the Lordville riff about 2:00. They sat without casting for almost an hour and then moved on. I wanted to fish somewhere below Buckingham so I decided to drive up to the boat launch and see how many boats were heading down to Long Eddy. Stopped on the Lordville bridge as a second boat was anchoring in the riff and then drove up to the launch site where four trailers were in line for a shuttle to Long Eddy. Now uncertain about my destination, I drove up rte. 191 towards Hancock. Stockport had too many trailers to begin t...

  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 fishi...

  A strange day to be on the river for sure. The smoke from the Canadian fires seemed to get denser and denser as the day wore on. Have now watched the sun turn into a glowing orange ball in the sky at 6:00 pm the last two nights. If I weren't a fisherman I would hope for a south wind to get rid of the smoke, but I have no desire to have bright sunshine and 90 degree days wipe out what's left of our freestone fishing. This morning I fished a place on the EB hoping for another day of cornutas, it wasn't to be. There were lots of boiling rises (the early stage of a cornuta hatch) but I didn't see a single cornuta dun hatch. Not to worry, there were cornuta spinners over the riff, but when the spinners fell (there were a good number of them) the fish paid them no mind and kept right on boiling. Finally saw a couple of tiny flies emerge from the boils but was never able to catch one for a closer look. When the feeding stopped I was able to get a few fish to look at the flie...

  With the cooler weather seemingly locked in for the next week, anglers are provided with a window of opportunity to fish the freestones before they shut down for the summer. The WB has been pounded by both boats and wade fishermen since before the first Hendrickson hatched and the "Sulfur Zone" will only get worse as the Invaria and Dorthea set up residence there. Believe me when I say you will find much easier fish to catch if you can kick the WB habit. The seasons are progressing. The deer have shed their moth eaten winter coats and are now a bright orangey red color. Have yet to see fawn. Last Thursday I watched what I believe to be two yearling does walk through the back yard. One was slim and trim, the other bulging out on both sides. Mom obviously didn't give her "the talk". There have been young geese for several weeks, amazing how fast they grow. Saw my first hatchling mergansers last Thursday, a combined brood with two moms last night, and three separ...

With the heat wave broken and my Dr.s appointment on Friday rather than Tuesday it was a sure bet I would head back down today. The volleyball granddaughter is on a ten day tour of Europe with her North Dakota State team and there was a game scheduled today at 11:00 e.s.t. Someone is recording the games and sending them back across the pond via facebook, except todays match never appeared. Watched grandson #4's (by age) team advance to the semifinals in the state high school lacrosse tournament on Saturday, took care of chores and got a hug and a kiss from Jean and departed for the Lordville Estate around 1:00 today. At 80, the slower life of downtown Lordville suits me just fine (we do have a stop sign at "the" intersection, which both the deer and second homers ignore). Unpacked, watered the orchids and my fenced in garden (one rhubarb plant, four pepper plants, and three tomato plants), put away the food Jean prepared, swore when I realized there were two (so far) item...