Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report

  On the Delaware system you are often brought back down to earth quickly. Went from my best day of the year to narrowly escaping another skunking. Woke this morning sure nothing could derail me. There was the same misty rain as yesterday. Went in to the bench and tied more olives. It wasn't until noon that I looked at the stream flows and realized that most all of the freestone fishing had been taken off the table. The BR was out, as was most of the BK and EB.  Didn't even venture out until 3:30. Fished a spot on the EB where I could at least get off shore and rose four fish in two hours. One refused (3Xs), one ate just as I was picking up my cast (he got a souvenir), two others ate and I landed one of them, an eleven inch rainbow that was THE fish of the day in more ways than one. Stopped for an hour on a slow water pool on the BK where I couldn't get more than twenty feet off shore. On my second iso cast I rose the Titanic. He had no intention of eating the fly but boy w...

 On August 10th the blog title was  "The Next Day They Say Chance Of Showers, Be There". Were you today? 'Cause if you came and you brought your olives, ignored the call of the "Sulfur Zone", and fished the freestones you should have a big smile on your face while drinking your celebratory beverage. I sure do. The fishing - It just had to be good and it was. Started at 1:30 and there were a few olives and a like number of rising fish in a light drizzle. By three thirty, on my third stop, there were enough olives along with a few isos to get more fish feeding. On my last stop at 6:15, I walked into water covered with olives and rising fish that were eager to eat anything put before them.   Before the last stop I had had a good day. Landed a 21.75 inch brown along with a nice mix of browns and rainbows. There were not a lot of fish up, but if you saw a rise and made a good cast, the fish ate. From 6:15 'til 8:15 you wondered where all the fish came from. If yo...

 With the meeting of the associate editors of the Angler 119 fishing reports scheduled for 4:oo pm at the Troutfitter Inn, I decided that the sulfur hatch in Deposit would be the best place for the afternoon fishing. Went out on the town bridge at 1:30 and there were both bugs and risers. Suited up and enjoyed about twenty minutes of fishing to rising fish. Spent the next hour and a half blind casting a caddis below barking dog. At three I reeled it in and drove back to the Troutfitter to await the meeting. Not to lavish too much high praise on mere associate editors, but considering the fishing, the meeting was the high point of the day. We caught more fish sitting under the pavilion than the combined group put into their nets in the afternoon fishing. The meeting adjourned about 6:15 which left me with plenty of time for another a--  kicking , this time on the BR, which was still two or three hundred cfs too high for my liking. The few bugs that hatched didn't come until alm...

No, I'm not talking about after birth care or even getting rid of cable TV. I drove up to Deposit early this afternoon and just couldn't do it. There were sulfurs hatching and some fish rising in a brisk wind. There were lots of anglers, all of them casting sulfurs at fish that were wishing the damn hatch was over. So was I. Turned the car around and headed east. The fishing - In a word, delightful. The BK was, at 675cfs, a bit higher than I'd like, but it was algae free, not slippery, and clear. Descended a newly installed set of stairs, walked down a mowed path to the river where I rose eight fish (mostly yearlings), was refused by five of them and landed a young brown and rainbow. The stairs were nice, but someone just maybe is fishing the pool. At my second stop I had to hunt for the trail, remove a long multiflora rose runner from the path, pick up several downed limbs and plow through the knotweed just to get to the river. Noticed some waxwings flying over a riff two ...

 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...

 Drove down late this morning in horrific traffic. People out for a Sunday drive (60/65 mph), college students heading back to school (75/80mph and texting, without parents), with parents (70/75), semi's pissed at the traffic and at being on the road on Sunday (77/80mph,), State Police (no where to be seen). Everyone rude and inconsiderate, cutting in and out, tailgating, flashing lights, drifting from lane to lane (texting), afraid to pass semis and campers, going around the turn at Binghamton at 40mph (a miracle no one was hit in the rear). Stopped at the Troutfitter in Deposit and chatted briefly with Andy D. who was giving David a day off. Drove down to the barking dog boat launch, stopping along the way to chat with a couple Troutfitter regulars neither of whom had seen rising fish. Then drove on down to the Lordville estate to unload and regroup. Hadn't seen a fish rise on my recon drive and was in no hurry to get back to the madness that was rte. 17 (in both directions)....