Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report

  Those of you on the pay side who sneak a peek at the blog before it's posted on the Troutfitter page were no doubt disappointed last night. I was disappointed too, as I watched Stanford kick a last second field goal to beat Syracuse, in lieu of writing the blog. Took a long walk to a section of the river I haven't fished in several years. Picking a hot sunny day for the trip just wasn't very smart. Was in a lather by the time I got there and sat on a rock out in the stream for a good hour before the first bugs hatched. Got takes from the first three fish that rose. One is wearing a brand spanking new olive that he acquired by streaking downstream and creating enough drag to break my 6x tippet. Landed the other two and thought it was going to be well worth the walk. It wasn't. There were bugs and there were splashy rises of educated fish taking the nymphs on the way up. Didn't get so much as a refusal until, when wading back downstream towards the car, I saw a fish...

  Got half the lawn mowed and tied some flies. It occurred to me while at the bench, that I'll never be a fly tyer, rather I'm a fisherman who uses a lot of flies and they need to be replaced. Have taken my tying stuff down to Florida but somehow just never  sit down and tie a bunch of flies. Guess I need the possibility of immediate gratification to get me tying. Left the fishing camp with no clear plan, wavered before turning left up Lordville Road rather than going over the bridge and up the PA side, hesitated again when I got to 97, then turned left foregoing downriver options. Ended up driving up the EB and fishing one of the places where I first hit the fall isos back in late August. I had only fished about half of the water that time and decided to give it another go. The fishing - Was not at all what I expected. Saw some slashing iso nymph eating rises and several quick but delicate sips. There was no question there were fish, and they were feeding, but on what? My iso...

  Finally have something a little different to talk about. Started out at 3:00 with a place I was intending to fish clearly in mind. Pulled into the parking area and there was a guy with his waders on fussing with his equipment in the back of his vehicle. Asked him if he was coming or going? Said he was done, and that he had done very well with the rainbows on little olives and big isos. Told him he beat me to it by a few hours and headed for another spot. When I got streamside I was treated to the sight of isos in the air and rising fish. Not a lot of isos but enough that you could mark a rising fish, move close enough to make a cast and wait until he rose again before casting. Again, no yearlings, just big fish. Lost three of the first four I hooked, then landed five in a row before losing the last fish. Was back to the car just before six. Last evening I saw lots of bugs but almost no rising fish. Tonight I found a place where there were plenty of both bugs and rising fish. Most...

  Thankfully both last night and today turned out to be cooler than what was forecasted. It got into the forty's last night and I took full advantage of the cooler temp this morning to do some heavy duty yard work. Rested up mid-day, tied a half dozen flies, and at three-thirty I set out for the days fishing. For the past two weeks the fishing has fallen into a routine that for me, is what fishing is all about. I've avoided both the Willow and the Bk because they have been too low and warm. I've avoided the WB because it's now pulling silt out of the reservoir along with the algae and there has been a dearth of bugs and risers there.  So where have I fished? My time has been divided between the the EB and the BR. I've chosen a new place every day, except for my return to a spot on the EB two days in a row just to prove a point. Some of the places I hadn't fished this year, one I hadn't fished since before covid, the rest I visited in the spring before things...

  Today was another in a seemingly endless string of beautiful fall days, (unless you are a fisherman). Checked the weather forecast and those two rainy days I was so looking forward to, have now been replaced by two more orange suns smiling at me from my lap top. Have a number of unfinished to-do list items waiting for cooler temps, but the way things are going, it seems I'll have to do them in 80 degree heat.  The Beaverkill went a little above 71 degrees today after topping out just above 70 the last two days. Thankfully with the big 600cfs release of 42 degree water from Pepacton the rest of the system is in good shape. The fishing - Left the fishing camp at about 3:30 and went to a place on the BE that I haven't fished since May. There were fish there and they were feeding, but someone had obviously reminded them that some flies have hooks in them. Saw a rise, waded into casting range and on the first business cast, a nice fish ate the fly and ten seconds later came unstu...