As Ed S. Likes To Say, There's More To Fishing Than Catching Fish.

 

Started out this morning with the spike horn and what seems to be a gramma, mom, (a yearling that was bred as a fawn), and her fawn, nosing around the base of the apple tree looking for drops. At nine-thirty I headed out to fish and had to stop while two hen turkeys and at least five of their young crossed the road. While in the middle of the EB fishing, I looked up and there was a bear swimming across the river not more than 50 yards downstream from me. Returned to the fishing camp for lunch, shot the bow, picked the last of the tomatoes, left the fence open so the deer could dispose of the tomato plants, and at about 3:30 on a bright sunny, 84 degree day, left to go fishing. Had to stop again on Lordville Road, this time for a covey of Partridge, four of them flew, all in different directions. That ended the glut of wildlife sightings, (not counting eagles, osprey, great blue herons, kingfishers, and mergansers that are every day occurrences), until my return to the Lordville Estate at 7:45 this evening, where I was greeted by the spike horned buck laying not 20 feet from the back porch with  a look that said "I knew you were coming, now shake the tree", I did.

The fishing - Chatted with river friends Nate and Eleanor and Nate's Mom's 84 year old husband who was splitting huge chunks of dead ash with wedges and a maul. The last time I split wood with a mall was after I got a prednisone, (had no clue there was an n in there), shot for my knee over twenty years ago. I then fished the EB which at 350cfs is crystal clear and a delight to fish, except that there were neither bugs nor rising fish. Threw olives and brown caddis and in about two hours rose five fish. Three fish came up slowly, (you could see them), and refused the fly, two came up with a rush and had the fly down to their tonsils, (I know, I had to take it out). Which of the fish do you suppose had just come up the river on the rise of water from the rain?

The evening fishing became a very complicated affair. Met a fellow angler on the 191 bridge in Hancock who told me that the Cannonsville release had been increased and that it was a sea of mud in Deposit. Up till then my problem was finding a place to fish, with an air temp of 84 and water temps all hovering near 70. Drove up to Hale Eddy and saw that the increased release had reached there. In the drive back downstream it appeared that the surge was at WBA which would mean I could fish down low on the WB in low water or at the gamelands in surge water. Chose to fish downstream as I was afraid the cold water surge would shut off the hatch. Was in the water before six, the olives started at six thirty, the fish never did. Saw no risers until after I put on a Cahill in hopes of being able to see it in the dark. Couldn't see the fly but cast in the direction of a rise and hooked what turned out to be a nice 17 inch brown. 

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