Angler 119's Delaware River Fishing Report

  Walked out on the back porch at 6:30 this morning and the thermometer said it was fifty degrees. Last week I saw a doe about half a mile up Lordville road that was already the dark color they get when the winter coat first shows. This morning she was in the yard looking for apples with several of the locals. She's almost three weeks ahead of schedule and the only deer around here that has shown any color change. The 50 degree temperature was a welcome sight. It gave me time for a leisurely breakfast and a chat with Jean before heading out to trico fish. During our conversation, Jean mentioned that the wind was blowing at the house. I told her there wasn't a leaf moving here. The fishing - Arrived at 9:30 with the car telling me it was 63 degrees. Crossed the stream and there were a few tricos on the water and lots in the air. Got to the pool where I wanted to fish and there were risers everywhere. Have fished the pool twice before, (two weeks ago), and it has probably been fi...

  Enjoyed a weekend at home with Jean that included a quiet 40th anniversary dinner at Dashers Pub in Homer. Ran well water into the trout pond all last week as both the inlet to the pond and our little stream, Rainbow Creek are bone dry. The fish perked up with the cold water and I was able to feed them for the first time this month. While I was watching the feeding trout, a kingfisher flew over the pond. It's the first one I've ever seen there. No doubt it has discovered the fat head minnows in the pond. The heron that fed on the pond trout for at least 10 years is gone, haven't seen him for two years and the trout population has remained constant. Walked down to the pond to feed the fish this morning and ran into three hen turkeys with 7 -10 young. It's the most young turkeys I've seen all year. Arrived at the Lordville Estate about noon after stops to pick up apples, gas, groceries, and a "What's new", chat with Dave at the Troutfitter. Both the te...

  If you are looking for something positive to pin your hopes on, the River Master started calling for increased releases from Cannonsville on Thursday. The releases are required to meet minimum flow requirements at  Montague down in Jersey. Why now? The additional flow is needed because the hydro generation at Wallenpaupack is not operating. When the power plant is shut down the additional water needed to meet minimum flow requirements comes from Cannonsville.  How does this affect the river system? While the additional releases are being made, the DEC will not have to use water from their "bank" to keep the temperature below 75 degrees at Lordville, which is a good thing.  The Wallenpaupack  reservoir is currently down to 1181.57 , (or lower), and no generation is scheduled for the coming week. The target level for September 1st is 1181.00  without substantial rainfall it looks like the increased Cannonsville flow will continue for at least a week and pro...

  It occurred to me today that I've had no problem lately finding empty pools, trailers at put-ins and take-outs, almost none, and wade fishermen can find a shady spot to park their car at almost every parking area. Why? It's been a tough season from the get go. Water in April too low for boats, then too high for wade fishermen in May and June, poor hatches all year, and then a summer of unrelenting bright sunshine and above average temperatures. It seems that many, if not most, anglers have hung up their rods and are either playing golf, shooting their bow, or waiting for the Epstein files to be released.  Today I decided to continue my trip down memory lane, (It started two days ago, I just don't tell you everything), by fishing two places on the UEB I haven't fished in years and one on the BR for the first time this year. Got permission from at a Blue Stone Company exec. to access the river through their back lot but couldn't get through the multiflora roses and ...

  Woke up this morning with the porch thermometer showing a temperature of 69, if I'd had my hearing aids in, I could probably have heard the trico spinners falling. Cancelled the drive over to the UEB and will wait for cooler nighttime temperatures before fishing the tricos again. With the fishing a non starter I sat down and started a new to-do list. First item on the list was mow the grass, (did that yesterday but it's always nice to be able to cross an item off the list right away). By 2:00pm the list was not only finished but a couple of additional items were done and crossed off, and I decided to go fishing. Had quite enough of the WB and it's finicky trout yesterday so I headed east. The UEB had cleared up  and was back down to within 20cfs of where it was before the rain. Drove up route 30 all the way to Downsville. There was one car at "Crusher Pool" and two at Power Line". Had in mind taking the walk through the hayfield, but only if it had been mow...

  With the radar showing much needed rain coming across the state, with an expected time of arrival in Lordville of 1:00pm, I passed on the tricos in favor of mowing the lawn. Waited for the dew to dry and then had at it. Some parts were brown and brittle while others were a good eight inches long and had to be gone over twice. Finished up a little before noon, and was making lunch before I heard the thunder, (it doesn't make as much noise as it used to). Sat out on the porch and listened to the rain on the roof. Two of the big blobs of green on the radar and one small patch of yellow dumped water on the lawn. A big dark green storm with lots of red and yellow slid by just to the south. When the worst of the storms had gone by I drove over to the UEB with the thought of perhaps trying the evening fishing there. The thought was quickly scrubbed when I saw the color of the water. Some of the tribs that flow in from the north were high and muddy and with the release at 150 it doesn...

  Headed out at 8:30 this morning with the intention of fishing the BR up top in the cold water. It was a multipurpose trip. Wanted to see if there was a meaningful trico hatch, and any effect the surge, which was on it's way down the WB, would have on both bugs and fish. Was in the water by 9:00am and fished until 10:30am. The surge arrived about half way through my stay. There were tricos, not enough to garner the attention of the wax wings, in fact I think the couple of dragon flies I saw went away hungry. The surge made its presence known by sending white puffs of foam that had accumulated in eddies downstream. Neither the bugs nor the fish seemed to give a hoot about the the surge. Never saw a rise other than to my fly all morning. Saw a couple of caddis flitting around as well as the aforementioned tricos. There were no other may flies.  The fishing - Was nothing to write home about. Rose four fish, all of them ate my olive, landed a rainbow and two browns all between 11...

  Drove home Friday afternoon to pick up Jean on her return from our daughters in Florida. Picked up my car from the dealer early Saturday morning, (it was a cracked spark plug that was causing the problem). They did an oil change, put in a new set of plugs and presto, the bill came to $640.87. At noon we were on our way back to Lordville to attend a wedding reception, overnighted there, and then drove home Sunday to attend a family barbeque. Had some business to take care of this morning but was back in Lordville a little after noon. Ate lunch, watered the tomatoes, tied some badly needed olives, perhaps closed my eyes for a bit, had an early dinner, and was ready to head out to fish at 6:15.  The fishing - With nary a bug, rising fish, drift boat or angler to be seen, I felt no need to rush into the water to claim "my spot". The PA fish and wildlife people had two vehicles parked at Shehawken and at least six people shocking for fingerlings just up river from the take out, ...

Where to go - Tricos are warm water flies and won't be found in the upper WB or above Shinhopple on the UEB. Look on the WB below the game lands and on the BR down to Stockport. Below Stockport you get into water that is too warm to fish.   When do tricos hatch - The hatch begins in mid to late July and can continue into early fall. The flies hatch daily with the spinner fall occurring over the riffles in early morning as the fog burns off. Most of the spinners fall as the temperature climbs through the sixties. When and where do the fish feed on them - As the spinners hit the water in numbers, the fish will appear in the slow water pools below the riffs, often forming a line of a dozen or more fish slowly moving upstream gulping the trico spinners. How to fish a trico spinner fall - Try to cast downstream to the feeding fish. For a trout to take your fly, it has to be floating drag free and right at a fish. If your fly isn't eaten, slowly retrieve the line and if the fish are...

  It's noon on Friday, wasn't going to fish this morning but I will be heading back to Lafayette this afternoon to pick Jean up at the airport so I decided to give the tricos another try. Yesterdays early spinner fall brought into serious question the Orvis pronouncement that trico spinners fall at 69 degrees. Some of them do for sure but a good many run out of gas earlier in the morning. Arrived streamside at 8:45am today with the car showing it to be 64 degrees. Found tricos on the water and fish rising. How'd I do? Fished about as well as I an capable of fishing. Hooked ten fish, two came unstuck right away, two more were lost during the fight. Landed six fish, five rainbows and one brown. In previous years, my trico fishing was mostly to pods of yearlings, (8 to 10 inchers), with an occasional hatchery holdover and rarely a wild brown to add excitement to the event. This year I'm fishing to adult rainbows, and haven't hooked a juvenile fish. As was the case Tues...

  Woke this morning and looked out at the plum tree branches. Mom, her sister and the two kids were walking around looking for a leaf they might have missed. The branches were as bare as they were last January.   Headed back to the UEB this morning intent on proving that Tuesday wasn't a fluke. Got there almost an hour earlier than Tuesday and Wednesday and with the air temperature still 65 degrees. The tricos were all on the water and the fish were going. Fished the place where it's hard to make good casts. Solved the problem by walking way up stream and crossing over to the other side. In the time it took to get back to where the fish were feeding, they no longer were. From 8:30 until I was back in the car at 10:30, I cast at four trico eaters, put two down and hooked the other two, landing a nice16 inch rainbow. At 3:00 I drove up to Deposit for my hair cut appointment at Vicky's, stopped to chat with David at the Troutfitter, picked up spools of 6x and 7x, a bottle of...

  Headed back to the UEB at 9:00 fully expecting to duplicate yesterdays fish catching bonanza. Picked a riff that required a walk almost three times as long as yesterday's, just knew that the fishing would be at least three times as good. Turns out I'm not well versed in the new, (no longer new), math. The walk was indeed three times as long, but there were only a third as many  tricos and fish. Hooked three fish and lost them all. The third fish was a good one that I had within 20 feet of me before the hook pulled out. Up the hill from where I was fishing is Tom's Cabin where three people were out on the porch enjoying the nice morning. The cabin's been there, it turns out, since the early 1800's. I've long admired it and it's location high above the river and after walking back to the car, I decided to stop and introduce myself and perhaps get a look at both the view and the cabin. Was greeted like an old friend, shown the camp and a video one of them too...

  With a family of skunks following me around after my two one fish days, I got out of bed this morning  resolved to do better. Had breakfast, checked the temperature, (62), and left for the UEB hoping to find tricos. It was 65 when I headed up route 30 past the Sunoco station. Saw a car parked just upstream of the Sunoco station at the "crusher pool" that may or may not have been a fisherman. The only for sure trico fisherman was in the five star spot. Saw neither waxwings nor tricos over the riffs but there were fish rising in a pool I passed up because it's hard to get good drifts over the fish there. The spot I chose came with a decent walk and required faith that when you got there there would be fish rising. There were. It was my first trico trip of the year and to be kind, I didn't start out very well. Added 7x to a long piece of 6x already part of the leader and it just didn't turn over and lay out. When I finally got a fish to eat he effortlessly broke th...

It was an eventful weekend. On Saturday Jean drove down and we took in the Summerfest at the Fly Fishing Museum in Livingston Manor. Watched some of the casting competition, looked at the displays of old fishing rods, reels and miscellaneous other equipment, chatted with a few old friends, and walked through the buildings. It didn't take as long as we thought it would and we decided to head back to Lafayette rather than overnight at the Lordville Estate. Jean is heading to Florida with one of our daughters and granddaughters to visit the other daughter and granddaughter and had last minute things to do before leaving. On Sunday while I was out gathering food for the coming week's trip to Lordville the car, with only 139,000 miles under it's belt, decided to get cantankerous, the engine light came on and it started to vibrate when starting up and when going up hills. I checked the air pressure in the tires, the oil and window washer fluid levels, (the only things I know how ...

  A tip of the fedora to two new contributors to "name that tune". Don K. has proved his worth in the country western genera as well as being able to pick out Harry Chapin lyrics with ease. While Ed S. deserves partial credit for recognizing yesterday's title as an altered line from a 60 year old song, it was Paul M. who was able to name the Pete Seeger classic. Once saw Pete Seeger and Harry Chapin perform together in an auditorium that held about 300 people. Chapin later wrote Old Folkie as a tribute to Seeger. Did a dump run, returned some badly dyed CDC that was more suitable for adorning a Leprechaun on St.  Patty's day than wings on a sulfur, and at 2:30 drove up to Deposit. If "it" happened it was either before I got there or after I left. Very few sulfurs, rising fish, or fishermen. For the record, yesterday I saw by far the best sulfur hatch of the year. Where? In the water coming out of Oquaga Creek that just the day before was 80 degrees. The bugs...

  With the rain scheduled to arrive at 10:00 this morning I got what little yard work I had to do out of the way early and when it did start to rain, just before eleven, I made a sandwich, sat out on the porch and listened to the rain on the porch roof. It rained hard at first but then settled down into a light all day soaker that lawns and gardens were in need of. Gave the olives a chance to get started and at 2:30 drove up the PA side, no bugs at the usual stops along the way up Hancock.  Drove down to the Men's Club and saw but two waders and one pontoon boat in the water. Saw some rising fish by the sewage treatment plant with no one in the water. Suited up and waded in. To my amazement there was now a fisherman with a spinning rod standing waist deep in the water right where the fish had been rising. Out of the corner of my eye I caught movement, it was another fisherman who was charging down the middle of the  river to cut me off from more rising fish just upstream ...

  I've been fascinated watching the gentleman who is in charge of the releases designed to keep the water temp at Lordville under 75 degrees hit the nail on the head two days in a row. The factors that go into the calculations are endless, (EB temperature and water volume, predicted air temperature, hours of sunlight, percentage of cloud cover as well as WB temperature and water volume to name a few). This year he has added a new wrinkle by lowering the WB flow for a few hours before the surge which presumably creates a "credit" to be used when determining the amount of the thermal bank that is being used. If anyone knows his name and email address please let me know, would like to tell him what a great job he is doing. Lets not kid ourselves, today was hotter than a whore's dream. Finished what yard work I had decided to do by 10:00 and was still soaking wet and no it didn't rain. I did the "SZ" yesterday and had no intentions of returning today. When l...

  Yesterday either the surge sent down river to maintain the thermal refuge in the BR stifled the sulfur hatch, or the hatch, (which progresses upstream over time), has just moved past the Hale Eddy area. I fished bugless water. This afternoon I made the decision that it was better to stand in 50 degree water than to sit in the fishing camp listening to one window air conditioner trying to keep up with the job of cooling the fishing camp. Had a nice chat with Lloyd Hornbeck who is unquestionably the king of Cannonsville reservoir, then waded out into the river to cool off.  To my surprise there were waxwings in the air, (always a good sign), sulfurs hatching, and for the first time all year I had some good fish up and feeding on them. Threw at them for over two hours, every cast at a rising fish, exactly three fish, (other than yearlings), came up to my fly. A decent rainbow refused the fly but got in the way of the hook, made one jump and was gone, took the scale off the hook...

Arrived at the Lordville Estate right at noon, had lunch and then went out and mowed the back lawn, (did the two sides and front yard Friday. It's apparent that the tomatoes need a fence around the fence as the deer have been sticking their noses in between the wires and chowing down on the plants. Will deal with that in the am. I like to pat myself on the back when I find myself "in the right place at the right time" on the river. The reality of it is that it's a combination of having almost 35 years figuring things out, being here five days almost every week, and bullshit luck, (I won't try to apportion the %'s). Today, I had ample warning. Fished the same place early in the week three weeks in a row. First week was the "112" inches night which will almost certainly be my best big fish night of the year. The second week it was a bit cooler, the hatch shut off early and I didn't do nearly as well. Today I returned for the last of a three game se...

True to my word, I went out this morning searching for a place to fish that had bugs, fish, and solitude. Selected a spot on the PA side of the BR where the WB water and the EB water haven't mixed yet. I was the only one there. Entered the water at 9:30, in bright sunshine with nary a cloud in the sky. Put on my go to BR fly when no bugs are hatching, ( a medium sized olive), and began casting. After about twenty minutes, the thought that I was just wasting time entered my mind, and then a rainbow came up and ate the olive. After that I was entertained, saw a few fish rise, got one to eat, hooked three more 'bows and three browns. The heart breaker was a big rainbow that ate the fly and took off straight across the stream. With yellow backing starting to go out through the guides the line went slack. Reeled in to find that the tippet had broken, (not a spin out). At 11:30  I was in the car heading back to the Lordville Estate.  Had lunch and passed a good part of the afternoon...

  Got another good night's sleep, (may be ready to play before Caitlin Clark), and tackled the lawn before the heat got serious. That onerous task out of the way, I tied the days quota of flies and wondered what to do next. Fortunately the phone rang and I had to deal with an air conditioner that decided not to work on one of the hottest days of the year. (WE NOW GO LIVE), It's 10:20pm and the phone rings, my first thought, somebody died, but no, it was my long suffering bonefishing partner Mark, who somehow knew that I was just sitting down with my PM getting ready to write the days fishing report, said, he was checking to see if I'd found the Coq De Leon tailing material I'd asked him about, told me he called my GHOF to see how he did on the Missouri and apparently now he doesn't feel as bad about the ass kicking he got, (misery loves company). He also mentioned that I should have Dave forward the picture I allegedly took of one of the fish he caught while up here...

  With another late August like night with a predicted low of around fifty, it was my intention to fish another spot on the BR this morning. It could well be another month before the water temperature affords us the opportunity again. Alas, it didn't happen. The triple play yesterday took more out of me than I expected. Even the groin muscle took pity and let me sleep until six-thirty. Got up, but couldn't find the go. Spent the morning  doing mundane chores and really didn't miss the fishing. At lunch time the thought rolled through my mind, where am I gonna fish the sulfur hatch. The answer came quickly, I'm not! I spent my early years seeking out trout in remote Adirondack Rivers where you seldom saw anyone, and if you did, they became your friends for life, because they shared both a love for trout fishing and for the environs where trout were found. I was younger than they were then, and they are all gone now. The Delaware River, even back in the eighties was a har...

  Todays fishing took on the guise of a three act play, one that ran the the gamut from romance to comedy to tragedy. A-119 was the stand-in for the fisherman who just never showed up. Act I - With the air temperature at dawn 47, and the water temp at Lordville  hitting a low of 64, there was no question about where the understudy would fish. At 9:00am there were two anglers already casting bright green and red bobbers at whatever was residing in the pool. The star would have driven off in a huff, the understudy suited up and fished a pool that is near and dear to his heart. Hooked and lost a rainbow right away and then went an hour without seeing anyone hook a fish. Found some rising fish on the way back to shore, hooked four, ( including one 7 incher), and was refused at the last second by a nice rainbow. The fisherman that exited on the NY side said he had done nothing but the other guy caught three and had several other hits. It gave A-119 a warm feeling just to be able to...

  Arrived at the Lordville Estate right at noon today with plans to fish the afternoon sulfurs, it didn't happen. Spent yesterday afternoon reconstructing the dams and repairing the plumbing that feeds water into the trout and bass ponds in Lafayette. Yesterday the bass pond feeder was dry, the trout pond feeder was a mere trickle. Sometime since last Sunday when I mowed around both ponds and both inlets were working there was a thunderstorm/flash flood that blew out both dams, filled the collection pools with stones and gravel, cut off the water supplies to both ponds, and cut new channels into rainbow creek. The repairs wouldn't have been that big a deal twenty years ago but they were yesterday. Just didn't have the energy to fish this afternoon. Left about 6:00 anxious to make up for lost time. Drove up to Deposit, turned left and went as far as the Men's club. Saw but two splashy risers, Cedar Wax Wings over the water, sulfurs, and no fishermen. Left town and headed...

  Sitting home looking at the fishing reports, couldn't help but notice that since July 1st, the Delaware River Club's fish of the day photos have shown a total of four fish, only one of which contained the notation that it was caught on a dry. DRC has experienced guides and by all accounts do a great job for their clients, the absence of photos is just a commentary on how difficult it now is to catch the Delaware River fish. (In May and early June their page often had half a dozen pictures each day.)   Took the time to sort through the steno and sulfur boxes in my vest. I usually tie a dozen or more flies a week which go into one of those little round boxes in the top pocket of my vest. The more flies that end up in the little round box, the greater the chance of a catastrophe when opening the box. Discarded a surprisingly small number of flies from each box, added the contents of the little round box and am now ready to go. Got a note from the Grammarian, who I'm happy ...

Just so you know, I read and learn from the comments. I have heard of numerous encounters with stripers this year following the two months of high water. Butch's post about someone catching 5 is still unsettling. Hopefully anyone catching one above Callicoon makes sure that it has eaten it's last trout. Congrats to Ed S. who caught two nice fish on sulfurs after taking a bath in sub 50 degree water. My hands would have been shaking so hard I couldn't have tied on a fly.  Max, was encouraged by your report and enjoyed a nice night because of it. If you are still in Sylvan Beach in mid August, drive up to McConnelsville and check out the Ephron hatch. The West Branch of Fish Creek was one of my old haunts and the hatch is incredible. From McConnelsville to Blossvale is quite remote and has some big fish. (Now everyone knows why I can't comment on comments and congratulate successful anglers.) Decided to take in the sulfur hatch on the UEB, left at 1:30, drove up route 30 ...

  It's been three weeks since the groin pull and last night was the first full night's sleep that I've had. It felt great. After yesterdays yard work blitz I decided to concentrate on the back porch. Vacuumed up dead bugs, filled the wood pile and prepared things for the "Home Defense" spray I'll do tomorrow. One spray in the fall and another mid-summer keeps the porch spider free, reduces the spiders inside and keeps the carpenter ants under control. The bugs - I've mentioned before that I usually turn on the three spotlights that light up the back yard when I get home from fishing.  If I don't, the bugs find a way to get onto the porch and are attracted to the slider because of the lights in the kitchen. Sometimes I leave them on all night to see what bugs are hatching on the BR. Except for possibly some tricos, the only bugs to be seen anywhere on the system during daylight hours are the sulfurs and olives in the zone. Last night, within 30 seconds ...

  Got up early today, in part because the ache from the groin pull makes it hard to sleep and in part because I wanted to do the yard work before it got too hot. Had the peach tree remains stacked up under the porch before 8:30, pruned the Holly tree and the two red buds and disposed of the trimmings before ten- thirty, and was on the lawn mower shortly thereafter. Finished up the mowing just before noon, got cleaned up, had lunch, made a couple of calls and it was one-thirty.  Just the right time to drive up to Deposit and fish the afternoon sulfurs, but I just didn't want to do that today. Sat down and tied a half dozen flies, did a crossword puzzle, read the news on the pc, and was lost for something to do. Against my better judgement I got in the car and drove up to Deposit. What did I find?  Up in Stilesville there were Cedar Waxwings, sulfurs, fishermen, (well spaced), and a very few rising fish, spaced much farther apart than the fishermen. Two boats at the Red Bar...

  Spent an hour this morning cutting down the cling peach tree that succumbed from a combination of the harsh winter and the ravages of brown rot. My lack of knowledge about the need to prune full sized peach trees didn't help either. Came in hot and sweaty and made the decision that it would be better to soak my groin pull in an ice cold trout stream than risk a setback picking up the cut up tree. Associate Editor Ed Smith said he would be fishing at the Red Barn today. At about 1:30 I made the drive up route 8 and then down River Road to the Red Barn. His car was in the lot, but I would have had trouble picking him out, (fishermen don't wear jerseys with numbers on 'em), from among the dozen or so fishermen had it not been for the fact that he had spotted my Mercedes GLC with the custom Angler119 plate and called my cell. Of course I was also trying to call him. Took a minute or two but we finally got connected and agreed to meet at the Troutfitter at four. That settled, ...

  There has been considerable grumbling this season about having to fish in the fog. I've written about it as recently as June 30th. My only complaint about the fog is that it seems to negatively affect my depth perception and hence the accuracy of my casts. I did my best to dispel that theory tonight, more on that later.  With both Lafayette and Lordville on flood watches for the past two days I had very little hope of getting to fish today. Looked at the stream flows at breakfast this morning and was surprised to see that the WB was spared yesterdays onslaught. Hopes not dashed, I assembled my freshly washed clothes, patched waders, food that Jean prepared, and headed for Lordville. Stopped in Deposit to confirm that the river was running clear and at a fishable level, (it was), and then motored on down to the Lordville Estate.  By the time I'd unpacked my clothes and food and put them away, the skies had darkened and the thunder had begun to rumble. When the rain start...

  For about a week I was content congratulating myself on yet another perfect report, not a single one of the Grammarian's terse comments, (listing the days typos or spelling errors), was to be found). Then reality sunk in. On June 27, the second T was added to Corbet. Not a single correction has been made since. I reread some of the reports and found errors, thus confirming my suspicion. The Grammarian who has upgraded the finished product here at A-119 since March 28th of 2024, without missing a day, is no longer on the job, having left as silently as he appeared. Since I have no other means of doing so, I'm taking this opportunity to thank you for your contributions to the reports. You are of course welcome should you choose to return, but needn't feel any obligation to do so.  Steve - I haven't seen a rattle snake since the two road kills in downtown Lordville back in May.  The failure of NYC to comply with FFMA regulations requiring them to maximize the drawdown af...

It being the last day of my fishing week, I decided to give it my all, groin pull be damned. Encouraged by all the empty sulfur nymph husks floating by the Hale Eddy Bridge last evening, I wanted to give the sulfurs a chance to redeem themselves. About 1:30 I drove up route 8 to Stilesville and then down river road all the way to the men's club. Saw a few bugs hatching and a fair number of rising fish. Surprisingly it wasn't crowded, YET. The little Stilesville lot still had room for two more cars and there were only three cars at the red barn. The Men's Club lot was filling up and I didn't drive down to barking dog. Found a place between barking dog and the Hale Eddy Bridge, waded in, sure I'd find both bugs and rising fish, (it's just the way we fishermen think). Saw some risers in the tailout of a pool just upstream, but in my chosen spot, in almost two hours, I saw one rise and not enough sulfurs to entice a single Cedar Waxwing to swoop in for a meal. I hoo...

  Was unable to work up any enthusiasm for the afternoon hatch in the sulfur zone. I don't blame the wade fishermen who were kept off the river all of May and June by high water. Just maybe, the drift boaters might might show a little consideration and not anchor up all day in the hot spots. You had the river to yourselves during the prime time fishing. Mowed the grass as soon as it was dry, watered the tomatoes, had lunch, and drove over to Honesdale this afternoon, in lieu of donning a helmet and flack vest to fish in the sulfur zone. I'd ordered something from Home Depot and got an email saying it had arrived, and that it could be picked up. Arrived back at the Lordville Estate at 3:30 only to find that the container of Home Defense that I also purchased had leaked, (was third in a line of cars and had to break hard for a deer crossing the road), thankfully the spill stayed within the perimeter of the rubber mat in the back of the car. Upon arriving home I had to wash off my...

  Called  Vicki's Unisex Hair Salon this morning and asked for an appointment between 11:00 and 12:30 anytime this week. Vicki said she was going to be closed Thursday and Friday and all she had today was 3:30. I took it. Half an hour later the phone rang, it was David at the Troutfitter who said Vicki called and that she had a cancellation at 10:30 if I wanted it. It was ten of 10:00 when I got the call. Took  a quick shower and a twenty five minute drive later I was getting clipped. Drove back to the fishing camp, made the dump run with the dehumidifier, tied some Jim N. flies that  ended up looking more like mine than his, ate a sandwich and headed back to Deposit for what is now the afternoon sulfur hatch. The bugs - Dorotheas normally crank up just about now, and they are hatching. They usually appear around one and go for a couple hours. Start time is dependent on water temp so things start a little sooner on sunny days. So far the hatches haven't been great, o...

  It's 7:00 pm, and it's raining. It's a gentle rain with little or no wind, the kind I enjoy fishing in, and here I am typing a fishing report. Why? The Chiropractor just may have overdone the stretching of my pulled groin muscle yesterday and the groin muscle took it out on me last night. Fell asleep at eleven and was up again at one-thirty. Don't think I slept a wink after that. I'm tired. The new dehumidifier is hard at work down in the basement where it has lowered the humidity from a somewhat sticky 86 to 60 since nine this morning. The old dehumidifier gave me no trouble going up the stairs and is resting in the car, (told him his next stop was Arizona where he would have little or no work to do and could enjoy retirement. He might well be pissed when I drop him off at the Hancock transfer station. Left the estate at 1:30, (Jean, I remembered to bring my wallet, and filled the car up with gas in Hancock). Drove my usual circuit including the round trip to She...

  It was hard to get enthused about anything today, two doctors appointments, a sweltering hot day with temps well into the nineties, and on the road too late to fish the Dorotheas. Bought a new dehumidifier for the basement at the Lordville Estate and lugged it down the cellar stairs thankfully without incident. Tomorrow I'll hopefully get the old one up the stairs, into the car, and off to the transfer station. Had an idea for a sulfur emerger that I wanted to try, so I sat down at the tying bench and tied half a dozen. As is often the case when I try to put a new idea on a hook, it still needs lots of work. Walked into the kitchen and was surprised to see it was almost seven o'clock. Needed gas, but in my haste, left my wallet on the dresser. Looked at how many miles I could drive before running out, (was just coming into Hancock), and decided to fish the lower section of the WB.  Lets just say that I was less than enthusiastic about my chances of catching any fish. Got int...

  Jean departed for Lafayette mid morning. I did a little yard work, watered the tomatoes, ate lunch, and at about 1:30 headed for Deposit. My normal procedure is to stop at the Hale Eddy bridge, then drive up the back side of the river looking for both bugs and rising fish along the way. The bridge over Sherman Creek is being repaired and the road is closed. The only way you can check out the river is to go all the way to Deposit, take the road to Oquaga Lake past the Sewage treatment plant, cross over route 17 and then take the next left. You get to see what is or isn't hatching but have to turn around at the Sherman Creek bridge and return to Deposit. Found Dorotheas hatching upon my arrival in Deposit and was spared the back road turn around. It was a decent hatch but was seemingly being ignored by the fish. Drove along the river all the way to Barking Dog launch. Saw the Chamber of Commerce fish that is always rising right in front of the launch but little else. There was a li...

  Jean came down to take in the world famous Lordville Fourth of July Parade. When the roads were reopened we took a ride into the area between route 17 and route 97. Some beautiful scenery with expensive second homes surrounding small lakes and reservoirs. It being a holiday weekend the lakes were crowded with every imaginable type of water craft. Our circuitous journey included dinner at the Riverside Restaurant on the Beaverkill over by Horton. Both the food and the Perfect Manhattan were excellent.  Sat out on the back porch at the Lordville Estate in the late evening watching the Lordville deer herd. The fawn that was orphaned midsummer two years ago is now a two year old buck. Last year he sported one crooked little two inch horn. This year's horns are still going to be spikes but they are about eight inches long. Mom and her twin fawns came by and stopped under the plum tree looking for drops. There are two other adult does that are around without fawns. One of them loo...