Changes, Keep On Changing And The Good Old Days They Say They're Gone - - -

 

I was unable to find a fishable hatch in the Sulfur Zone. A drive by of the red barn at 1:30 and a later stop at 4:00 both failed to show plentiful bugs or rising fish, (anyone who was there feel free to fill in the missing hours). The Sulfur Zone hatch below Oquaga appears to be over, never saw a bug or a rise. Encouraged by the water levels this morning I once again made a mid-day stop at the gamelands and saw neither bugs nor fish.

With all but the BR now at fishable levels, I took a drive over to the BK and EB, a fools errand if ever there was one. The water levels are OK, but the water clarity is suitable for streamer fishing only. Never saw a bug or a rise. Returned to the WB about 4:00 and fished the Sulfur Zone until 6:00. There were very few fishermen, bugs, or risers, but enough fish ate my flies to make it a worthwhile stop. 

At 6:30 I  reeled it in and drove down to the lower WB. Be careful - the Hale Eddy river flow is misleading, because all of the tribs are still pouring water into the river, the flow down river from the gauge is quite a bit higher than you would expect. The same is true of course for all the rivers. Decided to try a run that I hadn't fished since Hendrickson time. It's a fairly long walk, (you add a hundred yards to a walk for each decade you are over 50), and when I rounded the bend to where I planned on fishing, there was a boat anchored up with a guy throwing beautiful long casts at a multitude of rising fish. Trudged on upstream until I found rising fish I could reach, there were good olives hatching, (the kind you can see), but it's not an easy place to wade and there was quite a bit of current. I could reach some of the fish, there were refusals, but there were also takes, and the fish that made it into the net rounded out the catch of a challenging day.

If you are coming, know that you will earn every fish you catch. A sulfur hatch is no longer guaranteed, and even if it is, catching "sulfur proof fish" is a real challenge. If you are willing to stay on the river until 8:30 you will see rising fish that you have a realistic chance of catching. If you get an overcast day with a little drizzle, you won the lottery. 

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